F800GS with 30" inseam?

[EnderTheX]

Originally Posted by HeadinSouth

I also wonder with the short seat having a hump, you would have movement issues while offroad riding? IE: moving forward and backward on the seat.

Moving issues no... hopefully you are not sliding your butt along the seat, usually try to move around when standing on the pegs...

If you want to sit back, say... during a long highway ride... I don't find the "hump" in the low seat to be an issue, kind of good for the butt to feel something different after hours in the saddle and with hours to go!

[Trout]

Originally Posted by Rodenbarr

A good set of crashbars and a can of black spraypaint ;)

Because with a 30" inseam and a 450lb dirtbike, you're going to tip it sometime. Take lots of pictures of it when it's new and not dinged up!

True.

I'm 5'10" - ~30 inch inseam. I'm riding with a Renazco seat. I asked them to keep it close to stock height, but I got mine back and it's probably close to 2" taller. Anywho... Whatever. With the right windscreen it's comfortable on long stretches of slab so I haven't complained. I haven't fallen over at a stop, but I have had a couple of close calls. With an 18" wheel on the rear with tall knobbies I have to half ass it at a stop. And the bike has to be on the side or center stand for me to get on it without feeling like I'm going to drop it. I'm sure working on my own flexibility would help...

Anyway... my crashbars tell the story. Banged to hell and repainted several times. Deep inside she knows I love her - we've been to some beautiful places together.

YMMV

[Lion BR]

Originally Posted by tmex

Hey, if you can do it I take my hat off to you. Not all of us are Jimmy Lewis. I readily acknowledge that an excellent rider can manage the bike while never leaving the pegs. I can't. I am not that good. I need to dab in many technical situations. My post was not meant to either insult people with short legs or extoll my own abilities. If I was a better rider I would not have lowered the bike. I am not going to become that good in my lifetime, and I want to enjoy riding the bike in difficult terrain. I suspect the majority of F8 owners are at my general skill level, and to those of them with short legs there is no reason not to get your feet closer to the ground.

Since you bring him up... here is what he has to say about bike height:

"That last point was for the general public, I never ride with my feet on the ground and I can always plant one even on the tallest machines. If you have to do the "Harley Waddle" then you need to learn to balance better and take a riding lesson before you adventure."

To put it in context, read this here:
http://www.dirtrider.com/reviews/dir...ere/index.html

[Moto_JJ]

I'm a 30" incher as well. I just got a new seat through Seat Concepts. Their seat uses the original pan, and the replacement foam lowers the seat about 3/4". Fits perfect for me. Review and photos are over here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824939

[Loutre]

Originally Posted by tmex

It has been proven time and again that lowering a suspension to "fit" is the single best thing you can do to any motorcycle to increase rider confidence and enjoyment. Only a fool would advise against lowering if it is indicated. Touratech peddles a Hyperpro lowering kit for the F8 which claims 2". In actuality it is about one inch. It is the best thing I have ever done to the F8 for both the performance improvement as well as confidence/handling. I am 6', but have a 31" inseam.

I have many friends and GF's who have lowered their suspensions, and the feedback is uniformly positive.

If I rode only pavement or fire roads, I would have left mine alone. I suspect people who claim to be doing fine with an F8 and a 30" or less inseam are simply not riding it on agressive off road venues such as Lippincott Road and Steel Pass in Death Valley.

That's the way I'd suggest you to go. Lower it if it's too high and take the lower seat if needed. Remember after a hard day of drivin you're no longer on your 100% mark. Errors are happening more than you think and your attention is down. The weight can surprise you at these moments (especially if you have some bags on it). If you have a couple of bucks left I'd lower it.

I heard that the 2012/13 models can be lowered at the frame. Maybe you should ask your dealer about that factory option!

[FredRydr]

Originally Posted by Loutre

I heard that the 2012/13 models can be lowered at the frame. Maybe you should ask your dealer about that factory option!

My dealer said the BMW parts fiche lists lowered parts for 2013: forks and rear shock. No shortened side stand or center stand was listed, yet.

I sent a letter to BMW in New Jersey asking about what parts are different in the factory lowered F800GS that could be purchased for retrofit to pre-2013 model F800GS bikes. My dealer is interested in their reply, when it comes.

Fred (29" inseam)

[Dano7619]

Interesting references to Jimmy Lewis here. Took his two day Dirt Academy a few months ago. Learned a great deal, very worthwhile. On this point, Jimmy really showed me something. It is much better to have one foot flat on the ground and the other over the bike (Captain Morgan) with your hands on the handlebars than to be on both tiptoes. Much more stable and balanced. There are so many situations in the dirt that require that kind of balance. He proved this to us in practical situations. I am an MSF instructor, and always stress two feet on the ground. Jimmy harped on me, especially in the dirt, to just have one. End result, I feel more in control, particularly in the hairy situations, where the bike is in a precarious spot. You get your balance, chill for a minute, and figure out a plan. On the street, I think the ideal would be to have both feet flat on the ground, but his advice would still apply if you can't do that. With him it's all about balance. Never seen anyone with his kind of balance, or who took the time to figure out the wide variety of situations you encounter off road. The man is amazing, and a nice guy too.

