Info Request from owners of the New Wet RT...

Did any of the new owners of the 2014 R1200RTW get one with the lowest seat? If so, were any of you using the "Extra-Low" one-piece seat on the previous RT model...

If Yes, can you Please comment on

1.) the ground reach between the two bikes, and

2.) the comfort level of the new low seat compared to the old "Extra-Low" option...

Our local dealer still does not have a demo unit to test ride, and says unless I purchase an RTW with the low seat, I am not likely to find one to do a "test sit" as all of the units they have seen thus far have the standard seat.

Just picked up the 1200rtw last week. Had to wait more than a month for the low seat. Previous bike was a f800st with low suspension. The low seat on the rtw doesn't quite allow both feet flat with my 29" inseam.

dgraichen said:

Just picked up the 1200rtw last week. Had to wait more than a month for the low seat. Previous bike was a f800st with low suspension. The low seat on the rtw doesn't quite allow both feet flat with my 29" inseam.

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dg:

I think that sounds about perfect. You get any lower and your legs will get cramped from being too close to the pegs. I have 30" inseam and a standard seat (well, now it's a Sargent, which is slightly wider, so a bit less flat-footed than before) on my '05 hex. Believe it or not, I have my standard Sargent on the high setting. I also screwed 2 fat metal washers into the rear rubber supports of my seat to make the back a little higher. My Sargent was plenty high already, but it felt like I was sinking to the back of the seat...so I changed it. It's now more comfortable on long rides...I just scoot back on the seat and use cruise control. The taller seat seems to give better leverage to swing the bike into corners on back roads too. Have been riding it since 2005 without tip-over issues. The wet heads are supposed to have lower CG than hex heads so I predict you'll be fine with this seat.

I went Chicago to Denver with guys shorter than you riding GS's with standard height seats and suspensions cross-country and they loved em. They tend to coast slowly up to red lights to avoid having to stop....not that they can't, but they're lazy about it on a long ride. That gets a little annoying when you're following, but aside from that, great riders and no drops.

BTW, I tried peg extensions for a while and didn't like the way my bike handled with them...also didn't like scraping the pegs. Have Suburban bar risers and a Cee Baileys flip-up touring screen which are both nice (for me...long of waist). I had to buy aftermarket windshield supports because the pot-metal BMW ones kept breaking.

Everybody has to find their own sweet-spot and riding style on a new bike. The importance of flat-footing is overblown though, I think. If YOU are OK riding it, don't let a dealer or salesman convince you you're not...also don't talk yourself into unhappiness about this issue until you've put a bunch of miles on the bike.

There are definite advantages to taller seat heights. That's why BMW tends to make their seats on the tall side.

Coming from an Airhead background (completely skipped the whole oilhead/hexhead generations), one thing that surprised me a little was the settings on the RTW for Solo rider (one helmet on display)/rider + luggage (helmet & bags) or/Two-up (2 helmets). As you click through those the bike rises, about an inch each time. REALLY surprised me the first time riding two up and was no where near flat-footed coming into a loose gravel parking lot! Since then I've left it on solo rider and no problems yet, even 2-up.

I'm 6' with shoes on, 31" inseam, and have the standard saddle in the upper position. I can almost flat-foot. I tried the saddle in the lower position but was too cramped in the pegs. I may try the SM peg lowering kit as well.

dgraichen said:

Just picked up the 1200rtw last week. Had to wait more than a month for the low seat. Previous bike was a f800st with low suspension. The low seat on the rtw doesn't quite allow both feet flat with my 29" inseam.

Click to expand...

How comfortable is the seat? Does it feel like they just cut all the foam out of the standard seat to lower the height? Have you had a "long day in the saddle" yet? How did it do for you?

I ride a 2012 RT with a Mayer low seat (two-piece, not the extra low one piece saddle) that is very comfortable 90% of the time. With this saddle, I am mostly on my tip toes, which is fine except for when I find myself in "unexpected" places that require "duck walking" the bike in close quarters, loose gravel, or uneven gradients. I have done 750+ mile days with this seat with no thought of discomfort.

I also have the factory low seat and an corbin low seat and am near flat foot on both of them, but they are uncomfortable for days longer than 150-200 miles. It would be great to have the new RT, with the sub 30" seat height, and the comfort of my Mayer saddle... Is this too much to ask for?

Steve

195455 said:

Coming from an Airhead background (completely skipped the whole oilhead/hexhead generations), one thing that surprised me a little was the settings on the RTW for Solo rider (one helmet on display)/rider + luggage (helmet & bags) or/Two-up (2 helmets). As you click through those the bike rises, about an inch each time. REALLY surprised me the first time riding two up and was no where near flat-footed coming into a loose gravel parking lot! Since then I've left it on solo rider and no problems yet, even 2-up.

