New to me F800ST

[RedBird]

As Phil mentioned in his Dec 1, 2021 ride report, I have a new to me 2009 BMW F800ST. It has the factory lowered suspension and also had the factory lowered seat. As I keep getting older I seem to look for low seat height and low wet weight, and this bike has a wet weight of 449 lbs. With the low suspension I was able to get a Russell Sport Saddle and still be able to either flat foot it or get a solid balls of my feet contact with my heals less then 1/2 inch from touchdown. (With the factory low seat I could definitely flat foot it -- but it was uncomfortable after about an hour and a half). So far it has been a good bike.

 

[Mellow]

That's awesome Ken. I really like the 800ST/GT and wish they hadn't stopped making them. Can't wait to see it in June at Spearfish.. how does that Blue Kool-aid taste..

 

[mikesim]

Cool bike! I seriously considered one as a replacement for Traveller several years back, but then they discontinued it. I pretty much decided then that Traveller and I would ride off into the sunset together.

Mike

 

[RedNigel]

I always wanted one of those

 

[Phil Tarman]

One of the nice things about Ken's new Beemer is that it has more range than his previous NC750. Now our ranges seem to match pretty well. Ken, how much gas did you take when we filled up before you headed home?

 

[RedBird]

It was 3.06 gallons, but I did not work hard at squeezing every last drop into the tank.

 

[Phil Tarman]

It was 3.06 gallons, but I did not work hard at squeezing every last drop into the tank.

That's almost exactly what I put in my tank. However, you only have a 4.2 gallon tank, so I've got a gallon more.

 

[Mellow]

Doesn't the f800 get like 65 mpg? And, in Colorado heck it's probably 75+

 

[Phil Tarman]

Doesn't the f800 get like 65 mpg? And, in Colorado heck it's probably 75+

Well, on Tuesday, we both rode 170 miles between fill-ups. I put in 3.1 gal and got 54.8 mpg; Ken put in 3.06 gal, so he got 55.5mpg. But he didn't squeeze every drop into his tank, and I did into mine. Doesn't look like he's gonna' get 65mpg, much less 75+.

 

[RedBird]

The bikes computer said my average is 58 mpg.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Ah, Ken! You know better than that!!! Divide the miles between fill-ups by the gallons you put into the tank. It was 170 mile. You said you put in 3.06 gallons. That, my friend is 55.55mpg.

I will concede that your computer's more accurate than the NT's.

 

[Mellow]

Pretty respectable mileage.

 

[DirtFlier]

I've honestly never fooled with the MPG readout on my NT after I got such wild numbers during my first few days of riding in Dec 2009. Is there a way that it can calculate mileage at a fill-up?

I've been using the old fashioned way with miles divided by gallons in a small notebook that's kept in the right fairing pocket. The only variant there is how close to the top of the neck I fill the tank!

 

[RedBird]

The bike computer, as far as I know, does not reset itself every time the tank is filled, so the average mpg is from when it was last reset, and I don't remember if or when I reset it. Paper and pencil is probably the most accurate method.

 

[Phil Tarman]

DirtFlier, I watch the bike's mileage readouts, both current and average. After nearly 150K miles, I can guess what a trip's mileage will be within, oh, about 3mpg. I keep a record in a little notebook, too. But what I've started using more than anything else is Fuelly.com on my phone. I've tracked 5901 miles since I bought Horse and averaged 49.8mpg with a best of 66.3.

With Dudley, I tracked 108,057 miles, averaged 47.1mpg and had a best of 68.7mpg.

 

[mikesim]

I haven't paid any attention to the MPG calculator on Traveller for many years since it is grossly inaccurate. I often wonder why since this is uncharacteristic of Honda. I did the manual method for a while and found it fairly consistent. Since then I just look at my trip odometer and I find I need a fillup every ~250 miles. My Zumo is likewise consistent with the fuel gauge.

Mike

 

[harryhendo]

Very pretty bike! I really like the belt drive... that's a great advantage over a chain drive. Is the Rotax engine smooth?

 

[Mellow]

I reset the mileage on every bike I've owned and if it does have an avg display, I use that to determine my range once hitting reserve. I cut that in half. If it says 42mpg, I use 20-22 as my true end of tank range so I still have some buffer.

The modern yamaha guages suck in my opinion, the 1st half is like 3/4, then the display goes down fast.
The RT appears to be pretty linear.

 

[Phil Tarman]

It seems to me that the average instant mpg on the NT is within 5-6 mpg of the calculated mileage I get by dividing miles by actual gallons. Out here in the wild, wild west, I can almost always get 220 miles to a tank. That's what I've got my Zumo's refill warning set for. Back east I could get 250.

 

[RedBird]

Harry, the engine is fairly smooth in the 4000 to 5000 rpm range which is my usual highway range. Go up from that and it is more buzzy. I like to keep it at 3000 rpm or above. It does have some vibration in that range but it is quite tolerable for me anyway.