Having recently purchased a new F800 GSA TE as I gave up waiting for the 850, I found i could not get on with the 800, the buffeting and wind turbulence for which there seems to be no cure regardless of which screen I tried, means it has to go, after 1000 miles I cannot live with it.
So today I took the 850 for a test ride; boy am I glad I never got one of them, it was awful. The seat is an instrument of torture and the engine rattles like a bag of spanners, it was so bad I stopped and put ear plugs in. The suspension is too soft regardless of which mode its in. Its quick if you give it the beans through the gears, but it's gutless in top or 5th if you need to overtake, at less than 60 plus you need to play tunes on the gear box to get anywhere, there seems to be no torque unless you keep the revs high.
So I have given up on the parallel twins and followed up the 850 test ride with a ride on a 1200 GS WC, I sold a 1200 GSA TC to buy the 800 GSA (big mistake) the result is a resounding win for the WC, its lighter than the old 1200 GSA but more powerful and agile, so now trying to offload the 800 for a 1200, no doubt it will cost me a fortune. Look out for lots of 800 Accessories coming up for sale if I can do a deal.
So today I took the 850 for a test ride; boy am I glad I never got one of them, it was awful. The seat is an instrument of torture and the engine rattles like a bag of spanners, it was so bad I stopped and put ear plugs in. The suspension is too soft regardless of which mode its in. Its quick if you give it the beans through the gears, but it's gutless in top or 5th if you need to overtake, at less than 60 plus you need to play tunes on the gear box to get anywhere, there seems to be no torque unless you keep the revs high.
So I have given up on the parallel twins and followed up the 850 test ride with a ride on a 1200 GS WC, I sold a 1200 GSA TC to buy the 800 GSA (big mistake) the result is a resounding win for the WC, its lighter than the old 1200 GSA but more powerful and agile, so now trying to offload the 800 for a 1200, no doubt it will cost me a fortune. Look out for lots of 800 Accessories coming up for sale if I can do a deal.