- Joined
- Jul 27, 2010
- Messages
- 5,789
- Reaction score
- 909
- Location
- Blouberg, Cape Town
- Bike
- KTM 890 Adventure R
I had the opportunity of riding a 2014 F800GSA for 24 hours. Here's my impressions.
What is important is that I am 1.96m tall and weigh 100kg, which is 25% more than the average 75kg rider for who these bikes are typically built for.
I ride a 2013 F800GS with 19500km and wondered what the GSA would be like. The 2014 BMW F800GSA had 14800km on the clock, and as loan bike was well run in - I'm sure it gets nailed most of the time!
In essence the two bikes are the same, but there are some important changes.
My first impression was that the seat felt different. The GSA seat has a couch design, which should be more comfortable than the standard seat. The seat was the standard Adventure seat (not the lowered one). It did create two problems for my almost 2m frame:
1. It felt like I sat too far forward on the bike because my knees did not fit into the tank side depressions in the same way it does on the normal F800GS. BMW changed the design of the upper corners of the knee recesses, and my knees were bumping against these protrusions. The foot pegs still had the rubber inserts, which might have lifted my feet with 1-2cm, aggravating the problem, but still it became irritating.
2. Because of the shape of the couch seat, more bum touched plastic. The backrest part of the sculptured seat presses against the lower back, creating more areas to start sweating and burning. On two 1 hour + runs I could feed the uncomfortable sensation creeping in. It is to be expected, but the sensation was there. Maybe I am just spoiled with the beaded seat on my own bike, which I think is still the best solution for bum comfort.
On the plus side my nephew of 60kg and 1.65?m felt more comfortable to throw a leg over and ride the GSA than he felt mounting my standard GS with beaded seat.
Of course the bigger (24l vs 17l on the GS) fuel tank on the GSA will take you further, but It prevents the fitment of a tool tube when carrying luggage, and adds weight.
I liked the Adventure screen. It offered good wind protection, but still not as good as my Kappa screen with Aerotrim, which totally removes wind from my helmet. The adventure screen allows wind to hit the helmet at eye level, so you have to deal with more resistance and helmet noise, but there was no turbulence. It offers wider protection, which may be of benefit in crosswind situations.
On my 2013 F800GS I had to upgrade the front suspension, which cured front wheel instability at speed. The 2014 GSA had no such issues and the standard front suspension felt stable at speed and off road.
I really liked the Enduro setting. Enduro mode provides off road tuned ABS and ASC. I loathe the ASC on my 2013 F800GS, as it works too well. On tar it will cut power at any sign of wheel slip, often hampering brisk acceleration off the line from a traffic light or when jumping a curb. Not so on the GSA. On road it allows for some wheel spin, and the systems work very well off road. To give you an example. With ESA switched off and at full throttle at 100km/h on a gravel road, the rear wheel will spin wildly, throwing the rear from side to side. Do this with Enduro activated, and the rear wheel will still spin considerably, but the bike will keep its line. Nifty!
I always wonder why the standard handle bar setup angle is so low, with levers flat? Is that to keep the brake fluid container level? For me the ideal setting is with the handlebars rotated up and to the front so that the levers are at a 30° angle, and not level. This makes meerkatting easier, and the levers fall better at hand when sitting. This is easily fixed though.
The standard skid plate leaves the oil filter and heater exposed - fitting a proper after market bash plate is a must for off road riding, which defies the price of the GSA.
The GSA crash bars got in the way of my feet when stopping. I continually hit them with my boots (no 13!) and shins when stopping at lights and putting my feet out, or standing while waiting at lights.
The spotlights are really intended to be used as fog lights, but I was glad to see that LEDs were used in the spots. They have a seperate switch. I estimate them to be 1000 Lumens each, and they worked well urging traffic to move over (cages moved over more easily when they saw the bike coming).
The bike is very smooth, which was confirmed by another rider. An upgrade was done on the 2013 F800GS, and it is felt on the GSA as well. The Anakee 2 tyres fitted increases the feeling of smoothness. Fitting 50/50 tyres will remove some of that, but increase grip on gravel. On the same piece of gravel the F800GS definitely has more grip with Heidi's fitted, than with the Anakees.
One of my first thoughts after pulling away on the GSA the first time, and many times afterwards, was that it seriously needs an Accelerator Module. The 800s just goes so much better with an AM fitted! I had to rev the engine to 6000 rpm to do what I do on my F800GS between 2500 and 4000 rpm. The GSA exhaust purred, but on the GS the exhaust growls with the AM fitted - which also reduces the urge to fit an aftermarket exhaust for audible pleasures☺. And of course it goes better.
I like the GSA as it has a lot going for it, but tall riders will do better with the GS due to the seat and knees issue. Better quality accessories can be fitted for more or less the same price - the plastic hand guards are not as sturdy as Barkbusters, for instance, and all you will lose out on in the end is a smaller petrol tank, which is not a huge issue, given the good availability of petrol in SA.
