It's 3 years old now . . .

Inspired by CycleRob, this section is devoted to all flavors of the F800.

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CycleRob
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It's 3 years old now . . .

Post by CycleRob »

With 3 years 1 month ownership and 18,914 miles (30,439 km) it still runs great with no "issues" or the need for 2x more frequent shop maintenance like the 50R required. The same 2 sparkplugs start and run smooth immediately, at any temp, in any weather. My 12K mile valve clearance check was all within tolerance and routine as it is for any 4 cylinder Japanese sportbike. The clearance check is fairly easy, but changing any shims required necessitates camshaft removals - - - no big deal for experienced mechanics -and- a teachable moment possible with anyone now adjusting the air cooled Boxer motor's valves. The good thing is that shim changes are not the norm, even after some riders that have attained 48,000 miles (77,248 km)!! That's the 4th valve clearance check!!

As noted in other posts about the water cooled F800 bikes after 2009, there aren't any things to "change" or "watch-out-for". Will be manually replacing the worn out front tire soon, matching the almost new Metzeler Z-8 rear tire installed some months ago.

Fuel economy is phenomenal when compared to every other bike . . . even 250cc bikes! :smt045 :smt023 Since new it has averaged 58.2---74.4 MPG (24.74---31.63 km/L) on Regular grade Chevron/Texaco/Shell gasoline. That's with 38Fr/42Rr psi (2.67/2.95 kg/cm-sq), no sidecases, careful repeatable top-off to the circular upper edge of the lowest internal fuel filler opening . . . on the side stand. Even running it down 15 miles (24.1 km) on the low fuel light 220 miles (354 km) after the fill-up, it still only takes about 3.4 gallons (12.9 L).

Still has the original battery. Expecting it to fail at any time, especially in very cold weather. It's very rarely hooked up to the Battery Tender Plus, whereas my infrequently used `98 Nissan pickup (I'm retired) is the one it powers the most, year round.

The belt drive belt still looks new (don't ride in the rain) and because of the well designed plastic guards and shielding, is still undamaged by road debris or stones from the ~20 miles total of dirt roads I've ridden it on. It is definitely a lower friction, ZERO maintenance, silent running, zero lash improvement over shaft drive. All you gotta do is . . . . forget-about-it !!

The two H-7 headlite bulbs (Low + HI) are interchangeable if the low beam burns out. The Low beam stays on when Hi beam is selected, giving a brighter, fully illuminated road ahead. I first realized that real benefit on a curvy back road, the night of day 1.

I have ridden the F800ST in recent ambient temps of 102 degF (38.9 degC) with my wife on the back in one stop-n-go traffic slow-down with a smooth idle and normal running. I just cannot do that with the low fuel light on for over 10 miles (16 km) as the then un-submerged in-tank fuel pump overheats the fuel to a boil, causing cavitation and engine stalling. No longer an issue once I found the solution: Don't run it down too much on the low fuel light in congested traffic when the temps exceed 95F (35C) (all 3 conditions required for the extreme heat, slow go, low fuel stalling/cut-out malfunction).

I just fully changed the antifreeze/coolant with a 55% coolant/distilled water mixture of Peak brand coolant (for Aluminum engines). The drained out old coolant still looked it's normal blue color and not very contaminated. The new stuff out of the jug is yellowish lite green and harder to see thru the coolant recovery tank's body panel cutout window. Sadly, the right middle body panel (12 screws) needs to be removed to top off that tiny plastic coolant recovery tank. After another panel removal if you ride it following the 4 or 5 cold/hot/cold heat cycles -or- all heat cycles performed on the side stand in the garage to automatically purge the drain-n-fill entrapped air pockets thru the radiator cap's air purge liquid backflow circuit. Topping the tank off nearly coincides with the 12K valve clearance check service disassembly.

Still very appreciative of the OBC (OnBoardComputer) readouts and fully modern LCD instrumentation like the 2 trip meters, fuel/temp bar gauges, large gear position readout and blindingly bright shift light just past redline. I really did NOT like the "retro" instrument styling of the old bike and hid it behind the painted flyscreen.

Ahh, the engine performance! It's acceleration is quick enough to thrill an experienced 155 lb (70.3 kg) rider for YEARS and it's lots of fun to scream 2nd & 3rd gears by the cars you pass . . . in record time. As with any 800cc bike or less it helps the acceleration if you aren't noticeably overweight. Low RPM torque (~2,500 RPM) is really good, even at half throttle. The top end HP hit is evenly progressive and very unlike the OilHeads' power taper off past 7,000. It's 81 rear wheel dyno HP and ~60 lbs (27.2 kg) lighter weight tells me it really is quicker than my old R1150R.

My initial apprehension I had at the change-over as a farkle installing owner to the mod unfriendly CAN-bus electrical system slowly improved to a real asset as it's cost/component saving merits appeared. This post shows how easily, inexpensively it was dealt with. The CAN-bus system assets? Fewer harness wires - only one smaller main harness, NO fuses(!), component amperage overdraw and short circuit power disconnect protection, all component anomally diagnostic logging, realtime run data display (via GS-911 & PC/SmartPhone), under voltage prevention controls (turns off power socket on overdraw, radiator fan and headlite on engine stall) and a configurable maintenance reminder counting down the warning odometer briefly at start-up on the main LCD as you near the service mileage number. After that it keeps pestering you more intrusively until the reminder is BMW Dealer or GS-911 reset.

Although I'm now riding less than I was 10+ years ago (6K/yr vs 10K/yr), I'm looking at keeping this delightful 798cc bike a very long time . . . a lot longer than the 8 years I had my `02 R1150R. I smile every time I start it up or gas it up. It's a nice experience riding it slow, fast, or cruising with the normal traffic to a routine shopping destination.

Edit: Changed links to new/better less intrusive photo provider. I now have owned the F800ST for over 10 years and plan on keeping it until a better 500cc--800cc bike is made -or- I have to stop riding some day because of the serious 2 wheel consequences of age related changes.
Last edited by CycleRob on Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
`09 F800ST

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angellr
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Re: It's 3 years old now . . .

Post by angellr »

Excellent recap! At just a bit over 240 right now, I better stick with the 1200R at least until I get under 200. :D

You still get a few more K's/year in than me right now. I would love to get 6-10K/year.
-Bob-

2014 R1200R - Dark White
2007 R1200R - SOLD
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Mollygrubber
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Re: It's 3 years old now . . .

Post by Mollygrubber »

I'm pretty content with my 2010 F8GS too, just hit 40,000km and have not had a single problem. Valve specs were good, no issues at all.

Happy camper. :D
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

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