Today I hit 1800 miles on the new RT making the 50 miles or so round trip to get my color matched top case from the paint shop. He did a great job (Dillashaw's Bikes and Customs in Easley, SC, recommended by Touring Sport BMW in Greenville).
I thought I'd take a moment to not only show pics, but to comment on the switch from the K1600GT to the RT and the experience so far.
Man, it was hard to give up the GT... I have never, ever experienced a motor like that, in a bike OR a car. It was addictive, plain and simple. I never really had a problem with the bike otherwise as well. My only complaint was tire life... anyone who tells you stories of 12,000 miles of life on that bike is just telling you... well, stories.
So, flash forward about 16 months from the purchase of the GT in October 2012. New RT hits the press and when I saw one in the flesh early February at TS, I knew I had a quandary.... it is just a stunning motorcycle to behold. BMW Motorrad nailed it from the get go... the only stylistic complaint is the nose heavy look from certain angles, but they did their best attempt to hide those radiators tucked up under the front, ala GS side blades. Still, it was love at first sight. The Quartz Blue I was looking at that Saturday in my first encounter reminded me so much of that first blue used in 1996 on the R1100RT. Really looks great. I continued to see more new RTs, especially at the Asheville Club meeting at Eurosport one Tuesday night not long after that first encounter. They had two, sat on them both, with my friends grinning at me as I was grinning from ear to ear. One of them said, "Give him a few weeks and we will see him on one on the next club ride." Well, how right he was as not but a few weeks later that is exactly what happened.
I hemmed and hawed over the switch at the dealership last month, walked away twice because of the inline 6 motor. But the lure of the RT, especially now in the Ebony Metallic paint, was too much to resist. The ride home confirmed that it was indeed the right decision. The difference between the GT and RT was immediate (less weight, more nimble, better wind protection).
The coming weeks was getting adjusted to (and liking very much) the Pro Shift Assist and the Hill Start Control. The Pro Shift I use, maybe, 25 percent of the time and that is only because of muscle memory still wanting to use the clutch. The use of the clutch is smoother for gear transitions, but that may also be because I haven't quite mastered the use of clutchless shifting. The Hill Start control I use not just on grades, but whenever I want to release my hand from the brake and still keep the rear brake light lit up (I have the top case brake light as well, so this is really nice).
A note about the engine. Yes, it is not as smooth as the K series, but what else is? But it is really strong for a boxer. It is really smooth and continues to be at speed. It pulls eagerly and you can lug it down low and still get going. Also, I can't believe I am typing this, but either I did the break in just right or BMW has really improved on oil consumption with the new water heads, but it hasn't used a drop of oil (practically none, compared to my old RTs and GS). It has a throaty exhaust note when you get on it, not so much at idle, but that has always been the case on all my boxers... what do they say, body by BMW, engine by Singer.
All the other bells and whistles work as advertised. The Nav V is a much improved GPS over the old Nav IV. I do wish that they had figured out a way to lock it to the panel like the GT, but I can see why they didn't do it like the GT was. Only hope that someone isn't that smart to figure it out (I leave it with the bike all the time). The accessing the radio and other Audio buttons on the lower left panel is easier than the GT/GTL... those are mounted much lower. I like the storage compartment on the RT, up higher and easier to get at.
The readability of the tach and speedo are A LOT better than the tighter font and hash marks of the art deco styled GT versions. Lighting of the dash is brighter it seems as well (probably the effect of the easier to ready tach and speedo) PLUS the dash is adjustable on the angle. My sales guy didn't even know this when I showed it to him.
And more importantly on the subject of lighting, the visibility of the RT during daytime running is much better with the conventional H7 bulb on the center headlamp over the Adaptive headlight on the K bike. Plus, the angel eyes are several degrees brighter as well.
Stock seat is waiting to be replaced by the BMW high seat coming from Germany (along with the accessory lights and cylinder guards, those in Germany as well). Seating position is actually a little tighter than the final set up I had on my GT (Sargent seat), but with the high seat and the Suburban Machinery foot peg lowering kit, I should be fine (hope that the Suburban Machinery kit doesn't mean I have to figure out how to lower the shifter and rear brake pedal down, although those that have already done so don't seem to mind the new foot positions, will see).
As you can see in the pics, I added the tank bag as well. Not as user friendly as the old RT rail system, but still a very nice bag and really not difficult to take on or off if you are used to either the GS bag or the GT bag.
