This might get long so bare with me.


I'm looking to upgrade in the near future(not getting rid of my baby, just picking up a second bike)

I'm looking for more of a Roadster/Naked Streetbike.

I pretty much fell in love with the Triumph Street Triple R when I first saw one, but the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. That combined with the fact that I would have to drive quite a bit to even find one, as my local dealer is really small and was only allotted one of the from triumph last year and had it sold like 4 months before he got it, and he said he probably wont be getting another this year.

So my search led me to the Ducati Monster/Hypermotard, which are both amazing bikes, but the only dealer within 200 miles of me for Ducati(also an Aprilia dealer, so this makes them out as well) charges an arm an a leg for service(I was quoted close to $1000 for a first service for either of the two bikes, and service price is important to me, at least until the warranty runs out), and has a not so great reputation(like people dropping bikes off to get them dyno'd on his totally amazing bad ass dyno, and getting the bikes back in boxes, because they blew it up, heard this from more than one person)

And now my search has brought me to the BMW F800R. The more I look at this one and do the research, the more I like it. I love the look and the performance is on par with the other bikes that I was looking at, as is the insurance costs. I can actually get a hold of one of these from the local dealer, and he doesn't charge your first born for service, like the Ducati place. I like the seating position, and the seat on this bike is more comfortable to me than the other two. I really enjoy the engine sound of all three so that's not really an issue. Not much aftermarket support here in the US yet but its growing, and the little amenities that it comes with don't hurt either(ABS, heated grips, computer, etc.)

Cliff Notes: Ive looked at a few bikes and keep coming back to a BMW F800R. What is your opinion of the BMW F800R?


Thank you!:D

I really wanted to get an F800ST, BMW this year sent 24 of them to the U.S... Check in with a BMW dealer first to see if they will even be available

I like the Triumph Speed Triple R personally but a lot of people don't like the looks of em too much. To each his own I guess...

I know I can get the BMW, the local dealer and another dealer thats not too far up the road both have a few in stock.

I really like the F800R! It is very unique. Reviewers say the Street Triple is better but I think I might pick the BMW over it. I think they are sexy!


Plus they can do this!
http://blog.xkmph.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/chris4-1024x768.jpg
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/269423/images/01MG1.JPG

Here's a thought.

Does it strike you as strange that the F800r has an 8,500 rpm redline? Why would this bike have such a low redline? To compare a couple of other 2-cylinder engines, the Kawasaki Ninja 650r redlines at 11,000 rpm and the Ducati 848 redlines at 11,000 rpm.

The road to the answering that question goes right through BMW's marketing offices (i.e. all that hairy-chested, he-man, image-conscious stuff that helps to sell bikes). BMW made the same (marketing driven) decision that Triumph did on its parallel twin bikes, and that decision was to sacrifice some performance for better sound. Because the bottom line is: exhaust sound sells bikes. Not surprisingly Triumph's parallel twin models have redline rpm limits that range from 7,500 to 8,500 depending on the bike model and production year, essentially the same as the F800r.

And here's the reason....

The issue is crankshaft design. The 11,000 rpm Ninja 650r is uses "flat plane" crankshaft (180 degree offset), which is the lightest, most efficient, quickest-revving configuration you can choose for a parallel twin engine. Unfortunately, it sounds horrible (the EX-250 is also a flat-plane crankshaft design).

The BMW and a couple of the Triumph parallel twins use a 360 degree crankshaft, which means that both cylinders rise and fall together (instead of rising alternately like on the 650r or the EX-250). The major drawback to this design is that you have to add lots of extra rotating mass to the crankshaft in the form of counterweighting to offset the fact that both the pistons are going up and down together. So you end up with a much lower redline rpm. The major attraction of using this less efficient design is that it sounds great because one cylinder fires every 360 degrees of engine rotation.

Maybe it's true that most motorcycle guys believe the sound of their bike is more important than its performance. Or, put differently, maybe it's true that if it comes down to a choice between better performance with lousy sounding exhaust note and less performance with great sounding exhaust note, the money will always flow toward what sounds better.

This choice only has to be made when you're dealing with a parallel twin engine because every other motorcycle engine configuration (besides a single) sounds better: V-twins (of any degree) sound better, opposed twins sound better, triples sound fantastic, inline fours sound great, V-fours sound exotic.

It has 86 hp at redline, not sure where the performance decrease is...

Ducati 848 horsepower = 115.6 at 10,000 rpm.

There's your answer.

Fair comparison? I think so: both are high-dollar, big displacement twins.


(and Ninja 650r = 72 horsepower with 150cc less than the BMW and only $7,500)

OK, but the choice of firing order and crankshaft design isn't the only difference between those two motors. The BMW has a relatively square design by today's standards, 82 mm bore / 75.6 mm stroke. It does have a reasonably high compression ratio of 12.0. The 848 motor is an extremely oversquare design, with a pair of 94 mm pistons and a stroke of only 61.2mm. On top of that, it has an even higher compression ratio of 13.2. It stands to reason that the 848 would both rev higher and have significantly more horsepower while doing so, as well as quite a bit less low to mid-range torque (as well as smoothness).

The F800 engine isn't used in any bikes that need a particularly high hp hit, and in fact is most often (by sales) used on an adventure bike, which prioritizes torque, motor feel, and low to mid-range traction and predictability. But you're also correct, it doesn't hurt that the sound comes surprisingly close to the 1200cc boxer twin due to its configuration.