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BMW Demo rides

nelliott

Cowboyatheart
Ok. Today I was really excited. I was going to be riding a F700GS, a R1200GSW, and a R1200RTW.

My current ride is a 2008 RT.

Your mileage may vary, but for me these are my findings...

F700GS - nice little bike, great throttle response, virtually no weather protection, felt vulnerable at speeds greater than 100 kmh. For me, great little around town bike, wouldn't want to go long distance.

R1200GSW - I really, really, really wanted to love this bike. It is what I've been dreaming about. Very good seating position. Could stand up on pegs nicely. Reasonable weather protection. Good throttle response and other goodies. However, overall was NOT comfortable for me. Handlebars too wide, sit too high, noisy in the wind...Extremely disappointed and very sad to say, this is likely not the bike for me.

R1200RTW - in a word - WOW. I'm not sure I can even put in words how SWEET this bike was for me to ride. Very comfortable, lower to the ground than my current RT, felt lighter and more nimble, amazing throttle response. Great power curve, very comfortable seat, I could go on and on and on! Bottom line, I felt like this bike was an extension of me. Two things I did not like, the silly little thumb switch for turn signals (ugh they blew it by eliminating the two paddles), and the side stand deployment. This is highly likely my upgraded bike sometime in the future.

I have to say again, I was disappointed about the 1200 GSW - I really did want to love riding that bike.

Oh well, at least one fits like a fine leather Italian (German) glove.

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Interesting. I have felt mostly the same way every time I have ridden a GS. I'll stick to my KLR for anything that goes off road. I haven't tried the RTW yet as I fear if I do I will have the itch to get one when I should be perfectly happy with my current RT.

Oh, and the turn signal has grown on me over the past 6 months and now it feels weird to use the old paddle ones. I also prefer the new headlight controls.
 
R1200GSW - I really, really, really wanted to love this bike...... Handlebars too wide, sit too high, noisy in the wind...Extremely disappointed and very sad to say, this is likely not the bike for me.

R1200RTW - in a word - WOW. I'm not sure I can even put in words how SWEET this bike was for me to ride. Very comfortable, lower to the ground than my current RT, .....



LOL this is a good example of why BMW offers so many different models, what's disappointing for one is great for someone is else. Coming from an older RT, GS bars will be wide, the seat high, and wind protection somewhat lacking. The new RT will be a nice upgrade for your older RT, especially if it's an older 1100/1150RT.
 
There are RT types of folks and GS types of folks. Some like to feel naked. Others like the feeling of protection from a full fairing.

You - based on these test rides and your current bike - appear to be an RT type of guy. Be happy!
 
Try harder to like the F700GS.... it will save you a boatload of money.

I suspect you would be right. Kinda like an arranged marriage though. Forced by circumstance (money in this case) vs marrying the one you love ( everything else, money again, be dammed). I am not yet at the forced by circumstance situation, and hopefully never will be. I am, however, old enough to never say never.

Did I mention I live in and around Vancouver BC ? Can get wet and cold here for a few months out of the year. The extra protection afforded by an RT is welcome (by me) in this part of the country.


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Another thing is compared to the GS RT's are a good value. You get wider wheels and tires, larger gas tank, panniers (both full size and color matched), larger fairing and windshield, and probably some other things for only $1,500 more than a GS.
 
Another thing is compared to the GS RT's are a good value. You get wider wheels and tires, larger gas tank, panniers (both full size and color matched), larger fairing and windshield, and probably some other things for only $1,500 more than a GS.

True that! My GS (visioned) farkle list was over $8,000 and climbing.

The RT will be krista clearwater lights, pdm60, and maybe a horn. Maybe I will review the engine guards situation too.
 
Yesterday I had my opportunity to try out the new RT. Gotta say I'm left with a serious dilemma. I was very impressed with the RT, good manners with low speed handling and stable at speed. We didn't really get to do any serious twisties, but the bike felt very steady cornering with good feedback from the suspension. The ESA suspension seems much more refined than on my 08 K1200GT; it always feels nervous in corners, any little bump seems to upset the balance with it. The power from the boxer engine was noticibly lower than my GT, yet it seemed more tractable. The GT inline four is a wonderfully powerful engine, but its a bit frantic sometimes and the low end takes some careful throttle work as it seems to have a very light flywheel. The boxer with its low end torque is much easier to make smooth starts when you don't want to (can't) drag race away from the lights. I tried the various riding modes and suspension settings to see how it varied the feel of the bike. There was a distinct difference in the engine in the three modes. The dynamic mode was the most fun, but might come a a cost to fuel economy. ;)

