BMW F800 R - the Rotax Roadster Thread

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by Candiya

FYI: RMC closed a couple months ago.

bummer, there is a lot of that going on around here, too.

that was a great place to go for just about anything - i bought some stuff there to get me back home after my bike died in seattac.

ferenc

[EmanP]

On page 1 of this thread Joe did an awesome job of documenting how to remove the charcoal canister and what that looked like with this picture. Does anyone outside of the US have a picture of this same area to highlight the differences since they don't have the canisters? Does the fuel tank fill the void giving the advertised 16L that isn't available in the US? How's it done on the non US models?

[flkovacs]

good question - i thought the euro emission standards were even tougher than the us ...

ftc tells me that they want to hear from more f800r 3.5 gallon tank owners ...
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.go...d.aspx?Lang=en

ferenc

[cug]

Hehehe, maybe they only add things that actually make sense. The canister is only required in California anyways.

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by cug

Hehehe, maybe they only add things that actually make sense. The canister is only required in California anyways.

hmm - you may be right, or at least for previous bikes, but i was told that the 2011 f800r is a 50 state bike.
something's not right,
ferenc
ps the local dealer thought it was the fuel pump(!!$(*)*@$_) that took up the 0.7 gallons on us bikes - wonder how the rest of the world get the fuel out of the tank ;-)

[cug]

Originally Posted by flkovacs

hmm - you may be right, or at least for previous bikes, but i was told that the 2011 f800r is a 50 state bike.

Yeah, they put the damn thing on all US bikes - easier to distribute then.

[EmanP]

I've been playing phone tag with the Customer Service Manager at BMW for the last few days. Finally got him on the phone. His official stance was essentially BMW reserves the right to change any specs at their discretion. I agree 100%, any and all companys have that small print.

I did however point out that if they do make any changes to any of thier products, that their listed information should be changed in keeping so that customers know. You can't just take a 800cc engine and decide to make it 650cc or 87hp and lower it to 54hp without notifying your consumers of said change. In this case, the fuel capacity for the tank was listed at 16L (4.2gal) with an approx. 4L (1gal) reserve per BMW Motorrad USA website yet the actual capacity is 13.5L (3.6gal) with a 3L (3.2quart) reserve.

Not only that but it was also advertised as getting 65pmg when in fact the best anyones ever done is 55mpg. So it's expected range of 220+miles was in reality deminished to 170 miles and that's pushing it, about 25% less than what it was being sold at. If it's weight, power or anything else was in fact 25% less/more than what it was sold to be, there would be some serious reprocusions. To add onto that, every review, every magazine, every youtube video, every published article or blog cites the same figures since that's what BMW said they were.

Sure they can change anything they wish, but once it's advertised and sold as such, if that's not what's delivered, it's false advertising. He thanked me for my time and valuable feedback and said that he would forward it up the ladder. He was very nice, cordial and sincere but really it's well above anything he might be able to do other than what he said he would do, which is forward it on to someone else. He did verify the information on the BMW site as well. I guess we wait and see.

Can anyone outside of the US take a picture fo the underside of the seat without the middle fairing on to see the end of the fuel tank where the charcoal canister is on the US models?

[ADVBMR]

What highway are you riding where you think of this shit? What does your bike say? If it's a 50 state bike, ride it for 50 states. If you need gas, stop and get some gas. Pics, please.

[Joe Bar]

I think the fuel tank capacity / range issue has now been well and truly aired, and frankly I'm bored now. You have what you have, bleating on here won't change it. Can we move on now please.

As ADVBMR said - More pic's please.

[mfbRSV]

Originally Posted by EmanP

...Not only that but it was also advertised as getting 65pmg when in fact the best anyones ever done is 55mpg. So it's expected range of 220+miles was in reality deminished to 170 miles and that's pushing it, about 25% less than what it was being sold at. If it's weight, power or anything else was in fact 25% less/more than what it was sold to be, there would be some serious reprocusions. To add onto that, every review, every magazine, every youtube video, every published article or blog cites the same figures since that's what BMW said they were...

The March 2011 issue of Motorcycle Consumer News has the F8800R tank capacity at 4.2gal but also shows 52.1 mpg as the average mileage from their roadtest results.

I never believe performance figures from manufacturer websites.

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by Joe Bar

I think the fuel tank capacity / range issue has now been well and truly aired, and frankly I'm bored now. You have what you have, bleating on here won't change it. Can we move on now please.

