BMW F 800 S / ST Review - MCNEWS.COM.AU

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Shifting gears through the six speed box requires a positive prod of the foot. The shifts are nicer than on earlier BMW machines, but are still not quite up to the standard set by the Japanese. The Germans are clearly getting much closer in this regard, however, and the F 800 certainly shifts much more like a sportsbike than a Buell.

BMW have chosen not to use their customary Paralever single sided swingarm incorporating shaft drive on the F 800. Instead, a new single sided swingarm with a toothed belt-drive system makes its debut on the F 800. I have never been a fan of belt-drive systems on motorcycles that are made for cornering, but I am very pleased to report that BMW have done a great job. The binding common to most belt drive systems never makes its presence felt on the F 800, and the risk of getting a rock between the belt and the toothed cog is also all but eliminated thanks to the belt being nearly fully enclosed.

BMW recommend that belt tension should be checked every 10,000km and should be good for around 50,000km before replacement.

Neither has BMW’s Telelever front end been used on the F 800. Conventional forks with very beefy looking 43mm stanchions are at first glance fairly low spec. The complete lack of preload or damping adjustments will have compulsive knob twiddlers very frustrated, but in reality I found no need to adjust anything. The front end of the machine is simply marvellous.

I pushed the front hard enough to destroy the shoulders of a 120mm Dunlop 220 front tyre in under 400 kilometres of tight and twisting blacktop and have nothing but praise about how well the front end tracks. The route was immensely challenging, and I pushed the front as hard as I would have dared on the best sportsbike in that terrain, and harder than I would have dared on many.

Remember to take those remarks in context. We are talking very challenging roads where the F 800 will allow a rider to go just as fast as any sportsbike. It does not mean that at a full on racetrack pace complete with sticky hoops the F 800 will stay with a sportsbike, but at any remotely sane pace on public roads the F 800 will not be left behind. That is of course if the rider winds some more preload on and a touch more rebound damping out back. On standard settings the rear wallows at even a very moderate pace, but just a little adjustment improves things out of sight.

BMW are clever enough to provide a useful little tool slotted into a recess underneath the seat that makes adjusting the preload wonderfully simple. Likewise, the damping can even be adjusted with a gloved hand thanks to a triangular shaped knob on the shock body. These are the nice little touches of attention to detail that are hallmarks of the BMW brand. Just like the standard heated grips, steering damper and a fuel filler on the side of the bodywork so you don’t have to remove your tankbag to refuel the machine. Those smart fellas back in Germany obviously also ride the bikes they design, something the Japanese designers should also perhaps start doing…

The riding position offers the best of both worlds. The seat-bar-peg axis positions the rider just right. It enables the aggressive rider to position their bodyweight exactly where they want it, while the upright touring rider will also have little to complain about. The S model has a slightly sportier riding position than the ST but it would take an extremely fussy bugger to find reason to complain about either perch. The reasonable 820mm seat height can be reduced to 790mm via a no cost optional lower seat. The F 800 S weighs in at a claimed 182kg with the ST carrying 5kg more but both bikes have a very light feel.

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