I'm 6' with shoes on, 31" inseam, and have the standard saddle in the upper position. I can almost flat-foot. I tried the saddle in the lower position but was too cramped in the pegs. I may try the SM peg lowering kit as well.

Click to expand...

Here's the thing about that. What you're adjusting with the "one-helmet/two-helmet" settings is the spring pre-load. That is the same as turning the adjuster knob on the manually suspended bikes. Many, many riders think this is the only manual adjustment they get on the rear shock. It's not true....but that's another story.

My point here is that leaving this on the "one helmet" setting as a matter of course while you put significant weight on the bike beyond the rider's weight, can cause the suspension to bottom on bumps. That is not only very uncomfortable but also is quite hard on the Paralever casting and the drive shaft. (I have direct experience with this. Broke my casting into 3 pieces on a ride with just luggage...no pillion.)

If your pillion rider is a lightweight, maybe you can get away with "one helmet", but if not, you need to use the switch. Just use it AFTER the pillion (and/or luggage) is on the bike, and the ride height should rise to about the same as "one helmet" height with rider only. That's the point of the thing...to keep the bike riding at its ideal height regardless of the weight added on the bike. Yes, an unloaded bike will move up when you push "two helmets".

Seems to me that with all the wizardry BMW gloms onto these new bikes, they could make the bike sense the back wheel inside the fender and adjust ride height automatically rather than have all these pre-sets. You would then just have one "set suspension" button. You would press it while the bike is traveling at a steady state with the load on it. The bike would move the suspension to the right height for the weight and you would be done with preload adjustments until you change the weight on the bike again. Simple and precise.

I'm sure that sort of system was contemplated. Probably voted down due to the risk of confusing the bike owners. It would involve actually reading the rider's manual.

I've got a 30" inseam and use the same seat normal seat/high setting as you with a Sargent on my '05 Hex Head bike. Flat-footing is not quite possible for me but maybe 1" above. That's OK for me. I rarely put a pillion on the back, but I often travel with significant weight in the luggage. When I do, I give the pre-load adjustment one quarter to half a turn to compensate. I can tell the difference and it helps the bike handle better. A heavy pillion rider gets a full turn more. I've drawn marks on my Wilbers adjuster with a Sharpie so I can tell where I'm at with adjustments. Don't want to over-do it, but keeping the bike off the bump-stops is a must.

The other thing one wants to avoid is the bike reaching the end of it's travel the other way. This lifts the rear wheel off the ground. It's not damaging to the suspension directly, but makes the bike a handful to ride.

I likewise have a short inseam (28 inches). I owned a 2005 RT and a 2008 GS with low suspension and now have a 2014 RT. With the standard seat, it is as low as or a bit lower than the GS and definitely lower than the 05 RT. Before ordering the lower seat (which I have seen-it is pretty thin), I would try the standard seat. The standard seat is a substantial improvement on the stock seat on my old RT, which I replaced with a Russell.

rmpaul99 said:

I likewise have a short inseam (28 inches). I owned a 2005 RT and a 2008 GS with low suspension and now have a 2014 RT. With the standard seat, it is as low as or a bit lower than the GS and definitely lower than the 05 RT. Before ordering the lower seat (which I have seen-it is pretty thin), I would try the standard seat. The standard seat is a substantial improvement on the stock seat on my old RT, which I replaced with a Russell.

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rmp:
This is good info! Thanks!

Low vs. Standard Seat

rmpaul99 said:

I likewise have a short inseam (28 inches). I owned a 2005 RT and a 2008 GS with low suspension and now have a 2014 RT. With the standard seat, it is as low as or a bit lower than the GS and definitely lower than the 05 RT. Before ordering the lower seat (which I have seen-it is pretty thin), I would try the standard seat. The standard seat is a substantial improvement on the stock seat on my old RT, which I replaced with a Russell.

Click to expand...

Mine came with the low seat and the dealer swapped it for me for the standard. The low seat looks like it has 2" of foam taken out of it - whether it has improved foam to compensate is hard to say without a lot of test miles. I liked the standard well enough and it's low enough for my 30" inseam. The standard seat looks equivalent to customs I've bought in the past - really comfortable!

When will BMW incorporate a "squatting suspension" design?

OK, never, but bear with me. For those of us with under 30 inseams, and that shrink every year, why not have the adjustable rear suspension lower the bike when stopped if desired? Make it easy to mount/de-mount or flat foot until moving out.

Surely some engineering could come up with that as an option.

All right, I'm going to my room now and will be good.

jono said:

Mine came with the low seat and the dealer swapped it for me for the standard. The low seat looks like it has 2" of foam taken out of it - whether it has improved foam to compensate is hard to say without a lot of test miles. I liked the standard well enough and it's low enough for my 30" inseam. The standard seat looks equivalent to customs I've bought in the past - really comfortable!