The riding position on the RT is more upright than my GT which is fine. I had the optional high seat on the test bike and initially had it in the low position for the first hour of the ride. At the coffee stop we made, I raised it up to the high setting and found I liked it better there as it gave me more leg room since the pegs seem to be fairly high on the RT. I did notice right away that the pegs are right where I put my feet to the ground, yet it didn't seem to be an issue when I rode it. I was able to naturally put my feet in a wide enough stance to be clear of the pegs; I guess it pays to have a generous inseam. The wind protection is of course amazing on the RT. I decided to try the ride without earplugs to see how quiet the bike was with my Schuberth C3. It was tolerable with the windshield down, but still noisy enough that it would be tiresome after a long day riding. With the windshield fully raised, the air was almost dead calm behind it which would be excellent for cold temperatures or inclement conditions. I didn't like the the fact that that placed the windshield at the bottom edge of my view though, particularly when I was trying to maneuver at slower speeds. For the second half of the ride, I put my earplugs in and kept the windshield down. Though the airflow was coming across more at face level, it was smooth and not problematic at all. I actually enjoy feeling a bit of wind when I ride, so this was fine for me.

I have to agree about the turn signal button. I could get used to the single button for both signals, but the button just seemed to be poorly designed. I could never really tell whether I had pushed it left, right or just cancelled the signals. I always had to consciously look at the switch and verify I had actually achieved the desired function. It's also a bit of a reach to it with your thumb due to the menu selector ring on the grip (which is itself a great feature). The switch is too small and has far too light of a feel to provide good tactile feedback.

When the new RT was introduced I was not impressed with the colours available, then I saw the ebony model at the motorcycle show in January and loved the way the burgundy pearl in it looked, Not black at all as it seemed in the photos. The test bike I rode was the blue, which I was also not impressed with from the photos, but in real life it is quite striking and would be much less work to keep looking good than the ebony.

So now comes the big dilemma; do I really want to buy one, and if so, when? I can't see the point in it for this year since my touring plans are limited this summer. Most of my riding plans involve GS trips this year. I do have a longer road tour planned for early next year, so that would be the time to have the new RT if I'm going to get one. But the thing is, I'd want to have the bike early enough to get familiar with it and get it accessorized as I want it well before trip time comes, I hate last minute bike prep. Then comes the decision of whether or not I want to part with my savings for a new bike at all when I do have a pretty good one now that I really haven't had very long or ridden very much. A brand new RT that would see my riding miles shared with my GS seems a bit foolish, maybe it would be better to wait a couple more years for a good used one to come up. But then again, if I really like the RT and end up keeping it for a long time, the money spent would be worthwhile. Hmmmmmmm.:scratch
 
So now comes the big dilemma; do I really want to buy one, and if so, when? I can't see the point in it for this year since my touring plans are limited this summer. Most of my riding plans involve GS trips this year. I do have a longer road tour planned for early next year, so that would be the time to have the new RT if I'm going to get one. But the thing is, I'd want to have the bike early enough to get familiar with it and get it accessorized as I want it well before trip time comes, I hate last minute bike prep. Then comes the decision of whether or not I want to part with my savings for a new bike at all when I do have a pretty good one now that I really haven't had very long or ridden very much. A brand new RT that would see my riding miles shared with my GS seems a bit foolish, maybe it would be better to wait a couple more years for a good used one to come up. But then again, if I really like the RT and end up keeping it for a long time, the money spent would be worthwhile. Hmmmmmmm.:scratch

Good luck with your decision. I am planning an Alps trip in August 2014, so I've decided I will order a fully loaded (every option!) 2015 model. And I have sorted my farkle list too, not much to add to this RT. My 2008 RT will do me until the 15 model arrives. Bonus of letting one production year lapse on the model in case they modify something ( although I bet the 2014 model won't need any changes).

Farkle list will be...

1. clearwater Kristas and Darlas with the canopener (integrates controls of the lights with the menu wheel and does a bunch of good things!)

2. Engine protection bars (illumworks or wunderlich)

3. PDM60

4. Maybe a horn

5 . Colour matched BMW 49 litre top case.

6. 3M film wrapped tank, fairing, panniers and top case


Neil TasteMoringa.com
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