2013 bmw f800gt

[Gezerbike]

I'm down here in St Louis this week and I brought gear along to take out their 800 GT and I'm hoping to also ride the new GS.

[fin reaper]

You may ask what does the "D" stand for? In a word disappointing. Had the opportunity to take one for about 40 mi test ride covering a lot of road types and was underwhelmed. To put this into perspective my other rides are 2011 R1200GS and 2011 Aprilia Shiver.

Power/passion B: acceleration is so linear it's almost boring. It does fine once up to speed but if you happen upon a stoplight with full face helmet wearing riders on anything Japanese or Italian, just don't go there.

Handling A: This is the GT's bright spot. Built in steering damper does a wonderful job of isolating many nuisance bumps, splits, cracks with aplomb, and when in the twisties readily accepts and holds the line chosen. Easy bike to flick through multiple s curves. I even inadvertently covered 1.5 mi of hard dirt and washboard and never felt for a second that I would have to explain scratches from a possible drop.

Touring Ergos C: At 5' 6" I fit the bike reasonably well but forward lean is actually more severe than for the Shiver. Windscreen design must have been done during Octoberfest. The screen acts like an air knife directing a laminar band of air towards the driver which in my case was roughly helmet high.

Sound C-: For lack of a better description, sounds like a sewing machine on a law mower. Aftermarket pipe needs to be part of std offering.

Shifting/Gearing. B: Shifting is smooth and precise. Gearing is tall and definitely hwy oriented. Fortunately, the engine will easily pull from a stop in any gear through 4th with minimal clutch modulation though.

Overall B- : This bike is a competent but overpriced offering. At MSRP BMW should consider adding the sportier can for sound alone, traction control, ESA, and the luggage. It's a bit of a confused machine with touring power train mated to sport handling and ergo's. At the same price Ducati's new Multistrada has everything but ESA, heated grips, and gear indicator and has 15 more ponies. I'm afraid the F800GT won't garner the same attention as the Duc. Too bad for mid size sport touring oriented folks. With the departure of the Triumph Sprint GT, the mid size sport touring sector is a beauty pageant with scant selection of beauties.

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by fin reaper

Power/passion B: acceleration is so linear it's almost boring. It does fine once up to speed but if you happen upon a stoplight with full face helmet wearing riders on anything Japanese or Italian, just don't go there.

This reads like you had unrealistic expectations for a midweight sport-tourer. Linearity for a tourer seems like a great idea, and being a bit down on acceleration compared to sportbikes without touring goodies should be expected in that category - it isn't nor should anyone expect it to be an FJR or K1300. Compare it to a DL650, perhaps (Similar wet weights and missions, both without luggage), not a monster 796 or ninja 1k.

[Gham]

You spent some time thinking about what was the good and the less than good,wrote what else you were riding,and in general put some thought into your first post.Then you get told your being unrealistic,welcome to ADV

[ph0rk]

perhaps he meant the hyperstrada, but he closes with a comparison to the multistrada. Hardly a fair or reasonable comparison for the f800gt.

I don't particularly care for the ergos either, but middleweight bikes frequently get slammed for power relative to larger bikes. Raw power isn't the point of a middleweight.

[Gham]

Originally Posted by ph0rk

perhaps he meant the hyperstrada, but he closes with a comparison to the multistrada. Hardly a fair or reasonable comparison for the f800gt.

I don't particularly care for the egos either, but middleweight bikes frequently get slammed for power relative to larger bikes. Raw power isn't the point of a middleweight.

Your probably right,he did say multistrada and I overlooked that,I was thinking hyper as well being it's an 850.My mind went into VFR,Aprilia Futura mode and then quit.

[fin reaper]

Sorry folks, I did mean hyperstrada😨. That's some good mind reading there. As for the power thing, I wasn't expecting Ninja 1000 or Monster 796. But after reading a comparo of FZ8, Street triple, 796, Shiver, and F800R which uses the same mill as the 800GT, I just expected a little more oomph. Perhaps if I rode the GS over to the dealer and not the Shiver, I would have thought differently.

[Roadscum]

I to had a test ride and agree with your assessment. When the motor is run in with a few thousand miles on it performance will be much better. this bike is on my short list because it is a high quality,comfy, economical sport tourer.

Regards, Paul

[KungPaoDog]

Originally Posted by Roadscum

I to had a test ride and agree with your assessment. When the motor is run in with a few thousand miles on it performance will be much better. this bike is on my short list because it is a high quality,comfy, economical sport tourer.

Regards, Paul

The F800 series was on my radar for a while until I sat on one, and realized that I'm probably a little too large for one at 6'3". I'd check out a GT for fun, but the ST felt just a little too tight for me. I think it looks like a very good bike, too. The weight is one of the biggest selling points, since you really don't need 900 lbs of bike to tour. I keep wondering if I could make a used ST work for me.

But economical?The way BMW does stuff, you won't be able to find one that doesn't have $3000 worth of options, so then you're looking at around $15,000, which puts it in pretty close proximity to some pretty well reviewed bikes: FJR, Concours, two V-stroms . etc.

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by fin reaper

Sorry folks, I did mean hyperstrada😨. That's some good mind reading there. As for the power thing, I wasn't expecting Ninja 1000 or Monster 796. But after reading a comparo of FZ8, Street triple, 796, Shiver, and F800R which uses the same mill as the 800GT, I just expected a little more oomph. Perhaps if I rode the GS over to the dealer and not the Shiver, I would have thought differently.

I used to own an F800R, and the trick with that bike was its very low curb weight - the F800GT is toting around about 55 lbs more tupperware. That means it ends up with a pretty similar torque to weight ratio to a vstrom 650, as it happens.

The exhaust is a function of the 360 degree crank BMW went with, to make it sound similar to their boxers. I didn't particularly care for it, but it contributed to the F800's funky german-ness. All in all I greatly preferred my DL650 motor to the F800 motor. The hyperstrada is about 20 lbs less than the F800GT, too.


If I was looking for a middleweight sports-tourer I'm not sure I could justify the F800GT relative to others in the category, but the best comparison is to other tour-capable bikes with similar high speed comfort (read: wind protection) and luggage options along with similar low weight/maneuverability. 600+ lb sports tourers probably feel nothing at all like an F800GT, so the comparison is a bit weird.

The F800R might not feel like the shiver much, either - it had a long wheelbase, wide rear tire for its weight and an overcompensating steering damper for low speeds, and some gear ratios that sacrificed much slab usability. I'm much happier with the R1200R, but I think that was the bike I really wanted to begin with.

I think a faired road-going F800 is a good thing, but if economical is one of your criteria, it probably won't fare well against the <$10k competition.

[KungPaoDog]

I like the way phOrk thinks. He doesn't care. And his avatar is pretty 8-bit awesome.