BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I wake up to pee in the middle of the night, now. I complain about the younger generation.  I'm convinced the world is going straight to hell.  It appears I've turned into an old man.


Problem is, my motorcycle self hasn't fully accepted it.  I keep thinking that I can just train a little more.  Run a bit longer.  Do more squats.  More push-ups.  Squeeze the rubber ball a few hundred times more a day.  Or just quit whining.  If I do some of that, any of that, then I'll be able to ride my young man bikes a little longer.


Until recently I owned a Ducati 748S.  Its lines were penned my Michelangelo.  The music played by the engine was orchestrated by Bach.  The feel of the components by Chopin.  Unfortunately, its ergos were designed under the express direction of the Marquis de Sade.  Two year ago I sold it.  I sold my very own Sistine Chapel.  God wept.  His angels wept.  I wept.  My wife told me to stop acting like a little bitch.


So I bought an R1200RS.  I love the bike!  Its got enough forward lean and high enough pegs to make me feel like I'm kinda sorta on a sporty bike.  Its got real telescopic forks.  Its beauty takes a while to appreciate, but once you SEE the bike, it becomes beautiful.  The engine is a delight.  But after a few hours, my right wrist kinda starts to hurt, my legs kinda start to get stiff, and my butt kinda gets sore.


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I can put up with it when I'm strafing the canyons here on the Colorado Front Range.  It's fine for 4 hours.  But it's not gonna be fine for longer rides.  And I love to go on longer rides.  Three- or four-day weekends with the wife, and week-long camping trips with the boys.


So, I'm wondering how you guys who are loathe to let go of your sporting pretensions feel about your RT's.  I once owned an R1150RT that had character, was super comfortable, and did ungodly things in the twisties.  With my wife on the back of that thing I hung with a Ducati sport bike in the canyons around here until the Ducati low-sided.  A better rider would have pulled away, but this guy was by no means a novice.


But when I rode an R1200RT from around the 2010-2011 era, it bored me to tears.  It had the personality of a Honda Accord. 


I've read the press about the new RT, but I'd rather hear it from real world owners.  You guys who get up to pee in the middle of the night but like to keep a sporting pace during the day, how do you feel about your RT?


Do your lecherous younger selves feel the need for another sporty bike on the side, or are you content with the performance of the RT?  How about the style and how you feel when you ride it?


Thanks,


ape

In a word - ecstatic! But don't take my word for it - go to your local dealer and take one for a demo - a long demo if you can. If you're not ready to buy yet then leave your cheque book/credit cards at home!  ;D

I've just come back from a fang this morning (still running in engine so can't use full power), I can say that it can be cranked over to the limit with a pillion and still power out of corners. I heard a squeal of delight from the back seat, this is one outstanding bike.
Pic below is new stead at rest in the stable...

It's all been said.  Get yourself down the dealers.

Alternatively, if the wallet allows have two bikes! I keep my Ducati, which I use when in the mood for a spirited ride around the local B roads. But for anything else it has to be the RT.

Like the collective says, Apehair - go test one.


The LC is a totally different experience to the earlier, air-cooled RT.  I has all the refinement and poise that the earlier bike had but with the engine straight out of your RS.  What's not to love?


I came to my RT rom a Ducati Multistrada which I also really liked but the boys reckon I'm actually quicker over the ground on the RT - that's how good it is...

. I has all the refinement and poise that the earlier bike had but with the engine straight out of your RS.
Or even the other way round.

I've sold my Benelli Tornado 900 RS two weeks ago. It is one of the best looking and outrageous Italian design superbike ever made according to many hardcore bikers and non-bikers who approached me at every fuel stop to have a chat about it. It sounds like a roaring lion and it gave me goose bumps every time I've opened the throttle. I've put almost 30000 miles on it in just over two years touring around the alps, Wales, Scotland and many other parts of the UK. It was a sad moment to see her leaving on a trailer.


But my circumstances are changed and I now ride almost all the time with my partner as a pillion, so the Tornado had not been used for a while because I could not bear to ride more than an hour two up, too tiring and sometimes painful. It's a bachelor's bike, the rear seat is only there to take home the girl you've pulled at the bar. :-)


The moral of the story is that after a couple of months to get used to my new R1200RT (2016 LC), on real world roads I'm no slower two up than I was on my own with the Tornado. I actually suspect that I am a little faster if I'm on my own on the RT than I was on the Tornado. The amount of fun I have on the twisties is by no means less than it used to be. And all is done in luxury comfort and with the load capacity of a small city car.


I belive that this is because the RT is so capable of handling the unexpected on the road that gives you much more confidence than a faster bike. Two up I've caught up and overtaken a few times bikers riding solo on sport bikes who definitely were not taking it easy, probably as you say a better rider would have pulled away, but my opinion is that the average rider (and I don't mean by any means slow when I say average) will never reach on the road the limit of a modern bike on modern tyres, so the confidence that you have in the bike makes the difference on how fast you go and how much fun you have.


Before buying I test rode the RT back to back with a R1200RS and a K1300S on the same roads. I had the distinct feeling that I was a little faster with the other two but when I looked at the speedo the numbers i was reading indisputably told me the opposite...... the wind protection on the RT is so good that my perception of speed was completely altered, so keep an eye on the dashboard and watch out for laser guns!


The only flaw I've found so far is that the engine has a distinct flat spot around 5000 rpm and, if you are used to more powerful engines, this can catch you up at first when overtaking suddenly from lower revs if you are caught in traffic, but I believe that this is because of emission laws and will be looking soon at a remedy, my techie suggested either a remap or non-cat aftermarket exhaust system.


Go and get one!

Just bought a 2014 RT a few days ago, transitioning from my K1200S.  I too was worried about the lack of sportiness, but realize that 90% of the time I don't ride the S using more than 60% throttle- and due to some rebuilt knees I just couldn't stomach the pain the S was causing my knees.  Holy cow - the RT is awesome!  When I  feel the need to really get into the throttle the RT has never failed to excite me. 


I think it all comes down to how often you're ripping on the throttle - for my situation - it was a good call to get an RT.  If I still lived in Germany I probably wouldn't have done it, but alas I live in the US now and can't go 180mph every day.  My commute is much easier on the RT and I couldn't be happier....now the wife, having three bikes in the garage isn't as happy as I am but that's another story! 

PatriotBMW wrote: now the wife, having three bikes in the garage isn't as happy as I am but that's another story!

At least you're hanging them upside down from the ceiling though, to make way for her car...

Lol....yup.

What tyres are you running. They look super sticky  :alas: :pee:

daverj wrote: What tyres are you running. They look super sticky  :alas: :pee:

It's the centre stand that's bolted to the ceiling  :alas:

Will everybody stop banging on about how good the later LC bike is. It's giving my 06 RT a complex and tempting me ever closer to a test drivet

Said in a low, husky voice: "Go on, you know you want to. I won't tell!"