Downsizing - I've seen the light!

[pulsar]

After a few heavy bikes (Yamaha Warrior, Triumph Thunderbird), powerful bikes (Speed Triple, Versys 1000), and even a short time with a 1190 Adventure R, I just downsized significantly to an F700GS. Half the horsepower, half the engine size.

Best decision ever.

The downsize is much, much more fun than I had expected, and I don't think I'm ever getting a bigger bike again, maybe I'll go even smaller next time.

It has taken me... lets see.. riding for 14 years and owning 10 bikes (yup I switch up my bikes frequently) to understand that its not about horsepower.

Its fairly obvious and even cliche, but.. I'll state it now that I finally got it (duh): Riding is a balance between comfort, agility and power. Increase in one *typically* is a compromise in one or other factors (though not always), so optimal enjoyment is to be had from the best balance of these factors according to the riding, instead of "MOAR POWERRR". Horsepower doesn't get you quicker around a corner or around parked cars!

My riding is zero offroad, rarely open freeway and mostly either packed crawling freeways or city streets (weekdays) or twisties (weekends). In either scenario, lighter weight and smaller dimensions beat high horsepower. Moreover, a more powerful machine is usually in lower gears in commute speeds (I lanesplit very slowly), and such a bike in low gear has a more twitchy throttle behavior than a smaller engine in say 4th or 5th gear at the same speed.

Of course, I realize the parameters will be different for someone who tours or offroads or does track days. I don't do those things, I just enjoy riding on the street, commute to work on weekdays and rip up the hills once in a while in the weekends.

The F7 feels ridiculously small and agile and reminds me of the bikes that got me into riding (one of my all time favorites being a Pulsar 150, hence my username). I'm kinda curious how a Duke 390 is going to feel now, but I'll wait a year before finding out .

I guess this may be a bit ironic since most people go the other way round, they start with smaller bikes and go heavier and bigger, and the F7 is considered a bit of a beginner bike, but.. I've seen the light . It's all I need, its more than I need for having maximum fun.

Thoughts?

 

[Maddevill]

I currently ride a ZX14 ,but I like it because it still corners good and can take me and the wife to Oregon and back without breathing hard. But I raced for 9 years on TZR250s, and had a blast on those and I think the bike I had the most giggles on was an old 83 XL600 set up Supermoto style. Stupidly fun just about everywhere.

Mad

 

[Junkie]

The right suspension can help with both comfort and agility, and the right seat can help with comfort with no real downsides.

I took a bike (my SV1000) and made it better in most ways and while it isn't small, it isn't all that big/heavy. I'm happy doing 600mi days back to back, I haven't tracked it (have another bike for that) but it would do well there, etc.

 

[Eric B]

As long as you're having fun. That's all that really matters, yes?

 

[russ69]

I have said this before but back in the day Grand Prix racers rode in many classes, 125, 250, 500,etc. They were not lessor classes just different. Small bikes are fun and easy to ride.

 

[Marcoose]

Yes, I love the litre bike and KC's finely-tuned performance. That said, I hope 2018 will be the year of the downsize. I'm eyeing the RC390.

 

[RightCoastBias]

It's interesting to see how many folks on here have F700GS now. I've had an F800GS for 3 years now and it's a really good do it all bike. Not exciting, with it's boring P twin, but enough in the Twisties to keep up with an sane riders. The suspension was way too soft for me, but I resprung and the improvement was great, though I am still planning on buying a shock and cartridges. Even without the springs, I found the bike very rideable. Most other bikes I've had needed suspension work before I could push them. Ergonomically, it's the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden and is a good compromise between wind protection and air flow.

I often think of what bike I want to buy next and end up with nothing, because of how well the baby GS falls in the middle. Think my next bike will be lighter weight dual sport, or some 1000cc naked. But neither are far enough away from the F8 for me to justify spending a few grand.

 

[PunkRockMonkey]

You think that's fun? You should try a 250 now.
I'm serious.
You'll giggle the entire ride.

