2013 BMW F 700 GS and F 800 GS

Name: 2013 BMW F 700 GS and F 800 GS
Brand: BMW

BMW had always been the standard bearer in adventure biking, so how do its latest bikes stack up? I think you already know the answer...

The great thing about adventure riding – and its winning hand over most other motorcycle riding pursuits – is that it doesn’t matter what time of the year it is: unencumbered joy is always just around the corner.

The seasons don’t end and, as long as you’ve got the bike to get the job done, then you’re right to go. And one manufacturer which has been at the vanguard of adventure riding over the last 30 years is arguably BMW Motorrad, which has made possible more tales of derring-do and mischief than one could imagine – mostly thanks to the venerable Boxer range of big-bore twins, which continues to this day with the pre-eminent R 1200 GS (click here to read all about the extensive makeover to that bike for the 2013 model year).

But there’s no doubt that large-capacity adventure bikes have their limits in terms of weight and overall design – although power and torque-to-weight ratios aren’t two of them! There’s still nothing like pinning the throttle on an R 1200 GS and holding on for the ride, but if brute force isn’t your only way to get your jollies, then look no further than the middleweight F 800 GS.

This one’s a twin too, but instead of a horizontally opposed Boxer engine, the F 800 GS is powered by a parallel twin, and was first released in 2008. At that stage, the F 800 GS had some vague opposition in the form of more road-orientated bikes like the Kawasaki Versys and Suzuki V-Strom (both with less cc's), but that soon changed with Triumph releasing a direct competitor in the form of the Tiger 800XC in 2010.

That’s increased the stakes, and BMW Motorrad has now returned serve not only with sharper pricing (which also holds for the entire on and off-road line-up), but a bigger list of standard equipment and factory options.

The updated version of the F 800 GS ($16,690) was launched in Victoria on October 15-16, 2012 alongside the more road-focussed F 700 GS ($12,890), which is an evolution of the F 650 GS. The F 800 GS and F 700 GS both share the same 800cc engine, but the 800 has a higher state of tune: 85hp and 83Nm compared to 75hp and 77Nm for the 700.

The biggest point of departure between the two is – predictably – in the chassis department. The main differences are as follows:

The 800 has a 43mm upside-down fork, and the 700’s is 41mm;
The 800’s suspension travel is 230/215mm, and the 700’s is 180/170mm;
The 800’s wheelbase is 1578mm, and the 700’s is 1562mm;
The 800 has 21/17-inch spoked wheels, and the 700 has 19/17-inch aluminium cast wheels.

For the first time, BMW Motorrad now offers Automatic Stability Control (ASC/traction control) and Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA) on both bikes, available as options ex-works (from the factory). But the electronic suspension adjustment, probably as a nod to keeping price down, is only available on the rear, and is limited to damping adjustment: preload is still adjustable via an easily accessible hand wheel near the engine. There are three damping settings: ‘Comfort’, ‘Normal’ or ‘Sport’.

Electronic suspension adjustment and traction control can be purchased as part of a ‘traction package’ for $985. Anti-lock braking is now standard on both bikes, falling into line with BMW’s new policy blanket policy for the technology (click here for a news story about that topic). Previously, anti-lock braking was a $1265 factory option.

There’s the backdrop – now let’s go riding!

F 800 GS

BMW Motorrad Australia delivered a twin banquet, with two separate launch routes running simultaneously on both days – a more off-road focussed jaunt for the F 800 GS, while the 700’s outing was predominantly held on bitumen.

The 800 GS is just how I remember it from my first ride in 2008: it just gets the job done with tremendous versatility, again reaffirming how BMW has this adventure caper down to a fine art.

All the launch bikes were fitted with knobby tyres (available as an option ex-works for zero bucks), and it’s amazing how much grip can still be had on twisty, bitumen roads, with the ABS Brembo brakes more than earning their keep. That’s allowing for the inevitable ‘squirm’ factor of knobbies, especially the 21-inch front, but even that didn’t put too much of a dampener on momentum – we left that to an oncoming log truck which drifted into our lane!

