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'15 R1200RT after-action comments

RBEmerson

Kein Nasebohrer
Spoiler alert - the conclusions aren't positive.

I just came back from an Edelweiss tour (discussion of which belongs somewhere else) of the central (Austrian, mostly) Alps. I chose the RT. Once I figured out how to deal with hairpins, the RT did them with far less effort than "everybody" told me would happen. More open roads, of course, went well. But...

I developed a very strong dislike of the motor. I tried to keep it turning at 3K or more - well, actually, I had to keep it above 3K. Below that the motor just didn't have much "go". Once in the power band, though, it was able to lift the front wheel on occasion. Throughout, however, the bike buzzed and generally was wearing. To add to the fun, keeping the motor happy meant tons of shifting, up or down. Some hairpins had me down to 1st at about 25 MPH. I generally rode in Road mode, although I wanted the Dynamic mode. In dynamic mode, the bottom of the throttle twist had an ugly on/off, not very helpful when trying to set up turns without pitching the bike on the suspension.

I also thoroughly dislike the computer. Even though I had a PDF of the owner's manual (none supplied by Edelweiss), I still couldn't find out how to do setting "Road throttle/Dynamic suspension". Going from showing ambient temperature to showing tire pressure, while on the move was simply not practical - too much "head down in the cockpit" time. And a special curse on the "wonder wheel" designer. Give me a simple up/down left/right OK " joystick buttons and make the computer something that doesn't involve calling in the neighborhood's 6 year old computer genius.

FWIW, the Garmin Zumo 660 is plug and play compatible with the Nav IV mount. The computer controls don't work with the Zumo. But it's easy to poke gloved finger at the screen to control it.

The side stand is a disaster looking to happen. Trying to get it down, I popped into 1st a couple of times. Anticipating this, I had the clutch in and the front brake set. But imagine doing this with neither set. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

The center stand... only Arnold Schwarzenegger could get it to work. Arnold did show up once. I planned to run off the stand. I lit the motor and found I was 1st (presumably that happened getting the bike onto the stand. How wonderful to hear the rear tire spinning away merrily. Imagine the excitement of shifting may weight back on the wheel.

While there are good parts (e.g., master lock for the bags) and the ergos are good, I wouldn't take this bike as a gift. Save as a trade-in on a K bike.

Let the disputation begin...:)
 
That's why there are lots of different bikes and bike makers, not everyone likes the same thing or has issues with the same things.

I personally love my RT, the computer and wonder wheel work very well for me, the side stand I have to look at to make sure I get on it to put it down, never had a full size bike that was easier to get the center stand down than this one is. My one big gripe is that with my helmet and my wifes synced to the bike and Nav V plus my phone to the Nav V I get very intermittent music. Something with the BMW Bluetooth just isn't right or well thought out.

Hope you find the right bike for you.:)
 
Your opinion on the engine is interesting, since all I had heard about the R1200LC engine was that it was night and day different in power performance than the hexhead engine on my 06 RT. I have similar criticisms of the hexhead engine on my bike.

I do admire the courage of your conviction in this post. :) I should think the responses will be interesting:lurk
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Sad to hear of your experience. I've had many bikes, and actually tried a 2015 Harley Ultra Limited for exactly one year before trading back to a 2016 RT. But I am now on my second RT, and love it. I live in the mountains of Colorado, and now again smile when I see the "Turns Ahead' signs. I find my bike to be predictable, and has almost double the horsepower and 300 pounds lighter than my Harley. I am inspired again, and love the RT better than any of my Hondas, Yamahas, Harleys, etc. But again, to each our own! Have fun with whatever you end up with! :wave
 
Did the Alps back in '08 on a 1150R and quickly discovered that in the tight stuff you only needed two gears; first for the corners, second for the stretches between corners. Spent entire days where I almost never got past third gear. Learned to keep the revs at about 4500 both for throttle response and engine braking. At the end of a 300km day I would be exhausted and grinning ear to ear.
 
Throughout, however, the bike buzzed and generally was wearing.

