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

After a couple of months of waiting, I picked up my new, blue F800ST yesterday.

It is wonderful. To break it in I had a nice easy meander home on back roads. (When I told him of this plan, the dealer said I am a "Meanderthal").

There is enough of a hum from the engine to let you know it's a twin, but it's way smoother than the R1150R at speed. Combined with the aerodynamic bodywork, I found myself consistently going 15-20 km/h faster than the R, when I thought I was going the same speed. At the same time the trip computer said I got 66mpg for an average speed of 83 km/h city and highway.

And LIGHT and FLICKABLE! It reminded me of riding my old 400 Suzuki. The gearbox works very smoothly, although the clutch is pretty noisy, kind of a 'wet' Ducati.

The one thing the 1150 has is bags more torque. To be fair, it has 150% the displacement and currently I'm restricted to 50% of the 800's rev limit, so that will be easily overcome. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Please update your experiences, as it relates to the R1150R, as you see fit. As guys my age edge closer and closer to the 'Gold Wing moment' with bigger and bigger bikes with more protection, I find my interests leaning in the opposite direction, toward the more athletic bikes. The F800ST is one that's really got my attention. I will miss the torque of the 1150 to be sure, but if this 800 is more flickable, efficient, smoother and with slightly better wind protection....this might be my next 'upgrade'. More feedback from you after the break-in will be much appreciated.

Please do update when possible. I was looking at the weights of the 800, 1150, and 1200. It seems the 1150 is the heavy, with the 1200 coming down around #50, and the 800 almost #100 less then the 1150. I know lighter is better, but the dealer's price for the 800 is only 1K less then the R1200. I must ride these new bikes at THE Rally.

bad n ruin wrote:The F800ST is one that's really got my attention.

Same here, but my checkbook won't let me test ride one. (I know what will happen after a test ride. Hell, I don't even need a test ride - I'd go buy one anyway but I don't need the extra payment).

We need pics!

My girlfriend has an F800s and it really is very special... you must borrow one from your dealer for a couple of hours. I think R1150R riders would appreciate the F800st more so than the 800s but, hey, why not try both? I'd almost convinced myself that I could replace my R1150R with an 800s until this weekend. In the UK we have a big rock festival at the Donington race track and three of us went but with me having the biggest bike you can guess who got voted to carry all the camping stuff (and booze)!! As many of you will know through personal experience the 1150R took it all in it's stride... heavily laden and cruising at 80+ mph on the motorway, finding it's way over gravel car parks and then queing to get out before very dark country lanes and more motorway. I want an F800s and I'm figuring out a way to own one but, for now, it simply won't replace my Roadster. If I hadn't been lumbered with everyone else's kit and had the luggage for it then maybe an 800s would have been just as capable but I've never owned a car so the Roadster remains my do-it-all bike.

Well, its five days later, and I've got about 750km on the bike now. Some general observations:

I found that the 1150R had a vibration in the right grip at some speeds that numbed my right hand. The 800 is as smooth as can be with just enough of a hum to remind you it's a twin.

The gearbox is smoother than the R, and the clutch is good as well, but it is noisy; sounds like a 'wet' Ducati.

Granted the bike is still being broken in, so I shouldn't go over 5000 rpm, but the low end torque of the R isn't there. That's fair enough, since I'm working with 66% of the R's displacement. The 800 is supposed to be it's equal in HP, so I'm looking forward to being able to open it up.

I had the Speedster screen on the R, and found it comfortable up to about 110 km/h, but the 800ST is even more comfortable at 120-140. I'm going to have to be careful on this thing!

An F800 BMW is the only non boxer M/C I would consider as my next (w-a-a-a-y in the future) bike. I was let down by the downgrading to the crank mounted permanent magnet alternator from the original pre-intro design's plug-in behind the cylinders, excited field, higher output alternator. Giving up the huge benefits of the TeleLever front end and going back to telescopic forks is another issue.

On the plus side for the F-800 models is the lower MSRP, better instrumentation, much lighter weight, excellent fuel economy, higher performing superb power-2-weight ratio and never overheat less noisy engine water cooling. Plus, it'll have less expensive maintenance, a narrower garage profile and cheaper insurance. I could almost talk myself into trading "up" right now, but I'm so very satisfied with my GoldBoxer .

How would you compare the seating position, ergos compared to the R?

I had the "comfort" seat on the R, and have the taller of the two seat options on the ST. Knees feel slightly less bent on the F800, and you are leaned slightly more forward.

With the carpal tunnel problem I have with my right hand, I was concerned the lean might be a problem. With the almost total absence of vibration on the F800, my hand has been fine.

I found on the R with the Speedster screen the air blast resulted in neutral pressure on my hands at about 90-100km/h. On the ST neutral pressure is at about 110-120. This bike will be a much more comfortable mile eater than the R.

And the fuel mileage is outstanding. The on board computer shows my average has been about 4.2 l/100km (~70 Imperial MPG) thus far, with bouts up to 80 MPG on my commute in to work. The R reserve light usually came on by 300km, the F light is coming on at about 330 with a much smaller tank.