So, after some miles, I think this one is a keeper. My last RT I put just under 80,000 miles on it in 6 years. I think this one is going be much the same thing based on the rides so far. Loving it and think that BMW is going to have a lot of these in production to keep up with demand.
I thought I'd take a moment to not only show pics, but to comment on the switch from the K1600GT to the RT and the experience so far.
Man, it was hard to give up the GT... I have never, ever experienced a motor like that, in a bike OR a car. It was addictive, plain and simple. I never really had a problem with the bike otherwise as well. My only complaint was tire life... anyone who tells you stories of 12,000 miles of life on that bike is just telling you... well, stories.
So, flash forward about 16 months from the purchase of the GT in October 2012. New RT hits the press and when I saw one in the flesh early February at TS, I knew I had a quandary.... it is just a stunning motorcycle to behold. BMW Motorrad nailed it from the get go... the only stylistic complaint is the nose heavy look from certain angles, but they did their best attempt to hide those radiators tucked up under the front, ala GS side blades. Still, it was love at first sight. The Quartz Blue I was looking at that Saturday in my first encounter reminded me so much of that first blue used in 1996 on the R1100RT. Really looks great. I continued to see more new RTs, especially at the Asheville Club meeting at Eurosport one Tuesday night not long after that first encounter. They had two, sat on them both, with my friends grinning at me as I was grinning from ear to ear. One of them said, "Give him a few weeks and we will see him on one on the next club ride." Well, how right he was as not but a few weeks later that is exactly what happened.
I hemmed and hawed over the switch at the dealership last month, walked away twice because of the inline 6 motor. But the lure of the RT, especially now in the Ebony Metallic paint, was too much to resist. The ride home confirmed that it was indeed the right decision. The difference between the GT and RT was immediate (less weight, more nimble, better wind protection).
The coming weeks was getting adjusted to (and liking very much) the Pro Shift Assist and the Hill Start Control. The Pro Shift I use, maybe, 25 percent of the time and that is only because of muscle memory still wanting to use the clutch. The use of the clutch is smoother for gear transitions, but that may also be because I haven't quite mastered the use of clutchless shifting. The Hill Start control I use not just on grades, but whenever I want to release my hand from the brake and still keep the rear brake light lit up (I have the top case brake light as well, so this is really nice).
A note about the engine. Yes, it is not as smooth as the K series, but what else is? But it is really strong for a boxer. It is really smooth and continues to be at speed. It pulls eagerly and you can lug it down low and still get going. Also, I can't believe I am typing this, but either I did the break in just right or BMW has really improved on oil consumption with the new water heads, but it hasn't used a drop of oil (practically none, compared to my old RTs and GS). It has a throaty exhaust note when you get on it, not so much at idle, but that has always been the case on all my boxers... what do they say, body by BMW, engine by Singer.
All the other bells and whistles work as advertised. The Nav V is a much improved GPS over the old Nav IV. I do wish that they had figured out a way to lock it to the panel like the GT, but I can see why they didn't do it like the GT was. Only hope that someone isn't that smart to figure it out (I leave it with the bike all the time). The accessing the radio and other Audio buttons on the lower left panel is easier than the GT/GTL... those are mounted much lower. I like the storage compartment on the RT, up higher and easier to get at.
The readability of the tach and speedo are A LOT better than the tighter font and hash marks of the art deco styled GT versions. Lighting of the dash is brighter it seems as well (probably the effect of the easier to ready tach and speedo) PLUS the dash is adjustable on the angle. My sales guy didn't even know this when I showed it to him.
And more importantly on the subject of lighting, the visibility of the RT during daytime running is much better with the conventional H7 bulb on the center headlamp over the Adaptive headlight on the K bike. Plus, the angel eyes are several degrees brighter as well.
Stock seat is waiting to be replaced by the BMW high seat coming from Germany (along with the accessory lights and cylinder guards, those in Germany as well). Seating position is actually a little tighter than the final set up I had on my GT (Sargent seat), but with the high seat and the Suburban Machinery foot peg lowering kit, I should be fine (hope that the Suburban Machinery kit doesn't mean I have to figure out how to lower the shifter and rear brake pedal down, although those that have already done so don't seem to mind the new foot positions, will see).
As you can see in the pics, I added the tank bag as well. Not as user friendly as the old RT rail system, but still a very nice bag and really not difficult to take on or off if you are used to either the GS bag or the GT bag.
So, after some miles, I think this one is a keeper. My last RT I put just under 80,000 miles on it in 6 years. I think this one is going be much the same thing based on the rides so far. Loving it and think that BMW is going to have a lot of these in production to keep up with demand.