As ADVBMR said - More pic's please.

the issue is still being raised and explored, but far from cleared or resolved.

but, hey, it's an open forum!
what would you like to talk about?
how's the weather up there? how did the solar flare mess with things?
more like it, how are the alaskans dealing with the palin movie?
what advantages would the 1200r have over the f800r?
what about the rest of its competition out there?
anyone approach progressive for a front end fix on the f800r?
what is the a+k (?) rating have to do with the US octane rating?
anyone gone 2 up on the f800r?
when one hooks up external electrical, is there a preferred path, like through the existing harness?

enjoy,
ferenc

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by mfbRSV

The March 2011 issue of Motorcycle Consumer News has the F8800R tank capacity at 4.2gal but also shows 52.1 mpg as the average mileage from their roadtest results.

I never believe performance figures from manufacturer websites.

I agree about the MPG, but bet Honda's thinking twice!

I emailed MCN (main reason I chose the F800R was that review), and the BMW MOA about where they got their figures for the fuel tank size. The latter said BMW and is contacting the mother ship for clarification. the former's staying numb, even though I'm a paying subscriber. So much for 'independent' reporting eh?

Sort of like watching the morning news and hearing the Apple is releasing a new product and that Neiman Marcuss is opening it's 42nd store down the street - that's NEWS???

the MPG I'm not pushing as hard as I am the range (of which the MPG is part of, of course).

49er,
ferenc

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by ADVBMR

What highway are you riding where you think of this shit? What does your bike say? If it's a 50 state bike, ride it for 50 states. If you need gas, stop and get some gas. Pics, please.

Hey, got cabin fever?

Seriously, a 50-state bike means that it can be sold and registered in any of the 50 states (except possibly also the ones Obama won 4 years ago - did he say 56? - perhaps that includes Panama, eh :-)

On the gas, how do you know if it needs gas, and when? The OBC indicates 49MPG, so do you gas up at 3.5x49 or do you dare believe in truth in advertising and try and go beyond 4.0x49 miles?

Perhaps there are more gas stations in AK than in some remote CA places ...
Ferenc

[Joe Bar]

Originally Posted by flkovacs

the issue is still being raised and explored, but far from cleared or resolved.

ferenc

What is there to clear or resolve, sure as shit BMW aren't making you a bigger fuel tank or more fuel efficient motor. They may offer you a refund or some compensation if you push hard enough, but the bike ain't changing, so bleating won't solve it.

All manufacturers claimed mileage figures are done to a prescribed set of testing methods, they are not and have never been real world riding figures, merely a means of comparison between makes and models. I have never matched (nor expected to) any manufacturers figure in a car or bike. Anyone expecting to is naive at best.

Originally Posted by flkovacs

On the gas, how do you know if it needs gas, and when? The OBC indicates 49MPG, so do you gas up at 3.5x49 or do you dare believe in truth in advertising and try and go beyond 4.0x49 miles?

Ferenc

Seriously? Maybe you need to just get out more and ride the bike. If you don't enjoy it, sell it. But in all seriousness if you let this issue keep eating at you all it does is spoil your enjoyment of the bike and leave you bitter towards the manufacturer. As they don't really care, who's losing out in all this?

As I said, you ain't getting a bigger tank or better gas mileage from BMW, the bike is what it is, you can enjoy it or let it eat away at you and spoil what is an enjoyable little bike that I find a lot of fun to ride. For me the the tank range and mileage and when to re-fuel are just a total non issue - don't let it eat away at you.

[ADVBMR]

Originally Posted by flkovacs

Hey, got cabin fever?

Hell, yes, I've got cabin fever. It's the middle of March, there's two feet of snow, and single digit temps. Not looking good for starting my season on April 1. It's so bad I've got a final drive for my GS sitting in my kitchen, just so I can look at it and think about riding.

Originally Posted by flkovacs

On the gas, how do you know if it needs gas, and when? The OBC indicates 49MPG, so do you gas up at 3.5x49 or do you dare believe in truth in advertising and try and go beyond 4.0x49 miles?

Perhaps there are more gas stations in AK than in some remote CA places ...
Ferenc

I've never been that good at math. I usually look at the gas indicator and if it's around a quarter tank, I stop and get gas. Sometimes I even think about how far it is to the next gas stop and top off if it's more than a hundred mile run. But even in Alaska, there are only a few places where you're going to run 100 miles between gas stations, and I wouldn't be on the 800 then anyway. Is there some reason you would want to gas up at 200 miles instead of 150?