So, I rode the new RS today.....

lkchris said:

Only thing I use the wonder wheel for on my RT is changing radio stations or volume. Everything else requires viewing the screen and that's not happening when riding.

I hear new RT requires menu manipulation to turn on/off heated handgrips--a deal killer for me. Having to search the computer screen for a nearly invisible icon to tell whether on or off is bad enough. It isn't all intelligent progress.

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lkchris said:

I hear new RT requires menu manipulation to turn on/off heated handgrips--a deal killer for me.

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romany said:

A co worker of mine had added heat grips to his bike. One day he asked me how I used the heated grips on my bike. I looked at him and said. When my hands start to freeze I turn on the heat. When my hands catch on fire I shut the heat off. Who needs an icon to tell them the grips are heating up?

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36654 said:

A Thermostat and toggle switch seem to adequately address the necessary functionality. An idiot light can be added for those folks that can't see the toggle switch.

Just my opinion.

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36654 said:

I'm not sure what the shift assist was supposed to do for me and the hill holding clutch/brake only serves to make you look like a fool at inconvenient times.

There's a speedometer and a data display showing a lot of nothing. I couldn't find the odometer and the tachometer sideways bar chart with the obscure placement of a numerical value was baffling. Oil and coolant temp would have been nice to see.

Switching between ride and suspension modes didn't seem to change anything, but then again, I was more involved with driving than fiddling with the playstation controller. I may have just run thru some menus and never changed anything. One or two toggle switches would have handled the job in a fairly direct manner. As is, I was fiddling with a video screen display while driving. I probably could have sent a text or two while I was at it.

What the heck is that spinning wheel thing on the inboard side of the left handle bar grip?

The handlebar switches are all nice, small and quite stylish. That's just what I want in motorcycle switch gear that I will operate wearing gloves. Returning to a small turn signal toggle switch is wonderfully retro in style and functionality.

In short, the wethead RS engine and seat/handlebar ergonomics are winners in my book. The switch gear and "data cluster" are a disappointment. The ride modes, ESA, shift assist and hill holder clutch / brake aren't intuitively functional to me.

But, I'm glad I had a chance to take the demo ride.....

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RYD1WD said:

Sounds like you had a completely incompetent salesperson.

Hill Start is not available on the RS.

There are several display configuration options to chose from, it's unfortunate you were not shown that - it's quite rich overall.

The wheel gives you control of the GPS while keeping your hands in primary control position, which also minimizes the amount of time you need to drop your eyes to the GPS to operate it... again, quite unfortunate that wasn't properly demonstrated to you, it's a well thought out feature.

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