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BMW F800S anyone have any experience

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I'm with BimmerMike on this one. I had a BMW F800 for years and loved it. Sold it to a friend of mine and she just raves about it (BTW this is her very first bike). Great bike, light weight, very flickable, great mileage blah blah blah. I went from Japanese bikes to BMW (F800 being the first one) and said to myself "I've been riding the wrong bikes for years". I knew it within 50 feet of riding it.

I would ride as many makes within this category as you can (demo days etc). You will know once you ride it if its the bike is for you.
 
Well,
After work yesterday I called into the dealer as it's on my way home. I had scheduled a test for it this evening (thursday) and I will continue to take the test ride.
Totally agree never say never until you test ride.

I agree sunnyS. I have owned nothing but suzukis. Gixers, SV's, bandits. Whilst I absolutely love them , I am looking for a change. Maybe BMW are it. I do love the look of this bike. It a just different. I couldn't get a honda. Don't know why just not into them. I like the Yamaha fz's. Fz8 in particular.

Years ago I had an old BMW K100S I was riding/minding it for a friend. It was large, clunky and heavy. Wasn'ty type of bike but it grew on me and I liked it.
I am definitely open to change.

Will test ride the BMW this evening and report back.
All this feedback/discussion is great though thanks.

In terms of the bearing issues. I am glad to find out they have a recall that started last year. At least if it happens I do not foot the bill.

FYI this is the bike.
http://www.apexcycle.ca/default.asp...1&make=bmw&s=Year&d=D&vt=motorcycle / scooter


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I have a 2008 f800st. As others have said, same as the f800s but with a higher bar. When I bought this bike I was looking for a sport tourer. The f800 series of bikes appealed to me due to the relative light weight. In the end my decision was between an vfr800 and the f800st and the lighter weight of the f800st made my decision.

To me the pros of the f800 are light weight, great fuel mileage, heated grips, excellent oem hard luggage, ABS, center stand. The list makes the f800 an excellent commuter and occasional weekend warrior machine. The belt drive is also very convenient as it eliminates having to clean/adjust a chain. There are some not so good things about the f800. The front suspension sucks. The rear is ok. If you have any sporting intentions with the bike you should probably invest in new springs/cartridge emulator on the front and potentially a new rear shock. I see the bike you are looking at has an after market rear shock. I suspect this will make the front end feel even worse... :/ The f800 is not a smooth bike, it vibrates. If this bothers you look else where. I personally just notice it and ignore the vibrations. The engine is not particularly powerful for an 800. More then adequate but if you expect gsxr750 power you will be disappointed. The pre 2008 models had a lot of reported issues with "piston slap". Google it if you would like more info. Btw, my 2008 has not developed piston slap. My real major complaint with this bike is the BMW turn signal/horn arrangement. It is just plain stupid. I've owned my f800 for 5 years and I still not happy with the arrangement. BMW managed to turn a one handed intuitive operation into a two handed must think about it operation. I'm am used to it but I still have to start the riding year with a little session on cancelling the turn signal and hitting the horn. I have no real comment about the noise the bike makes as I tend to run stock exhausts to avoid making a target out of myself. To me, it sounds fine. Cost of maintenance is BMW levels. More then what you would pay for an equivalent Japanese bike.

I really like the bike. It is very good doing what it is supposed to do. I generally switch bikes yearly but I've kept this one for 5 years and plan on a few more years with it. One more point. When I was looking to buy the f800 I avoided all pre 2008 models. I did a lot of research and it seemed to me that most of the problems had been taken care of by that model year. I am not saying don't buy a pre 2008 model. I am just saying that I'd do my due diligence first.

alangolding25 said:
Well,
After work yesterday I called into the dealer as it's on my way home. I had scheduled a test for it this evening (thursday) and I will continue to take the test ride.
Totally agree never say never until you test ride.

I agree sunnyS. I have owned nothing but suzukis. Gixers, SV's, bandits. Whilst I absolutely love them , I am looking for a change. Maybe BMW are it. I do love the look of this bike. It a just different. I couldn't get a honda. Don't know why just not into them. I like the Yamaha fz's. Fz8 in particular.

Years ago I had an old BMW K100S I was riding/minding it for a friend. It was large, clunky and heavy. Wasn'ty type of bike but it grew on me and I liked it.
I am definitely open to change.

