BMW F800 R - the Rotax Roadster Thread

Hello Beautiful !








I'm starting this F800R thread hoping it can become a great resource for F800 R owners, or anyone interested in the new BMW Roadster.
There's other threads around you can voice your personal opinion about how you don't like the 8R, or think it's not for you.
Please try and keep this positive, unless you actually own an 8R and have a problem or first hand experience with the bike you want to share... In that case we'd love to hear about it!










This is actually izzyblue's new bike, and I'm lucky enough to be it's tech and official test pilot... We bought it at A&S Powersports in Sacramento from a hell of a sales guy and friend Ted.
I'll be getting to all of the recent modifications, like MV Motorrad bar backs install DIY, Gerbings heated gear install, engine crash bars install, 600 mile service DIY, De-Branding, Ohlins' Suspension, etc. etc.....
I hope that other new F800 R owners will join in and share what they're doing with their 8R.

For now here's some fresh F800 R images:

Thanks for starting this thread.

I have had an F800r Chris Pfeiffer Edition since May 2010.
Nice bike, looking forward to following this thread for information and inspiration. Will be interesting to see how it is received in the US.

Regards Peter

what is the arrangement for the front brake hydraulic resevoir??It looks odd sitting way up there!(my opinion)

Words of wisdom for this thread and most other threads on this site.

Love the bike.

Red, white, and blue Roadster is what I dream about daily since finding out how easy it is for my 5' 1"ness to (kinda) comfortably reach the ground from the standard seat. AND I have two FANTASTIC bikes in the garage, niether of which have ANY resale value.

I'm saddened that I have to settle for only 'dreaming' about the F800R.
Yeeeears ago, I said on R1150R.net, that my "perfect bike" would be a small flickable naked machine that had at least 80hp to the rear wheel.

My 'perfect bike' has arrived, and my local dealer (Cycle Specialties in Modesto, CA), quoted me over $14,500 OTD for one. Will somebody give me a boost up onto my Bandit, I need to go for a quiet ride and cry to myself about my unattainable dream.

Sounds great! (no pun intended)
Do you have any pics? Or better yet a video clip so we can hear it?








I guess I'm going to post the remove the Charcoal canister from the 8R DIY first since it caused us trouble. I'd imagine it's like the rest of the BMW's, and the canister is only on the American versions.
On the maiden voyage, the bike was dropped and sat on it's side for about 2 minutes. After the drop we had a major stalling problems, went back to the dealer where we were told that the drop had caused the charcoal canister to fill with gas, which was causing the stalling. I asked them to remove it, but laws prohibit dealers from removing this "environmental" part.
For the 400 mile ride home the bike stalled quite a few times, though it seemed to be worse when the fuel was getting low.
While it did get better as the canister dries out, the stress of having the bike stalling on Nancy on the first day sucked, I'll do what I can to make sure it doesn't happen any longer....



I took off the airbox covers by removing all the screws and then pulling these clips off.








There's the charcoal canister, tucked away. It far more hidden then on my 800GS or my R1200R.








Remove the 4 nuts here








Cut the tie-wrap







There it is








here you can see the routing to the thingy on the airbox ( please excuse my lack of knowledge for the correct term)








Here you can see the vent tube coming from the tank


'



Bye Bye Can






You'll need a 5/16 vacuum tube connector, a 3/16 connector and a 3/16 cap for the job. I couldn't find just those and had to buy the assorted kit for about $4







There's only two tubes the 5/16 connector will go in so it's easy to do, just make the connection between the gas tank and the drain tube leading down by the shifter.





A 3/16 connector with a cap on it on the other tube going up to the thingy on the airbox and you are done.
No more Charcoal canister.













Since I have a F800GS and an R1200R, I should be able to give a more unique perspective when comparing the 8R to it's cousins... and even though it might look like it initially, it easy to look through my posts to see I'm no BMW fanboy and will voice any opinion about the bike.

While my GS is in the shop with the motor out of it currently, I have been able to ride the 8R and my 12R back to back, and I have to say.... The 8R has that Roadster feel no doubt, and feels well poised like any BMW, but it feels much much lighter, and far more nimble than my 12R - and I thought my 12R had perfect balance and was very nimble already. I also owned a R1150R, and to me, it's like the difference between the 1150R and the 1200R, when comparing the 800R to the 1200R.

This bike is begging to be flogged and ridden hard, but is gentle enough for a somewhat new rider like Nancy to get on and ride without being intimidated.

While I haven't really wrung out the motor as it just now is past it's break in, initially it feels much different than the Rotax in the 800GS. Obviously the gearing is different and better suited for street riding on the R.
I thought that the two bikes would be more similar to each other, the 8R and 8GS, but they're not. The R is a completely different platform, they didn't just take the panels off and make a few changes, this is a completely different bike that just shares a motor with the GS.


I'll be mixing up the techie stuff with my opinions about riding the 8R as I get more saddle time, plus when she has time, Nancy will drop in to share her experiences too....






Since it's not raining any longer I'm going to go take a spin and see what this little Roadster can do, and will continue with the DIY posting soon. Why talk about riding when you can just go ride!

