My 2014 R1200RT Review

Cycleworld's Road Test

2014 BMW R1200RT ? Road Test Review
http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/04/30/bmw-r1200rt-road-test-review-dyno-video-photos-specifications/

Power curves

Seeing the torque and HP graphed by Cycle World really helps explain the feeling of this bike...very strong pulling above 2,000 RPM, then things get hairy, try-not-to-fall-off-the-back exciting above 5,000 RPM. I've only ventured to the high side of 5K a few times, never imagined a boxer could be that powerful!

Experiences and Oil

I purchased the 2014 in Phoenix. I have ridden it into Mexico and it is now at home in Wyoming. I plan to get to Halifax by August in a series of short trips. I am kind of odd in that I attach to motorcycles. I truly missed my 2008 RT. But, not for long.

On my way home, I was riding 2 up into heavy wind and in 40 degree rain. I outran the storm, but I burned about a third of a quart of oil over the trip. The dealer said they used Spectro oil for the 600 mile. However, I can't find that oil in Wyo. Do you know if Castrol will mix with it?

Ken

KBell50 said:

On my way home, I was riding 2 up into heavy wind and in 40 degree rain. I outran the storm, but I burned about a third of a quart of oil over the trip. The dealer said they used Spectro oil for the 600 mile. However, I can't find that oil in Wyo. Do you know if Castrol will mix with it?

Ken

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Yes no problem just get the right one Castrol Power RS 5W-40 4-Stroke Motorcycle Oil

Jay

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.

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You can also depress brake lever again after you have the bike in "Hill Assist" and it will disengage the "Hill Assist".

For anyone who has got to ride one in a hot climate, how is the heat management?

I don?t feel any heat off the bike. The faring doesn?t protect as well as my 02R1150RT which makes the 14R1200RT a better summer bike. I?ve ridden in the 40?s and the low 90?s the bike heat/cold management was very good.

Jay

The angle of hot air kick-out at stops, where the fan comes on, does a good job of forcing hot air out away from rider. When underway, seems the air at discharge is diffused enough that it's not an issue. I've only ridden in high 80's thus far, but not a problem. The air discharge is placed high, which does the trick. Low air discharge, like on the K1200RS, could melt your left ankle, in very hot weather, if you didn't have boots on.

Thanks for both replies on the heat question, those were very helpful.

I rented one and rode it through Death Valley 2 weeks ago and didn't notice any issues with engine heat. ATGATT, wet tee shirt underneath for cooling. Better @ 98 degrees than my GTL at 80 (left foot gets toasty, a known issue).

mileage

hogwide@aol.com said:

The best I get on the 2014 and 2013 is 44-45 mpg.

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I use my 2014 (in Blue) as a daily commute and on "fun" weekend rides. Get 50+ MPG on average. Also did a 300 mile day on the stock seat, no worse than my Harley was. Still debating with myself about the Sargent seat.

rockbottom said:

I took delivery on mine yesterday and the first time I goosed it to pass, I thought I'd accidentally activated the warp drive. I routinely found myself over 90 and sometimes over 100 as I completed one vehicle passes.

I've put about 500 miles on it in 30 hours or so of ownership. I have a 2K mile trip scheduled week after next to include the full NC section of the BRP, Devil's Whip, Dragon, Cherhola. Should be interesting.

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Love the reports!

I got mine on Friday. Great bike, and a big improvement on my '11 RT, and that was mighty nice. Dealer will have to fix the shift assist come the 600 mile checkup, but I can't miss what I'm not used to. I love being able to flat foot with the standard seat, and the trunk brake light is nice as I've been rear-ended a couple of times in teh past...

I got mine on Friday. Great bike, and a big improvement on my '11 RT, and that was mighty nice. Dealer will have to fix the shift assist come the 600 mile checkup, but I can't miss what I'm not used to. I love being able to flat foot with the standard seat, and the trunk brake light is nice as I've been rear-ended a couple of times in the past...I haven't taken it off of rain mode, yet, as I'm getting used to the clutch/throttle difference.

2014 R1200RTW My Evaluation

I purchased the new 2014 R1200RTW in Feb. I debated about buying a new model ( first year run ) as well and bit the bullet. I went so far as to downsize to one bike. Traded off my 2010 R1200GSA and 2012 R1200RT in favor of having just one bike. I choose the new Water cooled RT, as I was planning on putting on some serious miles this summer and RT has always been my favorite ( this is #5 since 1995 oil head). I liked the Quartz Blue Metallic best as I'm not a fan of the flat finishes BMW seems to be into these days. I've added an attachment of me and the bike on US-129 Deal's Gap-Tail of the Dragon- North Carolina. Taken by Xtreme US-129 photos. They take great pics and you can see the blue comes out nicely in this pic.

I put on 8,652 miles from the end of April to May 26th, the last 7k in 22 days of riding.
I did a ride from my home in Las Vegas to Key West, Fl. Up the coast to Savannah, Ga. up into Tn., Deal's Gap, back across Alabama, Lousianna, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and home again (11 states) for service. The bike did not use one drop of oil.
Started first time every time and pulled away without hesitation cold. Got great gas mileage in the mid 40's and while loafing into and out of the south rim, got 54 mpg.
Great protection as I did have to do some wet weather riding in Tn heading south to Alabama.
Clean up is easy, bags stay pretty clean, brakes, instruments much improved over old R1200 RT.
GPS Nav V works with bike to even change the clock on the bike as you leave and enter various time zones. I gained an hour one day going to Barber Motorsports Museum ( a must see) and lost it again heading to Chattanooga, Tn. Crazy.

