Engine Heat Compared to k1600

rick601 said:

IDK what the problem is, IMHO the OP was perfectly clear. BTW my RT is AOK re temp...YMMV. OTOH my F6B fan actually blew forward so even hot 6cyl rarely got to my legs.

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Your acronyms suck big time. English is a precise language. If you can't understand it, tough luck.

I should not have to guess If you can't be clear in a simple sentence, too bad. I should not have to combine some obscure notion of the thread with some poor guys English to figure out the question.

PGlaves said:

English is a precise language...

...poor guys English to figure out the question.

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Hmmm...I'm pretty sure it just one guy so, to be precise, you should have typed "guy's" instead of the plural of "guy."

Ok I’ll chime in, I had a 12 1600gt for 2 years and 24,000 miles before trading on a 15RT, the heat from the 1600 was much greater than the RT

t6pilot said:

Ok I’ll chime in, I had a 12 1600gt for 2 years and 24,000 miles before trading on a 15RT, the heat from the 1600 was much greater than the RT

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Thank you, so what made you move from the GT to the RT? Also any negatives in the move?

jsd said:

Thank you, so what made you move from the GT to the RT? Also any negatives in the move?

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RT weights a lot less than the GT almost 200 pounds, easier to handle in garage
Electronics on both bikes are pretty much the same as is handling at speed, so it came down to a weight issue
Plus in the back of my mind we’re the potential maintenance costs of the 6 cylinder bike

Jim

Man, nothing was worse than the 2005 FJR I had. OMG. I feel ZERO heat. Period. Full stop on my '13 RT. It really is the perfect touring/sport-touring motorcycle: fuel economy, mechanical simplicity, light weight. It's the best.

st13rt12 said:

have 2015 R1200RT. What heat?

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2016 R1200RT, the same. 96 degree days, only heat is what I feel from the sun when I'm stopped.

Aside from the fact that "heat" is a very subjective categorization of the issue, some complain about heat from the RTW, but I suspect they are not comparing it properly.

I think it can be said that the R1200RTW does about as good a job as there is for *reducing* the amount of engine heat that gets to the rider.

The water-cooling/rads take care of 35% of the cooling. The opposed cylinder positioning (in the airstream), oil, and body-panels take care of the rest. The GS has everything the same, except the body-panels. After having put several thousand miles on both in multi-day, 500 mile+ per day rides, it becomes very apparent how much the RTW body-panels make a difference to directing the heat away from the rider.

The idea that one bike runs hotter than another is usually incorrect. The most common issue is how well the heat that every internal combustion engine generates is kept away from the rider.

I've ridden K1600s, but not long enough to be able to speak to the flow of their heat, except that I did notice heat more on the K1600s than on my RTW. Having said that, my sense was that the level of heat I experienced from the K1600s was on par with the level from the R1200GSW.

To me, it is about where the heat flows and the RTW is very good there. None are fun stopped in traffic, but again the RTW works best there as well because of the cylinders being out in the airstream and the shrouds directing it away from the rider. That's been my experience/observation.

jsd said:

I was concerned that the wet head RT had eliminated the oil cooler found on the earlier models but if the bike is capable of cooling with only 1 fan running it sounds like they overbuilt the system unlike the K1600 system.

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This is not correct. The liquid cooled boxer radiator is not designed to manage 100% of the heat generated. Like others said, 40% of the cooling comes from traditional air cooling over the cylinder heads. The K1600 radiator system is designed to manage 100% of the heat generated.

Having owned both a 2011 R1200 GS and a 2016 K1600 GT. In me experience the R1200 GS overheats in the Texas heat sitting in summer traffic, the K1600 does not. The GS radiates heat up from the cylinders. The K1600 pushes heat onto my lower legs when sitting because the fan pushes the heat through the radiators and backwards, there is no where for the heat to go but towards the rider. Neither is something I'd complain about, but then I wear full gear not flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt (not saying you do either). When working on the K1600 in shorts and a t-shirt, the heat generated at idle when the radiator fans come on is noticeable. I've never had the K1600 overheat, but YMMV. There are other things to consider if you are looking at a K1600 vs. the R1200, cost of maintenance, complexity of maintenance, and tires to name a few, but there that engine is intoxicating.

Test Drive observations

After reading all the rave reviews on the heat management of the R1200RTW I decided some seat time was in order. Max BMW in NY was kind enough to let me take out a 2014 and a 2018 for comparison.
After riding 2 1/2 hrs in temperatures ranging from 64 to 83 to get there I was pretty exited to ride something a bit cooler. I did find that after I installed a set of foot splash Guards at least both my feet were the same temperature on the 1600 rather than my left cooking will the right was unpleasantly warm, now they are both unpleasantly warm.
The RT cockpit with outside temperature hovering between 84 and 87 throughout the 14 mile test drive never even heated up. There was stop and go traffic for two of the miles and the fan kicked on twice, for only a few minutes each time. The fan pushes the heat out of the right side only and does it in such a manner that unless you put your hand out in front of the side vent it cannot be felt. I was really impressed. The 1600 pushes the exhaust air under the bike where it, of course just rises to the cockpit while moving under 40. After 40 other than the foot area everything cools back down. I did feel some heat through the plastic between the cylinders and the peg area but not enough to complain about. There are a few drawbacks going back to an RT, the ride is much smoother and there is a lot more room for both driver and passenger. I did not notice any difference between the 14 and the 18 other than the 18 rode a little taller (1/2 or so, could be the tires and a little sag on the 14) and the gear shift assist makes shifting very vague, I never felt that your in gear click which was a little unnerving.
After returning the RT I rode a k1600B to see if the heat management was any different than the GTL, I assumed it would be worse missing all the plastic. It was very close to being the same as the GTL. The floor boards out front actually do a good job pushing the hot air under the bike while underway. However during the 2 miles of stop and go traffic the fan never shut off, not once. After the traffic cleared it was another 3 miles moving above 40 for the engine to cool back down to halfway on the temperature gauge. Once moving along the cockpit is cooler than the GTL it seems they have changed some of the upper Tupperware to move fresh air in a little better and the short windscreen allows a great deal of air under and behind it. I was also amazed that not only was the buffeting less with the tiny screen but it was nice and quiet.
After my adventure at the dealer I have decided to go back to being an RT owner, the GTL is a great deal of fun and looks great but between the engine heat and the extra weight the cons out way the pros. Off to Max in Hampton to see their used inventory and then off to the bank, again.

Thank you all for you input, well not the grammar police but everyone else.