I just sold my R1200GS last week and bought a gorgeous 800GS on Saturday. I have sore eyes from reading and learning so much from the many threads in "Parallel Universe." I rode my F800GS for the first time today. It's a very nice bike and am looking forward to many more rides, but a couple of improvements need to be done sooner than later. Still doing research but feel free to chime in with opinions/recommendations or fixes. 1. I hate to use the word junk when discussing BMW bikes, but the fork spings are really awful! They compress like a pogo stick! And this is on a relaxed, street only, commute to work! I can't wait to see how they behave off-road! New springs are mandatory. Fortunately, this is a "cheap", easily fixable issue and I may be able to buy 1" shorter springs too for my 29" inseam. 2. $800 heated Sergeant seat is angled slightly forward, and it's smooth so I slide forward into the faux fuel tank. This may be due to the fact that the grips are too far away for my reach and I am leaning a forward a bit. ROX risers will go on to see if this may fix this issue before selling saddle and going custom made from Russell or Mayer. 3. I love the look of the Deisierto 3 fairing! I need to make some adjustments to get that nice pocket of still air. It is adjustable for height and angle. If I can't find a nice pocket of nirvana, I may need to eBay the ($900 new) windsheild and call Aeroflow for half the price! 4. Wow! What crazy throttle response! It's either off or on! It's very touchy! A friend recommended a 15T front sprocket and a $150 booster plug to make the bike behave much better at 1-15 mph. I actually use my GS a lot off road so this must be done. Don't get me wrong, I like the bike a lot, but think that after these issues are fixed, I will like it much more. The low and mid punch is nice but the top end rush is very fun and peppy for an 800 twin! It feels at least as fast, or faster than the 1200. It could also be that it's 50-75 pounds lighter! Sorry for the long rant...just looking for other 800 owners comments/experiences/fixes... thanks! My new girl!: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=861768&highlight=f800gs
Springs will help, but not the entire answer if you ride in rocks, divots or any terrain/speed that causes the forks to compress quickly. I suggest you do both ends. Otherwise you will get a little hippity hop in the suspension due to the different spring weights. I have the old Accelerator module (without the extended air temp sensor) and it works just fine. Combined with a G2 throttle tube, the abruptness is gone and the bike will lug at low rpms. 15 tooth sprockets have an effect on mileage if you use the bike on pavement a lot. I have one, tried it and took it off. With the other mods I did not need it. If you buy from Touratech, do not buy the cheap one. A very tight fit on the shaft.
Touratech sells a $450 kit with shorter fork springs, shorter rear spring and oil. Might look into this as well. I have heated grips, will using the aftermarket throttle allow me to keep the right heated grip? Also, does "old accelerator module" = plug in power booster?
The heated grips are very similar to the aftermarket ones. They are not glued on, but have perforations over little raised knobs to hold in place. If you are careful in cutting off the grip you can reuse them. The only problem with the G2 tubes is that they are generic as to where the wiring goes, but you can hide it. The Accelerator Module and Booster Plug are different manufactures of similar products. Basically resisters that trick the signal from the air temp sensor to the ECU to think it is cold outside and richen up the mixture. Booster Plug has the best explanation of how your fuel injection works and what effect these modules have. You don't want these resisters to be in a location warmer then air fed to the bike. That is all, you could put it in the airbox. The original Accelerator module did not have the extended air sensor at first, the Booster plug did. Marketing won, so the Accelerator Module added one too. Both versions are available in Europe and here too, if they still sell direct. When I bought mine, it was around $50. Inmates Poolside and High Country Coon Ass both make/made their versions and probably are cheaper. Keep in mind, I have had my bike close to 4.5years. I bought aftermarket parts as they came on the market. Hyperpro springs were first and I had used them in the past. The G2 throttle tube came before the resisters, that is why I have both. Not making any claims as to which is best. I actually ditched the front spring for another and switched out the cartridge tube when it was not enough for me.
Your in Virginia.....contact Travis at GoRace Suspension in Christiansburg, VA. He transformed my F800 suspension beautifully. Wasn't cheap, but the results were fantastic! The Accelerator Module (recommended by Itsatdm) completely solved the snatchy throttle problem for me. A great, simple, $75 solution. Try that first, before you mess with throttle tubes. You may find, like me, the problem solved. Enjoy the bike. HF P.s. love my D3 fairing.....very expensive yes, but works amazingly well for me. And, it's actually quite tough.
Congratz on your bike! Very nice looking and already good farkled! The Hyperpro springs are a good and cheap solution. It's not the hardcore improvement that you could get out of the bike but at least it's cheap. The solution that Touratech proposes seems quite good for your problem of hight especially since you should modify front and rear to avoid a hippidy hop kind of situation. Don't know the powerplug thingy but there is a good thread in here about that. Responses are positive! Ride safe!
Sincere thanks for the great responses! Looking forward to getting out and riding tomorrow if my back strain feels a little better and the snow isn't too bad west of town tonight!
Reference the suspension, I know what you mean especially about how mushy the front is. I will soon have both ends redone by FastBike Industries in NC at the 24,000 mile point. That said, when I was in Colorado for three weeks this past summer on some pretty rough stuff loaded down, the soft suspension came in handy and never bottomed. So before spending big, you might want to ride it off-road a bit.