This is the first of three installments on the BMW F800GS.
I’d call it a review but enough time has passed since riding the motorcycle that I’m sure what I’m sharing are feelings and memories transformed by time into heroic feats against impossible circumstance. I have this vague recollection of hurdling through snow and over the Grossglockner Pass. Climbing up under an overpass is almost the same thing isn’t it?
The motorcycle didn’t make it home easily. Like a lot of things in my life I resisted this bike. At least until Craig Kissell, owner of Kissell Motorsports and the local BMW dealer, explained how this was one of his favorite bikes – ever. After offering some strong arguments and a final “what do you have to lose?” I relented and took the keys.
I should explain my reluctance to ride certain motorcycles (you’ve seen no reviews of sport bikes for instance) has little to do with the machines and a lot to do with ideas stuck in my head. To date, each resistant idea related to motorcycles has crumbled through experience.
My aesthetic taste runs towards plain. Aside from my yellow and black riding jacket I find comfort in shades of gray. A bright orange motorcycle with large GS lettering doesn’t fit well for a guy who has a black truck and asked the dealer to reverse the tires so the white lettering wouldn’t show. Standing in the middle of the road and sizing up the bike it just seemed out of step with my riding tastes.
Too much power, too much sound, too much flash.
Sitting on the bike in the parking lot at Kissell Motorsports I had my first meaningful reaction – the BMW F 800 GS is tall. While I can flat foot the bike, barely, I silently gave thanks for those few extra potato chip fueled pounds that allowed the shock absorbers to compress enough to make sitting astride comfortable. Be forewarned that it is not a good idea to come to a stop and casually put your foot down into a pothole.
The instant the engine sprang to life my ideas of power were confirmed. I remembered the first time a sat on a tall quarter horse and the thrill of recognition that comes being connected to something powerful.
The first order of riding business is familiarizing myself with the motorcycle. Particularly brakes, clutch, shifter action, throttle and general handling. Some slow speed turns and maneuvers and enough experimentation to believe I won’t completely muck things up in a panic. Winding through the countryside on the way home offered many opportunities to practice.
Getting on and off a tall motorcycle repeatedly to make pictures can be physically demanding for someone used to the step through set up of a Vespa. Each new motorcycle has me making notes in my journal…. Exercise, stretch, get in shape. So far I have a lot of notes.
The light was starting to fade and I really wanted to ride a bit more before dark. A few errands interrupted that plan but not enough to diminish the thrill of the F800GS. Even parked along a concrete wall it looks like fun.
Getting the bike late in the day meant parking it in the garage after a short ride or riding at night. I chose the latter and departed into a mild evening under clear skies. Riding just after sunset is something I enjoy, especially the slow changing of light. Watching for Bambi is something I can do without though. Stopping at a nearby park to make a picture in the fading light triggered a few fantasies about the proverbial trip into the sunset. You could ride a long way on the BMW F 800 GS.
Craig and his staff made a few modifications to the bike including the addition of a set of Touratech lights up front. A flip of a toggle switch on the handlebars caused the two side mounted lights to illuminate the world. For riding at night in deer country these things allow you to see far to the left and right making any four-legged motion easier to detect.
The BMW F 800 GS is noticeably more powerful than the F 650 GS even though they share the same engine displacement. Reaction to the throttle is direct, positive, and you have the sense that whatever you would want will be there. The riding position is almost perfect for me – upright and comfortable.
A stop under lights in a parking lot for a few pictures.
Pacing around the bike, assessing angles for photos, the lines of the motorcycle become apparent. A beautiful machine, one that will over a few days of riding reveal its functionality as well.
Near midnight I turn towards home and a good night’s sleep before riding the next day.
Rain. Not a lot but enough that I momentarily consider leaving the BMW in the garage. But only momentarily. With a mist falling I headed down the road. While stopped to take a picture I have the chance to try my boots on the wet pavement, a nervous tic I’ve developed as part of a personal weather evaluation system.