The 800’s engine is an absolute beauty. It starts to build up a real head of steam about 5000rpm, with maximum power at 7500rpm and maximum torque at 5750rpm. If you can’t have fun with those numbers, then perhaps the R 1200 GS might be more your caper. I’ve often struggled with that scenario myself, although on power and torque-to-weight comparisons there’s very little in it – and there’s the bonus of a lighter bike in the case of the 800.

That’s a boon on slow, meandering and technical off-road terrain, and we covered a bit of that on the launch route. But that still didn’t stop one 800 GS getting buried in mud after the inexperienced rider became disorientated on a wet track, and it took four men to wrench it out.

The parallel twin has an even firing order, which means one firing cycle for each crankshaft rotation. The sound is deliberately like that of boxer engines, which work with an identical firing offset. Fuel injection uses two 46mm throttle valves. A lambda probe is positioned where the manifolds join. This is followed immediately by the closed-loop three-way catalytic converter, which brings the machine in line with Euro 3 emission laws.

There is a balance shaft to smooth out some of the vibes, courtesy of an additional swivelling conrod. However, it hasn’t completely muted the ‘feedback’ through the aluminium handlebars, and it’s still kinda nice to know there are some mini explosions still happening beneath you.

Befitting its propensity for roaming, the 800 GS is chain rather than belt-driven, and there's a steel tubular frame. The double-strut swingarm is made from diecast aluminium.

On tight bitumen, and when it’s time to play, a flick of the electronic suspension adjustment switch will soon have the 800 in Sport dampening mode – but you’ve then got to remember to change it back to Normal or Comfort when the landscape changes. Like all systems, that would become second nature after a few days in the saddle.

Unlike the R 1200 GS, there are only two traction control settings: on or off. There’s no ‘limited slip’ middle-of-the-road option, which is a little disappointing for a bike that is so adept off-road. The on setting is too restrictive in the dirt when the road is corrugated or simply too rough around the edges, so that’s when I turned the traction control off. But I still had the last laugh: getting an 800 GS all sideways on a gravel road with a smooth, torquey, powerplant is brilliant fun. Just remember to switch the suspension to Normal or Comfort!

Suspension travel is more than adequate on the F 800 GS: 230mm at the front and 215mm at the rear. That’s only about 100mm less than a 450cc class motocross machine, so there’s plenty of scope for riders to explore and even successfully navigate a nasty wash-out or jump. But the 800 is not the kind of bike which is made to absorb massive shunts all day, so better to err on the side of caution in those situations and just dawdle through or over them.

BMW had a few different seats for us to try out, including the low seat (790mm, no cost) and comfort seat (835mm, $190), which are both available ex-works. As a short arse, I appreciated the low seat, but the comfort seat is the pick for, err, comfort – although it probably isn’t the best visual fit for the bike. There’s also a rally seat in the accessories list.

Another factory option is low suspension ($250), but there’s a downside: it negates the main stand as well as ESA/Traction Package. The low suspension includes the low seat option and cannot be fitted with any alternate seat option from factory.

The on-board computer on the 800 has an analogue speedo and tacho mated to an LCD display, featuring readouts galore: average speed, average fuel consumption, real-time fuel consumption, kilometres to empty, ambient temperature, stopwatch, and current gear selected.

Colours are Kalamatta Metallic Matt, Cordona Blue or Alpine White. The Kalamatta is my pick, and once punters see it in the flesh I reckon it will become the colour of choice.

F 700 GS

As we said earlier, the $12,890 F 700 GS is an evolution of the F 650 GS, but it’s still 800cc – but it has a little more power and torque compared to the F 650 GS (but still not as much as the F 800 GS). The taxonomy may cause a bit of head scratching, but as BMW Motorrad’s marketing manager Miles Davis explained at the launch, the F 700 GS is a “less daunting name” for people who the company are trying to target with this machine. And, obviously, the F 800 GS name is already taken, and two doesn’t go into one.

