You still need to do length comparisons? Have fun with it. Regarding prices: comparing apples to apples would be a good place for you to start. Even a used GSA is generally more expensive than most other bikes. You don't even know what I paid for my bike. And I don't care what you paid for your's as comparing used vs. new prices is plain bullshit. You have your GSA, you have fun with it. Great for you. Have latte on me. I have much more fun on smaller bikes recently. If I want to ride an oil tanker, I can, but why would I? No fun for me.
I like this one. But then again, I liked the ST too. However, after my Ninja 650, I would have probably picked the F800R this time 'round. This would probably change my mind. But.. if I had the money for a new one.. I'd probably end up getting the Suzuki GSX1250FA and still have change left. Too scared of maintainance costs. A local magazine once did a comparo between the ninja 650r and f800st re: running costs.. The regular maintenance was twice as expensive on the 800 at our dealer compared to the 650R. It was more expensive then any of the 1000-1300 ST bikes from Japan. I'd like the weight and MPG figures of the F800 better tho.., but considering the above, I'd probably have a cheaper running bike with the 1250 even with 50% more fuel used per mile. Did they fix the engine on the F800? There was quite a bit of them blowing up in 2006 or 2007 here, and some sort of knocking issue.
a friend has put 24k on his f650gs without any problems as far as I know. service seems similar in cost to my v-strom, factoring in the longer service intervals maybe even cheaper. I won't know with my f8r until I hit 6k.
The price starts at $13,190 which looked good until I saw what's not included. What do you think, did they price it right?
The GT looks to me like a replacement for the R1150RS. Among the BMW faithful there was a great deal of nashing of teeth when that bike went away. The R1200ST was way to ugly to be considered a replacement . It was an important segment of the market for BMW back in the day. In fact, I believe that the R1100RS was the first R1100 model released in the US.
Looks like a fine bike that I could see my self riding, but the pricing puts it against some pretty good bikes, if indeed that ~$13,000 figure is the price. BMW seems to often import loaded, well optioned bikes, so the real world price is often $1500+ over the msrp. Regardless of what games BMW plays with real world price vs. msrp, the F800GT is in the same range as the Sprint GT, FJR, Concours, a loaded GSX1250FA, etc. At least to my way of thinking, the difference between a $13,000 bike and a $16,000 bike is not that much. That is to say that most people shopping for a $13k bike could probably swing $16k. People shopping for a $9,000 bike won't give the F800GT a single thought. A Tiger (roadie) 800 ABS for $11,000 looks to be a better bargain in the 800cc category for people who don't crave displacement, but it would still need bags and have less wind protection. The (relatively) light weight & mpg seem to be the biggest pluses to the F800GT, so there probably will be some that see this bike as very desirable. I think a lot of people will look at it from the perspective that for similar money they can get a lot more displacement. Me, I'd strongly consider picking one up used in 5 to 10 years because I'm cheap like that. It looks like there is a niche for the F800GT, but it is very small niche. They will sell some, but unless they have done something amazing with the engine, it won't appeal to the "Need moooaaaar POWER!!!!" crowd, and it is waaaayyyy too expensive for an "entry level" machine. It will only appeal to riders who don't want a really heavy bike, and riders who realize the ride is about more than cc's. I like it.
It's interesting to read how many people want the bike.. like the threads about the R/S/ST don't exist.. Are you people aware that a lot of people are running away from them because of vibrations? Most seem to think they'll get used to it and never do. I just hope the engine knocking/blowing up issue of 2006/2007 is fixed.
