BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hello All,
I am a former owner of an '09 RT. Currently a K16GT owner, but still admire the boxer.
I am a former Kawi tech, and still do my own work on my bikes.
Located on the East Coast of of Canada
Glad to listen in.

Welcome.  Quite a few of us here have done the K16 thing but have returned to the real world.

Hi Kiki, hope you enjoy the forum. I've never had a K16. Been close to buying one a couple of times but always seemed to 'play safe' and stick with the RT's.

Welcome Kiki...

Welcome Kiki not heard of you since 1975 " I got the music in me" Kiki Dee. Yeah +1 for the tech thing as I am good enough to clean my bike anything else, forget it. Welcome on board for the ride.

Just wondering Kiki, as a kwacker mechanic, why have you chosen BMW instead of Kawasaki? I'm a qualified/thatcham trained BMW technician (panel beater/painter) but left the profession over 25 yrs ago. I was back in the  day impressed with the build quality of the BM's compared to the run of the mill vehicles so was always bias- hence up intil recently I've run BMWs ever since. However, other manufacturers have not only caught up, but surpassed bmw in many ways. For example, I spent more on servicing/repairing my last e93 convertible than my brother PAID for his new car.

Chad wrote: Just wondering Kiki, as a kwacker mechanic, why have you chosen BMW instead of Kawasaki? I'm a qualified/thatcham trained BMW technician (panel beater/painter) but left the profession over 25 yrs ago. I was back in the  day impressed with the build quality of the BM's compared to the run of the mill vehicles so was always bias- hence up intil recently I've run BMWs ever since. However, other manufacturers have not only caught up, but surpassed bmw in many ways. For example, I spent more on servicing/repairing my last e93 convertible than my brother PAID for his new car.

Ouch! I wan my money back Herr Fritz :bate:

Chad wrote: Just wondering Kiki, as a kwacker mechanic, why have you chosen BMW instead of Kawasaki? I'm a qualified/thatcham trained BMW technician (panel beater/painter) but left the profession over 25 yrs ago. I was back in the  day impressed with the build quality of the BM's compared to the run of the mill vehicles so was always bias- hence up intil recently I've run BMWs ever since. However, other manufacturers have not only caught up, but surpassed bmw in many ways. For example, I spent more on servicing/repairing my last e93 convertible than my brother PAID for his new car.

Ahh, well , the long answer is I have owned more kawi's than any other brand, and have never had any real major prob with them (although every bike has a wart.. ). The prob is that I attended a BMW demo day in 2005 when the new RT came out. I drove my FJR (at the time) to the shop 90 miles away for the ride, so i had a fresh comparison. I had no idea there could be that much difference between them. The comfort, wind protection, design, features-- simply night and day. Been sold on them since. Had a 2009 RT, then flipped to the K, and will probably swing back to a 2016 RT .

On the quality (or, more appropriately, the reliability ), yes, you are right. They have been surpassed by the Asian brands. But that happened a long time ago. I drive an F32 and before that had two successive E92's. All were generally trouble free , but here in Canada, EVERYTHING is paid by BMW (including oil changes) for the first 80000. So none of them really cost me anything outside the purchase and the fuel. Like the cars, the bikes give me a selection of functional technology that is literally a decade ahead of every other manufacturer, mixed with a driving dynamic that really puts a smile on my face.

I got to spend a week on a '14 Connie last year, and it worked flawlessly. Handled sweetly, loads of power, and smooth solid build. However, living with it day to day really pointed out how primitive it is compared to my K.