it's official.

Back in Feb of 2011, I made this post, babbling about how much I like the F800GS.

Well, last night I met up with an old work buddy (from here on out, referred to as Wheels) who always has awesome bikes. Decked out KLRs, Ducati Monsters and now an F800GS. He has some stability issues so the F8 has been dropped about 2 inches and is sporting softer springs front and back. I'm a long legged guy and the stock F800GS is a bit high for me. With the mods to his seat and suspension, it's about the same seat height as my bike but since the seat is so narrow, it felt shorter. I think the short seat would drop the stock height to about perfect for me.

I don't normally ask to ride other's bikes but he offered and I couldn't refuse.

I swung a leg over, fired it up and off I went. Instantly I'm thinking, "Holy crap, the engine is so damn responsive right off the bat. Smooth power, pretty torquey too.". Then, I goosed it a bit too much from a stop and the front end popped up. Oooooh! A smile is instantly plastered on my face from ear to ear. I didn't go too far but I got enough of a taste to know I want more. It honestly felt like I think a motorcycle should. I've sat on V Stroms, Versys, Sprint STs and a lot of other bikes but none felt like I wanted them to until the F800GS. Hell, I sat on the F800ST and didn't like it that much.

I tore through the back road behind the shopping center and out onto a public street and opened it up for a few blocks (didn't want to press my luck). Man, that's a damn sweet exhaust tone. I pulled back into the parking lot grinning like a mad man beneath my helmet.

Had the RedQueen sit on the back to see how the ergonomics were for two-up and she approves. The pegs are much lower and her legs are at a more comfortable angle than on my SECA II.

So...

Hopefully next year, I can start shopping around for a used one. I know the F650 is built more for what I would use it for (commuting, general purpose, riding two-up and light touring) but I know if I bought it instead, I would just lust for the gnarly dual sport function of the 800. Plus, I would have to do some dual sport to keep it happy.