BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

The RT handles fine at low speeds, as long as you know how to slow ride a heavy bike. If you can slow ride something like a Harley, the RT will not be an issue.

I haven't ridden the RS so I can't compare the slow speed handling of the two but I can vouch for the capability of the RT. Using a combination of rear brake and throttle/clutch to balance the bike I can easily move it along at walking pace - so down to around 3 mph - and I regularly do so as I commute in heavy traffic. To go slower than that I would need to get more practise on using my body weight to keep the bike stable but to be honest I rarely need to go slower than that.

F800GT wrote:
I am wondering how the R1200RT handles at low speed too ...

Google police motorcycle competition and watch the videos of what a RTW can do.  A very balanced machine.



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pkpilot wrote: Google police motorcycle competition and watch the videos of what a RTW can do.  A very balanced machine.

Just did, and saw a couple on youtube. Very balanced machine indeed.
This one video is interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WFsWDIjM80

Anyone riding the R1200RT under warm weather ? I was wondering if the R1200RT blocks too much of the needed wind under warm/hot weather ?

I drive all year round, and on the very rare hot days here in belgium I van still manage 8 hours or more. I wear à cooling vest and summier gear. I only find the airflow to the hands lacking.

F800GT wrote: Anyone riding the R1200RT under warm weather ? I was wondering if the R1200RT blocks too much of the needed wind under warm/hot weather ?

I guess you have to define 'warm' as it's subjective. The hottest I have so far had to cope with on my RT is 30 degrees C. At the time I was wearing un-ventilated Rukka 'all weather' gear and by the time I got home I was like a wet rag. Shortly after that I bought some Klim Latitude gear, which is lighter and has plenty of vents. Since then I have been up to 29 degrees C and with all the vents open I was comfortable as long as I was moving. I also carry a spare set of 'summer' gloves that let lots of air through them.


I have a larger Aeroflow Tall screen fitted so that does tend to block more airflow but overall I'm finding it okay. I miss the GS a bit when it gets really warm but then I would miss the RT more when the weather turns cold again.

Paggers wrote: I guess you have to define 'warm' as it's subjective.

35-40 degrees Celsius in the summer.

Paggers wrote: Same as above - I couldn't really see the appeal of the RS. In my opinion, the R1200 'lump' is better for the long haul; if you want a 'sports' bike I can't see why anyone would buy an R1200 RS over an S1000 RR. But then I have never really seen the appeal of sports bikes anyway.

The difference is huge, starting on the engine , performance , ride position you name it .

I'm in California, and my wife and I have ridden for days at a time with temps above 40C (me on an RT).  A cooling vest under mesh textile jacket (white Revit "Tornado" is what I have) is the ticket.  With that, I handle the heat better than my similarly attired wife, who rides a much more "vented" F800ST.  Which is to say that everyone's internal thermostat is different, but in general an RT gives adequate air flow for riding in hot weather, imo.


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sepossivel wrote: The difference is huge, starting on the engine , performance , ride position you name it .

I completely agree, the difference is huge. But in my opinion, and looking at what most people expect out of a sports bike, the S1000 RR is just better in all those areas. It's not the role the boxer was designed for - again, in my opinion. But let's look at the figures. In 2015 (the only year I could quickly find figures for) BMW sold 9,576 S1000RR compared with 4,208 R1200RS. So it looks like plenty of other punters agreed in a ratio of more than 2:1.