That's odd: my '03 RT felt agricultural compared to the smoothness of my 2015 R1200GS. My GS is smoother at every RPM and pulls 6th happily @55 mph even uphill, while my old RT was happiest in 6th @ 72 mph and above and was smoothest in 6th gear.

My new GS is a more enjoyable bike for me.


Harry
 
Did the Alps back in '08 on a 1150R and quickly discovered that in the tight stuff you only needed two gears; first for the corners, second for the stretches between corners. Spent entire days where I almost never got past third gear. Learned to keep the revs at about 4500 both for throttle response and engine braking. At the end of a 300km day I would be exhausted and grinning ear to ear.

Wow, 300km per day is a BIG day in the Alps!
I did it last year on a 2015 R1200GS - 220 km was a good day! More KM was almost too much!

I found the GS motor perfect for the alps, rarely made 3rd gear, most of the day in 1st or 2nd. High revs.
Don't know if the gearing is different on the RT?
 
Likewise, I mostly used the first three gears. NTL, the bike was annoyingly buzzy. My dealer (Hermy's, Pt. Clinton, PA) sent me out on an F650GS as a loaner during work on my K1200RS. The motor is much smoother, doesn't require gear jamming, and has one INFO button. So... even the 650 was more tractable. OTOH, the saddle was good for about 45 minutes. I guess BMW expects the user to ride standing a lot.
 
Oh K...

FWIW, I tried to get a K1600 but they said no. And then two guys showed up on HD baggers. Say what? :scratch
 
odd. your experience is about dead-on opposite mine, in nearly every respect. I haven't had my R12GS into the Swiss Alps, but it really loved the American Alps of CO's southern San Juan mntns (think Million Dollar Hiway, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, etc). Smooth power from about 2500rpm up, with a real rush of "oomph" beginning around 5K. Shifting can be clunky between 1-2-3, but the taller gears are all butter smooth.
Not sure if the computers ops are identical, but i'd have a hard time believing that they're different. There is no "Dynamic" suspension setting for me.. there is preload settings of "1 helmet", "1 helmet plus bag" (what i use for solo riding), "2 helmet" and "2 helmet with bag". that sets the preload. Once you've chosen the throttle mode you want (I like Dyna most of the time), you can set suspension tuning to "soft", "normal" or "hard"... although in Enduro mode, you only have soft or hartd as options.
And, as far as pulling with authority from below 3K... I've never ridden any big twin that pulls rapidly at those lower speeds, they have all wanted to be at 4K or above for best performance.
Maybe your expectations were not in line with what this bike offers?
If you're a guy with K bike experience, the difference in the nature of a big twin vs a multi might be what you encountered.
Somes is twin guys, others is multi guys.....
 
Oh K...

FWIW, I tried to get a K1600 but they said no. And then two guys showed up on HD baggers. Say what? :scratch

Even though I rented a R1200GS for my Alps tour (mostly because I wanted time on that model); for the Alps, smaller is better.
A F700GS or F800Gs is way lighter and more flickable in all the tight turns, and are less tiresome to handle at slow speeds "all day long".

When I go for my next tour, it will likely be on a F700. The gearing is perfect for the Alps. Center of Gravity is low too, which all adds to the competence in the switchbacks.

Ya, if you want to be on the autobahn a lot, a R1200GS (RT) or K1600 is the way to go.
 
Likewise, I mostly used the first three gears. NTL, the bike was annoyingly buzzy. My dealer (Hermy's, Pt. Clinton, PA) sent me out on an F650GS as a loaner during work on my K1200RS. The motor is much smoother, doesn't require gear jamming, and has one INFO button. So... even the 650 was more tractable. OTOH, the saddle was good for about 45 minutes. I guess BMW expects the user to ride standing a lot.

What you need is K16
 
A K motor is different from a R motor , is different from a RR motor,is different from a F motor, is different C motor, is different from a G motor. This is what makes the world go round! It would be boring if we all like the same things.:scratch
 
Each to his own. I will stay with my R1200RT. Best bike I have ever owned.

