2023 Author: Nicholas Abramson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 14:58
A row of brand new BMW F 800 GT They are waiting for us outside the BMW headquarters in Madrid with just over 100 kilometers on their totalizer. We can observe it in its three colors: Valencia Orange Metallic, Graphite Metallic and the so fashionable white, called Luminous White. Lately I have a certain affair with this color and once again I am touched by a unit thus decorated, something on the other hand perfect so that all its forms can be shown in the photographs.
I place myself at their controls and again I notice that familiarity that BMW is capable of transmitting to its models. Reminiscent of the BMW F 800 R but less radical and of course the BMW F 800 ST. Although the first impression I have is that it has not become as gentrified as one might expect but that it continues to maintain a relatively sporty posture with the body slightly lying on the front half of the motorcycle.
We turn the ignition key and give the starter button. Immediately a sound between hoarse and rough emanates from their escape. Perhaps it is a sound that you would not expect in a GT and although I do not have as much hearing or memory, it is surely identical to that of the F 800 R since they share the entire exhaust system, including the silencer. It may seem like an understatement to some, but to my liking it sounds sporty enough to excite but not overwhelm.
BMW F 800 GT: a purring cat around town
The first kilometers we do, leaving Madrid in the direction of the mountains with the electronic suspension regulated in comfort mode and making ourselves at the controls of the BMW F 800 GT. Quickly and at the first traffic light we adjust both levers to feel more comfortable when operating them. We opted for position two, which for our long fingers is the most comfortable.
Green light and we continue the march. We notice that leaving from standing is a bit lazy and you have to let the clutch slip a little more than we would expect. They are running-in units and this always misleads our appreciation a bit, but with an 800cc twin we expected a little more thrust at idle since, unlike V-engines, this parallel engine barely bounces, which is always inviting. to leave with more tranquility and security.
This feeling of laziness lasts exactly five meters because we immediately join march after march, rolling calmly in fifth gear through the city, with the engine purring as if it were a cat. In case you need gas, there is power to, for example, make a more agile maneuver in a lane change, without giving us the feeling of being left hanging.
The clutch is very smooth, just enough to avoid fatigue and the brakes, perfectly dosable by city although in the rear we find a but: a brake lever set too low for the posture we have on the bike. It is not something worrying because in the end, it is as easy as disassembling it, turning it and putting it to our liking but it draws attention on a motorcycle that has become more touristy, that keeps a brake pedal so low. And after checking it in others I corroborated that it was not a peculiarity in my unit.
The new ones rear-view mirrors, with a longer arm that allows them to move back and forth, they offer an almost perfect view of what is happening behind us. Only a small part will reflect our arms, leaving the rest to offer us total safety in overtaking maneuvers or lane changes.
Speaking of lane changes, these are logically done very easily. It is not an extremely bulky or very heavy motorcycle, 213 kilos in running order, making it easy to pass between other vehicles or move with ease from one lane to another. But the road was already opening in front of us and the sun was shining in all its splendor, allowing us to ride on wet asphalt and thus draw better conclusions.
BMW F 800 GT, not as GT in driving as it seemed
The road becomes more twisty and the group stretches. It is time to see the virtues that the BMW F 800 GT when we face it on terrains that, in theory, look for a sporty driving. We start from the electronic suspension adjustment that we had, that is, comfort, but quickly the rear end begins to wiggle as we look for stronger supports.
Press on the left pineapple to activate the system, and again another press to switch to mode normal. After a few seconds in which the system changes the regulation in rebound of the shock absorber, we are ready to attack the curves in Phase II.
Third and fourth are the ideal gears for rolling between curves. Although there is constant thrust throughout the rev range, the best is above 5,000 and up to 9,000 in which you approach the injection cut. Below 5,000 we notice some other vibration but luckily, the pothole that the first F 800 twin had in this area has completely disappeared. Now if at some point we drop the revolutions a little more, we will not find ourselves opening right in that area where it seemed that our power had been stolen.
We approached one of the curves in fourth and began to brake, going down to third to take advantage of the engine retention. We speed up the braking a little more and notice, from time to time, some pulsation in the lever. It is the moment in which the ABS decides that it is time to give us a hand, although perhaps it helps us a little earlier than we would like.
The same happens behind when we have already transferred all the weight in front. It feels much better for him to plumb it a little earlier with the rear brake and then yes, dedicate ourselves to trying to brake for note. Now, when the braking is hurried by emergency, without any blemish. Help by allowing us to stay in control at all times. Even without emergency braking, but once you know more or less when it likes to act, you end up getting the hang of rushing with certain touches from the anti-lock system.
Regarding the stability control ASC available as an option and present in our test units, I did not have a chance to test it. With the dry road and 90 HP available, going to find its operation at the exit of a curve seemed something to me absurd and at the same time dangerous to do on the open road. But surely the day that you least expect it, it will help you get out of the mess you had gotten yourself into after wrongly evaluating the available grip.
We are cheering up and this means that our finger is already looking for the latest regulation of the ESA, the position sport, already much more in line with the road we are traveling on. In it, the flane disappears almost completely unless you have decided to remove the initials GT and put in its place an R.
Nor do you expect the motorcycle to behave as from night to day when changing the electronic setting. Its regulation only on the extension The shock absorber left me a bit, as we would say, disenchanted. I was expecting something more but I also have to say that it is not necessary in this BMW F 800 GT. If in any case you need a slightly more adjustment to your liking, the preload control is very accessible and you can harden back in search of a more sporty behavior or if, on the contrary, you are going to travel with a lot of luggage and a passenger behind.
Finally, the aerodynamic protection The new fairing seemed correct to me, but I also did not notice that all the air would be derived from the highway that perhaps we could expect on a motorcycle that extends its radius of action to long trips. But for this was the stretch of highway that we will talk about tomorrow.