New to me f800gs

[Bigguy49]

I have a group question , Why is it the front brakes on this bike so overwhelming powerful?
Twice today while using minimal pressure I almost went through the windshield , I have checked the pads
and rotors and they look OK to my thinking this front braking system would be great on a road course
Or the Isle of Man circuit but not in the dirt or street . An I missing something ? This is my 2nd BMW
So not new to the family and I have ridding experience with over 128,000 miles on my Goldwing but this brake system is off the scale

 

[PGlaves]

Is the bike new or used? If used, are the pads OEM or another brand? Ditto the disk? Is the ABS working correctly?

 

[Bigguy49]

Paul the bike is used ,it has as of today 5000 miles on the clock so the pads and rotors are original .
OH YES the ABS works ! It is a 2015

 

[drneo66]

Probably a compound of factors - almost half the weight of your Goldwing (~900 vs ~500lbs). Steel braided lines on the GS (I can't remember what year Honda switched from rubber). The front rotor sizes are almost the same surprisingly, 300mm for the GS, 296mm for the GL1800 (granted 2 vs 3 pistons). The 800lb R18 classic also has 300mm front brakes with 2 pistons. Thus, it feels like the GS braking system is a bit upsized for the bike?

You can adjust the reach for the levers, that may help with muscle memory.

 

[Bigguy49]

You are correct on the weight deference which is one reason I moved from the Wing to the 800 GS although the YL

(wife) hates the GS ,it doesn't have the creature comfort of the Goldwing and I had not taken into account
the branded brake lines that is a major point .
I would be happy if I could limit the stroke on the front brake lever till I get use to the bike

 

[lee]

Do you know if the brake fluid has been changed?
How does it look?

 

[Bigguy49]

Lee
The brake fluid is redish in color ,not cloudy but probably needs changing as this bike h as gone through 3
others before me and as a 2015 it still has not reached 12000 miles yet ! Which may be a problem when it
comes to a dealership willing to do the valve adjustments

PS I'm a 100 miles from anything resembling a dealer

 

[omega man]

Drneo66 is a great contributor to the care and maintenance of F-Twins and the sub-forum-

Welcome to the New F-Twins Tech Section

Welcome to the New F-Twins Tech Section! While the F-Twins have been around for some time, the main interest it seems had been in other forums. With the new BMW offerings, and perhaps the move to motorcycles with less weight, interest has defiantly picked up for this expanding line of BMW...

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Last I was aware, valve checks were not showing much adjustment needed at 40,000 miles. Of course this is usage dependent.

I don’t know if you have seen this area-

The F-Twin Index

Welcome to the F-Twin index. While the F-Twins have been around for a while, the threads that would comprise an index here in the F-Twin Forum are scattered around. This index will be sorta done like the one we have running in the Wethead section. In the coming months I will wander back to the...

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OM

 

[Bigguy49]

Yes sir I did search the archives, not finding an answer I posted in hopes of figuring out something before
I dump my seat warmer in the middle of a street due to stopping too fast . Being use to the softer front
Brake on my other bike I accidentally grabbed a handful of front brake and ended with the ABS firing while stopping

 

[PGlaves]

Yes sir I did search the archives, not finding an answer I posted in hopes of figuring out something before
I dump my seat warmer in the middle of a street due to stopping too fast . Being use to the softer front
Brake on my other bike I accidentally grabbed a handful of front brake and ended with the ABS firing while stopping

One finger is often enough. Two fingers except in an emergency.

 

[drneo66]

Lee
The brake fluid is redish in color ,not cloudy but probably needs changing as this bike h as gone through 3
others before me and as a 2015 it still has not reached 12000 miles yet ! Which may be a problem when it
comes to a dealership willing to do the valve adjustments

PS I'm a 100 miles from anything resembling a dealer

The F-Twins seems to really be hard on rear brake fluid. I've been really surprised how dark it gets. I have chosen to renew my brake fluid each year - $10 in brake fluid, easily changed via vacuum bleeder (like a Mity-vac) doesn't take more than hour to do.

