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Interesting to see this thread. Before I bought my R1200R I was having the great debate between the Honda CBF1000 (available in Canada and not the US) and the R1200R. Both bikes had what I was looking for. Lower seat height, removable bags. They could be used for the twisties as a fun bike and touring as well..
I test rode both. The BMW was more expensive so the frugal part of me was leaning towards the Honda.
There were several things that made me change my mind and buy the BMW.
First - I really liked the look of the R1200R. I am not a fan of fairings so the naked look appealed to me.
Second - Build details Better brake lines, instrumentation, fit and finish in the BMW. 3 year warranty vs 1 year warranty. Given almost 1/2 of the year is unrideable in Canada the longer warranty was perferable.
Third - The dealer....I had a great experience with the BMW dealer. They even brought in the low seat for my test ride. The Honda dealer seemed very reluctant to let me ride the bike at all. I had spoken to men who went there for test rides and were not treated like that...
Fourth - The engine....I really like the boxer. It gives me all of the power that I need for the street. The inline 4 is a nice smooth engine but when ever I ride one of those big inline 4's it seems that they are not happy to ride within the posted speed limit...
When it came right down to it the BMW just made me smile more...after 6000 km on it so far I have no regrets...
Celeste
My wife is is looking for a new bike and we have oft thought that BMW needs a mid-sized RT. We may have to take a real hard look at this... it looks near perfect for what she needs. It seems that BMW thinks we Americans are all 6'2". Even their smaller displacement bikes are tall.
I wonder about a 700 v-twin (5-speed? what were they thinking?) pushing around a claimed 560# plus rider and gear. 1-up might be OK but add a passenger and I can imagine some gearbox rowing.
I don't believe we need 200hp for 2-up touring but this might be a bit too far in the other direction.
It is a nice looking bike. Didn't they sell this as an ugly bike 15 years ago as the Pacific Coast 800?
Since the target market is less-experienced riders and commuters, it might not be so bad. Not everybody needs sturmbahnfuhrer performance.
The new Honda NT700V:
http://powersports.honda.com/2010/nt700v.aspx
I guess they beat BMW to building the F800RT.
Looks kike a pretty nice bike.
As much as BMW does not make such a bike!I find it interesting how long this thread has become, considering it is (mostly) a discussion about a Honda motorcycle!
When is Honda going to understand that 5 speed gear boxes are a thing of the past? To me, this just shows how desperate they are to bring something to the Market (US). Since the motorcycle division has been up for sale for over 3 years, and no one has shown any interest, Honda has not come up with anything exciting. Everthing is just copycat crap, boring, or too late to the game kind of stuff. You might make a case for their new automatic transmission. But that will only interest a very very small set of people in the crowd.
As much as BMW does not make such a bike!
Mike