A slightly awkward naming convention, but really the F 700 GS is more of the same: great design and rideability. And the bodywork has been given a nip and tuck too. We already had an inkling the bike was up to the task after rendezvousing with the group of journos which had ridden the bike on day one of the launch. But we didn’t tell them about some of the nasty bog holes awaiting them on the F 800 GSs the next day…

But that was no longer our concern, as we set out on the F 700 GS and gobbled up a variety of different roads: twisty, dirt, open and as, we approached out final destination, some heavier traffic.

With suspension travel of 180mmm (front) and 170mm, the 700 certainly isn’t meant to be an off-road trail blazer, and with cast wheels and smaller tyres that certainly reinforces the case. But on secondary dirt roads life’s still a breeze, and there’s also a traction package available from the factory for $985 which also includes tyre pressure monitoring (not available on the 800 GS with its spoked wheels).

But where it’s time to “make snake way” – a term used by our guide on a recent trip to Vietnam to describe gnarly, turn-infested bitumen – the F 700 GS really belts out the tunes with 5kg less weight compared to the F 800 GS, a 19-inch front wheel (as opposed to 21) and a lower centre of gravity. And the more road-orientated tyres, at least compared to the factory optioned-up knobbies on the F 800 GS, were another distinct advantage. But the 700 would be even better if it had that zesty acceleration of the 800. BMW claims the 700 is good for 0-100km/h acceleration in 4.3 seconds, compared to 4.1 for the 800.

At nearly $4K less than the F 800 GS, the F 700 GS represents a great ‘buy’ option in my books, especially if commuting forms a major part of your motorcycling menu. And this is the bike I’d go touring on, which is the perfect cue for the comfort seat to take centre stage. At 835mm, the comfort seat is 15mm higher than the standard one, but if that’s too high there’s always the low suspension option, which allows the comfort seat to be fitted (or the 790mm low seat).

Colours for the F 700 GS are Red Apple Metallic, Glacier Silver Metallic or Ostra Grey Metallic Matt.

Both the 700 and 800 have 16-litres fuel tanks, and consumption figures of around 5lt/100km are the norm – not that economising was high on the priority list during the launch...

It’s just so easy to see why BMW is the standard bearer in adventure riding, and there’s never a feeling that you’ve been short-changed. Muscular powerplants and shining technology (I don’t even turn the ABS off on dirt roads anymore) is all about getting the job done. Adventure riding is fun — damn fun – and these bikes are fine purveyors of the craft.

Visit the F 700 GS and F 800 GS in Bike Showroom

SPECS: BMW F 800 GS (F 700 GS in brackets)
ENGINE

Type: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, eight-valve, four-stroke, parallel twin
Capacity: 798cc
Bore/stroke: 82.0mm x 75.6mm
Compression ratio: 12.0:1
Fuel delivery: Electronic fuel injection
Emission control: Euro 3

PERFORMANCE
Maximum power: 85hp at 7500rpm (75hp at 7300rpm)
Maximum torque: 83Nm at 5750rpm (77Nm at 5500rpm)

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six speed
Drive: Chain

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame: Tubular steel
Front suspension: 43mm upside-down fork, 230mm travel (43mm upside-down fork, 180mm travel)
Rear: Monoshock, aluminium swingarm, 215mm travel (170mm travel)
Front brake: Twin 300mm discs with four-piston floating calipers, ABS standard
Rear brake: 265mm disc with twin-piston floating caliper, ABS standard
Wheels: Spoked with aluminium rims -- front 2.15 x 21, rear 4.25 x 17 (aluminium cast – front 2.5 x 19, rear 3.5 x 17
Front tyre: 90/90-21 (110/80-19)
Rear tyre: 150/70-17 (140/80-17)

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITES
Wheelbase: 1578mm (1562mm)
Kerb weight: 214kg (209kg)
Seat height: 880mm, optional 850mm (820mm, optional 790mm)
Fuel capacity: 16 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $16,690 ($12,890)
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited km
Colours: Kalamatta Metallic Matte, Cordoba Blue or Alpine White (Red Apple Metallic, Glacier Silver Metallic or Ostra Grey Metallic Matte)
Testbikes supplied by: BMW Motorrad Australia, www.motorcycles.bmw.com.au

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2013 BMW F 700 GS and F 800 GS

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