Back in August I purchased a brand new 2015 BMW F700GS. I had wanted to get one for a long time, and I finally had an opportunity to do it. But first…….
2015 BMW F700GS Test Ride
Before I purchased my new BMW F700GS, I test rode one back in June – What a difference the twin is compared to my single thumper F650GS. The one I test rode was lowered, and, I’m not gonna lie, it was super nice to be able to nearly flat foot it.
I rode over Protrero, up Decker Canyon, over Mulholland and then circled back to the BMW dealership. I loved it and knew that I wanted one…..badly. The only thing I was unsure of was whether I wanted to get the lowered version or the standard. This dealership didn’t have both for me to compare – they only had lowered ones. Riding on the street isn’t such a big deal, but it would sure be nice to be able to touch the ground off-road.
BMW Dealership – Long Beach
I ended up going down to the BMW dealership in Long Beach, CA. They had the two bikes for me to sit on and compare. They also had the low seat for me to try on the standard model. I sat on the standard F700GS with the low seat, and I was still ballerina tippy toes.
I would have loved to test ride it, but I had dragged my kids along and they weren’t nearly as thrilled as I was. I had gone back and forth A LOT on which one to get. Ultimately I decided on the standard F700GS with a low seat. Once I made the decision, I had my husband take me down to get it.
Riding 2Up
We hadn’t ridden two up in a long time and it was quite fun to be the passenger just enjoying the scenery. Long Beach is about 100 miles from my house, so it’s a ways down. We took the PCH down south until we hit Santa Monica, then we hopped on the freeway for the rest of the way.
I had the deal pretty much banged out before I arrived, so it didn’t take very long to obtain possession of the bike once we got there. Not all the accessories were in, so I took it home naked because I didn’t have the patience to wait another week. I wanted to get on that bike and ride!
Ready to Ride!
If you are looking to buy a BMW down in Long Beach, ask for Ron Tate he’s a cool guy. Dewey, the parts manager, is awesome too. He really set me up and made sure that all my devices were synced. Check them out if you are nearby.
This is Ron
Before heading home, we stopped off at the Black Bear Diner. The food was really good and the portions were ginormous. If you eat there, you may want to consider splitting your dish.
Lunch Stop
Riding up Deer Creek Rd., Malibu
on the way home, we rode up PCH and up Deer Creek Rd. It’s a fun road and the views are to die for – I absolutely love an ocean view.
Naked!
Up on Deer Creek Rd.
I LOVE this bike!
Of course we found a little dirt road that we took. I was a little afraid to go without all the crash bar protection, but not enough to skip it.
In the Dirt on Day 1!
A week later I went back to get farkled – touratechified!
That trip looks super fun! Malibu is just gorgeous. Most of my California road trips end up around there somewhere! I really want to buy a motorcycle this year, but I’m not sure my husband would go for it. He got his “dream car” though, so I think he owes me. So, you’ve had yours for a few months now – is there anything you dislike about it?
I absolutely LOVE my bike. So far, there isn’t anything that I dislike about it……except maybe the upcoming service…..I may not like the cost of that. 🙂
Isn’t that inclded in your warranty?
No, the service is not covered under the warranty?
Greetings from Australia. We’re interested in an F700GS for my wife (she’s also a ‘SheRides2’ 🙂 ) and one of the of the issues is seat height. I read where you took the standard bike with the low seat – my wife is 5 foot 4″ (in the ‘old money’), would you mind, please, telling me what your height is?
BTW – enjoyed reading your blog about your bike which I found via a Google Image search for the F700GS.
So glad to hear that there is another She Rides 2 Down Under! Your wife has me beat in height. I am 5’2.75″ and my inseam is whopping 26″. In addition to the low seat, I wear the Daytona Lady Star boots which give me about 2″. I’ve ridden the low F700GS and it was really nice to be able to flat foot it, but it would not have worked well for me loaded down on trips and/or offroad. The standard is fine for me on the street. I run into footing issues offroad, but I’d rather deal with that occasionally than bottom out all the time. Let me know what you guys end up with. Happy Travels!
It is a tall bike. how you manage to ride this beautiful machine. BMW this series is famous all over the world. I had visited Morocco tour last year where I rode BMW GS 1200 with help of wheels of Morocco and it was such a smooth ride from Morocco to Atlas mountains.
Between my boots and the low seat, I gain about 2″ and that is all I needed. Footing gets tough offroad at times, but so far I have managed. I hear Morocco is a great place to ride. It is definitely on my bucket list.
Ohkkk that great. I am also short so when I ride it gets difficult sometimes and yes you should put Morocco on your bucket list. If you need any suggestion you can msg me as well.
Excellent! Thank you!