Thoughts on 700?

[japes1275]

I'm thinking of getting a F700GS and wondered if anyone has any negative things to say about them, or positive for that matter!

I've ridden one and my points are:

1st gear a bit high for off road but overall gearing nice for the road.
Nice characterful and torquey feel to the engine.
Spotted quite a few areas of tarnishing/corrosion on the demo bike.
Standard screen is useless.

Questions to any owners are:

Is the claimed fuel economy as good as they make out?
Screen suggestions?!
Is the build quality looking ok?
Anything you can think of that might convince me to get one?!

I've just been out on a Tiger 800 today and although I liked it in most ways it seemed really poorly geared. 1st was a bit too high but 6th seemed way too low, basically once under way I just felt it was revving much higher than it needed to be. A sports bike engine in a dual sports bike. I also have concerns that it will be a bit thirsty. Bloody fast though!!

Any thoughts will be much appreciated.

John

 

[Dean]

I'm thinking of getting a F700GS and wondered if anyone has any negative things to say about them, or positive for that matter!

HI John,

My thoughts on a F700GS in short, Very Nice bike

Although I have never ridden one, I ride a F650GS twin (tweaked and superseded by the F7) come to think of it I didn't ride the 6.5 before I bought it in the line up of other not ridden bikes that I was considering to purchase in 2008, was the T scrambler and the one your coming from the mighty Alp, The F6.5 beat all on paper, extra gear, more power, more farkles (heavily farkled) etc etc Anyhow I will elongate on a bit........

Ok the thing to convince you to get one, in short is going to have to be you

The Gearing Is something you would to get to grips with, you didn't like it on the G650, F7 or Tiger.

yes nice engine, super sweet and torquey , standard screen for 9 out of 10 riders is, as you say useless. The tatty surface rust- corrosion on the Demo, I had a loaner- Demo yesterday, which brings me on to................................

Why not demo a F800GS after all the Tiger8 was clowned from it and it does not have the concerns you highlight.

Here is the one I had yesterday. was supposed to have a F7 as I have never ridden one but they had sold it...




four thousand odd on the clock.

again surface rust - corrosion, alright left out side and left to fester, why do dealers do this it puts people off (dealers make an effort), although its removed in a couple of mins The screen again is well you know. 70 to 110 is refreshing but good pace and pull in 6th allegedly.

But glad to get mine back, serviced and steering head bearing adjusted, brake fluid renewed only 27,302 miles no corrosion or surface rust (visible yet)



Try an F8 and other if your still not happy, then make a choice yourself and pursue that passion The cherished ones for instance there is a F8 in the for sale section here (that £12.00 subscription to access them really is small beans) ABS, panniers sat nav etc 2012 model 600 miles, started at 7,5K now at 7K awaiting offers.

lots of threads here about screens, seats etc with different opinions, but what ever you choose, good luck to not get a bike you want due to the screen is like cutting yr nose off to spite yr face

No doubt a F7 rider will be along shortly with some input

My thoughts on The BMW "F" range, my glass is half full





.

 

[Foxxy]

Questions answered below

Is the claimed fuel economy as good as they make out?

I got about 130 miles before the fuel guage dropped below the half a tank bar, so maybe 200 miles from an £18 fill. Think it says I was doing 59mpg on average.

Screen suggestions?!

BMW do a screen for £200, Cee Bailey do one but it doesnt work with the BMW handguards. I havent actually changed mine yet.

Is the build quality looking ok?

Yep superb, keep the chain well oiled though!

Anything you can think of that might convince me to get one?!

I've had mine since early March and put 1000 miles on it. Ive got it in the satin grey/greeny brown colour which looks awesome in my opinion. The luggage is great too. The bike I had below was a F800R. I find the bike very easy to ride what with its low down weight and riding stance. The engine is punchy but doesnt want to throw the front wheel up every minute either. I personally love it and wont be changing anytime soon

 

[SERVDAVE]

again, I don't have the F700, but the 650 but seeing as its a very simular bike thought I would comment.

had mine since october 2009, she has just ticked over 40,000 miles with out any majour problems. I have had trouble with the finish of the bike, my front forks need attention and there is a fair bit of engine paint coming off. But I would definately by one again.

It has never let me down, does between 170-230 miles to a tank (60-75mpg) depending on how I am riding and what I am doing. I ride all year round, don't wash it enough but it still keeps going.

Can't comment on the tiger 800 as I have never riding one. Was thinking about changing to one but it was the servicing cost that stopped me from taking it any further!

 

[japes1275]

Some great comments there, thanks. Dean your 650 looks awesome!

Wasn't really meaning that the useless screen would ever stop me buying one, it just winds me up that I have to spend more money straight away! The standard one on my TA700 worked reasonably well so never I needed to upgrade it.

I forgot to mention that one of the reasons I looked at the 700 was the lower height, I'm 5'9" and I think the 800 might be a bit big. Saying that I've never sat on one so maybe I should. It would give me more options. When I tried the Setao I thought that was too high for what I wanted.

