Beware: F800gs Rims Are Junk!

[gregneedham]

Originally Posted by Dirsuper

That is good info, do you know what year that bike is?

It's a 2009. Check out the TAT blog in my sig line and you can see some of the abusive trails we rode on.

EDIT: I completely forgot that he rode Alaska right after he got the bike, so he has pounded the gravel in Alaska, hammered the Transamerica Trail from Memphis to Moab and done some serious jumping on some backwoods track riding with me, with no damage to the rims.

just 2 cents to help give perspective.

[springfish]

I've had my 800GS through some very harsh mountain trails running my TKC's around 22 front - 24-26 rear and haven't had a problem…even loaded down with camping gear.

I'll definitely keep a closer eye on the rims for damage though. Sorry to hear you're having such a negative experience with BMW. My bike has been lots of fun to date.

[itsatdm]

Yes the rims are soft, wait till you discover a few other shortcomings when used as a dirt bike. Low quality suspension, instant low speed throttle response and a tall first gear, all will make 1st gear rocky trails an adventure all by itself.
2nd new bike in 45 years, so after the sticker shock I expected a race ready bike. Well it is not, dig deeper in the wallet and you can make it better.
Now I just feel kind of sad, that a bike that had so much potential, gets emasculated when an accountant becomes part of the design team. I would have paid more for upgraded componants on the bike instead of forcing me to do the job. Would have been cheaper too.
I bet you were running 22-24lb in the front tire, at least that was the pressure when I dinged mine. Nothing below 30 front and 28 rear now and no new damage.

[HMarc]

Considering you were riding "off road" as you put it, what tire pressures were you using?

Normal 1-up riding calls for 32psi front, and 36psi rear. If I were riding offroad I'd probably drop that to 22 & 24. However, if the rims are really soft, that may be ill-advised.

[syaufu]

I was in S. America on a F 650 GS ..new twin..and we had the same problem..we were riding mainly on reasonable gravel with the normal potholes and bent several stock rims..Woody to the rescue..maybe you can buy the bikes without the rims and get Woody to put real rims on both the 650 and the 800..bj

[WoodWorks]

I rode the Great Divide Trail last July, fully loaded up, running my tires at ~28 psi. Too many times to count I hit sharp ruts or rocks at speed. No dings, no bends, nothing. I'm not saying that other's rims haven't bent. I'm just saying that I'm in no hurry to rush out and replace my rims.

David

[biker128pedal]

Originally Posted by HMarc

Considering you were riding "off road" as you put it, what tire pressures were you using?

+1 and pictures. Where were you riding?

[RSDOG]

They have been pissy like that ever since 1945.

[WOLVERINE]

My front was bent from the factory and they wouldn't fix it as was the tube pinched between the wheel and the tire. Later I bent the rim offroad again but in fairness I WAS riding the F**k out of it so It's my fault. I fixed it with an adjustable wrench for the interum . The rims are shit, the bike has it's short comings but it sure if F**KING fun to ride. I can't stop riding it!!!!
In a few years I May get woody to do an upgrade. I just finished sending my GSA spoked wheels out to him to fix as they were shit too from the factory...BMW wheels are Shit, Period!

[YetiGS]

I don't know if the BMW rims are shit or not, but I have heard the same comment about Honda rims and KTM rims. I don't think anyone specs really premium rims stock.

[Dirsuper]

Ok, wife downloaded pics to 'her' computer and emailed them to me...... I am at the end of my rope, posting these pictures was much more work that it should have been. I am not thrashing BMW. It is a fun bike, like many others. However, if I would have known that I would have to spend another $1000 to make it off road capable, I would not have bought it. We were riding the road that runs along the border fence in San Diego County. Pretty benign. Tire pressure was whatever the dealer put in it since the bike only had just over 300 miles on it when we left for the ride. Hopefully you can all see the pics.
Again, not meaning to bad mouth anyone, just expressing my frustration and exploriing options. I do not take getting screwed lightly. I would expect a company like BMW to be as aghast as I was that a brand new "Dual Sport" bike FAILED TO PERFORM ITS PRIMARY FUNCTION a week after purchase. Very frustrating!

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[johnparjr]

I got nothing for the pictures

[Dirsuper]

Originally Posted by johnparjr

I got nothing for the pictures

God#$%am friggin, POS, Dumb A#$, AHHHHHH, how the hell do you post pics!! I must be 'challenged.'

[HighScore]

Originally Posted by Dirsuper

So, I take my BRAND NEW (5 days old) F800GS "Dual Sport" bike on a ride down dirt roads. My buddy who was with me on his 1200GS had his daughter on the back, we WERE NOT doing anything hardcore. It was a leisurely ride enjoying the scenery of SoCal post-rain. Really taking it easy. Of course we hit some ridges and such, but we were not going fast. When I got home, I noticed that my front rim was bent away from the tire bead area about an inch. WTF! I could not believe it (still cannot). I called the dealership, "Not covered by warranty, you were off road" To which I replied, "But you market it as an off road capable bike." So, I call the actual BMW corporation (US) and get told the same thing. Huh? So a bike that is supposed to be capable of going anywhere comes with rims that cannot handle mild dirt roads?

After reading some great info here, I call Woody's. They were very nice, helpful, knowlegeable, etc, and told me that this is common on the F800GS. So, when I got home from work last night I inspected the rear rim....same issue! WTF!!!

Because the bike is absolutely USELESS to me if I cannot ride off road, I am having Woody do the Superlace/Excel rim upgrade. I can't say enough about how great Jill at Woody's has been at explaining everything to me, etc. However, I am still absolutely STUNNED that BMW can get away with this.

When I get home tonight I will post some pics (shot of bike showing it is in fact, brand new; shot of paper license plate; shot of odometer reading 500 miles; and shot of each shoddy/substandard/POS rim).

I cannot believe there has not yet been a class-action lawsuit.

I think you should also send them a photo of the road or "off road" section it happened on.
BMW sucks
I hever want to own another one. (After owning three).

[HMarc]

Originally Posted by Dirsuper

Tire pressure was whatever the dealer put in it since the bike only had just over 300 miles on it when we left for the ride. Hopefully you can all see the pics.

Not trying to sound like your mother or anything, but you really should have checked your tire pressure. I would never trust a dealer to inflate them appropriately. Not that I don't have high regard for most dealers, it's just than in 50 years of having bikes worked on at dealers I've found them to be far less than diligent about proper inflation.

My new(ish) F800GS was 6 months old, and had just 432 miles on the odometer when I bought it, but when I checked the tire pressure before I rode it for the first time, both wheels were about 10psi low.

My wife bought a low mileage TW200 with just 302 miles on the odometer, and it had just 10psi in the front, and 15 in the rear. The dealer had "serviced" it prior to sale, and pronounced it "ready to ride!". The correct pressure for that bike is 24psi.

Riding a 450+ lb motorcycle off-road with 15psi in the tires is almost guaranteed to get you a pinched tube or bent rim, unless you're riding very slowly or in soft sand. Not saying you had pressures that low, but the point is you don't know, so it isn't reasonable to blame the rims for being too soft when perhaps that wasn't the reason they bent...

BTW -- the photos don't work unless you have a live.com account.