Coffee, Come on man. I was just poking him a little. Hey mnb I'm going take a Terra for a test ride tomorrow. I'll let you know if that spec sheet of yours is right. SOB I did it again. Sorry, I'll be quite now.
And I do command other super power: ability to sniff 'I-know-better's' from a mile... Having owned/ridden both, I prefer the suspension of Terra by far. Stock suspension (front) of F800GS is soft and competely out of purpose for that bike. So much that the 'spec' travel is almost worthless. Needs serious investment to perform. Terra front forks are not perfect but still of much more advanced construction and quite rideable as stock. I still do miss tweaking ability (rebound/dampening). CAN-BUS on F8GS is a horror thing. And I didnt read about that - I experienced that. To be honest, I did like my F8GS. It was and it is a very good bike. But its by no means perfect and while its better in some respect, its worse in the other. Try to follow famous ADV rider Walter Colebatch on his opinion about perfect ADV bike - BMW F650Xchallenge is his choice. And while its not produced any more, he pointed out to Terra as possible replacement. And while asked about F8GS he said 'much too heavy'. I wonder why... One needs to try to know.
I have owned a BMW X Challenge and debated getting another one before looking at the Terra. Biggest problem was air suspension and limited fuel tank range. If the suspension was standard and the fuel tank bigger I would have kept it. With the air suspension the bike was too tall and bouncy. In the heat the air in the shock would expand and it was like riding on a pogo stick. Most guys that kept them changed out the shock from what I understand. Too bad the fuel tank range was less than 200km.
I have an F800gs and have taking the bike on long trips (3400 miles). Off road in Moab Ut, New Mexico and even did Black Bear Pass in Colorado last year. The F800GS is a great bike with a few major issues. Having said all of that.... I went with a friend when he test rode a TR650. He talked me into riding it and I knew within a half mile of the dealership I was going to purchase one. It is hard to descibe but this bike feels fantastic on throttle response, suspension, balance, handling, all around ride and ease of operation. The Beemer did whatever I asked but the Husky does it and makes it look easy. Just my opinion. Super happy with the Husky.
Weather has changed here and i got my TR650 out for the first real ride this year. A mile in a was in amazement how good it is on the street. Forgot. This a fantastic street bike. Smooth, powerful, comfortable, good brakes, EZ going but hard pulling motor. Love it. I had no real plan, ride out towards the woods and explore the snow level etc. Ended up ducking off the pavement real soon and into some semi known DS gravel and trails. Ended up doing far more off road than had originally planned. Ont he Gravel it is very good. You can start to feel the limits of the suspension, it is semi harsh at times and not real refined feeling. It is good, work fine but you can tell is not high dollar stuff. IMHO. I did a few trails and actually got in over my head a few times. Those stock tires and slick clay slop are not a match made in heaven. :>) The big TR did well but if I rode it off road a lot (not the mission of this bike for me as I own real dirt bikes and great DS bike in the TE511) I would have to do something with the tires and suspension and gearing. The whole thing would need geared down. The really wide transmission that feels great on the street feels pretty gappy on the dirt. 1st - 2nd is way to wide for off road. 5th it almost to tall for the street (lopes along at 65-70) and would deal with shorter gearing well on the street and make off road a lot EZer. Even though I don't plan a lit of single track I already have a CS sprocket and will gear it down making it overall more useful and will gain some snap. So off road completely stock it needs better tires, better gearing and the suspension is usable but not very refined feeling. Maybe some more time on the legs will make them more supple to off road rough stuff. I did chicken out on a few trails and turned around. I was alone and one hill was very rocky and steep. I'm sure i could have made it but there was a chance to toss my new bike on the ground and destroy some stuff and if I hurt myself no one would find me for a while as this area is semi remote and behind locked gates. so now that I am back up to speed on the TR650 my assessment is great overall bike, fantastic for my exploring needs, not something I am going to get to wild on off road. For reference my TE511 has done this same loop and is light years better off road but not near as good on the road. the TE511 is a very competent off road bike and can be ridden aggressively and with authority. The TR650 you can manage through the trail if you have to but it is not really fun IMHO. Conversely the TE511 is under geared for the street and is kind of laborious at times to do 20-30 miles of street. I mean it will do it fine and is fun ripping wheelies on but just is not real fun for many miles of street slogging where the TR rules there. Just food for thought. Oh, you might have notice my TR is minus the new Motosporotz skid plate (which scared me at times off road) as I took it off for a customer that had a big trip and needed one ASAP. Some cell phone pix... Need to get back up here on my TE511 as there is some sweet but challenging trail back in here.
I just test road the F700GS and TR650 back to back. The BMW is akin to a 90s Cadillac Brougham--magic carpet like, with linear power , and a soft ride. The Husky is more visceral to me, power comes on much faster, the suspension is tight but still handles the bumps, and it was surprisingly stable at 85+mph. The vibes are no worse than a big twin, and it's just FUN. I really went in expecting to plunk down the $$$ for a BMW and found myself making a deposit on the Husky. I Know the 800 is a few extra horses, but the 700, for me, just didn't make sense when up against the TR. If they were the same price I would still want the Husqvarna.
Interesting. In fact I find this entire discussion fascinating, because I really have not ridden many road(ish) type bikes, and few other modern bikes made by other companies.
They are within $3k of one another. Perhaps a better way to put it is that if the BMW was priced lower I would still buy the Husky. Lower cost and greater benefit (for what i am looking for at least) just made it all that much sweeter.