Will I with my 2m frame buy one? Most probably not, but I hope that the GS will benefit from the electronics the GSA has.
What is important is that I am 1.96m tall and weigh 100kg, which is 25% more than the average 75kg rider for who these bikes are typically built for.
I ride a 2013 F800GS with 19500km and wondered what the GSA would be like. The 2014 BMW F800GSA had 14800km on the clock, and as loan bike was well run in - I'm sure it gets nailed most of the time!
In essence the two bikes are the same, but there are some important changes.
My first impression was that the seat felt different. The GSA seat has a couch design, which should be more comfortable than the standard seat. The seat was the standard Adventure seat (not the lowered one). It did create two problems for my almost 2m frame:
1. It felt like I sat too far forward on the bike because my knees did not fit into the tank side depressions in the same way it does on the normal F800GS. BMW changed the design of the upper corners of the knee recesses, and my knees were bumping against these protrusions. The foot pegs still had the rubber inserts, which might have lifted my feet with 1-2cm, aggravating the problem, but still it became irritating.
2. Because of the shape of the couch seat, more bum touched plastic. The backrest part of the sculptured seat presses against the lower back, creating more areas to start sweating and burning. On two 1 hour + runs I could feed the uncomfortable sensation creeping in. It is to be expected, but the sensation was there. Maybe I am just spoiled with the beaded seat on my own bike, which I think is still the best solution for bum comfort.
On the plus side my nephew of 60kg and 1.65?m felt more comfortable to throw a leg over and ride the GSA than he felt mounting my standard GS with beaded seat.
Of course the bigger (24l vs 17l on the GS) fuel tank on the GSA will take you further, but It prevents the fitment of a tool tube when carrying luggage, and adds weight.
I liked the Adventure screen. It offered good wind protection, but still not as good as my Kappa screen with Aerotrim, which totally removes wind from my helmet. The adventure screen allows wind to hit the helmet at eye level, so you have to deal with more resistance and helmet noise, but there was no turbulence. It offers wider protection, which may be of benefit in crosswind situations.
On my 2013 F800GS I had to upgrade the front suspension, which cured front wheel instability at speed. The 2014 GSA had no such issues and the standard front suspension felt stable at speed and off road.
I really liked the Enduro setting. Enduro mode provides off road tuned ABS and ASC. I loathe the ASC on my 2013 F800GS, as it works too well. On tar it will cut power at any sign of wheel slip, often hampering brisk acceleration off the line from a traffic light or when jumping a curb. Not so on the GSA. On road it allows for some wheel spin, and the systems work very well off road. To give you an example. With ESA switched off and at full throttle at 100km/h on a gravel road, the rear wheel will spin wildly, throwing the rear from side to side. Do this with Enduro activated, and the rear wheel will still spin considerably, but the bike will keep its line. Nifty!
I always wonder why the standard handle bar setup angle is so low, with levers flat? Is that to keep the brake fluid container level? For me the ideal setting is with the handlebars rotated up and to the front so that the levers are at a 30° angle, and not level. This makes meerkatting easier, and the levers fall better at hand when sitting. This is easily fixed though.
The standard skid plate leaves the oil filter and heater exposed - fitting a proper after market bash plate is a must for off road riding, which defies the price of the GSA.
The GSA crash bars got in the way of my feet when stopping. I continually hit them with my boots (no 13!) and shins when stopping at lights and putting my feet out, or standing while waiting at lights.
The spotlights are really intended to be used as fog lights, but I was glad to see that LEDs were used in the spots. They have a seperate switch. I estimate them to be 1000 Lumens each, and they worked well urging traffic to move over (cages moved over more easily when they saw the bike coming).
The bike is very smooth, which was confirmed by another rider. An upgrade was done on the 2013 F800GS, and it is felt on the GSA as well. The Anakee 2 tyres fitted increases the feeling of smoothness. Fitting 50/50 tyres will remove some of that, but increase grip on gravel. On the same piece of gravel the F800GS definitely has more grip with Heidi's fitted, than with the Anakees.
One of my first thoughts after pulling away on the GSA the first time, and many times afterwards, was that it seriously needs an Accelerator Module. The 800s just goes so much better with an AM fitted! I had to rev the engine to 6000 rpm to do what I do on my F800GS between 2500 and 4000 rpm. The GSA exhaust purred, but on the GS the exhaust growls with the AM fitted - which also reduces the urge to fit an aftermarket exhaust for audible pleasures☺. And of course it goes better.
I like the GSA as it has a lot going for it, but tall riders will do better with the GS due to the seat and knees issue. Better quality accessories can be fitted for more or less the same price - the plastic hand guards are not as sturdy as Barkbusters, for instance, and all you will lose out on in the end is a smaller petrol tank, which is not a huge issue, given the good availability of petrol in SA.
Will I with my 2m frame buy one? Most probably not, but I hope that the GS will benefit from the electronics the GSA has.
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