In the process

I'm in the process of buying a 96 R1100RT. I have an 78 R80/7 a 85 K100RT. What have I gotten myself into? Are these bikes nervous? By nervous I mean are they in a hurry? My K is happiest when both of the needles are straight up. Only problem is that's 5,000 RPMs and 80 MPH. The Little R is happy doing 55 and 60 and its light on her feet too. I've wanted a R1100RT since they came out. They are such a beautiful machine. I sent the seller the money and now i'm going "well crap what have I done now?"Hopefully I'm overreacting.The K is really hot too. what do I need to expect?

Short answer: A good time!

Enjoy the new ride.

I just bought a 2000 R1100rtp. Took it to the dealer first thing. He looked it over, replaced all fluids. I bought new tires (pr3's), rekeyed the bags.....
Runs pretty good now. I also replaced the rear pads and rotor. They were both pretty thin.
The bike is kind-of a pig around town and on uneven stops. It seems happiest in 5th gear at 80 mph. It gets a little gusty above that, and does not feel it's smoothest below that. It is also shifting smoother since I had the fluids changed.
Oh Yeah, ran a can of Seafoam through the gas and got a new fuel filter too (ca-ching).

I love my '97 1100RT. It's my daily driver and it makes the commute to work sooo much fun. I am curious to see how it holds up to the rigors of daily driving.....year round. As long as there is no ice, I ride. Low temp on the commute last winter was 22 F. On a cruiser, no less.

I find it to be much better handling at low speeds than anything I have ever ridden and at speed, it is unbelievable. Extremely well balanced even though it seems at first to be top heavy. And the wind protection is amazing with the electric windshield.

You'll love it. I can almost guarantee it.

Keep them revvin at least 3500 RPM.

Admittedly, I only have about 3-4 hours ride time on mine, still a novice.
Hey NI5L, are your grips comfortable? I was thinking about replacing mine. Seems like some of the cushion has gone.

I have a 96 1100RT and I love it. At about 4300 RPMs I'm going 75mph. I've added a Cee Bailey windshield and a Corbin seat. I drive 10 miles every day to work on a busy freeway and I find it to be a joy to drive. Mine has 21K on it and I'm the second owner. The more I drive it the smoother it seems to get. You will enjoy it. Jerry

Bmandiego said:

Admittedly, I only have about 3-4 hours ride time on mine, still a novice.
Hey NI5L, are your grips comfortable? I was thinking about replacing mine. Seems like some of the cushion has gone.

Click to expand...

The stock grips are awful to me. Mostly due to the extreme taper of them.

I fixed mine with tennis racket thin grip tape to level out the diameter and then a final wrap with same. Made the diameter much more comfortable to me and cushier but not as soft as foam covers.

It looks pretty good if you take your time wrapping evenly. And if you don't like it, the tape leaves zero residue.

Thanks!
Sorry about thread hijack....

Layton said:

I'm in the process of buying a 96 R1100RT. I have an 78 R80/7 a 85 K100RT. What have I gotten myself into? Are these bikes nervous? By nervous I mean are they in a hurry? My K is happiest when both of the needles are straight up. Only problem is that's 5,000 RPMs and 80 MPH. The Little R is happy doing 55 and 60 and its light on her feet too. I've wanted a R1100RT since they came out. They are such a beautiful machine. I sent the seller the money and now I'm going "well crap what have I done now?"Hopefully I'm overreacting.The K is really hot too. what do I need to expect?

Click to expand...

I bought a '99 RT a year and a half ago, and I use it for commuting to work, and whenever I'm out riding without my wife (she prefers my full-dresser Harley).

I find the RT a real pleasure to ride every day. It was a very low-mile bike when I bought it, and I've noticed it's running better the more miles I put on it. In my 6K miles, I've changed the oil, "lubed the spline", and replaced the front brake pads. I added some Lucas octane boost and injector cleaner that I was given free, and it seems to have made throttle response smoother. I have the top case, which is often left behind, but is great when needed.

I love the bike, but I could see me moving to a R1200RT in a couple of years, mostly because I'm spoiled and I like cruise control and audio on a bike.