 

[afm199]

I like my GSXR1000 on the track. I like my SV650 on the street. I wouldn't ever ride a literbike on the street with clipons.

 

[Maddevill]

I like my GSXR1000 on the track. I like my SV650 on the street. I wouldn't ever ride a literbike on the street with clipons.

Dirt bike bars and a Scotts damper???

Mad

 

[kurth83]

congrats, I love mine, also brand new.

 

[russ69]

I like my GSXR1000 on the track. I like my SV650 on the street. I wouldn't ever ride a literbike on the street with clipons.

Me either, mine has a handlebar.

 

[Hank Wong]

Less is more. The F700 is 460lb. Go even lighter. Get down to 400lb and see the light, light as in light weight.

 

[StaggerLee]

Congrats! I really dig my 700 as well, and it's been a great partner for commuting and adventuring. Plus, she's got the red frame, so she's that much faster...

However, I'm a cheater and this past summer I rented a significantly heavier, more touring-oriented RT. I still can't get that sweet, stable (and yet agile) mistress out of my mind.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

Less is more. The F700 is 460lb. Go even lighter. Get down to 400lb and see the light, light as in light weight.

Agree. A super light bike may not be your only bike or "forever" bike ... but certainly worth a try.

I've gone even lighter weight with a KTM Duke 690. With a dry weight of just
327 lbs. it's a featherweight with a low seat height and one of the best power to weight ratios of any bike out there. With 73 HP and 55 ft. lbs. of torque ... the Duke is not only FAST but a great handler on the tight back roads.

LONG freeway rides are not it's strong suit but I've done a few 20 to 30 mile stints at 75 mph and really not bad. Even the seat is pretty good!
Good news is Duke's a couple years old are remarkably inexpensive .
Check 'em out. LOT OF BIKE for the money, IMHO.

 

[HadesOmega]

Lotsa people getting F700GS lately. Personally I would go with a FZ07 if I was going to get a 700. They don't call it Mega Torque for no reason.

 

[pulsar]

It's interesting to see how many folks on here have F700GS now. I've had an F800GS for 3 years now and it's a really good do it all bike. Not exciting, with it's boring P twin, but enough in the Twisties to keep up with an sane riders. The suspension was way too soft for me, but I resprung and the improvement was great, though I am still planning on buying a shock and cartridges. Even without the springs, I found the bike very rideable. Most other bikes I've had needed suspension work before I could push them. Ergonomically, it's the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden and is a good compromise between wind protection and air flow.

I often think of what bike I want to buy next and end up with nothing, because of how well the baby GS falls in the middle. Think my next bike will be lighter weight dual sport, or some 1000cc naked. But neither are far enough away from the F8 for me to justify spending a few grand.

congrats, I love mine, also brand new.

Congrats! I really dig my 700 as well, and it's been a great partner for commuting and adventuring. Plus, she's got the red frame, so she's that much faster...


However, I'm a cheater and this past summer I rented a significantly heavier, more touring-oriented RT. I still can't get that sweet, stable (and yet agile) mistress out of my mind.

Congrats on your F800s/F700s too! Mine isn't brand new, its a pre-owned with low miles. There's a certain intangible thing about this F series bikes, I've had an F800R a couple of years back and I get the same feeling now that one gave me - not sure if its the under-seat tank but there is a way these bikes just disappear under me - which I guess is a complaint among some, they say it has "no feel". But to me, thats a huge plus, the bike has no feel meaning it feels extremely natural to ride. My Speed Triple was the opposite, it was loads of "feel" (fun in its own way).

You think that's fun? You should try a 250 now.
I'm serious.
You'll giggle the entire ride.

Agree. A super light bike may not be your only bike or "forever" bike ... but certainly worth a try.

I've gone even lighter weight with a KTM Duke 690. With a dry weight of just
327 lbs. it's a featherweight with a low seat height and one of the best power to weight ratios of any bike out there. With 73 HP and 55 ft. lbs. of torque ... the Duke is not only FAST but a great handler on the tight back roads.

