BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi guys,
I'm assuming that the GT will be included in this forum.
I've been looking at the F800GT because it seems to be what I'm looking for in a touring bike. Lighter and better handling than my 03 R1150R. I have longer trips planned in Washington and Oregon next year, 1000 plus mile weekends. The mileage gains on the little twin wouldn't hurt my feelings any either since I ride to work nearly every day.

Anyone else looking in this direction ?
Comments?

Cannot comment about the GT because I haven't ridden it, but our F800S/ST has proven effective for one-up touring with a couple caveats: lack of functional hard cases (appears to be remedied for GT), and weather exposure. Considering the cost involved with a new GT, I might look for a used RT to fulfill second-bike touring duty.

sweatmark wrote:Cannot comment about the GT because I haven't ridden it, but our F800S/ST has proven effective for one-up touring with a couple caveats: lack of functional hard cases (appears to be remedied for GT), and weather exposure. Considering the cost involved with a new GT, I might look for a used RT to fulfill second-bike touring duty.

Part of it is that I want a lighter bike. The GT weighs somwhere in the neighborhood of 100 lb lighter than my RR when fueled. The RT would be heavier still, I'm not sure exactly how much. I'll have to ride the GT and see if it feels worth the money. I have riden the RT and agree it's an excellent weapon for long distance travel. I spend a lot of time in urban areas theough, and the RT is not at it's best with that type of riding. The RR is much better at that, and part of my decision is if I keep the RR or not.
So how has the ST worked for you? is there enough power there to take care of business? There seems to be a lot of ST accessories on the market. The fuel range on the GT concerns me a little. If I buy the thing, I'll take it to Hell's Canyon this year, and the hard cases I'm going with have both run out of gas down there.=)

I loved my RT for long rides and short one's as well. At 550lbs it felt lighter then my R1150R.
ST feels much lighter but I have only ridden one, not owned.
I surely would consider the new GT if my bike fund was actually funded.

OU812 wrote:I loved my RT for long rides and short one's as well. At 550lbs it felt lighter then my R1150R.
ST feels much lighter but I have only ridden one, not owned.
I surely would consider the new GT if my bike fund was actually funded.

You're right about the weight of the RT. Published weight of an 04 was 552lb. Well over 100lb more than the GT, but only 60lb or so more than an RR. I think I'm going to be able to put the money together this spring, but 13.5k or so will make me have to consider other bikes. There was $1000 discount plus $500 in accessories that ended 12/31. BMW will have to do something like that to get me to buy.

My 08' RT had ESA which really worked great for different riding conditions.
Does the new FGT have that available?

OU812 wrote:My 08' RT had ESA which really worked great for different riding conditions.
Does the new FGT have that available?

Yes it does have ESA as well as traction control. It's optional, and when I talked to the dealer about perhaps not buying ESA and traction control, he told me its difficult to find a GT that doesn't have them as the bikes are ordered fully spec'd out. And it's really not that much additional cost. There's actually three packages. ACS, ESA, and one that includes the center stand, heated grips, onboard computer stuff, tire pressure and the like. I couldn't see why a 90 hp bike needs traction control, but what do I know?

Airman wrote:I couldn't see why a 90 hp bike needs traction control, but what do I know?

I have an F800GS, and in the rain on cold days I've broken the rear loose several times on slippery tar snakes while merging onto the highway. ESA would have been nice then, I still have pinch marks on my seat

I'm really liking the GT, it may replace the GS when the time comes.

Mollygrubber wrote:

Airman wrote:I couldn't see why a 90 hp bike needs traction control, but what do I know?

I have an F800GS, and in the rain on cold days I've broken the rear loose several times on slippery tar snakes while merging onto the highway. ESA would have been nice then, I still have pinch marks on my seat

I'm really liking the GT, it may replace the GS when the time comes.

Really? Maybe the difference in weight?
I've just about decided to buy the whole package anyway. I can't even do a test ride though. No GTs in the dealers. Pretty quick I'll start overhauling systems on my RR, or miss the riding season. I thought I'd be buying something this spring.

I went from a 2004 R1150R to the 2013 F800GT.

Pics and more on this thread : http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=27806

taosports wrote:I went from a 2004 R1150R to the 2013 F800GT.

Pics and more on this thread : http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=27806

You can perhaps help me get this bike in perspective since you've moved from the RR to the GT as I am considering doing.

I finally went down to the local dealer and took the demo bike out for about an hour. These are my thoughts:

The controls are pretty straight forward. The only thing I had to hunt for was the heated grip switch. They finally have turn signals like the rest of the world.
For me the layout of the bars, seat, foot pegs is nearly the same as my R1150R. Very familiar. Power levels feel very much the same, at one point I was cruising along at 3000 rpm in 4th gear with no distress. Their demo bike had just had the aftermarket muffler installed and it had a loud kind of raspy sounding bark to it. The restrictor had been removed. I'm still out on if I actually liked the sound, but it's a good motorcycle noise anyway. It had some engine/transmission noise, but they all have something going on when they're running.
I'll just lay out my likes and dislikes for comment.

Pro: The GT handles the freeway with ease. Running in 6th at 75, you can whack the throttle and get a good response. I ran it through the gears up to about 95 and it was happy to do so. I had it in the comfort mode on the ESA and it soaked up the bumps and freeway cracks with no drama. It's lighter and more nimble feeling than the RR. No loss of confidence at highway speeds.

Cons: Just a couple three.
Hard braking from speed produces considerable fork compression. The RR doesn't do that and it may be simply the different types of suspension, adjustmant, or just me.

At highway speeds, and that means 70 mph + for me, I really feel the airflow. The coverage of the windshield is far less than I expected and could be a deal breaker. I know a lot of people talk about "clean airflow around the helmet", it has that, but where I live the clean smooth air has rain in it a lot of the time, and I was hoping for some better weather protection.

The final con, and maybe you think I'm whining, but the price of this bike with tax and no system cases, is North of $15k[/size].

I had the pleasure of riding my friend's Triumph Tiger 800XC.
He laughed when he checked his GPS and saw 113mph.
It's a great bike!:)
I'd like the street version.

OU812 wrote:I had the pleasure of riding my friend's Triumph Tiger 800XC.
He laughed when he checked his GPS and saw 113mph.
It's a great bike!:)
I'd like the street version.

GPS' are known to make mistakes ... we NEVER exceed the speed limit.