"DOT 4 brake fluid, which is recommended by BMW for our F-Twins, has a minimum boiling temperature of 446 degrees Fahrenheit when it's fresh out of the can. After absorbing just a small amount of water, that boiling temperature number can almost be cut in half. From what I was able to find, most DOT brake fluid will absorb about 3-4% moisture by volume after just two years. After the brake fluid absorbs about 8% of of it's total volume, the boiling point is almost no better than plain water."

F-Twins Tech – F650/700/800 - Renewing Brake Fluid

The articles, posts and comments in this tech section are posted by individual members and reflect their personal thoughts and experiences with repairing, maintaining, and generally working on motorcycles. This information may require specific knowledge and skills, may or may not be correct or...

forums.bmwmoa.org

 

[Bigguy49]

I have a New Question , since the page will not let me open a new query.
On my 2015 800GS I have two ride modes Street and Enduro . I looked at another 800 GS
that had Street ,Enduro , and Rain . My question is can at this time add Rain mode to my bike by that I mean
Can the dealer add Rain mode now long after the bike has been on the road ?

 

[guenner]

The RAIN-mode was added in the 2017 F700 and F800 models. I assume this required an update in the firmware of the instrument cluster (to show RAIN), maybe the firmware in the ZFE (to communicate it with the instrument cluster) and for sure and update in the firmware of the ABS module.

I guess to add the RAIN mode requires a couple of changes in the firmware various components. I doubt that BMW would take the time to do that.

The MODE setting defines how soon an ABS module intervenes to counter act your braking. On my 2017 F700GS in ENDURO mode for example I counted about 4 seconds after a hard brake on dirt. In RAIN mode I assume the ABS module it reacts much quicker.

I have not found any official information by BMW on the details how their ABS systems work. So what I said above is from observations 'playing' with the ABS.

 

[guenner]

Back to Bigguy49's issue. My F700GS front brakes do the same. There is no smooth control of the brake force. Pulling a bit more on the brake lever at one point and the front wheel locks up and ABS kicks in. Not what I want on dirt.

It didn't help to sand the front discs. Or to change the brake fluid. At ~60k miles I replaced the discs and the pads. It made braking a little bit smoother but not to the point I wanted.

Before I bought my F700GS I tested the R1200GS. What a smooth brake!(?) Only the weight difference between the two bike kept my buying the F700GS.

 

[Bigguy49]

Back to Bigguy49's issue. My F700GS front brakes do the same. There is no smooth control of the brake force. Pulling a bit more on the brake lever at one point and the front wheel locks up and ABS kicks in. Not what I want on dirt.

It didn't help to sand the front discs. Or to change the brake fluid. At ~60k miles I replaced the discs and the pads. It made braking a little bit smoother but not to the point I wanted.

Before I bought my F700GS I tested the R1200GS. What a smooth brake!(?) Only the weight difference between the two bike kept my buying the F700GS.

I appreciate your observations on the brakes ,I'm guessing I will adapt to the front brakes for me they are a handful

 

[Bigguy49]

The RAIN-mode was added in the 2017 F700 and F800 models. I assume this required an update in the firmware of the instrument cluster (to show RAIN), maybe the firmware in the ZFE (to communicate it with the instrument cluster) and for sure and update in the firmware of the ABS module.

I guess to add the RAIN mode requires a couple of changes in the firmware various components. I doubt that BMW would take the time to do that.

The MODE setting defines how soon an ABS module intervenes to counter act your braking. On my 2017 F700GS in ENDURO mode for example I counted about 4 seconds after a hard brake on dirt. In RAIN mode I assume the ABS module it reacts much quicker.

I have not found any official information by BMW on the details how their ABS systems work. So what I said above is from observations 'playing' with the ABS.

 

[Bigguy49]

I figured it would take a dealer level software/firmware update , I just was not sure if it was a doable update . Thanks for the information