On my way from NY to Sturgis and took the southern route to visit a friend in Mesa. He had warned me that it was going to be HOT and I should consider riding through the night. I thought I could handle it, my mistake. Blast furnace is a good description, I wanted to ride fast to get it over with over but the heat blast over 45 mph simply took my breath away. Result was major dehydration and burnt ear lobes from the hot air blast. This was, by far, on of my most stupid bike events...... and a dangerous learning experience. Regards, Paul
Did Death Valley a few weeks ago in 120F - it was totally fine. Trick was to soak the pants, shirt, neck tube, and helmet cap in water and then close all the vents in the outer layer (BMW Airflow pants, BMW Rallye Pro Jacket). The air that still came through had such a nice cooling effect, it was totally fine riding in that heat. You absolutely don't want mesh gear if you are riding in heat above body temp. It'll dehydrate you incredibly quick.
No, absolutely not. There is always air coming in through sleeve openings, collar, zippers and even the general fabric (as long as you don't use anything with a membrane). That is enough to cool you down through evaporation of the water you soaked a shirt with. Give it a try: use a long sleeve shirt under a jacket, put water on one arm so that it's soaked but not dripping and go ride in the heat. As long as you're moving this arm will be cool, nearly cold. Do that in some strategic places (chest, arms, helmet cap, neck tube, thighs) and you stay very comfortable - only requirement is a little bit of airflow. Don't open too many or too large vents, as the water will evaporate too quickly. I soaked my stuff in Furnace Creek inside Death Valley and was comfortable until Independence. Soaked my stuff again there and was good until we reached Yosemite where I was significantly cooler anyways.
so my first post on my new bike, bought a month ago, now 3000 miles / 5000 km on the tacho. First the disadvantages and for me that is the stock windshields. It causes buffeting and made my neck sore and ears almost deaf after riding 1000 miles in one shot. And I'm 6'8 / 172 cm tall. Reading different forums. it's quite common feeling so I ordered madstad aftermarket windshields and will see how it works (not delivered yet). As far as the vibrations are concerned, like PrairieMan wrote, I felt it at the beginning, during breaking-in period, but now it's gone. Or not completely gone (more than it was in DL650) but not an issue at any speed, unless you squeeze the handlebars very strongly - that you should not do in any case. I've not experienced any issues with heat as well, compared to my previous ZZR 1400 it's 'stone-cold'. The ABS is too intrusive for my liking and worse than in ZZR, to end the cons. Oh, and the stock comfort seat I had installed is surely less comfy than regular v-strom seat, as the overall riding position is. But as I maintained 1000 mile / 20 hrs trip, I can't complain too much. Now on the positives! The engine is powerful enough to ride in the high Alps without feeling too much lose of power as compared to v-strom. The tank is small but given the fuel economy (60 mpg, 4.0 l/100km), 200 miles / 320 km tank range is easily achieved, unless riding hard. My personal best was 280 miles / 450 km on a tank. The bikes' low COG allows for easy low-speed manouvers or flicking through the mountain curves . The biggest plus of this bike is the lack of weak spots, apart from the windshield - that hopefully can be overcome with aftermarket stuff. It does everythihng well: commuting, long-distance touring at any given speed up to 110 mph / 180 kmph, mountain riding, and everything you thow at it.. By the way, I added right from the beggining an aftermarket exhaust, a carbon-fibre one from LeoVince that gives it more bass and less metallic sound and it isn't overly loud so I can recommend it.
Just bought a Light White 2013 F800GT - waiting for delivery from a warehouse somewhere. I think that this is the bike I gave been looking for since I traded in my '05 GS for a RT in 2009. In the ensuing years I've had a Dorsoduro, a MG V11 Sport, and a MG California EV Touring. I am beginning to feel like frickin Goldilocks! For some reason, I have never paid attention to F800s. I test rode a F800GS back in '09 and was not impressed and I guess that I subconsciously wrote off the entire line. Fast forward to a few weeks ago - I was looking at a R1150RS that a guy in my neighborhood was selling on Craigslist and noticed the F800S he had in his garage (that had replaced his R bike which is why he had it for sale). Checked out the belt, and how light and and slim it was. I dug through my Magazine collection and re-read (or maybe read for the first time) the review of the F800GT from the Aug 13 issue of Rider and I was convinced this was a good candidate for my Pacific Northwest weekday commuter/weekend traveler.
I went over to Sturgis,SD for a test ride on the F800GT. I like this bike very much. A fun bike for all around. This looks to be my next bike asap.
