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My 2014 R1200RT Review

H

hammerheadnc

New member
I bought the Callisto Metallic Matte. I went into the dealer just looking and saw the matte and fell in love. I purchased a 2012 RT last April and when I test rode the 14 it was night and day and love at first ride. I pondered the purchase for 2 days as I am still trying to sell my 2011 Road Glide (since I bought the 2012 RT last April) but when I went back to the dealer the deal was done.

I love the shift assist, a little jerky going to 2nd and 3rd so I just use it for 4th thru 6th and for all downshifts it works great. Even with the clutch the slipper works perfect and you only have to pull the clutch lever in slightly.

It has the Conti Attack 2 GT tires and these really grip and corner well. I had Michelin Pilot Road 3 on my 2012 RT and this bike handles so much better. The seat height is lower, stock saddle was satisfactory in comfort however I did recently put a set of bead riders on and it is excellent now. Lighting is great, I did opt for the loaded top box and added the LED brake light for better rear visibility.

I am fast approaching 2000 miles and haven't used a drop of oil that I can tell. Averaging about 47 MPG and I am NOT riding it slow so I imagine it would easily get into the 50's. It is amazing how fast this bike gets to triple digits!! I remember on my test ride thinking how fast it was and when I got right back on my 2012 after the test ride it actually felt heavy and sluggish!

All in all I am in love with this bike and hope to be able to push it past the 100,000 mile mark!

Would be happy to answer any questions - just ask :)
 

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color

I cannot decide what color I want. I have not seen the callisto in the flesh. What do you think of the color compared to the other two. I know its all personal taste but I am curious why you picked that color.
 
DarwinCross said:
I cannot decide what color I want. I have not seen the callisto in the flesh. What do you think of the color compared to the other two. I know its all personal taste but I am curious why you picked that color.
Click to expand...

I love the matte color. When I bought my last harley in 2011 I was considering a matte but they did not have the bike I wanted available in matte. So when I saw the 14 it was like fate! It hides dirt and dust well which is great since I spend more time riding than cleaning. Also no waving or polishing and doesn't look like it will show scratches. For color the ebony black is really close to the merlot my road glide and it is beautiful in the sun. However it looks like when it gets dirty you will tell fast

All 3 colors are beautiful machines but I really love the matte!!
 
DarwinCross said:
I cannot decide what color I want. I have not seen the callisto in the flesh. What do you think of the color compared to the other two. I know its all personal taste but I am curious why you picked that color.
Click to expand...

This particular matte has a definite green hue to it...a greenish-gray if you will.
 
I had an opportunity to view all three colors side by side before purchasing a grey '14RT. The black had a very slight "cherry" off color tint to my eyes and the silver was too "cool blue". The grey does have a "sage" hue in some light, usually overcast and is more stealth grey in bright daylight. Under artificial light it appears more silver then grey. I went with the grey for the new RT and am very happy with my choice. All three look good and it's just a personal or availabilty choice in the end.
 
The bike looks awesome. I'm debating between the 2014 RT or GS or GSA. i don't ride offroad but I'm tall and the GS and GSA are more accommodating . Hmmm....
 
xrocket said:
I had an opportunity to view all three colors side by side before purchasing a grey '14RT. The black had a very slight "cherry" off color tint to my eyes and the silver was too "cool blue". The grey does have a "sage" hue in some light, usually overcast and is more stealth grey in bright daylight. Under artificial light it appears more silver then grey. I went with the grey for the new RT and am very happy with my choice. All three look good and it's just a personal or availabilty choice in the end.
Click to expand...

Of course a personal choice....all good picks...just trying to answer DarwinCross's inquiry, since he had never seen all the colors in person. I was really up in the air between the Ebony and Quartz. I think the Ebony is miss labeled...Deep Burgundy (or Deep Cherry) Metallic would seem more appropriate to my eyes, which I like. I went quartz for less eventual hard-to-keep-clean and paint swirling than anything against the ebony color.
 
Last edited:
Motodan said:
Of course a personal choice....all good picks...just trying to answer DarwinCross's inquiry, since he had never seen all the colors in person. I was really up in the air between the Ebony and Quartz. I think the Ebony is miss labeled...Deep Burgundy (or Deep Cherry) Metallic would seem more appropriate to my eyes, which I like. I went quartz for less eventual hard-to-keep-clean and paint swirling than anything against the ebony color.
Click to expand...

My RT arrives this week in Ebony and I, too, was wondering about scratches and swirling. Looks like the problem will be solved by taking it a local company that installs custom plastic bras on cars, planes, bikes, etc.

Scratches come out by leaving the bike in the sun or using a hair dryer. I don't work for these guys, but I watched the install and scratch resistance on a couple of custom cars they were applying the film to. $200 will do the fairing and bags. FYI
 
More impressions...

I've had my 2014 about a month now, I think I got the first one in Central Florida, same as Hammerhead's. Looks like you splurged for the BMW top case (about $1500?), I found a Shad 50L case at Daytona Bike Week, installed with inner soft bag for $400. Just a plain black & silver finish but matches the bike pretty well.

