With the Triumph 800xc out would you still buy an F800gs?

That's a great hill climb you are tracking there. Dang. Hope rounding the top didn't hurt too much.

Eggs currently resting in the Uwharrie OHV area @ the Art Lilley Camp ground...if you are looking to take that GS on some trails. Easy Forest Service road access as well if one is inclined to ride on regular roads. Egg really enjoyed jumping the GS and riding at speeds over 100 mph in the sand.

When I bought the GS I considered many options including the KTM, XR, DR, and finding a 650 GS Dakar. Weighing out all the options, the F8 GS is the best "touring" compromise I could think of. It's expensive but building a different bike up to the level of the stock F8 would have been expensive also, and time consuming, and require a shop (which I don't have readily available).

It's a great touring bike and does everything that I want it to but it's not my ideal RTW bike though. What I've found in my limited experience adjusting bikes for my needs is that it's always easier to add features to a bike than it is to take them away. And to make the 800 GS into a bike that is truly capable of tackling all terrain would require removing and changing very expensive key and core components...kind of like ChiTowns STB build.

2 bikes I'm considering buying and throwing modification funds into for serious RTW riding: older model 640 adventure and a DR 650. There just isn't a way to economically bring the F8 up to the level of these two bikes for RTW riding. Can't shed enough pounds for one thing. That weight issue is critical for off road adventures. It's why I didn't buy the KTM 990 Adventure and why I won't consider the 800 XC. The 800 GS is too heavy as it is and weighs in at just the limits of off road usability...the other bikes are even heavier.

And on the other side there's building up one of the uber light 450's but those bikes don't usually have a sub frame capable of handling the weight of gear and they usually require a lot of maintenance at very short intervals.

I really wish that KTM would come out with a 690 Adventure model -> using standard Rally Raid design that bike would rock out on the highway and off of it. I know you can buy the aftermarket fit kits for the current 690s but the retro kit alone costs a serious pretty penny.

Something like this would be the only thing that can compete with the F8 as a touring/adventure bike...(690 ADV Retrofit Kit from the Roemer Team)



...and the KTM 690 thumper engine routinely makes 60 mpg (reported to hit almost 70 mpg for some people). That's way way better than the XC and the GS but YMMV.

I'm with you. I bought an 800XC for the road, and it is nice on the road. And I will eventually update my Dakar with another BMW product. I'm waiting on BMW to make something more similar to your ST bike. If they don't do it via the BMW badge, they may do it with under the Husqvarna badge and a 900cc displacement. I'm looking forward to what this machine will look like.

Lion

I agree, for riding on dirt and trails I have a Dakar and a WR250R. For the road, the XC. If one day I have to have only one bike, I will probably have the F800GS.

i'm tossing around a 'berg 570 in the woods. talk about out of shape. assuming you are going to use the bike for 'trips' that don't involve a trailer, make sure your 'little' bike has some form of subframe. the 'berg has none so putting anything on the tail in regards to cargo will be next to impossible.

luckily for me, i trailer it/moto carrier it wherever i'm going to ride it. jesse hasn't come out with a luggage rack for it yet.

I was trying to decide between these two bikes, but reading this thread makes me want to just buy a an old KRL and get on with it.

its a game of compromises. i don't think anyone has found the "do anything go anywhere with no downsides" motorcycle yet.

Indeed. I understand that. This is the first time I've ever researched a motorcycle that I was going to buy. I've been blindly buying BMW air/oil heads for a long time. I thought I'd try to be open minded and look at other bikes that have come out in the last 8 years. But this thread is stressin' me out!

F800.. 800XC.. F800.. 800XC.. F800.. 800XC.. F800.. 800XC.. F800.. 800XC..

And yes, I rode the XC. Still need to stop by the local Harley-Davidson dealer to see if one of the 3 bikes in their "BMW Department" is an F800GS that hasn't been farkled the fuck out to 18 grand. :huh

Don't stress. Just buy the bike that fits you.

What seems eons now my cousin committed suicide on a motorcycle. He was drunk, pissed off, and going way too fast. Hit an off ramp, lost control, crashed and burned. But the worst thing was that his father (my dads brother) happened to be driving across the bridge at the end of that off ramp in a Semi at the exact instant that my cousin crashed. My uncle ran over his own sons mangled body.

I was so young I didn't have a drivers license yet and my mother told me that it would kill her if I ever got a motorcycle. It was in my blood so I hid it for years, but she eventually found out. Well that was more bikes than I can count ago and my parents have never accepted the fact that I live and breath them.

I crashed once, hit a deer @ 60 mph on a cruiser. Stayed on the bike the entire time I was flipping end to end. Crushed the gas tank with my knees. Broke both wrists and permanently separated my right shoulder. Split my helmet in two. Tore open my riding suit and suffered road rash down the right side of my body as I was pinned under the bike while we were sliding down the road. When I bought the cruiser I was actually shopping for a BMW GS. Got talked into buying the cruiser instead by a slick salesman with a sharp tongue who wanted to make a deal to get the cruiser out of the showroom. Last time I ever made the mistake of letting someone else tell me what I should buy or talk me into a deal that I wasn't comfortable making. I didn't trust my instincts about that bike and never really liked it. Never really had fun on it. I'll probably die on a motorcycle but after that I decided that when I do, it'll be on my terms riding a bike that I thoroughly enjoy, through my own choices.

A couple weeks ago and several thousand miles behind I stopped home to visit the family. Just before I left my folks house I pulled the F8 out of the garage to get ready to go and my mom said to me "you told me this bike was you, and I see know that it is". She said "It suits you". And it does. I love my F8.

There is no perfect bike but there are bikes that fit your lifestyle, ideology, and self image. Go with what works for you and have fun. XC <-> GS, doesn't matter what kind of ride you are on as long as you are happy riding what you have.

At least you wont be troubled by "excess" power while you are pouring oil into it or replacing the "Doohickey"!

loph did you do the indy shock top bolt mod? if not you might want to check out that bolt to make sure it didn't bend

nothin' i can do about it now. if it's bent its bent. it'll have to wait until after this weekend. going to bloomsburg. i'll just make sure i take it easy.

true, but if it is bent you should try to replace it soon

Joe,

Got a chance to see, feel, and almost ride (was in birkenstocks, so I passed on this) a Husky 510TE over at the neighbor's house. What a machine!!! Also, it was VERY light and had a sound you could hear throughout the neighborhood when the neighbor rode it. Too tall for my inseam challenged legs, but reminded me of the OSSA/Huskys I used to ride as a kid. Downside, it did not have mirrors and other stuff to make it completely street legal (who cares, right?)

-Bob-

Last Wednesday, I test rode a Tiger 1050, Tiger 800XC, and F800GS back to back to back.

Below is the result of my experience with these three machines.

Nice work! You made the right choice

Thanks, Stackator! I'm diggin' it!

Using the F800GS for a 57mile one way commute daily (in CA with all the associated benefits) with the added benefit of the Touratech Tank there is no way I would switch to the 800XC.

Going back from ~500+ miles per tank to 200 (and getting gas every day) is not an option any more. The only alternative would be a R1200GSA (oops - I already have that as well).

Reiner

2011 Adventure-Touring Shootout: Triumph Tiger 800XC vs. BMW F800GS [Video] - Motorcycle.com

Interesting read. To sum it up BMW for off-road, Triumph for on-road with not too much difference between them. For me the slab is just a way to the trails so I guess I would still go F800 but I'm waiting for the new Husky! Rotax powered with a 100 hp and real suspension....hopefully. Of course it will be too tall for me and have a 150 km range. And I guess they could actually update the 800GS one day as well.