[LukasM]

Originally Posted by Loutre

I heard that the 2012/13 models can be lowered at the frame. Maybe you should ask your dealer about that factory option!

How would you "lower at the frame"? They certainly don't use a different pick-up point for the shock, and that's not even possible for the forks.

The F800GS has pretty bad ground clearance to begin with, so if you are riding real off-road I'd try the low seat first, that along with sliding your butt over on stopping should work for most people except the really small ones.

If you ride only on the street or gravel roads then go ahead and shorten the suspension.

[Loutre]

Originally Posted by LukasM

How would you "lower at the frame"? They certainly don't use a different pick-up point for the shock, and that's not even possible for the forks.

The F800GS has pretty bad ground clearance to begin with, so if you are riding real off-road I'd try the low seat first, that along with sliding your butt over on stopping should work for most people except the really small ones.

If you ride only on the street or gravel roads then go ahead and shorten the suspension.

It's an option for the F800GS they lower the frame and the seat so that the bike gets from 880mm to 820mm.

http://www.motomag.com/Nouveautes-mo...-F-800-GS.html

[LukasM]

OK I thought you knew something that we didn't.

From looking at the bikes in person and reading the specs the frame is the same between F650GS, F700GS and F800GS, none of those allow lowering through different pick-up points or anything like that.

They simply do it by installing shorter suspension, just like you can do with a Hyperpro or other brand lowering kit.

[itsatdm]

I am sure all these lowering kits are nothing more than shorter springs, using the same internal cartridges and valving.

If the spring weight is not an issue, you can achieve the same on the F800 front by just removing the spacer. I do not remember the exact length of it, but at least an inch long. At long as the spring extends from the tube top at full droop, it won't be rattling along. Doing that removes most of the spring preload. Your bike will set lower in front.

When I was fiddling with the forks, I did that with aftermarket springs. I settled on a shorter spacer with a heavier spring.

There is a post on cutting the rear spring in order to lower it. It does not take much.

Not as easy as plug and play but certainly cheaper.

Does anyone know what the spring weight is for these shorter springs? I think the stock springs are too light for average riders. Making/supplying similar weight springs shorter will only make the problem worse for some people.

I did not like the original seat. Too tall and uncomfortable. I took the cover off and carved on the foam. An electric carving knife and an orbital sander, got the contour I wanted and resulted in about 3/4" of height removed. Being flatter and wider it is fairly confortable after a few years of sitting on it.

[Leap of Faith]

Nothing against height but i'm 5' 9" and i almost dropped mine yesterday. Yes i'm new to the f800gs world, but it sure did give me a scare! I would hate to drop it without the soon to be crashbars i will be purchasing! So if you purchase one be sure to get a set of crash bars!

[COLORADOF800GS]

I'm another 5'7", 30" inseam F800 GS rider, and I've had my '12 800GS Trophy for almost a year and 11,000 miles and absolutely love it. I did have several close calls and a few actual tip-overs the first couple of months and finally bought the BMW low seat and crash bars - both were worth wile investments. While I find the low seat comfortable, I'm getting ready to go back to the stock seat that came with the bike. Over the past year as I've become more comfortable with the bike, my balance has improved and I've learned to plan ahead where I'll stop and also sliding forward on the seat and to the side in order to plant one foot firmly on the ground.

I hope this helps, don't let an inch or two in seat height stop you from riding a great bike or getting out there and exploring!

[Mtl_Biker]

Me too... 5'7" with 30" inseam. I've ordered a 2013 F800GS with factory lowered suspension. From everything I've been able to determine, the seat height then would be the same as the new F700GS and based on that, it'll still be higher than I'd like but with care I think I'll be able to manage. I'll be on the balls of my feet on flat even ground.

Just about all of my use will be on roads, with occasional gravel or dirt trails thrown in. I just returned from a 10-day 5,000 km tour of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia (and of course the Cabot Trail) and the Gaspé region of Quebec. And there were many times I wished I'd have the new bike to better be able to tackle some of the roads I encountered. I did close to 10km on a very bad condition dirt and gravel road to get into the campground at Meat Cove NS and with my fully loaded K1300GT with road tires, it was challenging to say the least. And that's a bike I CAN flat-foot it on (thanks to the optional low seat).

Cheers!

[scarygary]

5'6 - 29" inseam, lowered the rear spring 25mm via Hyperpro replacement. Lowered the front end by raising the forks through the triples about 1/2 inch. All was peachy then I picked up a Wunderlich low seat which raised it back up another 1/4 inch or more over the stock low seat. Then I installed Heidenau K60s which raised the bike another 1/4 inch or so over the OEM Bridgestones... so now I am back on my tippy toes and having a good time just dealing with it. No problem.