BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Hi, I am considering the purchase of a new or used low mileage (water-cooled) R1200RT and would like some advice from the forum.
I have owned for a few months a gorgeous 2012 K1300S which was unfortunately written off last July as a consequence of a car driver failing to stop behind me at a traffic light. It was a short ownership but long enough to make me fall in love with the neutral handling of the duolever suspension and its ability not to loose its poise no matter what the road throws at it, even mid turn.
Now that the insurance claim is finally settled and I am starting to shop around for a new bike, an increasing interest (it is actually becoming a passion…. :-) ) from the other half in being my pillion passenger on my weekend rides, and planning to go away for longer distance short breaks and possibly European tours, is shifting my focus towards a model closer to the “tourer” end of the “sport-tourer” segment. I really would like to buy a bike which is not going to make me miss the aforementioned poise of the K1300s duolever handling, and being the k1600gt out of question for its mammoth mass, the R1200RT is the obvious choice.
My questions are:
1) Will the handling of the telelever suspension give a very similar settled ride compared to the duolever setup?
2) Is the handling of the R1200RT sporty enough so that I am still going to be able to have great fun pushing the RT to the limit when the roads get twisty? Does it have good cornering clearance or will I be scraping the pegs all time?
3) Taking for granted that I am not expecting the same level of hyper-drive-kind-of-power of the 1300 inline 4: is the water-cooled 1200 boxer torquey enough to be never out of juice when needed, e.g. overtaking a lorry two up and fully loaded?
It would be great if somebody that has owned or has ridden both could contribute to give me a real side to side comparison!
BTW, is there any specific flaw or recurring fault I should be aware of in case I decided to go for a used one?
Cheers, Pierpaolo

why don't you just go to a dealer and test ride the bike. I bought mine 3 weeks ago. I rode the K1600GT, Triumph Trophy and the RT. Liked the RT best, haven't got rid of my smile yet. My other bike is a Harley though, so most bikes handle better and feel quicker 

Last question first.  None have any flaws so 14/15 or 16 are all the same with the exception of keyless being available from 15 on and colour changes.
I swapped from a GTL.  Definately less straight line warp speed but off the line I never noticed much difference.  I find telelever more responsive than duo lever but it's difficult to compare . duo lever gives a harsher feel through the bars. Think the weight of an RT is a little more than your K but it's lower so it's not a problem.  Definately easier on fuel and zero oil consumption.

Agree with all said so far. The RT will not be quite as punchy as the K1300 but its not far behind unless you are after hyper top speeds.  I think for a tourer it has plenty of power. It handles really well I do not think you will be disappointed. Its a great two up bike my missus loves it. Go ride one. If your serious ask your local dealer for a decent long test ride. I say this because the boxer engine and gearbox takes a little getting used to. Make sure the dealer shows you how to set the suspension and riding modes so you can play. I think you will find sport suspension and dynamic throttle mode should give you the sporty ride you are after.

I swapped a 2012 K1300 last year for an new RT. I don't miss the K1300 at all, yes this is heavier but the weight seems lower down so it's not noticeably heavier. Biggest difference will be the quick shifter action compared to the K. Go for a test ride you will love it.

The test ride is already in the plan as soon as I have some time at the weekend to take the demo for a few hours at my local dealer.
I just wanted to hear from other owners which have tried both suspension as I think that even along test ride (a few hours) is not long enough to fully appreciate the riding qualities of the bike, especially considering that last time I rode my k was over 6 months ago, so it would not quite be a back to back comparison!
Anyway the consensus seem to be that with the telelever fork I am not going to miss the duolever one, so that's good news.
I am not after outright speed, I try to avoid speeds which would make me lose the licence anyway, but I loved the fact that with the k1300 I could go fully loaded from "almost stationary" following a slow vehicle to overtaking at speed in a blink just twisting the throttle. Looking at the torque delivery graph of the rt, this should not be a problem with the new bike either, but again I wanted to hear what the owners say.

Pierpaolo,


It's a different way of answering your performance question but...


I came to the RTLC from a Multistrada 1200.  The RT lacks the hooligan pace of the MTS and some of its really sharp handling BUT in the real world's open roads I reckon I'm quicker on the RT than I was on the MTS - and in the words of the IAM, I like to ride "progressively"!


I thought about the K1300 before opting for the RT and so far I haven't regretted my choice.  The one thing to watch out for with the RT is that the different colours perform very differently.  There is a lot of nonsense spoken about this subject on here but take my word for it, if performance is high on your list of purchase criteria, make sure you go the Callisto Grey...

You can get further evidence that colours do intact make things go faster. The Royal Navy paints all their fastest ships grey as well 

Take no notice of the poor boys who can't afford to finish the painting of their bikes and run around with primer showing  :))

Casbar wrote: You can get further evidence that colours do intact make things go faster. The Royal Navy paints all their fastest ships grey as well 

and look at Lewis's Mercedes too - mind you, maybe that's the green stripes that make the difference!


:enjoying: :enjoying: :enjoying:

Well guys, the other half says black, so it will be black irrespective of being faster or slower! She has the final saying with regard to colour as she offered to chip in the fund for the new bike to persuade me to go for a more comfortable bike (not that I needed any persuasion to buy a r1200rt but let her think that ;-)).
On a different subject: I'm wondering if ordering a bmw topbox or reusing my coocase reflex 50 (ugly but practical and 1/10 of the price of the bmw one, inclusive of brake lights). From other posts I seem to gather that the bmw box has a connector for the lights that has to be disconnected separately when removing the box, rather then being embedded in the attachment plate, is that true?

Rusty-pie wrote: On a different subject: I'm wondering if ordering a bmw topbox or reusing my coocase reflex 50 (ugly but practical and 1/10 of the price of the bmw one, inclusive of brake lights). From other posts I seem to gather that the bmw box has a connector for the lights that has to be disconnected separately when removing the box, rather then being embedded in the attachment plate, is that true?

If you have the integral brake light yes you need to disconnect it, also the top box release is in the floor of the box so you need to empty it to remove it, and it has no carrying handle! Herr BMW I think did not intend for you to take it on and off on a regular basis  ::)

I'll stick with my ugly coocase for the moment and save a grand then! ;D
Is there any highly recommended accessory, considering I would be buying an LE?
Heads and/or panniers crash protectors?
Keyless ride?
Anything else?

Rusty-pie wrote: I'll stick with my ugly coocase for the moment and save a grand then! ;D

The pre 2014 RT topbox also fits and is cheaper  http://www.moto24.co.uk/bmw-top-case-49 ... -matt.html