2009 BMW F800GS Review - First Ride

[Pete_Brissette]

Originally Posted by acecycleins

Pete- will the ST rims/brakes slide right in place. I'm thinkin this would be a b!tchin' SM, too.

Good question and one that no one seemed to think to ask. My first guess would be that they wouldn't just pop in, but this bares looking into.

Stand by...

[sarnali2]

Originally Posted by pplassm

That's the firdt BMW I've seen that I'd consider buying.

Funny you should mention that...according to my buddy Steve the BMW salesman, that is the hottest selling bike in the country right now
In fact it has been for awhile....he maybe merely enthusiastic but they are definately a hot seller..

[ofreen]

Sounds decent. Everytime a new GS comes out, I take a look, then decide to hang on to my R100GS-PD. This 800 sounds like something I'd be interested in. It needs a bigger gas tank. I know the aftermarket will supply one, but it ought to come that way in the first place. With that CR, it requires premium gas. That is not a plus. The chain drive is not a big deal, but the shaft drive on my GS is kind of nice. Hmmm, 10,520 bucks. Oops, I guess the old airhead boxer is still looking pretty good.

[Kenneth_Moore]

It's got all the things that made the DL1000 so appealing to me, just in 3/4 scale. Just don't plan on buying one for anywhere near MSRP for a while. The two dealers I talked to before buying the Strom last year wanted MSRP for demo models.

[pplassm]

I will expand on why this bike appeals to me. I love riding off-road, but the best areas with decent riding are 2-3 hours away. While riding my DRZ400 out there is possible, it wouldn't be all that enjoyable. What I'd like is a twin mounted in a dirtbike frame, and this is the closest I've seen without building one myself.

[Kenneth_Moore]

Originally Posted by pplassm

I will expand on why this bike appeals to me. I love riding off-road, but the best areas with decent riding are 2-3 hours away. While riding my DRZ400 out there is possible, it wouldn't be all that enjoyable. What I'd like is a twin mounted in a dirtbike frame, and this is the closest I've seen without building one myself.

Wee Strom? VStrom? Versys? I'm not into it, but some of the StromTroopers are going waay out there into the boonies.

[12er]

"Heck, I even suspected that the exhaust on the 800 sounded an awful lot like the bigger Boxer. I later confirmed with Arbolino that BMW engineers and designers specifically crafted the 800’s note to sound remarkably similar to the 1200."


Are you serious? They actually worked to make it sound like a vacuum cleaner? Guess there is always the hole saw and some allthread. Should be able to pick one up half price by the time I can afford one. The bike, not the allthread... Well maybe by then I wont be able to afford the allthread either. 9955.50 and dropping...

[seruzawa]

Originally Posted by 12er

"Heck, I even suspected that the exhaust on the 800 sounded an awful lot like the bigger Boxer. I later confirmed with Arbolino that BMW engineers and designers specifically crafted the 800’s note to sound remarkably similar to the 1200."


Are you serious? They actually worked to make it sound like a vacuum cleaner? Guess there is always the hole saw and some allthread. Should be able to pick one up half price by the time I can afford one. The bike, not the allthread... Well maybe by then I wont be able to afford the allthread either. 9955.50 and dropping...

Could be worse. They could have tried to make it sound like an R100 airhead sewing machine

[pplassm]

Originally Posted by Kenneth_Moore

Wee Strom? VStrom? Versys? I'm not into it, but some of the StromTroopers are going waay out there into the boonies.

I need something more dirt worthy. I'd like a Weber Rally Twin, but they are essentially not making anymore.

[ofreen]

Originally Posted by seruzawa

Could be worse. They could have tried to make it sound like an R100 airhead sewing machine

Hey! My old R100 actually sounds like half a Vee Dub.