I recently had the
opportunity to log about 100 miles on the new for the US, 2011 BMW F800R. BMW’s entry in the standard middleweight
class features a water-cooled, double overhead cam parallel twin motor with 4
valves per cylinder.
When you first clime
aboard the F800, you’ll notice that it is fairly easy to pick up off of the
side stand. At a claimed 439lbs ready to
ride, it’s easy to maneuver around a parking lot too. The riding position is fairly standard with a
slight lean to the sporting side of things.
The handlebar is not overly wide but I noticed that the pegs were a bit
high and to the rear. The peg position
is awesome for hard back-roads riding, but for around town jaunts and longer
tours, an inch lower and to the front would make life more enjoyable. The seat is shaped well being flat and wide
at the rear but narrow enough up front to keep your legs in tight to the
tank. The saddle is comfortable for the
first hour but longer than that, it suffers from being too soft and you start
to sink in and become uncomfortable.
This is a common problem with OEM seats, which I don’t understand why
manufacturers don’t put firmer seats on their bikes.