Great pics Finn !! Need a few more with Bike and Chica!!

Installing the MV bar risers and brake line extension.
This is not a comprehensive install guide, more of a basic how-to with photos to demonstrate it's pretty easy to do yourself, assuming you're comfortable with working on your brakes. Don't try this at home solely based on my information....

The new line just extends the original, not replace it, making this a straightforward install.
It took us a little over an hour, and I don't have much experience with brakes. I did however stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.
We ordered this kit from Germany, it was delivered 3 days later... very fast indeed!




Here you see everything needed to do the install, though we did run out of beer.










Probably over doing it, but we took no chances of getting brake fluid on the paint by covering everything with wet towels on top of plastic.







We started with draining the fluid from the upper bleed valve









Then drained more fluid from the bleeder on the caliper.








We then removed the lever to get a better angle on the banjo bolt, first removing the wire going into this switch.


















Headlight comes off very easy









New brake line












I rerouted the throttle cable to run behind the fork instead in front of it as per directions.









I then installed the bar riders.







To make the connection between the new and old brake line MV uses a small block "coupler" that just uses the existing mount for the horn.







Done and done.








I then bled the brake with fresh DOT 4 fluid to finish the job.










The result is a much improved riding position for Nancy, and I like where it put the bars too. For us, the stock position was just a little too far forward, especially for long mile days, which this bike will see soon enough.
The kit looks nice, was easy to install, and improves the comfort for people our size... good stuff.














While I'm at it, here's the Marsee tank bag we scored for next to nothing out of a clearance bin at a MC dealer. After cutting away the magnetic flaps, and removing some other unneeded bits, I took a drill, made the leap of faith and bolted it right to the airbox cover.
Nancy didn't want a big BMW tankbag, or one of my nifty hard tank box setups, so this little thing is just perfect for storing typical things like glasses, camera, etc...
Combined with a iPhone RAM mount, this setup is minimal and fits the bike perfectly IMO.

















Here's where I mounted the Gerbings controller with velcro, wired directly to the battery, with an inline fuse. The tail for the jacket comes out between my legs from where the seat meets the airbox cover. I have this setup on my bikes and likes the way it works out.












We also removed the thing they want us to use to mount a plate... goodbye!







3 Screws and it's gone








I pulled the light back under the seat and tucked it away, maybe I'll find a use for it someday








Got to love the leaning lines the tires have.













A hairdryer took care of those silly looking reflectors and F800R stickers

Gorgeous bike.
I miss the Pfeiffer coloured wheels though.

Those bar riders are an absolute ridiculous price!!

Great writeup and pics!

Yeah, I thought the risers are quite pricey too, but she wanted risers... and this was the only kit I found for the R with the brake line. The value of the almighty dollar just killed us. It's actually a little cheaper than the price listed, that includes 80 Euro VAT, which we didn't pay. Shipping was $53.
I could have sourced a new line, and then bought risers separate for less money, but the plan was to have it all ready to go right after delivery. She paid for convenience, but the parts are very high quality and she's happy...


I wonder why they don't offer the Pfeiffer edition in the US?
I like that bike too, but would never want the signature on the tank. ( do the production one's even have it?)

It was available in Canada for the last 2 yrs. This yr, no more Pfeiffer, but the colour scheme is really similar to yours.
No more signature, no more blue wheels, no more flyscreen delete, no more Akra incl in the purchase price.

How did you get white wheels?

I arranged for the wheels to be powder coated close by in Sacramento, A&S removed the bearings and tires, Ted took care of getting them there and back.

$220 for the work from Powdercoat It

Great bike, man. I've had a 2010 Alpine White version since August as my very first bike. I love it, and it's 100% clear to me that I made the right choice! I had to get the higher seat (I'm about 6'4") but it's a fantastic ride.

The only real mod I think I need is a pair of grip puppies.

Nice thread, I've liked the 800s since the S/ST came out in 2006.

Quick word about the stalling; the 800S allegedly has a small flywheel, which means it needs to be revved harder that one might think, otherwise it has an annoying habit of stalling. I've no idea if the 8R has the same issue though.

Thats a beautiful motorcycle! A seat bag and a decent bug killer/screen and I'd have an awesome commuter/back road scorcher.

1st Post Corbets! welcome to the party!

How about some photos of your White 8R?....
Don't worry, I agree somewhat about the crash bars, but function over form for a new rider who might drop the bike more often than others... for what they are they are pretty unobtrusive IMO, plus they give me a goal to see if I can get down that low and scrape them in the canyons, like I have with the valve covers on my 1200R.

This is a 8R's owners thread, meaning if you own a 8R by all means voice whatever opinion you have, show us where your ride, or what custom work you've done, or how you maintain it.... and the rest of you FF's keep up the good work of sharing your displeasure for the bike your've never ridden elsewhere.

Any fellows on the other side of the pond set up the 8R for touring yet?
Would love to see what others have done before we get her ready for some long rides....


And to keep the images flowing and keep Ted happy, here's Nancy sitting on her bike for the first time this past week. How lucky am I !