I agree with Hammerhead's impressions of the bike. It's so fast I almost let go of the bars on the test drive. Haven't been to triple digits but it gets to 80 way too fast! The speedo is deceiving because the 12 o'clock position is about 100 MPH, NOT cruising speed! I will be making frequent use of the cruise control to avoid tickets! And super smooth, hard to believe it's a twin. Not as quiet as a Wing (or probably a K1600), but very pleasant, and I'm still riding with an old half-shell helmet.

On the Gear Shift Assist, I also find it's not as smooth on the first couple of shifts, but silky past 3rd. It helps to NOT attenuate the throttle as you would for clutching, just nudge the shifter while keeping a steady right hand. I haven't had a chance to try the Hill Assist, and there isn't much info in the manual on it. Does it automatically sense a hill or will the rider need to do something to engage it? I'm hoping you Northern riders have had a chance to make use of the feature.

I haven't done a one-day ride over 100 miles yet, I'm wondering if the saddle is adequate for longer rides? So far, so good, but looking for input. I'm still playing around with positioning on the bike, I may look into the Suburban Machines drop peg kit. I'm 6' with shoes on and would prefer to have the saddle at the low position, but that cramps me in relation to the pegs. My wife is almost 6' (all legs) and I definitely need to drop the rear pegs for her.

Those are my early impressions, can't wait to rack up more miles on it!
 
Performance!

Last week I drove 30 miles on the interstate between 75 and 85 mph before I realized that I was only in 5th gear. The balancing of this engine is brilliant. To top it off I was getting 50 mpg. Moving up from a 1150RT this update is like moving from the 750 to the 1100. It's amazing to me what BMW has done with only 50cc, machining, tuning and computer magic. Very impressive.
 
195455 said:
I've had my 2014 about a month now, I think I got the first one in Central Florida, same as Hammerhead's. Looks like you splurged for the BMW top case (about $1500?), I found a Shad 50L case at Daytona Bike Week, installed with inner soft bag for $400. Just a plain black & silver finish but matches the bike pretty well.

I agree with Hammerhead's impressions of the bike. It's so fast I almost let go of the bars on the test drive. Haven't been to triple digits but it gets to 80 way too fast! The speedo is deceiving because the 12 o'clock position is about 100 MPH, NOT cruising speed! I will be making frequent use of the cruise control to avoid tickets! And super smooth, hard to believe it's a twin. Not as quiet as a Wing (or probably a K1600), but very pleasant, and I'm still riding with an old half-shell helmet.

On the Gear Shift Assist, I also find it's not as smooth on the first couple of shifts, but silky past 3rd. It helps to NOT attenuate the throttle as you would for clutching, just nudge the shifter while keeping a steady right hand. I haven't had a chance to try the Hill Assist, and there isn't much info in the manual on it. Does it automatically sense a hill or will the rider need to do something to engage it? I'm hoping you Northern riders have had a chance to make use of the feature.

I haven't done a one-day ride over 100 miles yet, I'm wondering if the saddle is adequate for longer rides? So far, so good, but looking for input. I'm still playing around with positioning on the bike, I may look into the Suburban Machines drop peg kit. I'm 6' with shoes on and would prefer to have the saddle at the low position, but that cramps me in relation to the pegs. My wife is almost 6' (all legs) and I definitely need to drop the rear pegs for her.

Those are my early impressions, can't wait to rack up more miles on it!
Click to expand...

Yea I splurged for the official top case on this one. I can't imagine them improving this bike significantly for a while so I am hoping to put 100,000 on this one!! I had a Shad 48L on my 2012 RT and gave it to my brother for his 2011 RT. My longest day was just over 500 miles. I have a bead rider on the seat and that helped. The stock was OK but there was still a little room for improvement. I don't know if I will get a Russell for this one or not - I gave my brother the Russell I had bade for my 2012 and put his stock seat on for the trade. I will be crossing 3000 miles later this week :)
 
MPG's

hammerheadnc said:
I am averaging about 46 on the 14, I did get 50 last weekend coming back from SC - all interstate 6th gear 70MPH
Click to expand...

I reset the Average MPG reading about 3 tankfuls ago and am averaging just under 47 MPG since. It seems to get about 60 MPG at a steady 55 MPH, 55 MPG at 60 MPH.
 
195455 said:
. I haven't had a chance to try the Hill Assist, and there isn't much info in the manual on it. Does it automatically sense a hill or will the rider need to do something to engage it? I'm hoping you Northern riders have had a chance to make use of the feature.
Click to expand...

We were just playing with this on my brothers bike and it's really slick. Just give a fast firm pull on the front brake when you're stopped and it'll engage and it automatically disengages when you release the clutch and pull away.

My brother said the shift assist is his favorite feature. Thought it was a gimmick he'd never use but loves it now.
 
dmftoy1 said:
We were just playing with this on my brothers bike and it's really slick. Just give a fast firm pull on the front brake when you're stopped and it'll engage and it automatically disengages when you release the clutch and pull away.

My brother said the shift assist is his favorite feature. Thought it was a gimmick he'd never use but loves it now.
Click to expand...

Thanks, dmftoy, now all I need to do is find a hill! We don't have very many here in Central FL!
 
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