BMW F800 R - the Rotax Roadster Thread

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by Serge A. Storms

So the owners manual recommends Castrol, but the BMW bottle says its blended and packaged by a company called Spectro Oil.

verry interesssting. it's not what the bmw car dealer and the bmw bike dealer told me!

the bmw car folks are saying castrol, and the f800r manula recommends castrol, but then, it does recommend the castrol gps that is not available in the us.

wonder which spectro is for the f800r?

thanks,
ferenc, feeling amused for buying a 'swiss' oil!

[moe.ron]

Well the BMW part number for the 10W40 dino is 07 51 0 412 039. I may try some Bel-Ray or Motul down the road.

My owners manual does not specifically say what type of Castrol, just Castrol in general.

[ADVBMR]

It's an engine like any other. Pick a good quality oil and change it regularly - I recommend every 3,000 miles - and you will be in good stead. Consider synthetic for longer engine life, but the engine will probably outlast you at that point. A mechanic I trust recommended changing to synthetic at 30k but that was for my boxer, not sure about the rotax.

[flkovacs]

So, I decided to reroute and cut my two day ride into one long day. Had a great time, and I recommend it.

For the first leg, I rode from the SF Bay area on 80E out to 20W, and 49N. Then 495 north (where I discovered the F800R has quite a bit of pull in 6th gear on the open high desert(ed) highways, to the east end of 36. When I got to the west end of 36, the temps had dropped in half (wrt Red Bluff) with a strong cold and foggy wind dominating the landscape. I decided to cancel the planned local twisty jaunts and head home for a hot cup of tea and a hot shower.

905 miles a day is my new limit, and the F800R did great. Next time I need to bring chain lube (something I have been trying to reapply every 500 miles). At 4k miles on the odometer, a new level of trust, comfort, and unity developed with the bike. Something I need to remind myself to not become too comfortable with.

Enjoy,
Ferenc

[Loutre]

here a great video about the F800R, actually doing the GS Trophy! Very nice (even if it's in french... just mute it )

The GS Trophy begins at 4minutes (before he's just playing and discovering the bike).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlrkT...eature=g-all-u

[Cortez]

Love those guys, always nutty vids.

[jonpurdy]

Originally Posted by flkovacs

905 miles a day is my new limit, and the F800R did great.

How the heck can you do 900 miles on it in a single day? I find that my butt just gets too sore after 500 kms and I'm happy to do about 650-700 km days (about 450 miles).

[EmanP]

To bad there's no traslation for that video.

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by jonpurdy

How the heck can you do 900 miles on it in a single day? I find that my butt just gets too sore after 500 kms and I'm happy to do about 650-700 km days (about 450 miles).

i do a lot of research on the ergos of the bike wrt my body before buying a bike, which helps. what also helps on my f800r is the 'tall' seat option, which i take to mean more padding. i must admit, on occasion i wondered if it was the rear shock or my rear that made for a bumpy ride at times! turned out the roads were a mix of virgin black top, dirt, gravel, and pot holes.

what surprised me was that the lack of the windscreen was not a factor, except when the cold strong wind picked up as i approached the west end of highway 36. that was a physical and mental block that was not worth the fight. lack of daylight (my nightvision w/o the hi-beams is not that good!) and the cold stopped me from going on. the rest of the ride was a joy, and i'm ready to roll again ...

one sort of gets into a zone, a total mind and body transformation, and i find riding very calming, focucing, and re-energizing. still, it helps to 'reset' for 10-15 minutes at each fuel stop. still, i wonder how the hardcore, crazy iron b*tt (?) guys do it. i know folks who in a day have riden 1200 miles and others who call it a long day after a few hundred, but both do a 20 minute break at each refuel.


with the right bike, i would think one could progressively work up to longer rides,
ferenc
ps beautiful scenery, roads, and lack of other vehicles is a big plus - my daily ride is a commute ...

[moe.ron]

Thats a long damn day!

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by Serge A. Storms

Thats a long damn day!

yeah, i'd initially planned on heading up 5 to red bluff and then heading west on 36, doing a half loop on mattole, wilder ridge, and briceland thorne roads and holing up in garberville. day two was to be a shorter day, taking alderpoint back to 36, etc.

when i got close to the end of 36, the elements won out and i headed for the barn, 101 south.
instead i hooked up with a trio of bikers and headed into the sierra.

found this an interesting name for a place in the middle of nowhere:

[flkovacs]

Originally Posted by flkovacs

yeah, i'd initially planned on heading up 5 to red bluff and then heading west on 36, doing a half loop on mattole, wilder ridge, and briceland thorne roads and holing up in garberville. day two was to be a shorter day, taking alderpoint back to 36, etc.

when i got close to the end of 36, the elements won out and i headed for the barn, 101 south.
instead i hooked up with a trio of bikers and headed into the sierra.

found this an interesting name for a place in the middle of nowhere:

http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/...kovacs/hjm.jpg

[ADVBMR]

Congrats, Ferenc, that's a respectable day. Maybe you won't sell that bike after all!

[ADVBMR]

Dang, you guys are quiet. Possible explanations:

1. Riding season. Shut up and ride.
2. Had enough of this bike. I'm buying a Sportster.
3. My GF told me to sell it and I obeyed. She wanted a Shi-tsu.
4. Ferenc ran out of gas and is somewhere in SoCal.

Just ordered a rack from Twisted Throttle, made by SW Motech. Headed to Homer, Alaska, for the weekend. Gotta get on the 800. It's calling me...

[Cortez]