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Guys:

As it turns out, I was able to get a test ride on a friend's new RT with standard seat (and ALL the goodies) on Sunday. It definitely felt lower than my '05. I think the seat was set on the lower of the two settings. I keep mine on the high setting with a Sargent seat, so mine is up a bit. This bike felt like a cruiser in comparison to that. I was on my '00 Aprilia RSV Mille R for this ride. It was taller than this thing!

Aside from the seat height, what I noticed most was the snappy throttle response, increased power and lovely dash layout. Took a few minutes to find everything but this is a bike I could get used to very quickly. I tried "Normal" damping and "Soft" and seemed to like the Soft better. but neither felt really right to me. I have Wilburs on my '05 and it's perfect for me. Maybe with a little more fooling with the settings, I'd have found the sweet spot.

I have an old Big Mak bag (the one smaller than the big Explorer) that I managed to make work on my RT. I've used that bag for all 5 of my RTs, well over 100K miles. The mount is still fine but I'd really like to replace the bag. If anyone has one or knows someone who has upgraded their bike and has one sitting, I'd really like it. My iPod setup is about perfect for me with this bag and I can fill the tank without even putting down the kick-stand. Very handy when a larger group comes in to fill up. Getting my bike painted as we speak and I'll be putting my faded old bag with droopy side netting pocket back on my shiny new paint job. I don't want a BMW bag. They can't do what this one does.

-TB

It pains me to say...

I have 29-30 inch inseams. Just finished putting on 4200 miles, longest ride was 16 hrs. I have the std seat in the high position. While I could flat foot in the low position, the pegs were way too high. In the high position, I can 'almost' flat foot the bike and it suits me well. The pegs were still too high for me and I have lowering widgets on order. The stock seat starts to get a little uncomfortable after about 2 hrs and gets really, really uncomfortable on the the 2nd 10+ hr day. I was surprised because the seating area is quite wide IMHO. I believe I will get a Bill Mayers seat vs the RDL 'cause I don't want to wait the 2 weeks that RDL suggests they need once they start on the order. I'm under the impression that I can get the Mayers seat in about 10 days or less included shipping time both ways. Their quality is excellent.

On another bike, the Corbin and Sargent didn't suit my taste. YMMV

BJ_CT said:

I have 29-30 inch inseams. Just finished putting on 4200 miles, longest ride was 16 hrs. I have the std seat in the high position. While I could flat foot in the low position, the pegs were way too high. In the high position, I can 'almost' flat foot the bike and it suits me well. The pegs were still too high for me and I have lowering widgets on order. The stock seat starts to get a little uncomfortable after about 2 hrs and gets really, really uncomfortable on the the 2nd 10+ hr day. I was surprised because the seating area is quite wide IMHO. I believe I will get a Bill Mayers seat vs the RDL 'cause I don't want to wait the 2 weeks that RDL suggests they need once they start on the order. I'm under the impression that I can get the Mayers seat in about 10 days or less included shipping time both ways. Their quality is excellent.

On another bike, the Corbin and Sargent didn't suit my taste. YMMV

Click to expand...

BJ:

Not sure what "other bike" that the Sargent didn't suit your taste, but I've had my Sargent for about 50K now on my '05 RT. I love their foam. When I got it, it was to replace a Bill "Rocky" Meyer seat that I still have. The Rocky seat was very slippery with textile pants and was canted too far towards the tank causing me to slide forward just like the original oilhead RT seats would do...and put your private parts to sleep as well . I was not happy at all with the response I got after asking him to fix it. He basically told me to buy leathers. I already had some but they're just too warm for summer.

Anyway, out of the box, this Sargent seat was absolutely flat and level with that above mentioned atomic foam they use. When I sat on it, it sort of rolled me backwards. Seemed like I had to hang on to the bars too much when accelerating and my posture was nearly always wrong. I put a couple fat washers under the rear plastic seat supports to prop up the back. I held them on with electrical tape for a trial, then drilled a small hole in the center of each support and screwed them down with wood screws when I was happy with the height. Perfect! I can ride all day on this thing. I think the newer Sargents are the right shape and would work for me with no mods. Anyway, I'm very happy with mine now.

BTW, I'm also a 30" or so inseam and have my seat on the upper setting. I have Suburban bar risers. I bought their peg extensions but don't like them because the bike (again, hex-head RT) feels wrong when you use your legs for turning it. I tour to find good, empty roads, then I like to have my fun. The peg extensions change the whole feeling of the bike for me and not in a good way. This modded Sargent with standard pegs and risers combo seems perfect for me. I use a CeeBaileys flip-up windscreen with aftermarket windscreen supports....so far, I haven't heard that they're needed on the new RTs.

RTwiz, thanks for the heads up...I'll pay more attention to that. I also just got some boots with a little more heel so that should help, too.

my nput

30" inseam and standard seat in the low position. I can flat foot it but can't back it up. So since I have Sargent seats on my other bikes I'll be ordering one for the 14RT. Bar risers in, pegs lowered and all if fine for me from a geometric perspective.