It's interesting how there's no middle ground, people either hate it (or any of the 800s) or love it, and they hate and love the same things. Some say it's fun, like poster above, while most say that it's a slow revving and boring bike. Most seem to agree that the vibrations are not pleasant, I keep wondering why BMW didn't do 270° crank, or 315° like in the Husky Nuda, that MUST be better for vibes. Anyways, it seems like I'd love the bike but would probably go with the F800R, but the vibrations issue concerns me.
They wanted it to sound like a boxer. And it does... kinda. I think a testride would be in order, vibes are certainly different between an f650gs and an f800r (different in quality if not quantity), and supposedly they took steps to lessen them in the f800gt (absorber in the bars, the better rubber blocks in the seat from the f800, etc). The chassis is also 2" longer which might result in a different resonant frequency - I'd testride one for sure. In the end the vibes weren't what soured me on the f800r, the ridiculous gearing was. It sounds like that isn't a problem the f800gt has.
I tested one earlier this year and can only say I kind of liked it. Little awkward seating position for me, but that's mainly because I'm used to F800GS, R1200GS, Tiger 800. Vibes were definitely there and might annoy me on long rides, although I didn't think they were problematic. The frequency wasn't high enough to be really bad for me. It was definitely worse than my F800GS below 5k, it was better than my F800GS above 5k - which was the point where the F became unrideable for me because it put my hands to sleep. On the other hand, I found it ridiculous that it had more vibration than the R1200RT I rode the same day. And yes, I was very sensitive to this at that time. I owned a Tiger 800 with the sweeeeet triple engine. That engine is worlds beyond that BMW inline twin in pretty much everything but fuel consumption.
I was permitted to take a demo unit for almost 24 hrs. Consequently, I was able to ride my regular weekday commute and bomb around for a couple hours after dinner. I'm guessing I put around 100 miles on it. Granted I'm riding Moto Guzzis, but I don't recall there being any unpleasant vibration at all except for when I was running up the freeway at 80+, which I would not normally do for any length of time. I thought the exhaust note was kinda farty, along the lines of the DRZ400 I used to own. Wasn't very torquey off idle but acceleration was fine by me and the entire bike felt taught, precise, athletic, very svelte. It had the comfort seat which was, well, comfortable. No hot spots or bad seams - it was nice and wide in the back, firm, and very flat. It was very roomy and did not push me forward into the tank which is a common BMW problem (experience with RT and GS). I'm 5'10 200# 31" inseam and the ergos were excellent for me. I don't like being bolt upright with feet in front of my knees - hurts my back. My feet were almost directly under hips. Plenty of legroom. Wind off of the chest and helmet in clean air. My face shield stayed up past 70 mph. I prefer these fat bars over the spindly-looking 7/8" bars on the ST. There was obviously some raiding of the GS and R parts bins to assemble the GT, but tastefully done. It will be nice to be able to put both feet down for a change. I didn't carry a passenger and probably never will so 2-up performance won't be an issue. I ordered the new hard system bags although I haven't seen them and understand that they have a new clam shell design and may leak a little. I probably won't use them much. I'll put my Krauser top box on it and use that almost exclusively. Love the idea of the belt drive. All the controls and bodywork were top quality. I think the F800 street models have been very under rated and look forward to having this bike in the garage.
Yep. Same with our (actually my wife's, but sometimes, very rarely, I'm allowed to ride it, too) R1200R. Also similar with the new water cooled GS. Also smoother than the F800GT. I found the vibrations not problematic though during my testride. They were harsh and hard, but somehow the frequency was so that it didn't bother me too much.
I hear over on the F800 forum, that the vibrations on the F800GT just go away after some miles are put on it.
That sounds very unlikely. Despite the longer chassis and damped bars it is still essentially the same motor and the motor is still a stressed member in the frame. I don't think the vibes are an issue, but don't go blowing smoke about them vanishing in their own.
I don't think it was ether. We all know, it is still a twin! After the bike gets some miles on it, it sound as if it smooths out!!!!! The New one from my test ride was not as bad as my old Boxer was so I like this little bike.
So I have had it about three months now and each and every time I ride it I am impressed with what a great machine she is. If I have any issue at all it is that I just can't seem to ride it slow, the darn thing just wants to go. The thing that impresses me the most, coming off years of riding R Bikes is the gear box, I swear it like shifting using a micro switch. Anyway it took me awhile to get it where I wanted it and the things I have done to it really made it a better and more comfortable ride. Madstad 22" tinted Windscreen Suburban peg lowering and Bar Back Kit Sargent Seat Luggage painted to match BMW has a winner here, very little to complain about for sure.
