Farewell, so long F800ST

[LongRanger_imp]

Sold my factory-lowered '07 F800ST today. It was a great bike but it wasn't being ridden enough to justify keeping it. The buyer got a great deal. Sad to see it go, but at least it went to a good home. Wishing him Happy Trails!

[the Ferret]

Hard to say goodbye to great bikes sometimes

[4 Paws_imp]

Ouch.
I like those bikes. Good thing my garage and driveway are full.

[Jim21680_imp]

I was rather thrilled the day I got rid of mine...what a lemon. I'll admit it was a great-handling bike, but it was just problem after problem after problem with that thing. BMW definitely needed to work a few more bugs out before sending the F800 to production.

In all, a very fun bike to ride, just not to own!

[LongRanger_imp]

This was my second '07 F800ST, and I still have my '13 F800GT. Incredible bikes. Sorry your experience was so disappointing. Mine proved to be 100% reliable and very inexpensive to own. Between the three bikes, combined total of about 70k miles, I had to replace one fork seal. No other out-of-pocket expense aside from scheduled maintenance.

[the Ferret]

Funny, I've heard from others that have had them that they were the worst bikes they ever owned, besieged with issues, yet some go tens of thousands of miles without any major issues. Most jekyl and hyde bikes I've heard of. yAmaha FZ09s are eRning that rep too.

[Jim21680_imp]

It always came as a bit of a shock to me. To my understanding, the development of the F800 series was a joint effort between Rotax (who built the engines), and BMW, who of course supplied the rest of the bike. Both of these companies have tremendous reputations and histories, built upon exceptional performance and reliability.

So, for a Rotax engine to develop, of all things...piston slap...just seemed crazy.
Likewise, an open swingarm from BMW develops bearing issues...from a company who has been building them since the beginning of time (or 1980, to be more exact).

As I mentioned earlier, I think these bikes just needed a little more time in the R&D phase...maybe they were rushed into production too quickly.
By 2008, I believe Rotax solved the problem with new a piston and pin design, and BMW solved the wheel play issue shortly thereafter.

I'd have no qualms about buying an F800GT, as I believe the bugs have been worked out by the time they came around. If you Google something like "F800GT piston slap or bearing failure", hardly anything comes up....it's all ST-related material from the 06-07 model years. Nonetheless, it's enough to make you think twice about buying another bike in its first-year production runout.

[LongRanger_imp]

Fortunately, BMW stepped up and recalled all bikes worldwide to address the rear bearing issue. They also provided reimbursement to those owners who paid for their own repairs prior to the recall. If that was your situation, I hope BMW made you square before you sold the bike.

The other issue circulating the web is stator failure. The F800GS seems to suffer from this too. Reportedly, Rotax upgraded the stator design a few years ago and the newer bikes (including the GT's) haven't been as affected (so I hear), but there are stories of folks with the older bikes who were stranded with dead bikes. Did yours make it that far?

[Jim21680_imp]

I had two batteries die inside of the original 2-year warranty. The first was replaced by BMW, but when the second one died, I just bought myself a Yuasa, which treated me well for the last year or so that I owned the bike. Luckily for me, they both died while the bike was at home, but BMW does offer roadside pickup. I remember thinking how silly it was that a big diesel flatbed came to my house (all the way from the nearest dealer in Cherry Hill, New Jersey), and picked up my bike just to tow it all the way back, all to change a simple dead battery. It seemed like a lot of work, which is why I didn't bother with the warranty the next time it happened.

At the time I thought it was just a lousy stock battery brand, with others on the F800 forum having the same issue. In hindsight, I guess it could've been the stator, but at that point I had already become fed-up with the bike's problems and BMW's then-ignorance of the issue. I'm glad to hear they finally recognized the problems and addressed them in good faith.