Close to get the RT

[Ventura]

Finally I am in Position to get my first ever BMW , the RT. The only model available now ( at the dealer)  is Fully loaded with BMW accessories. Am I putting my head in a bees-nest .. " too many things to break" ??? As the old saying goes.....? not...?
BTW- how is the Music performance ?

[T6pilot]

NO
Depending on your location 3 year/36000 mile warrenty
I've had several BMWs only issue has been handlebar switch cluster, these were replaced at normal service, no failure
Radio, shift assist,ESA are a big plus
In the US most bikes are ordered from dealer fully optioned

[richardbd]

What's the point of an RT without all the options???


Oh - and the music system is fab but the speakers are a waste of time...

[kiki]

I agree on the options -- bmw really puts a ton of time into the technical gizmos, and for the overwhelming majority they are trouble free

[Ventura]

What's the point of an RT without all the options???


Oh - and the music system is fab but the speakers are a waste of time...

You mean Volume wise?? Can you hear radio or MP3 music through them ??

[richardbd]

You mean Volume wise?? Can you hear radio or MP3 music through them ??

To be honest, I'll never understand the point of speakers on any bike.  If you ride slow enough to hear the speakers, you can't be wearing earplugs.  If you can ride without earplugs, you ride a "little" slower than I do - either that or you're already deaf.


Either way, riding a bike with speakers activated is way too antisocial for me.  It's like driving a car with the windows down and music blaring out.  It might have been cool when we were 18.  Now, it's just ridiculous...

[guest2360]

Richard is spot on.  The speakers are there to annoy your neighbours when your parked up on your drive.  Even that doesn't work well as you have to leave the ignition on to work it.  Connect the system to your helmet either via Bluetooth or a wired system and its the best.

[guest2826]

...In the US most bikes are ordered from dealer fully optioned

I think it's much the same here in the UK. When I bought mine last year and was considering the options the dealer told me that it would be hard to get hold of one without everything because most if not all available at that time were fully loaded.

I find the options nearly all very useful and in particular I like the gearshift pro, the hill start assist, the nav, the LED circles round the headlights. I agree with the other views on the speakers though on this or any bike. They serve almost no practical purpose because the only way to hear anything properly when riding is through a headset. I have the BMW bluetooth helmet kit which seems to work ok.

The slight downside of all this is a lot of complication which can take a while to learn if you're not the world's greatest electronics expert. I still don't think I've properly got the hang of all the nav features for example. And it took me a while to figure out just how the lights work in the interaction between the daytime running lights which can be auto or manual operation, the headlights and the auxiliary lights I have.

I'm not criticising the complexity, I like all the features, just that there's a steep learning curve and if you don't use a feature very often, you can forget how to work it even if you had it figured earlier. But that's the same with any tech equipment, for me anyway.

Dealing with the original question about whether having all the options means that there is more to go wrong than a bike with a lot less, the answer has to be yes. But does it go wrong more often? Not in my experience and what I've heard from others here and elsewhere. The gizmos in general seem pretty reliable.

[Ventura]

Richard is spot on.  The speakers are there to annoy your neighbours when your parked up on your drive.  Even that doesn't work well as you have to leave the ignition on to work it.  Connect the system to your helmet either via Bluetooth or a wired system and its the best.

The reason I stopped using in helmet headphone, is that I don't like to be completely isolated from the environment where I am riding...... Safety...., is the BMW helmet system still allows you to hear what's going on around you...??

[guest2360]

Don't know what system you had that isolated you from surrounding noise.  I've never come across any that good. BMW system has limitation if you intend to have two of them.  No muting, no volume control by you for your passenger and you will only be able to connect your phone and the GPS to one helmet.  In fact all Bluetooth kit no matter what make will only allow you to connect one helmet to the BT in the audio unit.  Only the BMW kit allows both helmets to connect. 
If you ride solo though any make will do.  Two up give some serious thought to attaching an Autocom system to the audio unit.  Then both of you will receive everything the audio unit puts out including the GPS, any phone and external music you plug into it. There is lots of information on all the option here. 

[NSrider]

I've been struggling with weather or not to add the audio/radio option to the RT I'm ordering, as it's a stand alone option in Canada for around $1,350.
With the excellent aftermarket Bluetooth systems available for less than half the price, I just haven't been able to justify the extra cost for a pair of speakers I won't use.
Other than that, I'm getting it loaded with all the other options.

[juniorswailing]

I have my music loaded onto my phone and blue toothed to an Interphone headset.

Works well and a lot cheaper than the radio.

[richardbd]

I have my music loaded onto my phone and blue toothed to an Interphone headset.

Works well and a lot cheaper than the radio.

Not so good if you want to listen the radio though...

[blokeonthemove]

Some, the Scala anyway, have an FM radio built in.

[richardbd]

Some, the Scala anyway, have an FM radio built in.

My Schuberth C3 SCS had that.  Reception was terrible and you needed to be much cleverer than me to operate it!