Will test ride the BMW this evening and report back.
All this feedback/discussion is great though thanks.

In terms of the bearing issues. I am glad to find out they have a recall that started last year. At least if it happens I do not foot the bill.

FYI this is the bike.
http://www.apexcycle.ca/default.asp...1&make=bmw&s=Year&d=D&vt=motorcycle / scooter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
SunnY S said:
Where was it implied that F800 sales were lighting up the charts?

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another BMW bike. Just tired of the same old me-too jap bikes out there that everybody has. Its refreshing to ride something a little different. But thats just me.
Click to expand...

You didn't specifically say that, but you posted a link to overall world wide sales as a closing argument in your reply, in a thread where F800S is discussed ....

Where did I say that you or anyone else should buy Japanese bike? Everybody picks whatever suits their taste and budget, right? BTW, I am anything but herd follower.
 
alangolding25 said:
Well,

FYI this is the bike.
http://www.apexcycle.ca/default.asp...1&make=bmw&s=Year&d=D&vt=motorcycle / scooter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Nice looking bike, looks like well taken care of. Would I pay 6500$ for it it being 07? Probably not, especially if you can have brand new FZ09 for around 8.5K with interesting and new triple engine or even FZ07 for 7.2K if you are not necessarily after power. At the end they are a bit different bikes, I mean riding position .... You didn't really say where you will ride the bike most ... around town, longer trips (I don't assume that otherwise you wouldn't be looking at S, but rather ST?)

BTW, I hope this bike doesn't have the "famous" BMW switchgear. It was absolutely killing me (almost killed me when I didn't signal properly) when I rode one and I am certain I would never get used to it as I consider it anti-human, plus I have other bikes which always had normal switchgear ... BMW finally smartened up, but I am not sure as of which model year this was. I guess they gave up just for the sake of being different. It was a good selling strategy .. once you got used to it you could not use any other switchgear .... LOL

Anyways, good luck with whatever you choose. It's a good problem to have, to be choosing a bike, right?
 
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thanks for the feedback, sounds like there are clear pluses and cons. I will be test riding it in a few hours and I am sure I will know whether I want it or not after that.

one thing, the tank is fully yellow. most f800s I look into have the black streak going through the middle. is this anything to be concerned about. I am just wondering would there be any reason for this? other than just how it was made.
 
alangolding25 said:
one thing, the tank is fully yellow. most f800s I look into have the black streak going through the middle. is this anything to be concerned about. I am just wondering would there be any reason for this? other than just how it was made.
Click to expand...

That's just a center panel held in place with 8 screws. Normally black, but previous owner must have painted it along with the yellow stripe rims. Nothing to worry about, really.
Oh, and let us know how many times you stall it. Lots and lots of ppl stall the F800 when they ride one for the first time.




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well, I am sorry to say I never got to or will not be test riding the bike.

So it was last week I went into the shop looking for bikes.
I got talking to a guy called Chris. I asked about the BMW. He gave me his card told me to email him. Monday I emailed him twice. I went after work, he said sorry he was busy and was just about to reply. (yeah)
I scheduled the test ride with him on Monday, for Thursday (today). He told me to remind him. So I went in again yesterday to the shop and said are we still on. He said certainly. He even emailed the service department last night ccing me saying the battery needs to be put in for the test ride.
So I go over after work today looking forward to the test ride. Chris was busy with another customer. The bike looked like it hadnt been touched. I approached someone else, they checked the system and said there was nothing in there about a test ride but said no problem, it takes 5 minutes to put the battery in and you can ride it.
So I went to the car to get my helmet and jacket. I went back in , Chris came to me and said sorry we cant do it today we were busy and had priorities are you available Saturday? He said it takes a while to put the battery in and we dont have time (they were open till 8 and this was 5.30)

I said im not available Saturday. He then asked Tuesday, I said im not free.

I told him that I was extremely disappointed in the service. You didnt have time to put a battery in the bike ALL day after I reminding you twice. If thats the type of service I get pre-sale, I worry about the post-sale service.

