Some options are worth the money in my opinion. The ESA is a well-engineered system that gives umpteen different settings all at the touch of a button, well twist and flick of a button to be honest! So much easier to configure when swapping from one-up to two-up and/or with change in luggage weight as well. I do also have the hill-start, quick shift-pro and central locking. Yes, by no means essential items, but I went for them to refine the bike configuration as I intend to hang onto this bike for some time, and fitting such OEM options after you've bought the bike is not carried out by the dealer, being that they are factory fitted options from new. Don't be too quick to dismiss the options, as ther's nothing more frustrating than riding off on your new toy, and then later regretting not having taken certain options....Just my two penneth. Anyway, good luck with the searching. Make sure you test ride a basic (used) RT as well as a dealer demo RT (with full bling included)!
The audio system is nice and very expensive and only worth doing if you intend to go everywhere with it on. Keyless is not as keyless I had hoped it would be and on a 1600 stranded me when the battery went flat with the steering lock on.
All the other option are essential once you have them. Resale value on a basic RT is going to be low.
I bought my RT used, but went for a bike with all the toys. Suspension adjustment is really good. I've also got a Harley and adjusting the rebound is a major pita. Being able to do it electronically is good. Gear shift pro is also very good. Haven't had the need for the hill start yet, but have tried it and can see that it would be good when fully loaded and being able to have both feet on the ground before take off. So if I was buying new I would get all the toys, but possibly not the radio, but that is good as well.
You may find it difficult to find a new RT without some or all of those additions. I know when I bought mine last year, it was fully loaded or nothing available. I wanted it that way so not a problem for me. The dealer said that since nearly all buyers want fully specced models, BM hardly imported any totally basic RTs into the UK and so those were very hard to source here. You may be able to find examples without the radio and still having all the other features, but a totally basic model may be a problem.
Last edited by guest2826 on Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If you are prepared to wait and a dealer has an allocation of bikes available to them you can order what you want. But as gaggle points out most are imported with near full spec.
Last edited by guest2360 on Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When I bought mine in December 2014 it had the full package, didn't choose that it was just how the demonstrator was fitted.
Gear shift pro excellent, as are the adjustable suspension and riding modes.
Hill start: never used as hill start but very useful when you need to take both hands off the bars, traffic lights etc.
Thoughts are that when I come to change the bike, one that is fully loaded should(?) sell quicker.
Interesting question. For me the options I didn't want were keyless, central locking, alarm, and audio. When I bought my LC there were no secondhand ones available as the bike had only just come out, so options that I thought were non essential I did not go for to reduce the cost. If I was concerned about cost and buying now, then I would find a low mileage one owner mint bike with all the options and save myself a packet. BMW owners do like all the toys. Coming back to your original question I think ESA is one option that I think is essential.
So much easier to configure when swapping from one-up to two-up and/or with change in luggage weight as well. I do also have the hill-start, quick shift-pro and central locking. Yes, by no means essential items, but I went for them to refine the bike configuration as I intend to hang onto this bike for some time, and fitting such OEM options after you've bought the bike is not carried out by the dealer, being that they are factory fitted options from new. Don't be too quick to dismiss the options, as ther's nothing more frustrating than riding off on your new toy, and then later regretting not having taken certain options....Just my two penneth. Anyway, good luck with the searching. Make sure you test ride a basic (used) RT as well as a dealer demo RT (with full bling included)!
