BMWMCCWA

As some of you may know, I currently have Ben's F800GS as he's out injured. Well those at breakfast this morning would have noticed that I had it out and was going for a play.

Myself, Michael from Mottorad ( on Ben's Kaboom 690), Greg on the super ten and my son's mate Brannon, on his dads Transalp750 went out for a quick run to Jarrahdale pub for lunch.

As a regular rider on my 1200Gs the ride on the road between the 800 and the 12 was definatley different, the first thing you pick up is the size of the bike, the 800 feels very small compared to the 12, there is no reaching for the bars,and the view out the front is not interupted by the screen. Once i hit the dirt the difference was chalk and cheese, the feeling through the bars on the 800 was awsome with the corrogations being soaked up by the front conventional forks very well.


would I buy one ???


The jury is still out on that, I love my 12, but once you get them in the snotty stuff, you really are hanging on for the ride. The throttle is easier to control on the 12 ( 8 is twitchy) but once on the grunt on the 12 sometimes can be like a rodeo ride. As discussed with Ben, you ride the 8 but hang on for the ride on the 12.

I was very impressed with the super 10 and was great to watch Greg throw it around, the surprise though was young Brannon on the Transalp, he's from a motorcross background and handled the tranvestite with great aplomb, whilst following behind him he lost the front end and just wound it back on to recover ( bike just had Annakees on) like to ride with him on a decent bike, he's looking at an 8, but should get more than a 250 licence first.

I'm looking forward to a few more rides on the 8 and I'll be interested to hear Chris's thought s when he gets the 8 on the dirt.

Bully

I have had the GS8 for over 2 years now and the throttle is too sensitive and responsive for me, especilly on the brown ball bearings. It takes a lot to get used to. I reide the bike evrey day and the adjustments in the throttle between tame and wild is minute. It takes a lot of small muscle control.

I am going to invest in a throttle tamer [about $70]. This makes the first 1/3 of the throttle come on slightly slower. I have read good things about it and may just make the difference. There are some other solutions on ADV Rider as well.

Great bike, if you can only have one bike.....and don't want to carry a pillion a long way.

Koos

Bully.

When I decided I needed a smaller bike for the snottier stuff, I gave the 800 a lot of thought. But ultimately the love affair with the 1200 couldn't be broken plus I thought the 800 would still be too big for the real snotty stuff (ie desert sand dunes), hence the KTM. Very happy with my 2 sweethearts now.

My mate bought a DR650 to go with his GSA... have been with him on plenty of rides and gotta say (with the susp upgrade + safari tank) his DR is a bloody good bike. When the KTM destroys itself (or I get sick of the vibes ) I'll probably get a DR... they're very cheap and very capable.

If I could only have one bike, the 800 would probably get the nod ahead of the DR... only just though.

I was wondering how long it would take before you made an appearance on this subject Ben!

Regards

JP

Thanks for that Bully,

"Once i hit the dirt the difference was chalk and cheese, the feeling through the bars on the 800 was awsome with the corrogations being soaked up by the front conventional forks very well."

Isn't adventure rider about riding in the dirt, and road bike riding is about riding an RT/KT/LT whatever else is out there (GSA )?.

Of course you would buy one, you just need to get the crowbar out to part company with the 1200. Then you will notice a huge weight lift off your shoulders ( like 50kg ) to the world of light weight riding.

Old Betsy

GSDisciple wrote:I was wondering how long it would take before you made an appearance on this subject Ben!

Regards

JP

JP

There were/are 2 certainties in this thread.

1. Ben appearing
2. Bully slagging off on KTM's (because I've mentioned mine)

All good though... love a bit of light hearted banter... even if it is a bit predictable and repetitive.

Yes, even though I am fairly new to the club I have realised that if you ever want to have a bit of light hearted entertainment just log onto the forum if you see Ben, Bully, Old Betsy, or Intrepid Ken (and now you!) on there!

Regards

JP

Shane why would I slag off about KTM 640's, they are a great bike, I know lot's of girls that ride them, uncomfortable seat, big vibrations, reliableas ever, like I said great bikes.

Slagging off KTM's.... Thats not nice bully, gotta have someone to turn around and go home early and start the ride report
I once had the pleasure of taking an 800 for a 4 day ride as a loaner when my GSA was in for work, on the thought of maybee trading DOWN to an 800.
Hated it on the road, loved it on the dirt, powerslides on an 800 are great fun, power slides on a 1200 are scary.
I agree with Shane about the DR, I would have swapped my Pig for Drens DR on that sandy track at Rudall river, they even do highway work well, Dren and I did Newman to Perth in a day, so It would be a DR over an 800 for me,Price is a big winner. with the Orange Vibrator in 3rd, sorry I think they shouldn't have been let out of the factory like that!
But at the end of the day the mighty GSA is the bike for me

Now this is a real bike!


Who said the big pigs didn't like the mud?

Oh now thats just cruel Jono, Ben didn't know it was soft on the edge of the road, and if I remember it was you who rode off and left me and Ben to toil in the mud extracting the GS!!

Just read your post Ben, Iv'e got no comeback, your right in all points, I'm gona sell my GSA, way too heavy for what I do, An 800 for me, just gota go to Thiland for the sex change op, then It's down to Auto Classic for one of those 800 girly bikes
Sorry Ben, only jokeing, If I had my way I'd have both, but as it is I can't so I'll settle for the Pig
and the Ural (It's got a steering damper!!) and 2 21 inch wheels!!!!

And there endeth the (Ben's) lecture!

.....or does it

The big bikes are not perfect for the snotty stuff, but they have so much going for them across a range of riding conditions. What else is as versatile, comfortable, fun and reliable?
I reckon you fella's who down size bought the wrong bike in the first place. If you wanted to go hunting single track, sandy and boggy trails why did you buy a 1200 in the first place? when what you really wanted was an enduro?

...now I reckon that might get another bite!

Bugger, I was going to post that pic up.

Give me one good reason why I'd trade the Pig on a lighter bike??