Ground Clearance Question: 800GS vs. 650GS ???

Hello all, new member here.

Since the twins are not available yet on this side of the pond, I thought I’d seek help from you chaps. The ground clearance of the bikes isn’t listed on the spec sheets I find, but seat heights suggest a difference ~2”. Would anyone be kind enough to measure your bike's clearance? Without a rider is fine; maybe indicate apx shock preload setting and whether to skid-plate or frame rail. Thanks!

Currently have a 650 Dakar that provides 9.5” clearance to the skid plate. Bike has 8.3” travel front & rear (closer to the 800), and suspension is set firm (Race Tech emulators & 20W fork oil; high preload in back) so I only get occasional rock hits. Think the 658 (~1.5” less travel) will provide enough clearance for tame off-tarmac use?

Cheers, Larry

Thought I'd give this one more try. Someone told me that they thought the unladen 650GS has about 8.5" clearance beneath the BMW engine bash plate.

Could someone measure the clearance under their 800GS? Given the increased susension travel and tire size I'd guess it would be ~9.5 - 10".

Thanks.

The F650GS is certainly OK for 'tame offroad use'.

A lot of the tracks we covered in the Pyrenees were quite rough with far more rubble and rocks than shown in the video, but of course everyone is then too busy riding to take pics.

The clearance is certainly less than on my 1200GSA, but is perfectly adequate for most of the trails I ride.

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Tim

levity said:

Thought I'd give this one more try. Someone told me that they thought the unladen 650GS has about 8.5" clearance beneath the BMW engine bash plate.

Could someone measure the clearance under their 800GS? Given the increased susension travel and tire size I'd guess it would be ~9.5 - 10".

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Nearly, but no coconut - mine's 9.25", or 235mm, unladen - can't remember how much fuel's in it ATM though, and my tea's on the table! (so I'm not going back out to check it now)

Thanks guys, that helps.

Tim's nice video shows just how low the 650 sits laden - just a bit higher than the previous F6650GS single. A good bashplate is in order!
Seems like the 800 is comparable the previous Dakar model (in terms of ground clearance anyway).

The new twins are supposedly on trucks for delivery over here at last, so we'll find out shortly.

Also depends on how much pre-load you have wound on. The other day I increased my ground clearance by winding on some additional preload (5 complete turns, now have it on +10).