Four weeks in: Observations, comparisons, questions and photos - and a request
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 3:33 am
A solid month in and just a week from my long review. I was going to update that post but since after the first page it deteriorated into three more pages of squabbling I figured I just start a new thread. And therein lies my request: If you feel the need to debate an opinion, start your own thread. Don't do it on mine.
With that out of the way, time to update for those that care or follow!
The bike continues to just THRILL, I guess is the only real word for it. Both the wife and I cannot remember a bike that we have loved nearly every aspect of, from performance to comfort to features. Now that I've figured out how to proper sit on this stallion, I feel like I can ride it all day. No small feat for this guy. I haven't had a bike since my '95 Gold Wing that has not needed a new aftermarket seat but this stock seat set up just works for both of us. Love not having to dump several hundred dollars here and there in an attempt to find a comfortable seat!
I continue to really test out the best possible speeds and revs for shifting using the Gear Pro. Getting there. I get the best results when I pay no attention to the tach or speedo and just go by feel. From 3rd gear on upshifting with the throttle under load with the revs over 3.5k seem to give very smooth and nearly imperceptible shifts. Conversely, downshifting seems to work best with the engine under reverse load (engine breaking) with the revs drop down below 3. Shift down below third gear in either direction is more tricky. Sometimes I get the smooth click, sometimes more clunk and sometimes (on downshifting) a chirp. I'm inclined to just manually shift into 3rd (as many here do) and then go up and down with the Gear Pro from there on.
As for comparisons, the Harley was better at highway speeds in cutting wind. I'm sure that extra 300 pounds was the most helpful but the fairing seemed to be better as well. The RT's fairing seems to push the front of bike down at high speeds with wind. With the Harley it just kind of cut through the wind. The RT seems to be fighting its way through it. I have noticed that the 'squirrely' feel at highway speeds with gusting winds is not as bad as that first time I felt. The only difference between then and now is the swapping out of the windshield so not sure if that has something to do with it. But other than that the RT beats the Harley at everything. Oh wait, the Harley did do one other thing better - self canceling directionals. Really, BMW? I would have thought that would be automatic on a high-end bike in this day and age!
For the first time I played with the Ride Mode button. Drove my wife crazy. I can see where the Rain mode would be helpful in, well, the rain. But since we almost never ride in the rain I don't see using it unless we get caught off guard and find ourselves out in the rain. Between Normal and Dynamic I found I really like Dynamic. I was worried that the throttle might be a little TOO sensitive but it was fine. I do overide the Hard mode though back to Normal as I find I prefer it over Soft and Hard. How about all of you that have this feature? Do you prefer Normal or Dynamic? Do you tend to shift between the two? How about suspension? Do you just go with whatever it defaults to or do you mix it up like me?
We rode all weekend and for much longer times than we normally would have, especially considering the mini-heat wave we've been having with temps in the mid-90's and up, along with awful humidity. We would not have even bothered on the Harley as the heat from the engine would have been a one-two punch that would have killed off any fun. But what often started out as a 'short ride' in the high temps often ended up being much longer rides because the RT throws no heat.
Got few nice photos of a pre-work ride earlier today down around Great Bay. Had fun exploring a bunch of side roads around the Bay that I had never bothered to check out before. Mostly I just saw some really examples of disgusting wealth in the form of huge homes of people that make WAY too much money! The taxes on those homes I'm sure are more than what my wife and I make combined!! Nice problem to have, I guess. But I wouldn't even want a house that big - although I wouldn't mind some of those views!!
With that out of the way, time to update for those that care or follow!
The bike continues to just THRILL, I guess is the only real word for it. Both the wife and I cannot remember a bike that we have loved nearly every aspect of, from performance to comfort to features. Now that I've figured out how to proper sit on this stallion, I feel like I can ride it all day. No small feat for this guy. I haven't had a bike since my '95 Gold Wing that has not needed a new aftermarket seat but this stock seat set up just works for both of us. Love not having to dump several hundred dollars here and there in an attempt to find a comfortable seat!
I continue to really test out the best possible speeds and revs for shifting using the Gear Pro. Getting there. I get the best results when I pay no attention to the tach or speedo and just go by feel. From 3rd gear on upshifting with the throttle under load with the revs over 3.5k seem to give very smooth and nearly imperceptible shifts. Conversely, downshifting seems to work best with the engine under reverse load (engine breaking) with the revs drop down below 3. Shift down below third gear in either direction is more tricky. Sometimes I get the smooth click, sometimes more clunk and sometimes (on downshifting) a chirp. I'm inclined to just manually shift into 3rd (as many here do) and then go up and down with the Gear Pro from there on.
As for comparisons, the Harley was better at highway speeds in cutting wind. I'm sure that extra 300 pounds was the most helpful but the fairing seemed to be better as well. The RT's fairing seems to push the front of bike down at high speeds with wind. With the Harley it just kind of cut through the wind. The RT seems to be fighting its way through it. I have noticed that the 'squirrely' feel at highway speeds with gusting winds is not as bad as that first time I felt. The only difference between then and now is the swapping out of the windshield so not sure if that has something to do with it. But other than that the RT beats the Harley at everything. Oh wait, the Harley did do one other thing better - self canceling directionals. Really, BMW? I would have thought that would be automatic on a high-end bike in this day and age!
For the first time I played with the Ride Mode button. Drove my wife crazy. I can see where the Rain mode would be helpful in, well, the rain. But since we almost never ride in the rain I don't see using it unless we get caught off guard and find ourselves out in the rain. Between Normal and Dynamic I found I really like Dynamic. I was worried that the throttle might be a little TOO sensitive but it was fine. I do overide the Hard mode though back to Normal as I find I prefer it over Soft and Hard. How about all of you that have this feature? Do you prefer Normal or Dynamic? Do you tend to shift between the two? How about suspension? Do you just go with whatever it defaults to or do you mix it up like me?
We rode all weekend and for much longer times than we normally would have, especially considering the mini-heat wave we've been having with temps in the mid-90's and up, along with awful humidity. We would not have even bothered on the Harley as the heat from the engine would have been a one-two punch that would have killed off any fun. But what often started out as a 'short ride' in the high temps often ended up being much longer rides because the RT throws no heat.
Got few nice photos of a pre-work ride earlier today down around Great Bay. Had fun exploring a bunch of side roads around the Bay that I had never bothered to check out before. Mostly I just saw some really examples of disgusting wealth in the form of huge homes of people that make WAY too much money! The taxes on those homes I'm sure are more than what my wife and I make combined!! Nice problem to have, I guess. But I wouldn't even want a house that big - although I wouldn't mind some of those views!!