Overlooked beginner bikes are stellar performers
Smallest sportbike is comfy sport-tourer
Overshadowed by the company’s trademark boxer twins and the headline-grabbing S1000RR superbike, BMW’s entry-level series of F800s garner precious little attention from hardcore motorcyclists.
Oh, beginner bikers and those new to the BMW brand like the simplicity and low price tag of the Rotaxengineered parallel twins, but bikers seem quick to dismiss the F800s as a bit frou-frou. Pity, as the Red Rose commercials used to proclaim, for the F800 range may be basic, but they are stellar performers.
The new-for-2013 GT, for instance, is a very comfortable sports tourer, capable of coddling for the endless hours of two-wheeled wandering that is any BMW’s forte. The fairing and windshield (this last slightly larger than previous) offer excellent protection, the seating position is fairly expansive (except for a seat-to-footpeg reach that is a tad tight) and the vibration minimal. My tester even had BMW’s optional ESA adjustable suspension damping and, unlike so many bikes, the range of firmness available was both noticeable and useful.
The F800 also proves surprisingly sporty. No parallel twin of a meagre 796-cc displacement will ever be described as super, but there’s plenty enough power. It revs sweetly, vibrates little and, were its exhaust note so weedy, perhaps it might get a little more respect. And the F800’s handling is exemplary, secure enough for the stability necessary for freeway comfort, yet light and responsive enough to play silly buggers in the twisties.
Indeed, having spent some time aboard an earlier iteration of the F800 — the similarly intentioned ST — on a racetrack, I can attest that BMW’s smallest sportbike is plenty capable of grinding footpegs. Indeed, it is the F800 GT’s combination of comfort and performance is the very raison d’être for any sporttourer. Throw in BMW’s traditional build quality, standard anti-lock brakes and the incredible list of quality accessories available and the GT starts to look attractive beyond its cheap-for-a-BMW $13,250 price tag.