The Fun Way Up
MCA wipes the adventure grin off our faces after range-riding the BMW F800GS to Phuket and back

Imagine R1200GS looks, versatility and comfort with less bulk and you have the perfect F800GS visual that you'll really, really like to have as a companion to pile on the road mileage to Phuket Thailand.

After 6 days on the road with the F800GS and weathering all manners of rain and dirty road conditions, the BMW performed marvelously without a hint of subtlety from its grunty, smooth and very frugal 8V 798cc DOHC parallel twin. Add on liquid-cooling, a chain final drive and tall conventional upside down forks and you'll begin to understand why being smaller doesn't mean being less adventure-rugged or functional. The F800GS just begs to be ridden hard, getting dirty and put away wet but unwashed at various stopovers in Malaysia and Thailand.

The F800GS has lots of ground clearance and its weight is kept low including the fuel load and instead of adapting the previous F800S's twin-spar frame for the GS, BMW have engineered a bespoke steel trellis for the new F800GS with a single aluminium swingarm casting.

The DOHC twin engine is also very compact without the cylinders sticking out like its stable brethren and rewards the GS with a narrower profile. Claimed dry weight is approximately 185kg and the F800GS feels and handles far lighter than it actually is on the long-stretched highways and traffic-congested Thailand city streets.

As might be expected from a BMW GS, sitting on the F800GS provides good rider visibility and it is indeed a tall-order of a motorcycle for the average rider. If one is used to the larger displacement GS models, the F800GS provides a familiar feel on the seat but on a more stylized, slimmer and lightweight saddle. Instrumentation and controls consists of an analogue rev counter and speedometer, supplemented by an orange lit digital readout displaying the time and other information. All controls are easily reached, as are the input buttons for standard and optional accessories.

At the front of the F800GS is a Marzocchi non-adjustable upside-down (USD) telescopic fork with a diameter of 45mm and 230mm of travel. Even though the upper part of the fork assembly is hidden by the front cowling piece and the lower tubes by sturdy rock guards, the front end is still an impressive piece of work and confidence inspiring. Long travel suspension on the F800GS jacks up the height and the 21-inch front wheel uses off-road rubber and is larger than even the R1200GS base models. The F800GS still floats softly over the road and responds to minor input, sitting or standing.

With the standard seat in place, saddle height is at 880mm. One advantage of this higher seat is that it is virtually flat, allowing the rider to move back and forth along the whole length of the saddle, great for all day travel and moving your body weight around when required and you can even stretch your legs a little by sitting a bit further back.

The large adjustable Sachs rear spring suspension unit is nestled inside the frame and easily accessed. It has 215mm of play with adjustable rebound damping and remote preload adjustment. The preload is adjusted via a tension-loaded wheel located behind the rider's right leg.
Pushing off the F800GS is fun and the forward momentum is provided by a six speed synchromesh gearbox modulated by a mechanically operated multiple-disc wet clutch. Final drive is via an endless link O-rink chain that if correctly adjusted actually has a fair amount of slack. This is required to facilitate the entire range of motion that the suspension and the drive components, are put through.

Where there is drive, there should be braking and BMW did not skimp in this area. The front pair of 300mm floating discs with double-piston floating calipers are more than up to the task of scrubbing off speed quickly. The rear brake is powerful with its 265mm floating disc and single piston floating caliper. Well modulated, it provides good rear wheel brake control, something always appreciated, especially on loose gravel surfaces and the oil-baked tarmac that Thailand's roads are notorious for.

The F800GS is fitted with a minimalist non-adjustable windscreen, with thick side panels and the radiator guard. From the cockpit, the profile appears pretty slim and air flow over and around provides a decent sized envelope of clean air at speed. You'll appreciate the windblast at times while riding in the hot tropical climate across the Malaysian and Thailand border. As most of the riding was done during the day (it's dangerous to travel in Thailand at night according to most riders), so we did not have the opportunity to really test the ability of the headlights. Both light units are easily accessed from the back of the housing by the twist-off weather caps, as are the individual beam adjusters.

Although the engine is pretty quiet for a twin, the exhaust systems does give out a sweet off-road racer-like rasp that can be heard even with the side boxes attached. That exhaust can duly kept us entertained during the long rides.

So after days riding to and back from Phuket how do we rate the BMW F800GS? For many riders out there who are into the adventure thing, there is really no substitute for the world-renowned reputation of the BMW GS series. The F800GS carries on this world-traveler mantle in a smaller guise, but no less capable than its bigger GS brethren. The BMW F800GS has that manageability that potential BMW owners may have been dreaming of, and it will definitely not disappoint when it comes to real adventure riding.

MOTOR SHIOK! (WHAT WE LIKE!)
• It's a genuine BMW GS adventure bike!
• Looks and handles like a proper GS adventure bike!
• Compact and versatile enough for regular city riding.

MOTOR AIYOH! (WHAT YOU MUST CONSIDER LAH...)
• Does not have the BMW Boxer engine that appeals to the purists although the new engine is a peach.
• Tall set height but can be lowered by 30mm using optional lower kit.

For more information on the BMW F800GS, contact Performance Motors Limited at (65) 6319 0510.

This article was contributed by SpinAsia magazine, the Sports and Lifestyle Guide for Wheelers.

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