After my recent exploits on another rather rapid and fairly substantial BMW machine I was relieved when a slightly smaller bike arrived at the office. It was the F 800 R, which is smaller than its touring sibling and doesn’t offer any protection from the elements.
The naked machine features a tried-and-trusted 798cc water-cooled four-stroke in-line two-cylinder from many BMW products. It produces 66kW/86Nm which is more than enough for those looking for something nippy to start their sportsbike exploits. It is an easy thing to ride and because there is a reasonable and not an overwhelming lump of torque at your disposal, the bike feels as if it’s on your side, not like it wants to get you off at the first opportunity.
The other thing about the bike is that it is quite narrow and light, making it manoeuvrable. With a full fuel tank the bike weighs in at 202kg. Combine the weight with the nippy handling characteristics and the playful engine and you have a bike that would be easy to pilot on a daily basis.
I would avoid this model if I was predominantly on the freeway however my commute is mostly urban and city driving, so this model worked particularly well for me. If you are considering one of these as a daily or even a weekend ride another benefit is consumption, I managed a figure of 5.3 litres/100km without effort. Coming from a car to that sort of consumption was impressive, for me at least.
This F 800 R hasn’t been quite the success that Bavarian brand had hoped for. This is very probably because the bike gets lost in-between the other rather excellent products from the Adventure and Sport ranges. Then it has the not-so-small issue of having a Triumph Street triple and the Ducati Monster ranges to compete with. Both the British and Italian bikes have established themselves as mean competitors in this segment while in other parts of the motorcycle market BWM appear to have the upper hand.
The Street Triple has a slight price advantage and well, the Monster is a Ducati so it commands a slight premium. With bikes such as these, image is very important for the buyer and that appears to be where the Brit and the Italian have the upper hand. However there is something to be said about service and backup. In the area where I live I have access to two BMW Motorrad dealerships whereas Ducati is quite a drive and Triumph is mixed brand dealership.
Price: R 130 990
