I'm planning to buy an F 750 GS with a lower saddle.

I'm 1,62 cm (5'4") and had a test drive on a bike with normal suspension with a low saddle. I could touch the ground just with the front of my feet, but I was alright (on the paved road) and it's the same (only touching the ground with the front of my feet) with my present bike (Honda CB600s - 2004).

I'm doubting if I should take a lower suspension so I can touch the ground more easier or not.

I'm planning to ride off road (never done it before) and on road and with lower suspension I cannot choose a mid stand and dynamic Electronic Suspension Adjustment.

The seller was clear in his advice and said I should take the lower suspension. What do you think?

Will the riding on the standard suspension with ESA be much better?

I'm quite new to suspension and things like that, but I was also thinking that maybe the suspension at the bike I made a test drive on was to stiff for my weight. I'm 70 kilo (154 lbs) so maybe if I adjust the suspension I will touch the ground a bit easier?

Thanks for your advice!

Hi.

If you're planning on riding off-road then I wouldn't buy this bike at all. But it depends on your idea of "off-road" is. Gravel tracks or the Dakar Rally ??

It's a very heavy bike and the suspension is made for the road. Ignore BMW marketing.


A lowered BMW generally means either a shorter shock or a shorter spring. You will have less travel making it worse off road and less ground clearance.

However, being able to get your feet down when you're beginning to ride off-road is a great help.


My advice is to buy the standard bike without ESA and then take it to a suspension specialist to have it lowered correctly using springs that suit YOU. Which is FAR superior to an ESA bike and actually cheaper too.

ESA is a unreliable gimmick for people who like pressing buttons.

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I totally agree with Ted's comment. Two years ago I bought a F650GS twin, the bike from which the 750GS was derived, because my 2v-GS was getting too heavy for me. The 650 twin weighs just over 200 kg, but the 750GS is a lot heavier.
Although labelled as “GS” it wasn't designed for real off-road purposes as the F800GS was. The standard suspension has problems to cope with more serious off-road already: too soft, too little ground clearance. If you reduce the height you can forget about anything less than tarmac. I've upgraded the suspension and fitted a heavy bash plate, which now works ok for m.


IMO, if you want to do more or less serious off-road tours, I'd rather consider smaller bikes like the Honda CRF etc. Another bike comes to my mind – the new KTM 390. Goes like hell, would fit your size and could probably be upgraded suspension-wise.


My 2 cents worth....

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

Hi
A bit more information is needed.
When you say you want to ride on and off road what exactly do you mean eg

Are you going on a long trip that will be part dirt track eg through the Stans to Mongolia. Or maybe a trip that will be a lot of dirt track that might be thick mud eg Central Africa?

Will you be using it as a domestic bike with a bit of off road at the weekends - if this is the case it’s important to know where you live, green laning in the UK is very different to southern Spain.

Thanks for your replies!

I'm planning to ride through Central America and after that maybe South America.

I'm going to do off road courses before I leave and I think I will like it very much, but I don't know how though it is (my energy level is not very high and I don't ride more than 2 to 4 hours a day).

I have all the time (maybe I will stay on the road for a couple of years) and I'm not planning to ride from A to B. I have a rough plan to cross the countries of Central America, but if I really like it somewhere maybe I stay for a month or so.
I don't ride more than 2 to 4 hours a day.

Hate to ask, but what's your age? Why's your energy low? How long have you been riding? No need to respond if you'd rather not, but the more we know the better we can help.

Guessing here, but if you're older and not as healthy as you might want to be, LIGHTER is better! (Actually for ANYONE it's better!) Easier to pick up, easier to maneuver off road, tricky parking spaces - like into the hotel lobby in Central America) etc. The F750GS is heavy! It's a ROAD bike with occasional gravel road possible.

Tell us more!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

A BMW750 GS as a:
1. Learner bike to ride offroad on
2. To ride central and possibly south America with

Is a very bad choice for 1 and a very very bad choice for 2.

Get something MUCH lighter and smaller. You will thank me later….

Road conditions and traffic are totally different than north America and Europe in central and south America - and a 220-230 kilos bike (plus extra equipement, luggage, spare parts, tools, clothes, first aid kit, camping equipment, food, water, cooking equipement etc etc - makes the total weight much more than just the bikes wet weight) is not good for any other than the absolute main roads in best case.

So choose a smaller and lighter and cheaper bike that is more suited for what you want it to do. Spend the rest of the money for the trip itself…

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

To give what appears to be somewhat contrary perspective: My wife is 5' 4", and she rode a factory-low F700GS from California to Ushuaia and part way back, fully loaded, over 15 months of travel (pandemic intervened in Buenos Aires - our bikes are still stuck there). As you can imagine, this involved a good bit of dirt, lots of crappy tarmac, in addition to miles of smooth slab. The "good bit of dirt" included mostly graded dirt/gravel (w/ lots of damned washboard!), but also some notable miles of not so good dirt, riddled with what she called "dirt moguls"

Before we left, I installed on her bike an aftermarket shock recommended by and purchased from Ted Porter's Beemershop - I sent them all info on the bike and loaded weight, and went with their suggested shock. I also upgraded front fork springs and fork oil, again with input from Ted's shop. I changed out the front sprocket so that first gear was more off-road friendly. I installed an aftermarket center stand (SW Motech), made for the low-suspension model, and a Camel tank auxiliary fuel tank (since discontinued?). Also installed a Wunderlich bash plate (important!) and crash bars. The bash plate and crash bars got a workout. The F800GS aluminum panniers, mounting frame and top box were also added.

For comparison, I was riding a BWM R1200GS Adventure, also factory low suspension, but that has a lot more suspension travel than the F700GS low and was never an issue.