The F 800 GS is completely at ease on the narrow, winding secondary roads of central Pennsylvania, especially at the sightseeing speeds at which I often proceed to allow for quick stops for pictures. It’s definitely the kind of machine that makes it easy to experience the landscape without leaving the impression that it’s only happy bombing down the road at breakneck speed. The rain had stopped leaving wet roads and a gray light to make pictures in.
An absolutely comfortable ride, at least at tourist speeds through the bucolic countryside. I know I should be pushing harder but my wandering eye and camera get the best of me and I force the BMW into service as my photo vehicle. Certainly not what its Bavarian designers envisioned. I promise to push the bike hard.
Later.
Across the valley and into Rothrock State Forest. I realize that I am more at risk climbing up the rocky hillside to take a picture than I am on the road. Being a good Boy Scout I check my cell coverage in case I break a leg.
Thirty miles later I’m winding along empty roads like the BMW and I have been friends our whole life. Granted, neither of us is pushing the performance or skill envelope but the union of rider and machine is close to perfect. I find myself wondering which part of the garage I would dedicate to this motorcycle.
And I really grew to love those Touratech lights.
This part of Pennsylvania is traced with small roads, paths and lanes that lead through field and forest, between gaps and watersheds into places that are seldom trafficked by mainstream riders. Many hours curled up with my worn copy of the Pennsylvania Atlas Gazetteer tells me this road is more than a farm lane and will wind over the mountain in the distance.
Riding time passes quickly. Aimless wandering and enjoying the sights maintains a seductive power. Standing by the sign covered garage I realize another day has evaporated. And I’ve not experienced the BMW F 800 GS. I’ve just forced it to conform to my riding habits.
With the motorcycle tucked safely away in the garage and I vow to let the BMW lead the way tomorrow, ride the way it wants to ride. Perhaps then I can produce a few insightful words about this lovely machine.
Stay tuned for part two on the BMW F 800 GS.
Nice write-up and excellent photos as usual Steve. I like how your acceptance of the bike and its style develops. I also really like your after sunset images which is a great idea. Well done!
I’ve ridden the F800GS, briefly, during a demo day at the Beemer dealer and remember it as a nice ride….looking forward to the rest of the review.
dom
Redleg’s Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Hi Steve
I traded my reliable but 17 year old and heavy BMW K75RT in for a F800GS. It is high indeed, but I mounted a lower saddle. I still owe my Vespa GTS300. I have ridden some 3000 Km’s on the GS since September and I am becoming more enthousiastic with every ride. I was struck by the development in gearbox, (ABS) braking and ergonomics and economics in 17 years time. Many thanks for your reflections and beautiful photos, especially the one at the parking lot, it would make a nice background for the computer!
Best
Ike
Mike: I get into habits and hold onto ideas about things and it limits what I seem willing to try.
Motorcycles and food — I have a narrow palate. But slowly that’s changing.
Thanks for your kind words about the pictures. Dusk makes some nice light.
Charlie6: The F800GS grew on me and is on my list of bikes I would like to have. It took some time for me to warm up to it. After all, once you’ve gone Vespa everything else comes up short….*grin*
Ike: I bet the transition from the old BMW to the new was dramatic. Technology seems perfectly able to amaze.
I haven’t written much yet about the new technology and performance but will in the next two installments. At least in the limited way I look at stuff like that.
Thanks for reading and commenting and have fun with your two machines!
I was initially really attracted to this bike but once I tried it, I ended up liking the F650GS more. The F800GS is just way too talk for me to ride comfortably but others have told me to try one that was lower than stock before dismissing it completely.
Looking forward to the next two parts.
Richard
Steve wrote:
I’d call it a review but enough time has passed since riding the motorcycle that I’m sure what I’m sharing are feelings and memories transformed by time into heroic feats against impossible circumstance. I have this vague recollection of hurdling through snow and over the Grossglockner Pass. Climbing up under an overpass is almost the same thing isn’t it?
Walter Mitty rides a BMW F800GS?
By the way, when I grow up I hope to make photos like you. That one of the bike in the parking lot by the porta-potty shows the light nuances so wonderfully.