I have better places to spend my time and money. Time to find another dealer.
Sorry if this has been a waste of time for you all, I appreciate all the feedback and responses it was/is still helpful
 
hahahahah nice plug SunnyS
Your wittyness alone will sell you your bike.
 
update : after i sent him an angry email
he emailed back apologized explained everything. so i agreed for a test ride on saturday. hopefully i can use this to get the price lowered if i go ahead with the bike!!!
all is not lost
 
I took the F800S out for a test ride. I had a lot of fun. Reminded me a lot of my old sv650s
Things I noticed

- chugs a lot slowing down in gears
- when braking it feels like a constant small chug , maybe this is what ABS feels like on a bike
- the suspension was a little stiff going over bumps

Other than that
- speed was great, enough for me anyways
- very comfortable seats
- easy to manoeuvre
- mpg seemed pretty decent
- the exhaust thats on it sounded a lot nice than expected
- engine seemed smooth

Overall I am highly considering getting it.
Due to a lot of my friends getting married this summer, I will be financing the bike. 70dollars bi weekly for 4 years. Its certainly doable I am just taking the rest of the weekend to make sure I am ok adding more debt to my finances lol

I certainly welcome any more feedback based on the above or in general
 
I wouldn't be impressed by a dealer that didn't have time to install a battery when you had already booked the ride. It takes 5 mins to install.

Maybe you should check out that one in Whitby at GP bikes..if they let you demo it..you could compare that chugging feeling.
Like I mentioned on the other forum...you can't feel the ABS unless you are braking so hard you would lock the tire. You have to try incredibly hard to get the front ABS to kick in...the rear is a little easier to engage...but I rarely use the rear brake anyway...in 20K Km I have only felt the ABS once or twice.

btw from the pics it looks like neither one has the mount you need for the BMW bags if you were considering them. The one at GP does have the ST rear rack which you would need as well as the lower tubular mounting but all that stuff is available used anyway.
 
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BimmerMike said:
I wouldn't be impressed by a dealer that didn't have time to install a battery when you had already booked the ride. It takes 5 mins to install.

Maybe you should check out that one in Whitby at GP bikes..if they let you demo it..you could compare that chugging feeling.
Like I mentioned on the other forum...you can't feel the ABS unless you are braking so hard you would lock the tire. You have to try incredibly hard to get the front ABS to kick in...the rear is a little easier to engage...but I rarely use the rear brake anyway...in 20K Km I have only felt the ABS once or twice.

btw from the pics it looks like neither one has the mount you need for the BMW bags if you were considering them. The one at GP does have the ST rear rack which you would need as well as the lower tubular mounting but all that stuff is available used anyway.
Click to expand...

Hey Mike,
Yeah the one at GP looks good too. 4 hour drive away though.(there and back)
Yeah I wasnt impressed but he sent an apology after, he mentioned that the battery is under the tank and its not a 5 minute job, that his service staff had been run off their feet and had actually clocked out, as it was coming to closing time when I turned up.

Yeah I will ask about that chugging is when braking, its not like the bike is chugging, but I can feel it in the brake bars when I was braking it did resemble what happens in a car when braking hard on ice that slight chugging. Ill definitely look into it.
As for the mounts Im not too worried about those at the moment, I will be carrying my wife around mostly lol

Would definitely be keen to test ride the one in GP. Will think about it though as it is a bit away.
 
 
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I put in 2 yrs and 40,000kms on a 2007 F800s and loved every minute of it. The rear bearing did seize on me (just after the bike clocked over 45K) and it was expensive to fix as this was before the recall, so Budd's just blamed my 'non-dealer maintenance' and asked me to pay for the repair.

Despite the bearing issue I would buy one again if I were to go back to street riding. The bike was otherwise bullet-proof, super comfy on long treks required to get to any decent twisties and amazing on gas (as an added bonus needing only REGULAR) and a willing performer in the bends. Suspension is severely lacking though (for a sport-bike anyway) so I would consider that in your decision.

It is a machine with very niche appeal but if ticks the right boxes for you it will be a blast.
 
alangolding25 said:
he mentioned that the battery is under the tank and its not a 5 minute job,.
Click to expand...

step 1 : remove seat off bike (15 seconds)

step 2 : remove eight torx screws and remove tank cover. (60 seconds)

step 3 : drop battery in tray and connect + and - (120 seconds)

step 4 : reinstall cover, torx screws and seat. (75 seconds)


Estimated time for this project : 5 mins.




edit : I wouldn't let the rear bearing issue stop you. BMW has acknowledged this problem, and should you experience a failure down the road, according to my conversation with the Head Tech at Budds, whom I trust implicitly, they will cover it.
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