Thing is with the Tiger is that a spanking new one with £700 worth of topbox, heated grips and bigger screen (as well as standard one) can be mine for £7000 which I think is a cracking deal. Gearing is still crap though!! Oh and £600 more for ABS.

One thing I should say about the gearing of the 700 was that although it was too high in first, it was high enough in top to allow for a change in sprockets to make first ok for off road. The Tiger is too high in first and too low in top!! Basically the BMW has a fairly wide ratio box but the Tiger is a close ratio sports bike box. I think that says to me that BMW built the engine and box for an adventure bike but Triumph just stuck the sports bike gearbox in their 'new' adventure bike engine.

I'm leaning towards the BMW to be honest, the Tiger is a good bike but I get the feeling the height, top heavyness, poor fuel economy and gearing would make me have big regrets. I think I'll have a look at the 800 as well - can they be lowered a bit? Thanks for the comments and ideas, I really appreciate people taking time out to pass on their advice, everything helps!

 

[SERVDAVE]

Some great comments there, thanks. Dean your 650 looks awesome!

Deans bike is lovely, show what potiential the 650GS has!

I would definately take the 800GS out for a test ride. I have ridden both the 650GS and 800GS a fair bit. (work in the trade) and I went for the 650GS as they both seemed very simular in performance and what they could do and I could save a bit by going for the 650! (im tight)

I would up load a pic of my bike, but I am at work so i don't have any photos!

It is always tempting to take advantage of a bargin, especially when you get stuff thrown in but its only worth it if you prefer the bike in the first place!

Just go for lots of test rides, its what I do. Test rode the 650GS 3 times before I parted with cash!

happy to talk bikes Its what forums are for!

 

[Dean]

Thank you, I agree about the extra additions that nearly everyone wants costing an arm and a leg, but that's just sales. before I picked up my new F650 I asked them to fit me a taller standard F800Gs screen for my needs that also was next to useless.

I have always liked the look of the Alp screen and all

It is worth you test riding an F800GS might make you make a better choice, plenty of F800GS riders are not tall (no pun intended) Dave Ett converted with a lower spring (a good thread somewhere about it). If you test ride ask the Dealership to fit a low seat for you that should help for a start (F's share the same seats, dealers usually have one kicking around), more here..

http://ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=306499&highlight=f800+lowered

 

[peter bradbury]

f 700

i got a 700 gs just 2 months a go i sold my 1200 gs to the shop an i am happy with the 700 it is so good on petrol i have fitted a puig screan on it so i now can cruse at 70 it is a lot lighter to

 

[slparry]

I test rode the 700GS and the 800GS before buying my 8GS. To be honest I liked the 700's lower height and tubeless tyres ... oh and being more road orientated it has an extra tooth on the gearbox sprocket which raises it's gearing

I chose the 8GS purely because of it's more aggressive off road appearance, grudgingly accept the tubed tyres, stretch up a bit more for the height and as for the gearing I've bought a 700's gearbox sprocket to pop on for summer road use, and the standard 8GS one for the winter.

Big IF .... If when I get older and the 8GS would be a struggle to hoist a leg over the 700 will fill the bill perfectly

 

[Sooty09]

Did a big tour this year, me on a 1200GS, my wife on her F700. I was not trying hard but every time I looked in my mirrors she was right behind me, It was not lacking in anything over the 7000 journey. It had the standard low screen, standard seat, BMW panniers and a Givi top box. Needed the chain adjusting twice and lightly lubing every day. Did motorways, mountains and bits of off road just as easy as my bigger bike.
I rode her bike over a really rough bit in the Bulgarian mountains and it was so much easier than the big GS.
Previously I did 30,000+ miles on an F800GS, my wife did 37,0000+ on her earlier F650 twin, only a few pads, head bearings and chains were needed. 70+mpg, 10,000 mile tyre life, lots of spares and accessories available.
Tomorrow I'm back at Jefferies Shipley for a further test on the F800GS, Im missing it so much I'm considering swapping back.

 

[3BsBiking]

I've hired a couple of F700s in South Africa and that convinced me to never buy one. But as you're based in England my negative experiences probably won't bother you.
On 2 of the bikes at altitude in hot weather with less than half a tank of fuel, they create a vacuum in the fuel tank leading to fuel starvation. Opening the filler cap relieves this problem for a minute amount of time but it soon returns. Only sorted when you can refill the tank. Not much fun off road or in the middle of a game reserve in 40 degrees plus I can tell you. Of course the moral of thus story is keep the tank well filled but that's not always possible in remote parts of SA.
Then I couldn't get out of 1st gear....the gear lever had bent into the engine casing....doh! Easy fix as it bent out as easily as it bent in....clearly made of cheese....
And then the side stand switch failed....overriding it sorted the problem but I wouldn't have had a clue how to do that on my own.
We had no problems with the 1200s in our groups, either time, FWIW.

 

[Chicken]

My Thoughts

I can honestly say the F700GS is the best bike I've owned, I often look at the F800GS ADV-T and might be tempted one day