Does anyone know if an F800GS is in the BMW pipeline?

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Richard and Gunac
London

Search here, here and here.

Regards, Mick

be good if they did, hopefully making it GS sized too. i tried the F800ST out and its got a bit of a japanese midget feel to it, my knees wouldnt last two hours on it. a nice bike in all other respects though. same power and torque but lighter and narrower than the 1150/1200, got to be good hasnt it?

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dave

A BMW source told me that the 800GS was the 'company's biggest secret' -- but that it was already an open secret that it would definitely be released in 2008.

Note that the source said IN 2008 -- NOT 'for the 2008 model year' -- so don't be thinking that means it might be released later this year, as that was NOT the impression I got.

It was my view that BMW is playing it so secretly because if the buying public knew for sure the 800GS was coming soon, then sales of the 1200GS might drop while people wait for the 800GS. The BMW person I spoke to thought that this was not the case, and that the 1200GS would continue to appeal to its own peculiar market, with the new 800GS attracting people who were more likely to have been in the past drawn to the F650 model range. I'm not sure about that logic, though.

ron

Didn't the big 1100GS twin have an 850 twin version for a while? I think so. And Bike mag told no one to buy it, cos it was only a smaller version of the real thing.

This particular 800cc twin is completely different of course; being a bigger version of a 650cc bike, and so therefore a great improvement somehow.

Just hope no one notices this.

Simon

( It does sound like a pretty good bike though )

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Simon Kennedy
Around the world 2000-2004, on a 1993 Honda Transalp

I bet you it will still weigh the best part of 200kg +

Again, from talk I had with a BMW guy, I doubt very much if the belt drive will appear on the 800GS, and for the same reason that it only featured on the street-only CS version of the F650. Put a belt on a bike that might, even occasionally, see dirt track or fire road use, and it falls prey to the dangers of small stones being jammed between belt and sprockets. This cuts into the belt and makes it likely to break (or so he said anyway).

A perceived need to protect owners from being stranded far from home by a broken belt probably prevents belts being fitted to any models that may ever see dirt.



ron

2008 ? oh,bugger ! if that,s the case it probably means that BMW are looking to unveil it at the next intermot show ,which will be in OCTOBER 2008 ! over a year
and a half away !

> Put a belt on a bike that might, even occasionally, see dirt
> track or fire road use, and it falls prey to the dangers of
> small stones being jammed between belt and sprockets.
> This cuts into the belt and makes it likely to break (or so
> he said anyway).
And what if you have a small stone between your sprocket and chain ??

I drove my uncle his Harley Lowrider with beltdrive in South Africa with no problem on lots of dirt roads. My uncle has been to Zimbabwe and all over South Africa on this Harley, lots of dirtroads (the road to his house is a few miles dirt road) and he changed the belt after +/- 100.000 km but in did not break.
I would prefer a belt on my F650GS. Much easier in maintenance and a smoother ride.

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Jan Krijtenburg
My bikes: GoldWing GL1500/6
My wifes bike (that I use too): Honda CB400T
Our other toy: Suzuki Samurai Rhino 4x4 from 1991
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/ (my personal homepage with trip reports)
http://www.krijtenburg.nl/HU_BoZ/ (The HU Motorcycle Travellers Community in my area)

The "feel" of belt drive is something you really