2015-seat.jpg
 
The best bike I ever owned was the K1600GT...I say that with a qualifier:

It broke on me while on the road surfacing one its prevalent manufacturing quirks.

I dumped the K and I went crawling back to my fourth RT--with which I been on the road now for nearly 6k this Summer without an issue. And, I think this 2016 wethead is even smoother than the 2014 I had.

It could be the great Seth Laam seat I have, or it could be I just got a good-n-tight engine on this one, but it does feel smoother than my earlier models at 90 through 110 mph. Ok then, I guess the conclusion is equal to yours Dean.
 
Spoiler alert - the conclusions aren't positive.

I just came back from an Edelweiss tour (discussion of which belongs somewhere else) of the central (Austrian, mostly) Alps. I chose the RT. Once I figured out how to deal with hairpins, the RT did them with far less effort than "everybody" told me would happen. More open roads, of course, went well. But...

I developed a very strong dislike of the motor. I tried to keep it turning at 3K or more - well, actually, I had to keep it above 3K. Below that the motor just didn't have much "go". Once in the power band, though, it was able to lift the front wheel on occasion. Throughout, however, the bike buzzed and generally was wearing. To add to the fun, keeping the motor happy meant tons of shifting, up or down. Some hairpins had me down to 1st at about 25 MPH. I generally rode in Road mode, although I wanted the Dynamic mode. In dynamic mode, the bottom of the throttle twist had an ugly on/off, not very helpful when trying to set up turns without pitching the bike on the suspension.

I also thoroughly dislike the computer. Even though I had a PDF of the owner's manual (none supplied by Edelweiss), I still couldn't find out how to do setting "Road throttle/Dynamic suspension". Going from showing ambient temperature to showing tire pressure, while on the move was simply not practical - too much "head down in the cockpit" time. And a special curse on the "wonder wheel" designer. Give me a simple up/down left/right OK " joystick buttons and make the computer something that doesn't involve calling in the neighborhood's 6 year old computer genius.

FWIW, the Garmin Zumo 660 is plug and play compatible with the Nav IV mount. The computer controls don't work with the Zumo. But it's easy to poke gloved finger at the screen to control it.

The side stand is a disaster looking to happen. Trying to get it down, I popped into 1st a couple of times. Anticipating this, I had the clutch in and the front brake set. But imagine doing this with neither set. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

The center stand... only Arnold Schwarzenegger could get it to work. Arnold did show up once. I planned to run off the stand. I lit the motor and found I was 1st (presumably that happened getting the bike onto the stand. How wonderful to hear the rear tire spinning away merrily. Imagine the excitement of shifting may weight back on the wheel.

While there are good parts (e.g., master lock for the bags) and the ergos are good, I wouldn't take this bike as a gift. Save as a trade-in on a K bike.

Let the disputation begin...:)

I can understand some of your statements since I have owned a K1200RS and now a R1200RS which has the same engine as your rental RT.
You just can't beat a K1200 Brick engine at low RPMs, it doesn't care what RPM and gear you use, it will still pull hard.
I use Dynamic Road Mode on my R1200RS most of the time and Debbie uses Road Mode. Dynamic is too twitchy for slow stuff and I have to switch back to Road in construction zones and slow technical stuff.
Sitting in your garage or running down the interstate is the time to figure out the computer after reading the manual.
I like the wonder wheel, the operation seems to work well with my brain. Same for Debbie, she thinks the wonder wheel is great, but we do not have all the wonder wheel functions like the RT has.
As for the vibration, the rubber mounted K1200 RS/GT is the smoothest bike I have owned and I had two K75s.
To me the R1200LC has more vibration compared to the K1200RS, but it's a low frequency vibration and I'm getting used to it. Now I don't notice it most of the time.

Some of us are strictly K bike riders and others are strictly Boxer riders.
After riding K bikes from 1988 to 2016 I never liked any of the Boxer engines, but found I like the new R1200 liquid cooled engine.

Members should not dump on you for not liking the liquid cooled R1200RT. We all like something different, and the new R1200 may not be the bike for you.
 
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