BMW F800GT a new sport tourer

[Lorien]

For those who may not have seen this:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/616/14895/Motorcycle-Article/2013-BMW-F-800-GT-Debuts-at-EICMA-2012.aspx

Hmmmm. Save a shortish windshield looks pretty good.

 

[Phil Tarman]

It looks really good. The windshield isn't adjustable looking and belt drive, while not as good as shaft drive, may well be better than BMW's shaft drives have been. I'll be anxious to see one. The ST had lousy ergonomics for me, but this might work.

 

[bicyclist]

As a former F800ST owner, I've been interested to see what they'd do as a refresh. Lower, wider seat, higher bars, more fairing protection, longer wheelbase (more passenger room?), decent hardbags (vast improvement over the former junk), 470 lbs fueled and ready, 90 hp and exceptional fuel mileage. The windshield is easy to deal with.

 

[charlie b]

I agree. They seem to have fixed most of the little things that would have bugged me. I wonder if they got rid of the horrible handlebar vibration.

 

[RedNigel]

I really like that bike, but I find myself getting spoiled to the adjustable screen on the NT. And I wonder; Once you actually buy the BMW, how expensive is it to take care of properly? They have a saying in the engineering dept at BMW..."why make it simple when you can make it complicated?" are they anywhere near as reliable as Japanese Iron?

 

[RedLdr1]

Once you actually buy the BMW, how expensive is it to take care of properly?

BMW = Bring My Wallet, Broke My Wallet, Blew My Wallet, Big Money Waster, Big Money Wanted and on and on and on...there must be a thousand of them. The labor rates were bad, when compared to Japanese brands, when I had my 96 R1100R. I hate to even think of what the rates are like now that several local dealers are gone. With BMW It is not so much a question of "Can I afford the bike?", it is more like "Can I afford to maintain the bike in the manner necessary to keep my warranty?" Call your local dealer and ask about service prices...and availability, my local dealer is usually booked three months out! As far as reliability my R1100R did not have any issues...but it was just under 50K miles when I traded it.

 

[RedNigel]

Wayne

I am comitted to the NT for the foreseeable future. I was only able to buy the Honda because of a small inheritance. As you stated, apart from purchase price, cost of ownership is a big issue for me. The scheduled maintenance on the Honda is a lot of money to me,so I will stcik with the Nipponese until I can afford to experiment

 

[rcase13]

Jeepers that is a nice looking bike. Very tempting... I worry that windshield won't provide the protection I want. I think I am happy with my NT for now. I too just got new rubber so happy camper right now.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Well, I didn't say I was going to get one, just that it looks really good. I doubt if I'd buy one if I had lots of money. Since I'm retiring in 7 months, I won't be obligating myself to a monthly payment and I won't have enough disposable cash to buy one.

Even with the pannier issue, I'm very happy with the NT.

BTW, I found a new use for the pass through: I was able to reach through it and fish out my heated jacket and my lightweight gloves from the right pannier. Sweeeett!

 

[junglejim]

Since I'm retiring in 7 months,

That almost sounds like braging Phil. That's OK, I'd brag even if you're not. Enjoy

 

[Phil Tarman]

I'm bragging, Jim! I'm definitely bragging -- the retirement is what will make the Epic Ride possible.

 

[artemedes]

Looks like a step in the right direction. I made a trip to the nearest dealer and sat on F800ST before I even knew what an NT was. I was really excited and called them ahead of time to make sure they had one. I sat on it for 10 secs and just couldn't see it working for long trips. My legs were almost a sport bike fold, and I felt cramped and leaning too far forward. I only had to look at those weird things they called panniers to know I was going givi if I bought the bike.

But this GT.....I would have to see it in person, but seems to address everything that made me walk away from the ST. Too bad Honda made such a competent middleweight tourer that I already bought , I probably wont spend the money BMW is likely to want to change bikes.

Now if I could just stop thinking about selling both the DR and the NT and buying an Super Tenere as an only bike..... I generally only do this when I am bored and not riding. As soon as I jump on either bike, I find myself thinking "I was crazy to think about selling this.".

 

[junglejim]

Now if I could just stop thinking about selling both the DR and the NT and buying an Super Tenere as an only bike..... I generally only do this when I am bored and not riding. As soon as I jump on either bike, I find myself thinking "I was crazy to think about selling this.".

I think we all do this. It is the job of the marketing people to make us sell a perfectly good motorcycle that we know and like in order to buy the latest greatest offering from their company - and then do it over and over again. Seems like good marketing of a bad product makes more money than bad marketing of a good product. And the BMW boys are gooood at it.

 

[Lorien]

Ok here is another look and it looks good.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/89349/Motorcycle-Photo-Gallery-Photo/2012-EICMA-Photos.aspx

 

[Builtdesign]

Saw one going out of a parking lot I was going in. I have to say it looked very small, like if a ninja 650 had a touring version. It looked nice like a Beemer, just surprisingly small.

 

[nyst100]

And what is the price for this Gem?

 

[Warren]

Not sure if its been announced yet but based on the price of the ST I would say the GT will be around $13K depending on what options you select.

 

[Kevin Gunter]

Does anyone see a significant similarity in the fairing design of this new bmw and the NT?

 

[Phil Tarman]

Kevin, I think there's a definite resemblance. In fact, back in '10 when I was in Thunder Bay, ON, I came out of my motel to walk to restaurant for supper and an R1200RT had parked next to my NT. I thought there was significant resemblance between those two and I see it in the F800GT, too.


BTW, I stopped at Northern Colorado Euro, my closest BMW/Ducati/Triumph dealer last week to see what they knew about the F800GT. They think they'll see it in mid-to-late April and are guessing that the price will be around $13,000.

 

[Mellow]

LOL.. pretty much every sport touring bike on the market has something in common with the other ones on the market.. .LOL