I posted early in this thread with a negative first impression. I had a chance to sit on one and talk with a rep at the Seattle Motorcycle Show. The bike feels good. I liked the S/ST. With an almost 2" longer wheel base, this bike will be very stable, with even less drama than the previous bikes. I would actually drop the bars 2", but most will love the upright riding position. Everything else about the bike felt really good, and I especially like the new nose on the fairing, with assymetric headlights far back behind a new single lense. At 90 hp and with a new (but still not adequate for its price) suspension, it was drawing a lot of attention. Many (over a dozen) of the men who were closely examining the bike were looking at it as a new bike for their wives. I think that this will be a major sub-market for the bike in the USA. The original S/ST was released a year earlier in Europe than in the US. The engines had teething problems. The balancers were wrong and there were a few other issues. No engines "blew up" once the bike was here in 2007, but from 2009 onwards, the motor were much, much better. The current F800R is selling in steady, if small, numbers. I agree that a selling point is light weight for this class of machine. I also agree that it is a terrible value new - with a very low-end suspension and a price point that puts it against much more sophisticated machines, only those who don't care about cost will jump in to buy what for them (or their wives) is the "right" bike. I'm all for smaller and lighter, and I'll pay for high-spec components on a smaller displacement machine, but this goes in the other direction. If someone else upgrades the suspension, I might consider it used at 65% of the new price.
I think it is a very cool bike. It looks like a tweeked out ST to me-wheel base, panniers, fairings, footpegs are somewhat altered. Don't really understand the beef about the ST. Bought one new in 07, had just a few problems, mainly the gear indicator potentiometer, which was simply resolved. Yeah, the engine has a tendency to stall at times, I need to get a aftermarket temperature altering module. The suspension is fine for me, not as good as the big beemers, but definately satisfactory. It is a blast to ride after I have been on the heavy hitting K1600- so light and nimble, the essence of a sports tourer in my book. Expensive, yes, but it is just money, and the bike is much nicer than some of the jap bikes I have owned. I you like it, buy it- if you don't, quicher beeching & buy something else!!
Here's a link to the pricing http://enews.adtrak360.com/q/5-HYDg8vryE1vd-BYGUxZPF9BJE8WaDQ0EVPHqEHosvHERKQVnCVaZiI4 Maybe I'll just put an LSL bar kit on my Falco.
I see everyone asking for a mid-displacement bike with enough power and confort for 2-up travelling that isn't a porky pork. When it arrives, they say it hasn't good suspension... how many of you ride THAT hard the bike that you actually feel you need better suspensions? Or is it the price point? For me, it is getting closer and closer to my dream bike! Top eletronics, small weight, full fairing, 2-up confort, low maintenence, very low consumption (My motorbike is my daily commuter) and more than nough horsepower to push me, my girlfriend and our stuff for a 2weeks trip without even sweating! Heck, I have a versys 650 with 64bhp and I find it more than enough to roll at 140km/h (90mph?) spending 4.5l/100km (50mpg?) all day long
It's the cheap suspension at that price-point. Inexcusable, I think. This bike ticks a lot of the right boxes for me but it has too many other issues to actually drop the money on it. For me, anyway, as of now...
Actually, the R1100GS was the first Oilhead. You're right about the R1150RS though...a great bike, and BMW totally disappointed us with the R1200ST. I went over to Aprilia and don't look back fondly. I hope the new GT isn't too little Sport for $16k and I will give it a look...aprilia parts are getting scarce!
+1 And the F800 can do even better with fuel. I once looked at a F800S at a dealership while I owned the Ninja 650R, and asked around some.. then read a long term report in a german magazine about both.. and the running costs were double for the F800S. A Bandit 1250S (GSX1250FA) was actually between the two. So I forgot about it.. Looking at it now, it was 07/2007.. just 2,5 months after I got my 650R (and put like 5k miles on it in the meantime). Was actually considering trading up after only 2,5 months.. and I was happy with the 650R.. then. Excuse the semi-hijack.
....if I didn't own my V-Strom 650, this bike would be in the garage in its place. I like the idea of a lighter GT bike. While I really admire the C14, FJR1300, Trophy, et. al., they are just too damn big for my tastes. The idea of an 800cc machine with great fuel economy, zero maintenance belt or shaft drive, and light weight enough that I can actually pick it up, sounds fantastic. Cheers.
There is a line a motoring journalist mate of mine quotes & it goes something like "extra spend on power you appreciate once in a while, extra spend on suspension you appreciate every day." Translated it means you don't need to ride "hard" to feel the difference, better suspension is just better at all speeds.