My overall experience w/ this bike has been great w/few issues up to now.
The water pump was dribbling coolant out the small weep hole ( left side of engine case forward of the left cyclinder head) from the start. My dealer replaced it just before I took off on and extended ride for the month of May. That solved the problem for the first 2,200 miles, then it started to dribble again, only worse. After about 2,500 miles it suddenly stopped. It dribbled once after that while idling in a 1/8 mile long line into South Rim of Grand Canyon on Memorial Holiday weekend. Hasn't leaked a drop since. Hope this issue is solved. Time will tell. I find the tabs that secure the color matched upper side panels are too wimpy. One of mine was broken in transit(shipping)and the dealer had to take one off another bike to make mine whole as I had to use painters tape to hold it on and even that started to fail at speed.

I just had the 12k service done on tuesday of this week, as I have plans for a number of rides, yet this summer. I only came home to service the bike and replace tires before the next big leg.
What would BMW expect me to do if I was still out on the road 2,000 miles from home?

FYI- the OEM Z8 metzlers were changed out at 5,110 miles as they would not go another 7k and I had the tires sitting in my garage. I put on a pair of Bridgestone 023 GTs.( not my first choice) but advised to try a pair. I found the ride a little rougher than the Z8s but I found they still looked good at 7k. I will put another 2 k easy before I change them out for a longer leg I have planned at end of June, July. I have a set of Michelin Pilot Road 4 GTs in the garage that will go on next.
This STOP PARK-DON'T RIDE THING SHOULD BE AN EASY FIX and better be immediate.
I have a short trip next week and my great dealer, BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas, gave me a demo- Exclusive Edition GTL to ride for now. I have made extensive plans-reservations, many of which are not refundable for my trips coming up soon. I would expect a fix stat, so we can all be back on the road on our RTs.

A call to BMW of NA-customer service shed little light on the problem. They have no further information as to the actual nature of the problem (is it the shock or the DYNAMIC SENSOR of the ESA) or when it might be resolved-repaired, and if you were riding the bike when it failed what kind of suspension issue could you experience?



Have fun and ride safe,

Steve BMW MOA-Life member

rockbottom said:

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Great picture !



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Stop Ride Issue

So I am sure everyone is abuzz about the stop ride order issues yesterday. Here is my experience.

I have the 2014 and have almost 8400 miles on it. Day before yesterday when leaving work an odd little light came on in the cluster. I turned the bike off and back on and it persisted. I rode around the parking deck and the back end felt flat like the suspension was dropped.

I stopped and shut the bike down again and consulted the manual to see if I could figure out what the light was. Nothing in the book for it. After a few minutes I restarted the bike and the light was gone. Rode around parking deck and suspension felt fine. Rode home with no problems. Yesterday morning rode to work with no problems, even cycled through the various ride modes and could feel the changes as usual.

Got to work and called the dealer when they opened. Left a message for the service manager to discuss. Before he called me back another employee called and said there was an immediate stop riding order on the bike from BMW. They came and picked the bike up here at work and dropped me off a loaner. Top service as usual from Carolina BMW in Greensboro!

So I await the verdict on the pending fix.

I am attaching the image of the light that came on. Also while this was on there was no helmet or side pannier image on the bike outline on the right of the display- didn't catch it in the photo.

Hoping for a quick fix. The 2009 RTP loaner is nice but its no 2014!!

Ride safe and if you are riding the 2014 do stop and wait til they fix it! I would hate to think what would happen with a suspension drop at full lean!

Hammerhead

rockbottom said:

Glad you didn't get into serious trouble but I guess it makes me feel a smidgen better looking at the thing in the garage knowing that the issue is real and not just some preemptive thing on BMW's part. I'd be amazed if my dealer came up with a loaner so I'm in the process of canceling the hotel reservations for the trip I'd planned for next week. No Dragon and Devil's Whip for me!

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I understand you there. I have one of the extended warranties that allows for loaners as my bike is my primary transportation

Hopefully they will have a resolution soon!

hammerheadnc said:

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

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I have a ebony metallic 2014 coming next month. I was wondering which top case to get. Is the "official" one color matched? Also, does it have a separate mounting rack that installs over the stock rack? I like the looks of the stock rack. When I take the top case off, I don't want to see an ugly mounting rack over the stock rack.

KyleTurner said:

I have a ebony metallic 2014 coming next month. I was wondering which top case to get. Is the "official" one color matched? Also, does it have a separate mounting rack that installs over the stock rack? I like the looks of the stock rack. When I take the top case off, I don't want to see an ugly mounting rack over the stock rack.

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The topcase that BMW has for the RT is silver and is not color matched. I've seen postings that have been on the forum which have shown that some members had theirs color matched. I left mine stock as I think the silver keeps the ebony from being overwhelming on the bike. Just my opinion and is worth exactly what you paid for it.

The topcase uses the rack that is part of the bike and you do not use any secondary racks to make the attachment. I also use the brake light in the topcase along with BMW's auxiliary brake/running light to help the cagers see me while they are texting. Life in SoCal requires any break I can get when among the unwashed.