2009 BMW F800GS Web Impression - Dirt Rider Magazine

Jimmy Lewis can talk to motorcycles. The BMW F800GS said it was in the mood for sand. Jimmy let it eat.

After nearly ten days in the saddle of BMW's newest GS, I can say that I have a pretty good feel for the bike. As a BMW1200 GSA owner and having ridden just about every version of the GS (from old PD airheads to 650 singles and even a few factory rally bikes in between) I'm pretty sure I know where this one fits in the fold. And yes, you are getting this information from a dirt bike rider who does a fair amount of commuting on the street. I'm the kind of guy who drives a 4x4 truck because I never know where I'm going to end up driving (likely off-road) and I need the capability.My experience was not on a totally stock machine. It was a bike outfitted for the BMW GS Trophy, an adventure event set in the Tunisian desert of Africa where the US team (including me) won the competition (see blogs on www.dirtrider.com or forum threads on www.advrider.com)The 2009 F800GS was outfitted with a lot of Touratech goodies to protect stuff that was going to get damaged, most thoughtful was the additional crash bars raising up and protecting the vulnerable radiator. Metzeler Karoo II tires were fitted to help the off-road capability and they do quite well. I would never consider riding off-road with any "round and slick" looking tire, just too dangerous.Our ride consisted of about 1000-plus miles and I'd say it was 50/50 pavement and dirt. We had everything from perfect European highway to North African death road (giant wheel-eating potholes lines with bigger holes off the sides!) and everything in-between. As for the off-road, well, it was everything too, but mostly sand.First, this is a great street bike. On the road I found the dirt bike-like seating and riding position comfortable and the machine felt much less girthy than the 1200 GSA I'm used to navigating. Sure, this thing is a wide load coming from my dirt bike world but compared to anything like it the F800GS is actually narrow. Everything is where it should be save for the low brake pedal, nothing a few minutes with a file didn't fix (there is no built in adjustment system).I was concerned that the lack of wind protection would bother me, but in reality, it didn't generate a big complaint. BMW is channeling the front blast well and I was riding with a visor-equipped dirt-specific Arai helmet the whole time. For long days in the seat, I don't now of anything I've liked better. And we did some long days in the seat, just not moving real fast! The motor is full of BMW-typical parallel twin attitude in that it is quick revving and not so torquey right off of idle, the bike likes a little rpm to get moving.Once going the 800 is incredibly responsive and actually spunky from the first crack all the way through the power curve. I'd describe the delivery as linear and exciting. It revs smooth and goes on for a long time before a notable sign-off just before you bang the rev limiter, but it was time to shift 1000 RPM ago anyways. Not much vibration, great hookup, plenty fast. Shifting is smooth and the spread of the transmission is just right but I'd have liked a little bigger gap to sixth to let the motor rev a little less up top, I know how to downshift to fifth to make a pass.On road the bike's handling is on track with the current BMW bikes I've ridden. It had a very light feeling nature, much lighter than the claimed weight would suggest. And that feeling is complimented with a light steering feel as well. In fact, it is almost too light and some riders think they are feeling some instability when it is just the bike reacting to their input to the steering. Just let go of the bars if you really want to find out! The bike flicks from side-to-side as well as a machine this tall could be expected to do, much more flip-flop-able than any 1100-1200 GS and, yes, even more agile than a KTM 950 Adventure (I own and ride one of these too). The steering is very responsive, maybe too responsive (that light feeling coming around) for a lot of riders. I was on the border with it.The suspension was taut enough to let you feel the road but not stiff enough to bother me.It seems a lot of riders who are claiming they ride a lot slower than me (Please believe me, I ride these huge bikes pretty slowly off-road, I just don't make mistakes when I ride them or get tired.) are feeling the suspension is harsh. I personally feel it is more of the chassis rigidity they are feeling and more of how a lighter feeling bike transmits bumps to the rider. The seat is really good and is helping the package. The ABS brakes had great feel and were plenty strong.

Lewis was wondering if he could stay in Tunisia for a few weeks so he could actually ride each sand dune.

In reality, this is not a light-weight bike and when you really get going the effects from the girth start to happen before you actually start feeling them. The bike's good handling is masking the weight and it takes a high level of feel to pick up on this. To me, it felt like the chassis is plenty stiff to let it work hard while there is just enough flex and cushion built in to have the rider not care.Onto the off-road and here is where I see the biggest problem or shortcoming with the package. People might be buying this bike based on the impression that this is a big dirt bike. Forget it. This is a street bike that you can ride off-road. Or an adventure bike, one capable of going off-road, with caution. If you want a really big dirt bike get an HP2 or a KTM 950SE, there is a really big difference, trust me.Typical to the GS line, this bike is not an Adventure version either. What I mean by that is the suspension is set up for street riding with a much less progressive damping and it rides low in the stroke. As such, it bottoms out at the first sight of a bump with a clank that is telling you, in mechanical language, that you are going to break something or crash and get hurt unless you slow down. Yes, we saw it happen a few times on our trip. From blown rear shocks to bent rims to broken bodies, we saw carnage. And yes, it was caused by 100% rider error in my not-so-humble opinion. I rode all the same places, usually slower than the affected parties and I was fine, so was my identical bike.The suspension is pretty much non-adjustable in the front. It rides too low in the stroke and could use some stiffer springs to use the top of the stroke more effectively. The rear has preload adjustment (I ran mine full stiff to get the most shock stroke I could) and there is an adjuster on the bottom of the shock that controls rebound, I assume, that I didn't feel the need to touch.In the dirt the light feeling stays, which is a good thing if you don't get fooled into riding to fast! The handling is planted and the weight keeps the bike stuck to the ground and it gets good traction-as long as you possess and utilize throttle control. Because here the parallel twin gets very snappy and has a hit on the bottom of the power delivery that likes to light up the tire and get the bike moving too fast. I found it a lot better to be a gear or two high and really let the bike bog down to a smoother power level combined with enough clutch work to keep my speeds down.The Karoo II tires helped the off-road grip, especially when we had the pressure in the 20-25 PSI range, but they were definitely not true knobbies.BMW has built, with the F800, the perfect mid-sized GS. It is a do-all, street-biased machine that is as capable off-road as any sport-utility SUV. It bridges the gap between the old 650 single and the 1200 and builds a happy home for the many riders for whom the 1200 was just too girthy. Plus, it feels a lot faster than the 1200 if you are willing to rev it.What the 800 is not is an Adventure version, which BMW would not tell me anything about. But if history is any indicator, they should be building one. What that will hopefully bring is an altered power delivery (more torque), different gear ratios (lower first and hopefully a taller sixth), more fuel capacity (I'm not sure where they are going to hide it, there isn't much more room under the current seat where the gas tank resides) and, mostly needed, suspension more suited to handle off-road bumps (more progressive damping and some bottoming resistance). For the dirt-biased rider in me and someone whose adventures reside primarily off-highway, I'm waiting and crossing my fingers and keeping to my 1200 GSA and my KTM 950 Adventure. I could get by on the F800GS, in fact I did so along with my teammates in the GS Trophy doing harsher off-roading than most would ever consider. The bike was truly the wrong tool for the job, even though it easily got the job done quite well.Learn more about the BMW GS Trophy event here: GS TrophyContact
BMW Motorrad USA
300 Chestnut Ridge Rd.
Westwood, NJ 07675
201.307.4000
www.bmwmotorcycles.com