LONG freeway rides are not it's strong suit but I've done a few 20 to 30 mile stints at 75 mph and really not bad. Even the seat is pretty good!
Good news is Duke's a couple years old are remarkably inexpensive .
Check 'em out. LOT OF BIKE for the money, IMHO.

Lotsa people getting F700GS lately. Personally I would go with a FZ07 if I was going to get a 700. They don't call it Mega Torque for no reason.

Less is more. The F700 is 460lb. Go even lighter. Get down to 400lb and see the light, light as in light weight.

Agreed, downsize is all relative. Those huge adv bikes and the Thunderbird are fresh on my mind, and this feels tiny compared. I suspect I will go further down this path and get a Duke or FZ07 or similar bike. I will likely rule out most sportbikes (Z650, SV650 and the like) because I don't like forward lean at all, hence staying with the BMW / adv style. To me that's a crucial part of comfort. But the Dukes are more upright than typical sportbikes.

I will definitely keep an eye out for that Duke 790 coming out next year. And the Hyperstrada. And maybe even get either a dual-sport or supermoto as a second bike, who knows...

 

[GAJ]

Yeah, don't miss dumping my VERY nice customized TL1000S years ago for my DRZ400SM; it's a better match for the twisties around here.

My F800ST does very well on them as well with help from Race Tech, and, obviously, is perfect for longer rides which I wouldn't even think of with the DRZ.

But for 100 mile +/- rides around here the DRZ is perfect.

The FGS would make a good replacement if I had to go to one bike I'd guess.

 

[berth]

I was thinking seriously about a F700GS, but I'm going to wait for the see about the new 750.

it's going to be interesting to see how the new bike balances out. The F700 has a pretty solid reputation to being a "nice" bike, without being particularly exciting.

But the new Fx50GS series from BMW is taking the tact of catching up to the full boat 1200GS in terms of gizmos and electronics, in the smaller spec.

Like others, I'm keenly interested in the balance on the new bike since they relocated the gas tank back up. Part of the motivation of a smaller bike is that it needs to FEEL smaller, and the only place that really matters is when the bike is stopped. None of this "the weight vanishes when you're underway". When you grunting and swearing and rolling the thing around in your driveway or trying to push it up an incline and not get crushed, that's where "smaller" comes in to play.

But at the same time, the BMW engineers and designers aren't complete knuckleheads. While most people DON'T take these bikes off road, there are a lot who do. The F800 is spec'd out different for a reason. The GS is renowned for a reason. So, I'm willing to give BMW the benefit of the doubt and wait, and not simply immediately criticize random design decisions like the tank placement. The whole is typically more than the sum of its parts.

I sat on an F700 at the recent LB motorcycle show, and it felt very nice. I really liked it. The local dealer is out of F700s, and the sales guy was pretty excited about the 750. Basically "just wait" was the story, even though he was happy to sell me a used one he was going to put up the next week, he still said "just wait".

Reminds me when I went in to the Jeep dealer looking for a Grand Cherokee, and he basically shoved me out the door with a similar "just wait, the '14s are coming out soon". So I did, glad for that (amazing machine).

So, I just wait. Wait until March or April or so, supposedly. BMW guy didn't have anything specific. But he's been through the several hours of company indoc^H^H^H^H^Htraining on the new bike, and is pretty excited about what he's heard. He's not ridden one, however.

BMW is still coming out with '18 F700s while waiting for the 750. So, seems it's worth waiting for.

If this falls through, I was pretty happy sitting on the Yamaha MT-07 at the show, so that's a fall back for me. We'll see how it goes.

 

[davidji]

I was thinking seriously about a F700GS, but I'm going to wait for the see about the new 750.

I would wait. But I wasn't fond of BMW's 360-degree parallel twin. Clearly it works for some riders though.

I'm looking forward to trying the new models. With the new 270-degree cranks I expect BMW to catch up to Honda, Triumph and Yamaha as far as offering awesome parallel twins.