wethead wrote:
You are a man with ideas after me own heart. Lets put our money together and manufacture this puppy. I would ride it.
...and, if we could keep that for a price under 10,000 I think we would have a winner here!!
With all of the aging boomers out there I'm surprised this configuration hasn't happened yet. You frequently read of older riders looking to downgrade in weight and in doing so they end up getting bikes that compromise many of the attributes mentioned, then come the inevitable farkles to try to overcome the shortcomings. No way you can do anything like this on the cheap--go back and read the list of attributes! Max Comfort (yep, very good seat too!) AND Excellent Performance. Many aging riders looking for lighter weight are also riding 1-up most of the time so you just don't need the heft of even an RT.
Coming from a K1200GT to an RTW I expected a lot less weight (getting old and decrepit ! ). Wow the RTW is just as heavy to manoeuvre out of the garage as the GT, as for getting it on the main stand- much harder. I suppose the old trick of putting a half inch bit of wood under back wheel might change balance and make it easier- K Series forum tip. Last thing, who the hell designed the side stand position? Bit of a bitch to put up and down and easy to miss with a wide boot! Only a week on the road so more observations to come.
Quick push down on the centre stand arm and up it goes with one hand on grip and one on the back grab rail. Mind you I came from a 1600GTL so everything is easier.
Side stand I find easy using my heal to push it down and toe to hook it back up.
And yes your GT was probably a little lighter than the RT with a dry weight of 249kg. Add fuel and its about the same
Last edited by guest2360 on Sat Aug 27, 2016 9:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
scunny1 wrote:Last thing, who the hell designed the side stand position?
If you're old and decrepit you probably already figured this out, but if not I'll pass it on: 100% of the time before you get off the RT be sure you look down and verify the side stand is fully out, and keep the front brake pulled until you're off. It's a simple step to avoid an inadvertent (read: careless) drop of your RT. Fortunately after you get the beast out of the garage it practically handles itself, including at low speeds.
I remember my old Mk 1 Pan had a neat little handle to get the bike on the centre stand which was at a better height than using the pillion grab handle. Very docile compared to the RT though.
I am pronouncing this bikes break-in and evaluation period complete. I added the final farkle on Sunday - a Stubby antennae. I don't use the radio hardly at all opting rather to load a few hundred of my favorite songs onto a little thumb drive and play that for music. I don't always listen to music anyway, only when I'm riding for transportation and not pleasure mostly. You know, kill those boring highway miles.
I'm fairly used to the entire bike, even getting some smooth up and down shifting in the lower gears with the GSAP though still using mostly manual in the those gears. Having a little fun with the power. Had a guy on a one-off S&S HD-type cruiser saw me coming up on him after a toll and he thought he'd blow me out of the water and he punched his throttle... yeeaaahhh, that didn't end well for him. Left him in the dust. Just glad there was't a state-y up the road since I was pulling a buck-ten when I let off. It's just too easy.
But despite those very few instances of acceleration, I'm learning to cruise and just enjoy the ride. Not an easy thing to do on this bike. It wants to GO.
Anyway, nothing left to put on it, not much left to talk about. First bike I've had in a long time that didn't require a ton of posting on a dedicated forum. At first I thought this forum was not that well attended but it's just that these bikes don't require a ton of discussion. At least not compared to the HD's!
scunny1 wrote:
Coming from a K1200GT to an RTW I expected a lot less weight (getting old and decrepit ! ). Wow the RTW is just as heavy to manoeuvre out of the garage as the GT, as for getting it on the main stand- much harder. I suppose the old trick of putting a half inch bit of wood under back wheel might change balance and make it easier- K Series forum tip. Last thing, who the hell designed the side stand position? Bit of a bitch to put up and down and easy to miss with a wide boot! Only a week on the road so more observations to come.
Got to say I'm finding the new RT a lot lighter to get onto the centre stand then the old K1300GT, where you needed to pre-book a consultation at the hernia clinic. OK, it's not light, but it carries its weight a lot lower and seems easier to push about, especially with the better lock. Agree with the comments on side stand; it's a bit of a stretch. On the old bike, I left it down when paddling about just in case. On the RT though it seems longer and grounds too easily. Great bike though - did a four day trip last week with no aches and pains.
Methos1979 wrote:
I am pronouncing this bikes break-in and evaluation period complete.
My '16 RT arrived March 18 and on June 4 we took off on a 9,163m ride. I noticed the bike just got better and better for shifting (yes I got better at it too) and even engine noise diminished long about 7K miles or so. The RT is the gift that keeps on giving [size=14px])[/size]
On the break-in of boxer engines, the last one I had didn't even really start to get really smooth until I got up over 20k and those up over 50k claimed even great smoothness. My new RT is already so smooth I can hardly wait to get to some of those mileage milestones to see if it gets even better.
I forgot to mention with regard to the center stand issue - the last bike I had with a center stand was a '95 Gold Wing! So I learned the 'trick' to easily getting that bike up and the RT is no different. Hold the left grip with your left hand. Grab the left back rail with your right hand. Stand bike up straight. press down on center stand arm with your right heal until you feel both center stand pads touch. Push down on the center stand arm with your body weight while gently pulling up with your right hand. The bike will pop right up with minimal effort. Relatively speaking! Works like a charm.
I only had my RT for three weeks and two long rides. the second ride was about 300 miles of both highway and twisties. I like in DC, so it takes about an hour or more to get out f the metro area to find nice roads. I moved from 2010 Honda ST1300. The first thing in notice is the weight difference and the ease of leaning into curves. I haven't noticed any issues with the windshield or the seat. My ST had a Corbin, which i loved. If the seat on the RT becomes an issue i'll upgrade to another Corbin. Haven't thought about any farkles because the bike came with everything i need.
Heading out to SW Virginia and West Virginia over the long Labor Day Weekend for a 4 day ride. Hopefully I'll learn more about the bike. So far i have no buyer remorse.
Excuse me, I hate to be a snob, but a 300 mi. is hardly considered a 'long ride' around here.
You ll run into a pile of steel-butt swingers round here who will giggle at that.
Which is probably the reason why your butt can tolerate the stock seat and shield.
As you venture into, maybe a San Diego, Seattle and back to DC kind of ride you might get more persnikity about ergonomics even on an RT--like u hear folks being picky about.
BTW, I am just conversing with u bro. I ain't hassling nor putting u down. I myself don't like to ride more than 3 to 5 hundred miles a day. But I been known to do that for 3 months in a row. Then, stuff that would normally dont, starts bugging u over the road.
Glad u are enjoying the TR.
If it takes you all day to do something you used to do all day, you are getting old.
3 to 500 miles a day for 3 months. That's somewhere between 27000 and 45000 miles or something like 11 times coast to coast. What you running from.
Well not constantly, I stayed at folks houses a bit. Some days I just stayed put to rest.
I started riding this Summer in Mid May and stopped in Mid Aug. In April I doubled back home cause all I was doing was freezing and drinking rain water. I came out again in June and rtn home on Aug.
I think I did close to 11 or 12k miles (could been more cause I traded a K16 for an RT in the middle of the saga) including a lot of pretty slow days through mountain country.
Actually, that ain't that many miles. I have friends that do a lot more miles than that in a Summer...a lot more.
But they are your platinum-butt type creatures. I meander around, and slowly. I can be on the road all day and not cover that much ground...just my style.
Last edited by wethead on Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If it takes you all day to do something you used to do all day, you are getting old.
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