My observations:
The low suspension F700GS wasn't the perfect bike - like many things in life it is a tradeoff. For my wife, however, it was the perfect compromise; having her feet more planted when coming to a stop on a dirt, off-camber road surface, especially for a sudden stop due to a (bus, taxi, donkey, pig - fill in the blank) - the foot reach was invaluable and more than worth the trade off in suspension travel. She still dropped it plenty of times, but not near as often as she would have if relying on tip toes.

But - suspension travel is limited, no doubt. That is why the aforementioned bash plate is so important if you are really going to go off-road on anything more ambitious than a graded forest service road. Sometimes, just the "speed bumps" (or hills - south of the border speed bumps are in their own class!) on otherwise good tarmac were a challenge for her suspension travel (I'd hear the scrape on the intercom as she followed me.) Keep in mind that with the added accessories, luggage and her fully-geared-up-self, she was right at the rated load limit for the bike. On some of those nasty "dirt moguls" - it (bash plate) was definitely used. But it held up and did the job - no damage to the oil pan, and the bash plate itself is still holding up fine.

I was worried about the cast alloy rims, but after 21+k miles of our journey, there were no issues with them despite some nasty pot hole strikes. And tubeless tires - I love them. We had one flat on our trip, on her bike, in Mexico; it was plugged and aired back up in minutes.

Lastly - as a comparison between the two bikes: Anytime we were ridding dirt, I would be in the lead. And if I rode through some nasty s%*t, I mean gnarly stuff, I'd radio back and say "hold on, I'll ride your bike through that!" And when I did, it was always more difficult on her bike. The R1200GA weighs about 70 kg (~150lbs) more than her F700GS, but when riding through difficult terrain, the R1200GSA was noticeably easier to manage compared to her F700GS. I attribute this to a combination of better weight displacement (center of gravity), suspension and gearing. Whatever the case, it was noticeable. But both bikes got there, and I do enjoy riding her F700GS, especially on tarmac; it is a fun bike.

Not exactly related to the low suspension topic, but since I'm on a roll: Both bikes ran for the entire trip w/o issues (other than standard maintenance), fueled with high octane gas from brand name stations to stuff from a jug, from sea level to over 15,000 feet, sometimes in the same day. No issues other than normal maintenance on either bike.

To summarize - If you are wanting to ride on some dirt roads, where that means graded, forest service roads (for example) and not two- or one-track trails, then the low suspension F700GS will do it. The trade offs are real, but could be worth it just to get your feet on the ground. Having done the trip and looking back, I've not seen another bike that would have been better for my wife, given all considerations.

Sorry that's long! FWIW

Great post, thanks! Always good to get the other viewpoint.
You both need to come to the California Traveller’s Meeting and do a presentation on your trip!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

I'm 50 years old and very healthy. The only thing is that my sleep is not optimal and I have a very low energy level compared to an average person since I can remember (4 years old or so). Nobody (doctors etc) ever knew why this is, but I just adapt to it and rest more during the day.

I have my motorcycle license for 2,5 years now and drove about 15.000 km / 8.000 miles through Europe (accidentely some dirt roads in Sweden) on my Honda CB600s.

Until 2,5 years ago I didn't know and bother if there were any differences between motorbikes

I bought the Honda which is a 4 cylinder and not a 2 cylinder because I think it is more relaxed riding. That's why I thought it would not be the best option for me to buy a one cylinder, because the bike will shake more and makes more noice (I like a bike to make as little noice as possible ...). I understand that that is the case on European roads and not off road. I think and hope to find paved roads and plan to drive mainly on them.

If I really like to ride off road and not just some gravel here and there I understand I have to find another bike.

Sounds like you have a nice future ahead of you.

I have a very small experience with a lowered F800gs. My wife had one and we went on a big bike off road week in Spain.
The trails were big bike friendly but a couple of times we came across a knarly stretch that I rode the 800 through. I had an 1100gs and, bearing in mind the 800 is supposed to be more off road focused, it was much easier to ride.

Whether they’re all like that or just the lowered ones or, indeed, just that particular one I do not know.
I do know that she rides a 1200gs now and can tackle the same trails with no problem.
Good luck

@mcwhirtj Ibelieve the f700GS is practically identical with the F650GS twin, only slightly heavier (2 front discs plus a few new gimmicks), but the F750GS is a lot heavier as far as I know.


I enjoy the way the 650 twin handles, but you're right, no comparison to the 1200 GSA. I took my little twin (standard suspension and NOT lowered) on the Portugal ACT (Adventure Country Tracks). I managed the trails, but the suspension and bashplate had a tough time. I've changed the fork springs and roughed it in Bulgaria. Was a bit better, but the problem remains that even the standard suspension does not offer the ground clearance you need for good off-road pistes.....

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

Check out the BMW G650. It is a single though. But they're some of the smoothest singles out there. And considerably lighter and more manageable than the F700 Twin.

It's more than fast enough..

Sunshine, asado and big smiles in smiles in South America should help your energy levels

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

just buy a honda transalp ,will do the job stop the need for any gadgets and keep it simple cb 500v would do, steer away from electronic toys just not needed .

I'd be interested in the train of thought that lead to the F700GS.

Personally I can't see much going for it and would not want the ESA, but I'm not going to ride it.

Suggesting the G650 (eats waterpumps, fries VR's, chain sized for a 125?) or Transalp (old tech, hard to buy in good condition) seems to risk missing what @loes is after?

I have just sold my CB500X. It would need a fair bit of suspension work to really go off road. It is a bit of a lump. It's well made and good value though and can do anything that's mostly legal on a UK highway. I have considered lowering it and it would be simple to do, especially combined with the work to upgrade the shock.

I'd go Enfield Himalayan (not what I'm swapping it for BTW), but low tech/high maintenance doesn't scare me and I don't have any need to break motorway speed limits.

Andy