When it debuted nearly a decade ago, BMW’s F 800 GS seemed like the answers to adventure riders’ prayers. It had the durability and off-road prowess that had made the BMW GS a household name, but it weighed and cost less than the 1200 and had chain drive, an off-road-ready 21-inch front wheel with spoked rims front and rear. The middleweight GS impressed us so much, we named it Rider’s 2009 Motorcycle of the Year.
In the years since, there’s been a lot of competition in the middleweight adventure touring segment, and other than minor updates and the addition of the F 800 GS Adventure model for 2013, the F 800 GS was getting long in the tooth.
Read our 2009 BMW F 800 GS road test review
For 2018, BMW has thoroughly revamped the street-oriented F 750 GS and the off-road-oriented F 850 GS. Despite what would seem to be a 100cc difference in displacement given their names, the F 750 GS and F 850 GS are both powered by an 853cc parallel twin, up from 798cc on the previous models. (The confusing model names have given us fits since the beginning.) The shared engine, which makes a claimed 77 horsepower in the F 750 GS and 95 horsepower in the F 850 GS, gets a more pleasing sound and feel thanks to a 90-degree crankshaft journal offset and a 270/450-degree firing intervals instead of the previous 360-degree interval.
Gone is the unique balancing system that moved a “dummy” connecting rod on a center crank journal in the opposite direction of the pistons, which never did a satisfactory job of quelling engine vibration. Instead, the new engine gets more conventional dual counterbalancers. Also new is a slipper clutch, and the 6-speed transmission sends power to the rear wheel via chain final drive as before, but the chain has been moved to the left side of the bike and the exhaust has been moved to the right side, preventing the rider from coming in contact with a hot exhaust pipe when maneuvering the bike from the left side.
Read our 2014 BMW F 800 GS Adventure road test review
Standard electronics include Road and Rain riding modes, ABS and ASC (traction control), and optional Pro riding modes and lean-angle-adaptive ABS and traction control expand the bikes’ capabilities and safety margins.
Holding the F 750 GS and F 850 GS together is a new steel monocoque frame that uses the engine as a stressed member and has revised geometry, and the previous underseat gas tank has been moved to the traditional position in front of the rider for better weight balance. The F 750 GS gets a new male-slider fork and the F 850 GS gets a new upside-down fork, and both get revised rear shocks; Dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA) is available an a factory option.
Both models have updated styling with sharper lines and better wind protection. An optional 6.5-inch, full-color TFT display also offers various connectivity functions. A wide range of accessories are available for both bikes, including several optional equipment packages such as Comfort, Touring, Dynamic and Light.
The 2018 BMW F 750 GS, which features cast wheels in 19/17 inches sizes, will be available in Light White or Austin Yellow metallic, as well as in an Exclusive version with Stereo metallic matte paint, hand guards and special finishes. Pricing starts at $10,195. The 2018 F 850 GS, which features spoked wheels in 21/17 inches sizes, will be available in Racing Red and in Exclusive and Rallye versions with hand guards and special paint and finishes. Pricing starts at $12,895. Both models are expected to hit showrooms in Q2 2018.
Check out more new bikes in Rider’s guide to new/updated 2018 motorcycles
Find it somewhat confusing why a more street oriented bike would benefit from less h.p.?
Hi!
The trick is, in Europe are new regulations in place. A beginner can only drive 45 HP max, which was like that ever since, but new is the part that you not allowed to downgrade / limit engines that originally have more then 95hp anymore. BMW will not break the 95hp barrier and can’t sell the bike to beginners.
Good to see them addressing the overdue upgrade to this model, but why it isn’t a full liter bewilders me. Having two different power levels from the same motor answers a question I have never heard anyone ask here in the USA. Will be curious to see how it compares to the Honda Africa Twin and KTM 1090.
I think the “street oriented” label comes primarily from the fact that it has cast wheels and less ground clearance. The less horsepower is an attempt for BMW to have a range of bikes that appeal to a wide variety of riders.
I’ve owned an F700 and an F650. Both used exclusively as road bikes. The missing link on both of them was power. If you needed zippy acceleration in traffic, you were out of luck. I really hoped BMW would realize that many riders are using the F700, and now presumably the F750 as mini RT1200s.. That is, as road bikes, and as such, give them more power and maybe even a belt drive.
YES YESnYES!
I previously owned an f650GS Twin and enjoyed it for about 14K miles before I switched back to an F800ST (which are tons of fun). I’m eager to test ride the new 750GS, which should sound more like a bike and less like a sewing machine. I have just 2 questions for BMW: 1.) When you relocated the fuel tank, why did you make it smaller instead of adding a gallon? Curb weight maybe? 2.) When do we get a new F8850 (or F900) GT ?
Question, is the f750 engine upgradable to f850 HP levels?
If it is like the predacessor (F800/F700) I would say not easliy. I believe the cams are different and other components that make it more powerful. I suppose you could take an engine from the 850 and put it in the 750.
The question is why is bmw so weird about the numbers and the different power levels, just make it the same power level and call them something else, xy or z but 850 & 750 when the engine is the same size. The next question why isn’t info on the new bikes on the bmw web-site? I find info from everywhere but bmw how strange is that. Are they bringing the bikes over here this year or not?