I just got to speak to a fellow filling up on his brandy new BMW 800 GS, he just picked it up yesterday but says he's having a great time on it, and it handles great, has plenty of power even though he can't take it about 5k rpm yet bike looks good! It's the first one i have seen on the roads, Tom
It took me a day of hard riding off road for me to understand the 800 GS, You have to push it around a bit and then it's an absolutely wonderful bike. So did it tempt you into getting one?
I think sales of the things will be higher than expected, I certainly waiting for them to start showing up. Jim
well everything tempts me , but for now with the R1200 gsa and the r1200gs we are waiting till next year to think about buying any more bikes. But I see it as a replacement to the 1200, which leaves tank size and alt power as a downside to it at this point. I like the simplicity of it, I would really have to get used to filling it off the bike though, I rarely get off my bike at a gas station, it looks fun and bet it is much better off road for a half old goat like me, gas mileage makes it tempting, I cant wait to hear real numbers from riders that ride like we do, to go from mid/low 30's to say mid/high 50's would be awesome with the gas prices like they are! when you are paying a combined 8 bucks a gallon every gas stop it gets pricey real quick (we are filling two bikes up when we ride)
After just completing an 1100 mile romp in East TN, Va, WV, and KY, I think that any concerns about tank size might be non-issues. We ran at sport bike paces (Lead bikes included an RC51 and CBR1000RR and an CBR600) and I NEVER averaged below 60 miles per gallon at fillup. The friendly "miles to empty" computer was showing distances of close to 300 miles on a single tank. No I didn't run it empty so I can't verify anything other than the average MPG's are what the computer said. The comment about pushing the bike also became apparent. Accelerate into the turns and forget about scrubbing off any speed in it. Power on - Traction!! Great bike!! Rick
It's still getting over 60mpg even after the post break in throttle cranking the I've been inflicting. It's not a problem filling up the tank without getting off the bike. The 800 honeymoon continues...
I did not read "keeper" anywhere in this post ???? a Stelvio or Superduke is in your future................
Hmmm... Keeper.. isn't that American of Welsh Heritage for "gonna sell that beehotch in the next 60 days? My only negative of the bike is that the seat is just not quite right! Obviously, this is a very personal preference and I've read a lot of posts on how great the seat is. I find it less comfortable than the KTM seat and will look for an alternative. The good news is that after about 100 miles your ass is so numb you hardly even notice the seat!
Question, does the 800 require 92 or so octane or will it run on regular. Just thinking, Mexico for example, you might not get the best fuel in the world.
I believe that BMW has a no cost ECU flash for 87 octane if I remember correctly from the info on the website.
Seems to run fine on 87 (especially since that's about all you can find in Nashville right now... Rick
I believe I read that the GS800 has the same knock sensor that the 12 has meaning you can feed it whatever you find. It adjusts the bike to run properly but with less power on poor quality fuel. One of the real advantages of buying a BMW is that you get real sophisticated fuel management rather than the primitive EFI found in most bikes. That's what gives the 800 over 60 mpg and my G-X over 70 mpg. Make a real difference. Well, you often get what you pay for.
Well, wherever you read that, I'm afraid somebody's given you the wrong info. The F800GS (and F650GS) don't have knock sensors. That's why the remap option is available. This info has been available since the initial announcement of the bikes back in November of last year. Besides, just think about it, if the bikes had knock sensors, why would the remap even be an option? The 1200GS Adventure, which has the knock sensor, doesn't have that option, and can apparently run on just about anything on down to lemon juice! David
