F800GS vs F850GS?

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I have a 2012 F800GS and really like it, but I am tempted by the newer F850GS

Has anyone made that change? If so, how did you find it?
 
Just purchased the f850GSA. I absolutely love it. It replaced the Africa Twin, which was OK but a bit lacking in farkles and not to my taste. On the Bm the build quality seems to be fine, the paint scheme looks good. Performance and fuel economy is also very good. This is not my only bike (1250RT) but for what I want it does everything very well. Got a great deal via Mark Rivers at BMW, Wolverhampton. A few of my mates have been well looked after..

Forgot to mention the tft dash is a revelation. The ‘free’ Touratech panniers are OK, but would I pay my hard earned cash for them - not a chance. Bumot twice as good at two thirds the price,
 
The 850 is a very good bike. 65+ mpg. Tank is a bit small at 15 litres. The tft screen is good but it keeps forgetting my I phone. Resetting the trip is a pain. I love the bit of under seat storage. JJH.
 
The 850 is a very good bike. 65+ mpg. Tank is a bit small at 15 litres. The tft screen is good but it keeps forgetting my I phone. Resetting the trip is a pain. I love the bit of under seat storage. JJH.


How do you rate the 850 against your old 800 gsa ?
 
It’s not so easy to split hairs. The 800 was a very good bike. Very underrated. Lived too much in the shadow of the R. I’d say the 850 has moved the game on a bit. Definitely sounds better even on standard exhaust. I sometimes find that sometimes my bike seems to overreact to very windy conditions. Otherwise it’s very stable. The electronics seem to do their traction controlling very well without being too overwhelming. The new bike gives less reasons to go for the 1250. But... I did have a ride on a 1250 gsa. Watch out. I like it. JJH
 
Early 850gs has the most ridiculous sidestand , bike is nearly vertical and even without luggage on level ground it is precarious,add loaded luggage and a top box and it will tip off the stand
Busy making a better one for the brother in laws bike at the minute
 
Early 850gs has the most ridiculous sidestand , bike is nearly vertical and even without luggage on level ground it is precarious,add loaded luggage and a top box and it will tip off the stand
Busy making a better one for the brother in laws bike at the minute

I could be mistaken but some users have reported a goodwill replacement side stand from BMW. The later stand is easy to spot as it has a bend in it and the bikes tips over much further - in fact too far, it needs a foot to lift it up 1/2”.

Re: 800 vs 850: JJH is pretty much spot on. Personally I find the engine much nicer, as the 800 has a lot of vibes due to the novel but not entirely successful layout with both pistons acting together and a counter/bob weight on the crankshaft. Other improvements are the much lighter clutch (although the 850 has a disconcerting sticky feel when new that slowly disappears with miles), no more burning your trousers on the left side of the bike as the exhaust has moved to the right side, better LED headlamp, tubeless rims, lower seat height, the ability to take the same vario luggage as the 1250 (on the 750) and more up to date electronics (I was never a fan of the old clocks). For me the 750/850 are better bikes overall, but the downsides are that they can feel heavy to move around the garage, wind buffeting is still a problem, as it is on the 800, and the brakes and suspension are no better - the GSA is > £13K with bog standard, cheap, unadjustable front forks isn’t good enough. If Triumph can put fully-adjustable front forks and Brembo Stylema monobloc callipers on the new Tiger 900, why BMW persists with the crappy 2-pot sliding callipers that just about stop the bike, is beyond me.
 
I have a 2012 F800GS and really like it, but I am tempted by the newer F850GS

Has anyone made that change? If so, how did you find it?
What is your riding profile - may help people to give advice.
 
I could be mistaken but some users have reported a goodwill replacement side stand from BMW. The later stand is easy to spot as it has a bend in it and the bikes tips over much further - in fact too far, it needs a foot to lift it up 1/2”.

Re: 800 vs 850: JJH is pretty much spot on. Personally I find the engine much nicer, as the 800 has a lot of vibes due to the novel but not entirely successful layout with both pistons acting together and a counter/bob weight on the crankshaft. Other improvements are the much lighter clutch (although the 850 has a disconcerting sticky feel when new that slowly disappears with miles), no more burning your trousers on the left side of the bike as the exhaust has moved to the right side, better LED headlamp, tubeless rims, lower seat height, the ability to take the same vario luggage as the 1250 (on the 750) and more up to date electronics (I was never a fan of the old clocks). For me the 750/850 are better bikes overall, but the downsides are that they can feel heavy to move around the garage, wind buffeting is still a problem, as it is on the 800, and the brakes and suspension are no better - the GSA is > £13K with bog standard, cheap, unadjustable front forks isn’t good enough. If Triumph can put fully-adjustable front forks and Brembo Stylema monobloc callipers on the new Tiger 900, why BMW persists with the crappy 2-pot sliding callipers that just about stop the bike, is beyond me.

How quickly we forget. Tubed wheels. Good ridence to them. JJH
 
Just starting to notice some rubbish design features on the stands on the brother in laws f850gs, the centre stand doesn't have a frame mounted stop instead it has a rubber buffer which runs against the bottom of the swingingarm.

As the suspension moves up and down so does the centre stand and it is already marking the paint on the bottom of the swingingarm after less than 1000 miles.

Also with the original design overly long sidestand it stops in the upper position in such a way as the steel pad on the bottom of the stand is hard against the nearside leg of the centre stand -the one that moves up and down with the suspension- and it is already starting to wear a groove in the centre stand leg
 
Oops sorry the above should read there is a centre stand stop on the offside but the nearside of the centrestand is also in constant contact with the bottom of the swinging arm

The standard plastic bash plate on the 850 is a joke with a cut out to access the engine drain plug which leaves it and the cast boss it is mounted into exposed , a heavy hit offroad to the bash plate could easily damage the engine casing
 
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