Got to ride the 2011 F800R for a few hours.

[kevin_stevens]

Nice bike - steers incredibly precisely even when leaned over - which pebble do you want to hit today?  I wish the F800 engines revved out a little more freely, and all those bikes seem to be totally designed for low seat height so my legs feel scrunched up more than on my S1000RR.  Chain drive so you can gear it down, which it needs IMHO - first gear is awfully tall.  Fun ride.

KeS

[Lawn Dart]

Nice!  I see you already have a matching helmet!  

[miles]

THat photo was taken in my driveway!

[atadaskew]

I saw one like that at the shop yesterday.
It actually looks much better than that photo would indicate.

Price tag on it was $12500.

$12500 for an 80hp inline twin?  No way BMW is making money selling the 190hp super dooper everything S1000Rr for $2k more...

[Rincewind]

Nice looking colors.  I look forward to seeing one.  I have yet to ride one of their 800 twins.  It sounds like it would be less peaky then my Street Triple with maybe more meat in the low to mid range.  I don't have an interest in changing from my Triple, but it would be fun to try it anyway.  It sounds like the handling may be similar.  I hope the F800R doesn't have any cornering clearance issues.

[Ack535]

Yeah but for $12,500 you can get a new VFR1200 or two slightly used VFR800's... I just don't see it.

[Rincewind]

Yeah but for $12,500 you can get a new VFR1200 or two slightly used VFR800's... I just don't see it.

More relevantly, you can buy a Ducati Monster EVO with ABS/TCS or a 2011 revised Speed Triple with ABS for about the same money.  But keep in mind that the $12500 price is probably with most of the F800R options and a base model is $2500 less than that. 

For someone wanting a practical, sub-liter, naked ride with ABS and 3-case factory hard luggage options, there really aren't that many other options in this category.  Most naked bike makers eschew practical features like the hard panniers.  I can see the appeal if this is the type of bike you want. 

I know at least one STN'er has picked up his own F800R just recently - maybe he will chime in, or not.   

[MadOzodi]

miles, did you take it out for a spin?  

I test rode a used F800ST a little over a year ago while shopping for a new bike...liked everything about it except for the engine (it didn't help that I'd test ridden an R12R and K12R prior).  Regardless, the F800R looks like it'd be a h00t to ride, but that MSRP would take it out of the running for me if I were looking at nekkid middleweights.

[UFO]

Yeah but for $12,500 you can get a new VFR1200 or two slightly used VFR800's... I just don't see it.

He could also get 12500 value menu items at McDonalds, but that's only relevant to the person spending the money, not us as observers.

If it's something someone likes, wants, and can afford...get it.

[miles]

miles, did you take it out for a spin?  

I test rode a used F800ST a little over a year ago while shopping for a new bike...liked everything about it except for the engine (it didn't help that I'd test ridden an R12R and K12R prior).  Regardless, the F800R looks like it'd be a h00t to ride, but that MSRP would take it out of the running for me if I were looking at nekkid middleweights.

No, not this time- but I'm going to ride it on this saturday's ride, so I'll bet 8+ hours in the saddle then over a variety of roads.

[Rincewind]

No, not this time- but I'm going to ride it on this saturday's ride, so I'll bet 8+ hours in the saddle then over a variety of roads.

I am interested in your thoughts afterward.  

[miles]

I'll post up my thoughts on the bike. A full day of varied roads will let me know the bike quite well.

[MadOzodi]

I'll post up my thoughts on the bike. A full day of varied roads will let me know the bike quite well.

   (not that I don't trust what kevin has said   )

[jsanford]

Nice looking colors.  I look forward to seeing one.  I have yet to ride one of their 800 twins.  It sounds like it would be less peaky then my Street Triple with maybe more meat in the low to mid range.

Having ridden the Street Triple...this isn't a bad comparison, from my point of view.

[GRN]

Just sat down to read Riders review... had to stop once I got to the part about the engine config and it's result being "annoyingly buzzy" over 5000 rpm. Too bad, just fell off the short list.

[miles]

Eh.  My little jaunt around town this afternoon after I picked the bike up actually contradicted that finding.  Really, it's surprisingly unvibratious.  Certainly less so than many other bikes I've ridden, including a lot of I-4 designs.

Clearly a long ride tomorrow will tell me more, but my first impression is very positive.

Here it is in my driveway:

[Rincewind]

I read the same review and didn't like the buzziness comments either, though it's possible that was a very new engine not bedded-in yet.  Does the buzziness get less over time I wonder? 

What did they mean about the valves not having set check intervals?  The article said that they were instead monitored via computer.  I wonder what that translates to in the real world?  That sounds like it might reduce maintenance.

[miles]

THe demo bike I'm borrowing had 911 miles on the ODO when I left the dealership.  I will probably add 700 to that tomorrow.  

Sure, you can feel that it is vibrating, but it really isn't what I would call buzzy.

[Rincewind]

Your pic is not loading for me.  Have a good ride tomorrow.

[GRN]

OK, with an open mind I picked it back up a started where I left off... next sentence read: "On the dyno... bumpy hp and torque curves... pronounced dips between 4-6000 rpm". Had to put it back down. Tiger 800 just keeps looking better, and better...