Newbie
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 2:55 pm
Whilst I've already started a conversation over in the Satnav section I thought I would ‘pop back’ to say hello and provide some background into my RT ownership.
With a tour of the Italian lakes planned for this year I decided that my trusty 2005 Ducati Multistrada was probably best left at home. A great bike (very underrated, especially the Ohlins shod version) but not really up for such a long trip (two-up fully loaded). So I started looking around for an affordable bike which would take me and misses there and back in comfort, whilst being reliable. I must confess that I’d never considered a BMW and initially looked at the Honda Blackbird & Kawasaki ZZ1200, but did not find a good example.
Back in November I happened to pick up a copy of Bike magazine which had a very positive review of the R1200RT. The very next day I got a lead on a 2006 model in excellent condition with 16k on the clock. I called up the owner and learnt that the bike was an SE with full luggage including top box. It had all the recalls completed and partial service history, last done by a dealer in 2011 with 10k on the clock and subsequently the current owner had done an annual filter change. I put the phone down jumped into my car and two hour later was looking over a very clean bike. I did not ride the bike but did all the usual checks and made a couple offers before he shook my hand, delivering the bike the following week. Since then its sat in my garage and been fired up every couple of weeks. So far the only negative I've learnt is that it has servo assisted brakes which makes a wired noise when you pull brake lever, apparently these can be problematic? I should have my first ride on the bike over the next weeks, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how the ‘alien’ suspension behaves. I’m really not sure what to expect and wonder if I will need to modify my riding style at all?
In April I've booked the bike in for a full service with MotoScott including; valve clearance, fluid replacement and a set of new tires. There’s life in the current items (Michelin pilot road) but thought I might as well start off with a some new rubber and went for the Michelin pilot 4 GT. That’s enough rambling from me and hopefully I will catch-up either in a forum or at some social gathering.
With a tour of the Italian lakes planned for this year I decided that my trusty 2005 Ducati Multistrada was probably best left at home. A great bike (very underrated, especially the Ohlins shod version) but not really up for such a long trip (two-up fully loaded). So I started looking around for an affordable bike which would take me and misses there and back in comfort, whilst being reliable. I must confess that I’d never considered a BMW and initially looked at the Honda Blackbird & Kawasaki ZZ1200, but did not find a good example.
Back in November I happened to pick up a copy of Bike magazine which had a very positive review of the R1200RT. The very next day I got a lead on a 2006 model in excellent condition with 16k on the clock. I called up the owner and learnt that the bike was an SE with full luggage including top box. It had all the recalls completed and partial service history, last done by a dealer in 2011 with 10k on the clock and subsequently the current owner had done an annual filter change. I put the phone down jumped into my car and two hour later was looking over a very clean bike. I did not ride the bike but did all the usual checks and made a couple offers before he shook my hand, delivering the bike the following week. Since then its sat in my garage and been fired up every couple of weeks. So far the only negative I've learnt is that it has servo assisted brakes which makes a wired noise when you pull brake lever, apparently these can be problematic? I should have my first ride on the bike over the next weeks, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how the ‘alien’ suspension behaves. I’m really not sure what to expect and wonder if I will need to modify my riding style at all?
In April I've booked the bike in for a full service with MotoScott including; valve clearance, fluid replacement and a set of new tires. There’s life in the current items (Michelin pilot road) but thought I might as well start off with a some new rubber and went for the Michelin pilot 4 GT. That’s enough rambling from me and hopefully I will catch-up either in a forum or at some social gathering.
As the others have already said, you'll find the feedback and comments from forum members very helpful and effective. You'll enjoy the handling and performance of the RT, especially the unique BMW suspension geometry! Very germanic in its engineering complexity but darn good, and very easy to get confident with. Also with PR4 GTs fitted, they will provide excellent grip come rain or shine. A good choice of tyre especially for two-up touring.