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Looking at a 2006 R1200RT

chmielewski

New member
Good morning.
I am new here and am looking forward to connecting with like minded riders! Recently went to my first MOA Rally here in Vermont which was great!
I am in need of some educated guidance. I am in the process of looking for a newer bike (I currently have a 1978 R100/7 and a 1998 K1200RS) to do some serious cross country touring on next year and came across a 2006 R1200RT which is being sold by a motorcycle dealer who doesn't really know the history. My concern is that the bike apparently has been sitting for a long time. There is some serious external pitting going on and I am wondering if internally something similar has occurred? And in general was this a good year for this particular model? It has only 17K miles on it so I would imagine it's relatively good for a while before anything major? Any help, thoughts, opinions, encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Roy

RT engine.jpgRT fork.jpgRT rim.jpg
 
I believe that model and year has the short-lived power brake system (whizzy brakes).
They can be both problematic and expensive to maintain or repair.
You might want to do some research on this before making the commitment.

Good luck with your search!
 
I love my '06 RT and really like the servo brakes, but I'd probably pass on this one.

It is essential that the brake system have the wheel circuits flushed every two years and the control circuits flushed at least every four. This requires removing the bodywork and tank, which takes quite a bit of time and effort from a DIYer, or a substantial cost at a dealer.

New servo units run about $2600 dollars, plus dealer labor. Rebuilds run $800 and up, plus labor, but the only U.S. rebuilder is so backed up they closed the waiting list. A German rebuilder wants about $960 (+shipping). Disabling and bypassing the ABS is possible, but requires extra effort and expense to retain any wheel-speed functions, like the speedometer/odometer/cruise control.

Barely 1000 miles/year and extensive corrosion tell me that this bike was ignored for most of its life and probably stored outside or in a very damp environment. I really doubt that the previous owner invested the time or money to do proper maintenance on a bike that was rarely used.
 
Welcome Roy! The RT is definitely a great choice for long distance touring. I agree with the previous two posters. My recommendation would be to get as new a model as possible with 2011 being the cutoff (even though I have a 2009 which I love) for various reasons.
 
I have a 2010 RT and I have a bit of that paint pitted look on my front forks, not an issue there, but the servo brakes can be a problem and any machinery used and then sitting and not used can be a concern. I think you would be better off with a bike with 3x the mileage that has been ridden regularly and maintained than a bike that has been sitting unused with little knowledge of maintenance. You would want to change all the fluids to be safe. Should be other options out there that might cost a bit more out front, but save you money in the long term.
 
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