I had this;
out for the morning.
The fuelling is unpleasant, made worse by the overly light throttle action. People used to moan about the R1150GSA seat but this thing is terrible, I'm prepared to accept that it might improve once it has a few more fat arses on it than the 600 miles it has covered allow.
It drops into slow turns quite alarmingly until you learn to anticipate it. The front brake reminds me of the single-piston Brembo on an early K-Series; functional but needing a fair bit of rider effort. I was surprised to see that it had twin discs because the braking performance felt more like the single set-up of the old F650 thumper.
Power is good and ideal for the GS. It certainly is willing enough when demanded but the engine is anything but smooth.
The tiny screen shouldn't be anywhere near as effective as it is. 70 mph with visor up is comfortable and it provides a far better level of protection from the air-flow than either my old 1150GSA or any of the 1200GSAs that I've ridden. Quiet too. That little screen was, I must admit, a revelation.
From the waist down though, it's a different matter. The tank shape seemed to funnel the cold and damp into my gentleman's region and feet get no protection at all (not that it's claimed to be a warm, toasty ride).
No hand shields on this bike but the heated grips are probably the best I've ever experienced.
The single-button indicator didn't cause any real problems apart from the lack of any noticeable detent when operating it. I wasn't wearing bulky winter gloves, just my BMW Summer Rain gloves but I had to check that I'd actually got the switch far enough to operate the indicator. Oh and the self-cancelling is too quick to cut in but that's a very minor quibble.
Not specifically an 800 issue as it applies to much of the current BMW range but I don't like the cockpit treatment. There's too much crammed into too small an area when it comes to the rider display, the icons and gauge characters are a bit too small and add to the fussy look.
Generally I was underwhelmed. The last F800 I rode was the S when it was launched and I liked that. If I was after a GS, I doubt that I'd be tempted by the 800 even though Micky's high miler demonstrates that the quality of finish is there.
A longer test might reveal why it sells but as a non-GS owner these days, I have no axe to grind for or against any of the range.
out for the morning.
The fuelling is unpleasant, made worse by the overly light throttle action. People used to moan about the R1150GSA seat but this thing is terrible, I'm prepared to accept that it might improve once it has a few more fat arses on it than the 600 miles it has covered allow.
It drops into slow turns quite alarmingly until you learn to anticipate it. The front brake reminds me of the single-piston Brembo on an early K-Series; functional but needing a fair bit of rider effort. I was surprised to see that it had twin discs because the braking performance felt more like the single set-up of the old F650 thumper.
Power is good and ideal for the GS. It certainly is willing enough when demanded but the engine is anything but smooth.
The tiny screen shouldn't be anywhere near as effective as it is. 70 mph with visor up is comfortable and it provides a far better level of protection from the air-flow than either my old 1150GSA or any of the 1200GSAs that I've ridden. Quiet too. That little screen was, I must admit, a revelation.
From the waist down though, it's a different matter. The tank shape seemed to funnel the cold and damp into my gentleman's region and feet get no protection at all (not that it's claimed to be a warm, toasty ride).
No hand shields on this bike but the heated grips are probably the best I've ever experienced.
The single-button indicator didn't cause any real problems apart from the lack of any noticeable detent when operating it. I wasn't wearing bulky winter gloves, just my BMW Summer Rain gloves but I had to check that I'd actually got the switch far enough to operate the indicator. Oh and the self-cancelling is too quick to cut in but that's a very minor quibble.
Not specifically an 800 issue as it applies to much of the current BMW range but I don't like the cockpit treatment. There's too much crammed into too small an area when it comes to the rider display, the icons and gauge characters are a bit too small and add to the fussy look.
Generally I was underwhelmed. The last F800 I rode was the S when it was launched and I liked that. If I was after a GS, I doubt that I'd be tempted by the 800 even though Micky's high miler demonstrates that the quality of finish is there.
A longer test might reveal why it sells but as a non-GS owner these days, I have no axe to grind for or against any of the range.
Pull hard and it stops hard and with plenty of feel. 