Steve:
I think I am of the same mind as you. I make the bike conform to my riding style, except your photos, which are on a higher plateau to which I am still striving. I also looked at the F650 and F800 but found the F800 too tall for me. I even tried to sit on a GS1200 but I could hardly put my leg over, so gave up. Why don’t they make them all a bit lower ?
I have the V-strom but I never intend to take it off road. It’s just that it had the upright ergonomics and solid stance suitable for touring. Perhaps I will re-evaluate a lowered F800.
I have had ample opportunity to test ride other bikes, including BMW but I will not ride a bike unless I am considering to purchase it. My mindset will not allow me to just take a joyride for no other reason.
You must be in good shape to be able to climb hills and overpasses for your photos. I am amazed at your stamina to get precisely the “perfect” perspective based upon the direction of the light.
bob
Wet Coast Scootin
Dear SITS (Steve):
The GS line of BMW motorcycles represents the ugliest motorcycles on the road. They are also some of the most practical, and well-thought out machines that money can buy. And from that standpoint, they become raging beauties.
They are tall for a reason: This allows the rider to lean them over at ridiculous angles far beyond the skill of the average ride, and to clear nearly 100 percent of the impossible obtacles you will find on the Silk Route or sub-Sahara Africa.
It can be argued that the average GS rider will never go there. But not so for the average GS rider. A lot of them do.
I could bet you’d love those Tourtech lights. I have PIAA HID lights on my Beemer and they are bright enough to illuminate the soul of an attorney.
Now, stop fooling around. Just drink the Koolaid.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
RichardM: The 650 was my favorite BMW until I rode the 800. It’s a close choice in my opinion but I understand how the tall bike can put people off.
Should have the next episode up in a day or so.
irondad: Walter Mitty…. well, I guess I am meek and I do at times have an active fantasy life. But being that I have crossed the Grossglockner (albeit in a VW) I am probably not fully in the Mitty style character.
At least not yet.
Thanks for your kind words about the pictures. Most of the time success is a result of being someplace at the right moment with the camera. Well, maybe there is more involved….
bobskoot: Being that I just returned from physical torture, I mean therapy, for a rotator cuff injury, I am far from in good physical shape. It’s all relative I guess but there are a lot of things I don’t do as well as I once did.
And a whole lot of things I never did well. No comments needed thank you.
Tall bikes. I like them in spite of myself. KLR, F650 and F800. Good utilitarian motorcycles. But I understand how you might not want to fight them.
And thanks for the comments on the pictures. I do sometimes go a long way for the right angle. And it’s getting more difficult. So far I am sticking to it but one day I can see myself not getting off the scooter to shoot a picture…
Mr. Riepe: I had the Kool Aid in hand and ready to drink until I realized you have been lying to me.
Attorney’s don’t have souls.
(Many apologies to any attorneys reading. This is between Jack and I)
So now I realize Mr. Riepe that rather than wanting me to ride at some lofty level of Teutonic mysticism you are really trying to pry me off my Vespa, my Goliath-like source of blogging power. Instead of hurtling down the highway on a wave of manly mystic scooter power you would have me a wimp on a Beemer.
Shame on you young man.
Dear SITS (Steve):
I predict that the day will come and you will continue to own your scooter, but you will also become one of the boys “in the bund.”
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Mr. Riepe: What can I say other than “I hope you’re right.”
I can’t help but be reminded of a man who is trying to say nice things about his new wife from a marriage arranged by his parents. 😉
I thought I wanted this bike, like all you guys, wayyy tooo tall, and top heavy, I thought. Still, BMW makes lovely bikes.
Thanks for such a great blog!! I ride scooters and bikes, nice to read a blog that bridges that gap.
And your photos…. dreammmyyyy….
Anonymous: Like you my first reaction to the 800 was tall and top heavy. But both of those feelings went away after I got used to it. I was really surprised at how the top heaviness vanished. If someone was used to a low slung cruiser the 800 would be unsettling.
I would think even most demo rides aren’t long enough to get used to the motorcycle. This definitely works against BMW in selling this machine.
When I think of all the other motorcycles I have ridden that I felt uncomfortable with at first the list is long. And it includes the Vespa GTS 250ie which I thought at first was too powerful and too heavy!