We've Gone and Done It: A F800ST Added to the Family!

[Ben_Ricci]

My R12ST has a little sister!

 

After a bit of thought and scrounging, my wife and I have added a second Beemer to the household fleet. We decided on a blue metallic factory lowered '07 F800ST. She is a re-entry rider (hasn't ridden solo for about 10 years) and the F8ST seemed like the perfect balance between a lower displacement bike for her and an occasional diversion from my R12ST.

 

The farkling will begin with Motolights with amber bulbs like I have on my ST, P3 LED Taillights, and for piece of mind we're going to add GSG-Moto Framesliders. After we have it and sample the ride a bit more, we may add a taller windscreen. It will have the BMW side cases, too.

 

I don't have photos yet, we're picking it up Tuesday afternoon as it was still emerging from the crate at Battley Cycles, in Rockville, MD when we made our decision.

 

All that said, I am assuming the Autoswitch for the Motolights is compatible with the F8ST? I haven't found anything specific, in fact general accessory information is still kind of scarce on the F800 models.

 

She's happy, so I'm happy.

[notacop]

You are a FINK. I feel like Jimmy Carter with 800 lust in my heart. Can't afford a new toy. Any wanna buy an 89 Bumble Bee that needs a drive shaft for entirly too much money so I can get on with my life on an 800?

I'm jealous and not afraid to admit it. Don't come near me I'll slobber all over your new bike!

[Firefight911]

Congratulations Ben!!!!!!

 

Yes, the Autoswitch (AS5NB) will work fine. Just be careful if you're running these along with heated gear, etc. as your alternator is limited in its capability.

 

I will be very interested to see how you mount the frame sliders on the ST. I want to do the same for Jamie's 800ST but didn't want to have to cut the fairing up to mount them. The S doesn't have that problem.

 

Congrats and let's have a picture or ten.

[bakerzdosen]

Congrats to you both. If only you knew a good photographer to take those pictures...

 

We'll be here patiently awaiting...

[Ben_Ricci]

Thanks guys. My wife is excited about getting it. I'm not too excited about cleaning the garage to make room for it. Don't tell her, but I think I would have preferred the Graphitan Metallic Matt color.

 

Phil I was looking at these sliders from A&S. The photo isn't very good and my less-than-photographic memory can't recall what the tupperware looked like--but it appears as though they're specifically for the ST?

 

We were fortunate the first lowered ST to arrive at Battley's was equipped as we wanted it, so there was no waiting or accepting compromise.

[Firefight911]

Thanks for the link Ben!! Ordered for Jamie's!

 

Must be new within the last 2 months as they had nothing when I checked at that time.

[russell_bynum]

Just a note on sliders...make sure that they bolt so something really solid...preferably the point where the engine bolts to the frame.

 

I have absolutely ZERO idea where these things mount, but I've seen quite a few sliders for other bikes that mount to something flimsy. And just because it mounts to the frame...doesn't mean it is a part of the frame intended to carry that sort of a load. I believe it was Gleno's FJR that was totalled after it fell over in the parking lot and the frame slider, which was mounted to the frame using one of the fairing mount points punched a hole in the frame.

 

I've also seen some pretty hokey designs that were basically caused by people trying to get away from having to cut their fairings.

 

Cutting the fairing is easy and if you do it right (it's easy enough that even I can do it right) it'll look decent. Your criteria for slider selection should be 1. Protection. 2.See #1.

 

As I said, I have no idea where these things mount, or what they do to get around cutting the fairing (looks like a bit of an offset in the mounts, which could be OK if it is sturdy enough) but just be aware. I've seen a lot of damage done by crappy sliders.

 

By the way, Congrats on the new bike!

[Bullett]

Congratulations!!!!

[Ben_Ricci]

Thanks Russell. That is really useful information and I can clearly see what you're noting concerning load bearing and integrity with the frame. I'll have to get a good look at the ST's construction to see if the GSC-Moto sliders are engineered or just designed to fit a convenient location.

 

On a side note, we did check out the SV650s. Not her cup of tea and a wee bit tall for both of us. The SV650S was nice looking, but for me it was a bad fit--much worse for her. Nice bikes though. Love the motor. The local dealers weren't budging much on price either. Even so, that would have been my pick from a financial perspective. But bad fit = unhappy riders.

 

Hi Sharon! Thanks for the congrats. It will be nice to have my wife riding again.

[russell_bynum]

Thanks Russell. That is really useful information and I can clearly see what you're noting concerning load bearing and integrity with the frame. I'll have to get a good look at the ST's construction to see if the GSC-Moto sliders are engineered or just designed to fit a convenient location.

 

On a side note, we did check out the SV650s. Not her cup of tea and a wee bit tall for both of us. The SV650S was nice looking, but for me it was a bad fit--much worse for her. Nice bikes though. Love the motor. The local dealers weren't budging much on price either. Even so, that would have been my pick from a financial perspective. But bad fit = unhappy riders.

 

Hi Sharon! Thanks for the congrats. It will be nice to have my wife riding again.

 

The most important factor in picking a bike is: Does it make the rider happy? This bike does, so it was the right choice.

[Firefight911]

Excellent point Russell!! I will be evaluating these very carefully for just this reason!!

 

You cut the left fairing and I'll cut the right!!