Essential accessories
BMW F800GS essential accessories.
If you are like me and you are planning to take your F800GS off-road a lot, there are a few things you might want to consider.
The base BMW is set up for the best possible performance on the road, hence there are no hand guards as standard, as there are no crash bars and the stock skid plate doesn’t really protect much. Some can argue that it is possible to add a whole lot of OEM accessories right when you buy it, but my question is, are those parts going to satisfy you 100%? Do you really like the way they look and feel? Because they are not really cheap and personally, if I have to spend that kind of money I want to be satisfied 100%.
That’s where the aftermarket industry fits in, but I digress, let’s see what is really essential to have.
The bike itself costs a pretty penny, I want to enjoy it off-road and explore, but at the same time I want to keep it in one piece as long as possible because I can’t afford to buy another one, since I just spent thousands of dollars for it, now I’m on a budget and can’t just buy a bunch of parts, so I need to choose the best bang for the buck, and I’m not just talking about the prize alone, I need to choose those accessories that give me the most for what I use the F800 for.
I gave it a lot of thought, and came to the conclusion that I absolutely need 3 components and the rest is going to have to wait until I can save some more money and buy it, in my opinion I needed a beefier skid plate, to reduce to a the chances to poke a hole into the engine (by the way, the oil filter right behind the front wheel is not optimal), a good set of crash bars to protect the upper side of the engine and somewhat the fairing, and hand guards, not because I have delicate hands and I want to safeguard them, but because if a branch catches your front brake lever, you might unwillingly perform a “superman” and fly off the bike.
Depending on your comfort level, skills and type of trail you want to tackle, a knobblier set of tires might be appropriate.
The three components I opted for to keep my budget within the $1000 mark are: HEED’s crash bars, the Altrider black skid plate and the Barkbusters hand guards. These accessories met my budget, my expectation (protection wise) and they look pretty good as well.
Heed crash bars:
Installing them was a breeze, everything fitted properly and the instruction where ok too (considering they are build in Poland where English is not the main language), I believe it only took me half a morning from unpacking to completion, so they get a big thumb up from me.
Altrider skidplate:
This plate is great, it’s well thought, covers the important parts without adding too much weight, it’s about a quarter inch thick aluminum and the two channels on the bottom safeguard the attachment bolts while giving strength to the whole thing. Installation time was about 30 minutes, four bolts to remove the OEM plate and four plus two to install the Altrider one, construction and installation instructions are impeccable, just what you would expect from a solid manufacturer. So if you are looking for a great Skidplate that won’t break the bank, this is the one.
Barkbusters hand guards:
To be specific, the VPS hand guard kit. This kit includes 2 components, the aluminum frame/bracket and the plastic guards. The aluminum frame is well built and is a direct fit over bar ends, just remove the OEM bolt and replace it with the one provided, it takes a little fiddling to find the perfect position and they can be adjusted according to personal preference. The plastic guards screw into the bracket and provide just the right amount of protection, they come with a little spoiler that can be adjusted in 3 different positions or removed all together, so you can increase or decrease the protection from the elements you require. Installation time is about 1 hour, most of which is spent trying to find the perfect position. BONUS TIP: The top side of the inner clamps has about an 1/8 of an inch gap that I used to attach a crossbar made out of aluminum tubing, this bar can be used as a GPS mount or whatever else you want it to be.
In conclusion, the parts and accessories that I would like to add to the bike are almost an infinite list, but the very least you need to safe guard your precious baby off-road are those 3 main components. This point can be argued to oblivion and obviously this is just my opinion, but I’m not just saying it, I did it myself and so far is being working, so use this article to make an educated decision using my personal experience and let me know how it turn out.
This is a German tire as well, a true “50/50” dual sport tire, this is a great option for the dual-sport rider looking for high tread longevity, that doesn’t mind a little slide here and there, the K60 Scout brings a proven balance of performance on- and off-road. With an improved tread and compound, the Scout delivers better cornering stability and wet weather grip on the pavement, while delivering off-road as well. The “chevron” style tread pattern is similar to full knobby designs which provides lots of open space between the tread blocks to route sand, while the solid center stripe reduces vibrations during long on-road commute. To note that every size as a unique tread pattern.
The BMW Vario top case is an inexpensive (considering the competitors) and stylish option if you need a top case. This black plastic top case fits the BMW F800GS/F700GS/F650 and can be accessorized with backrest pads, inside nets and liner bags.
In the real world where you run around town or commute to work this bag can be a quite useful option, it looks sleek and can be locked by the same key used for the bike ignition. Being positioned on top of the luggage rack, does not impede the ability of the driver to split lanes or zip thru traffic (in one of the states that allows it) and can be used by the passenger as a backrest.
The BMW Vario top case, although a great product, has its faults. The first is the inability to store a full size helmet, especially a dual sports one. Depending upon the helmet brand and size it is possible to make it fit, but in my experience anything bigger that an M sized Street helmet will simply not have enough room and even then would be a snug fit. Second, if you elect to go off-roading with it and bang it around, it can not be banged back into shape like an aluminum case, if dir
t and mud end up in the extending mechanism there could be some problems with it.
The BMW F800GS is a remarkable machine and what makes it such a great adventure bike is it’s simplicity, if you have a decent tool kit you can repaire almost anything on the road, and the best part is that it will not void the warranty. That said I’m a firm believer that once you get back to civilization you should have the work checked by a professional especially if you are not sure of your mechanical skills or you messed around with a safety item, in the case of the rear wheel it is a good practice to check that the rear axle is torqued down to specs, watching the rear wheel overtake the front one while you are still on the saddle makes for a funny sight but a very bad day.
Since you have the wheel off the bike, there are a few little tasks you might want to take care of at this time, check for warped rotors, bent spokes or rims, make sure that the bearings are lubricated and spinn smoothly and that the seals are not cracked, this may take an extra 5 minutes but it will save you time in the long run.
As I said before, the BMW F800GS is a remarkable machine and what makes it such a great adventure bike is it’s simplicity, if you have a decent tool kit you can repaire almost anything on the road, and the best part is that it will not void the warranty. That said I’m a firm believer that once you get back to civilization you should have the work checked by a professional, especially if you are not sure of your mechanical skills or if you messed around with a safety item like the brake caliper, at the very least make sure that the axle and the caliper bolts are torqued down to spec.