Reliability??

[CycleRob]

OK, you know about that other board . . . . this one post is just too important to be overlooked.
There is nothing better to base your future purchase on this bike, unless your are as wild and aggressive a rider as Him

The suspension is OK if you're a normal person, even if you like rollercoaster mountain roads like the ones I was on yesterday. The transmission is also a gem.

[CycleRob]

OK. I had my first failure 2 days ago when "Lamp" displayed in the LCD panel and the bright yellow triangle lit up in the warning panel display. Oh CRAP (I thought) from the reflection off the car in front of me the headlight is working so my tailight must'a burnt out. Then a little later I notice the left signal is flashing really fast, about 2x speed. I know what that usually means, a burned out signal bulb. Looking at the front left signal and it doesn't light up. Great. With the clear signal lenses, I gotta get one of those "special" amber bulbs with the weird 10 and 3 O'clock offset base pins from BMW. At my destination stop I decide to remove the clear lens and the bulb to see what the model number is. Used the Phillips/Torx screwdriver snapped to the underside of the seat. Lens off, bulb out and looking at it in the sunlight I see the filament is still attached and doesn't look burned out at all. Looking at the lead solder center terminal though, it looks fuzzy . . . . corroded. I just swipe it very gently against the cement parking space I'm on and a clean new contact surface is made. Put it all back together and later when I start the bike there is no warning and the left signal worked! That was it. Just a fuzzy terminal. Gone is the drama of having to check the auto parts stores or go to the BMW dealer for a stupid bulb less than a year old. Being parked in the rain and that very damp ride I took last weekend at the Harriman Bash certainly contributed to the failure, but it never should have happened in the first place. Almost 9 years and over 63,000 miles on the OilHead and only the license plate illumination bulb burned out. The F800's left signal bulb had to be old or corroded to start with.

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[Boxer]

Sounds like you just located the "weakest" link in that system. My little yellow triangular light started staying on about 2 seconds longer than the other boot-up lights, when I power it up with the key. Then after Thad hooked up his GS-911 at the Bash it only lingers about a second longer. There were no errors with his little gizmo, and we got the "Service" interval reset.

What possibly could be making that little warning light "delay" in going out?

[CycleRob]

The yellow triangle seems to stay on for the whole boot-up self test. I don't even bother to wait for that. Just like with the 1150R, I hold down the starter button and turn on the key. There's a quarter second delay for the starter to turn and the engine starts immediately while the tach/speedo needles sweep quicker to full scale and back. No difference if you wait for the scan to complete. The CAN-bus system programming is smart enough that it assigns everything a priority and acts accordingly. Press the starter button while the engine is running and guess what . . . . . . absolutely nothing happens! It's not allowed when it knows the engine is running.

I like the way you turn on the 4-way flasher by holding both L&R signal buttons. It comes on immediately! The cancel button stops it just as fast. I used it on our TN Bash ride to contact the lead rider Jim because Daryl behind me had his on first, meaning "stop". You don't have to take your hands off the bars.

When my left flasher stopped working, the yellow triangle stayed lit. Pressing the trip/main odo select button got rid of the "Lamp" warning so I could read the odometers, but the triangle stayed lit to remind you there is a problem.

BTW, I got my GS-911blu today and will download the needed software and special USB drivers after this. Tomorrow I play with it . . . . and reset my persistent "Service" warning too.

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[rockbottom]

OK, you know about that other board . . . . this one post is just too important to be overlooked.
There is nothing better to base your future purchase on this bike, unless your are as wild and aggressive a rider as Him

In two years with an F800ST, I had six major warranty repairs involving three calls to roadside assistance and nearly four months in the shop. And since it was my first motorcycle ever, I don't think I was wild and aggressive.

[CycleRob]

rockbottom,
With the high percentage of common failures the first 2 years the F800 models had, it's clear they released the product before it was fully tested. Who can we blame? The suppliers? The assembly line? The engineers? All of them? It's a cost saving mistake that BMW made that greatly harmed their reputation. Add to that other common failures in the OilHead bikes and we likely can agree BMW no longer has the "machines of premium quality" it once had. Now, it appears you have to wait thru 2--4 years of denials before the new model "problems" will be cured.

I sure did enjoy today's 320 mile day ride to the Tail of the Dragon . . . and back. Then again, it's a 2009 model.

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[rockbottom]

Mine was a 2008. I adored it when it was on the road.

[CycleRob]

It has 10,600 miles on it and all is well. No issues since the left signal bulb's fuzzy terminal outage. Out on the road there is almost zero engine vibration at all normal road speeds. I do mean almost zero. Just a really weak sensation that something is turning, without being a noticeable trait during any ride. It does get smoother as the miles add on.

I sure do like the low drag, zero lash, no maintenance belt drive!