Anyone ridden or own a BMW F800S?

[froggeh]

Just trying to pin down where to spend my money on a new bike up to about £6500 give or take a few hundred

I have given up on the idea of any off-road ability or dual purpose (for now) - will pick up a cheapy older bike if I need to...

I have come down to a current list of 3...

2007 Hornet 600 - Still not seen in flesh, but I like the pics and vid.
2007 Z750 - Like it except for the silly shoulder pads.

and the BMW F800S - I really love the look of this bike, and while it's a little down on power to the other 2, it's not that important.

So has anyone got one? or ridden one? What do you think?

[mark83]

Someone's got one here at my work.

The noise it makes in our underground carpark is deafening.

Having said that, I've hear it said more than once that the horizontal cylinders mean that the bike 'pulls to one side' under heavy acceleration.

Then again, I never believe anything I hear, so go and try them all out, and buy the BMW anyway because it's the most original!!
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Kawasaki ER6n -> Honda CBR600RR -> Honda VTR 1000 -> Moto Guzzi Norge 1200
Buy my Mercedes 350 Sport AMG Evo

[mchaggis]

[Cillit-BANG]

My old man has one.

For the money that are very good value considering the build quality and features you get. I rode it for an hour or so but it was still being run-in so I was trying to be gentle with the revs. The riding position I felt to be spot on for an all rounder and the fairing offered loads of protection from wind balst.

Power isn't going to knock your socks off but it has plenty of poke for day to day riding and seemed to have a nice spread of power. They are also suprisingly light. Pillion comfort I was told was nicer than his older and sofa like K1200RS.

They have had some great reviews since their launch last year.

[drumwrecker]

I rode one just after they came out. It held the road well, great brakes and was fast enough for me. but it was awful at slow speed with lots of clunking from the the transmission. The engine sounded just like my Toyota Corolla which I hate. When I totoalled up the price of the spec I was riding the price would be another £800 or so over standard.
I got back on my Suzuki SV650s and it was wonderful in comparison, Mind you it SV is still nice to ride even though I now also have a VFR 750FL. I really wanted to like the BMW but it was far too expensive for what it offered. Just think of the cost of those BMW excessories you will need/want.
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I know that you believe you understood what you think I said but I am sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant

[_Will_]

According to BIKE its the new VFR800.

If i were in your position the F800s would be my choice hands down.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[froggeh]

[drumwrecker]

The one thing it does have in its favour is good fuel consumption but I still prefer my 2002 SV650s and a 1991 VFR 750FL.
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I know that you believe you understood what you think I said but I am sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant

[Jack_Cheese]

I'd buy one just to make it look like Chris Pfeiffer's stunt bike! Damn that thing looks sweet!
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www.bikepics.com/members/jackcheese <--- NOW FOR SALE! 51 Plate Cagiva Planet 125
Quacker_boy: "Jack, you really are a dick!"

[froggeh]

[_Will_]

This is a case of really subconciously you have made your mind up, your just checking other peoples opinions to see if its the right choice.
You want the bm, so go for it
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[Zimbo]

[drumwrecker]

My SV was much more tractable than the BMW. It was the revvy engine that I didn't particularly like plus it vibrated badly when accelerating but smoothed out when at the chosen speed. I just felt you could buy a cheaper bike, spend the extra £1000 on the extras you would want/need and end up with a much better bike.
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I know that you believe you understood what you think I said but I am sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant

[froggeh]

[Finglonga]

The BMW dealership will let you test ride it, I have had test rides for a couple of hours on some of their bikes and you realy get a feeling for their capabilities in that amount of time.

You have nothing to lose, but only do it if you can afford it as if you can't and you like it you will be dissapointed.
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Andy Sez....
F.Y.Y.F.F.

[G]

Sounds like you particularly want new, but I'd also recommended looking at the TRX850. However...

[froggeh]

[Kickstart]

Hi

More stroke than just capacity.

TRX850 has a 67.5mm stroke. F800 has a 75.6mm stroke. The capacity gives it the amount of shove on the crank, the longer stroke gives that shove more leverage on the crank.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Jack_Cheese]

[Zimbo]

Not sure whether it's relevant, but didn't the TRX also have a 270 degree crank offset so it fired like a V-twin rather than a conventional parallel twin?

[G]