BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Camhead , by far the "prettier" bike. The design flows from front to rear. It's just my own opinion but I think the W.C. RT is ugly. It looks ok from the front but from the side, Urrrgh.

Classico wrote:Heard that the LC (Liquid Cooled) is lower and lighter to move around.

The Camhead is 263 kg, the Wethead (1200) is 274 kg and the Shifthead (1250) is 279 kg.

Our Gee wrote: Camhead , by far the "prettier" bike. The design flows from front to rear. It's just my own opinion but I think the W.C. RT is ugly. It looks ok from the front but from the side, Urrrgh.

Agreed, I had the same conversation with David a couple of months ago when my  Wethead was parked next to his Camhead. From the side the Camhead is much more faired in ,whereas mine is tubes and gaps everywhere and more difficult to clean.

jackronner wrote: It may be a bit "tippy" for you in some situations:  Backing up on uneven,or slippery ground, or when you stop athwart a hill

I learned to handle a tall (tall for me might bee small for someone else) bike like the Vstrom 650XT fully loaded the hard way, with a couple of stupid falls early in the adventure. The vstrom is slightly taller than the preLCs standard seat but thinner on the seat which makes up for the difference height i suppose.
Then it weighs some 50kg less than the RT but has a taller gravity center.
I’d think that all in all they should be similar to move around, big difference though is if they fall the potential damage cost on the RT is way over the vstrom and it will be heavier to lift as well

Classico,  Saw a video once about picking up a heavy bike.  Instead of facing the bike, he faced away, using his buttocks/bum/ass to help push the bike up as he stood up with the bike.  Might be useful if the bike is heavy with touring gear.

Yes, a fallen RT can be a struggle to pick up but no where as difficult as a fully loaded K1200LT. Many years ago we dropped our fully loaded LT on a tight gravel strewn back road in Provence. We would be still standing there if some local builders had not came along and muscled the LT which if memory serves me right tipped the scales at around 370 kilos back upright. That’s about 100 kg more than an RT which is probably why when I first test rode an R1150RT I thought it felt like a little scooter. Plan ahead, avoid tight situations, is that u-turn really really necessary, be aware of that camber that drops away so abruptly that your foot will never make contact with terra ferma. In a nutshell all bikes require an individual technique and a variable amount of constant planning in order to keep rubber side down.

Our Gee wrote: ...... Plan ahead, avoid tight situations, is that u-turn really really necessary, be aware of that camber that drops away so abruptly that your foot will never make contact with terra ferma. In a nutshell all bikes require an individual technique and a variable amount of constant planning in order to keep rubber side down.

Concur 100% with you. Every bike needs to be domesticated! Never one should wrestle with them or you’ll fall. When i’ve any trouble moving her around i just tell her to lie down, she does obey most of the times!!

I am 6'4" and have had; K75RT, R1150RT, R1200RT, 2x R1200RT (WC) and now a R1250RT all from new. Each time I have changed bike (other than the K75RT) I have not noticed that much of a change, they are all heavy to pick if/when you drop them!! :-[

Ignoring looks as being too subjective to give advice on, it is worth noting that the "air cooled" R1200RT needs to be "broken" in half to change the clutch, a really poor design and very expensive!

So my advice is to avoid the air cooled 1200s - And test ride a lot before committing (after all riding different bikes is fun)!

And, if the alternator fails on a Wethead.