Any BMW R1200RT owners here?

[05vstrom]

I'm considering an R1200Rt and looking for any owners that could tell me more about the bike, and describe it's mannerisms.

I'm also considering an FJR1300.

[Sport-Touring]

[Yankee Dog]

A friend of mine has one.  Every time I talk to him something else has gone wrong with it.  He does like the power, handling and the luggage.  

I would get the FJR.

yankee Dog

[bikerfish1100]

try here http://bmwsporttouring.com/index.html - they have a bit more model specific knowledge than this group does.

[plumber]

I have an 05 12RT. It's been a great bike. I bought it loaded and I'm happy I did.

ABS
Cruise control
Heated Grips
Heated Seats
Adjustable windscreen
On board computer
Self cancelling direction signals.
Integrated luggage
ESA (Electronic suspension adjustment)
Radio with CD player.

Nobody else has the same factory options on a bike that weights in less than 600#s. Take off the luggage and you can have some fun in the twisties. Go to BMWSportouring if you really want to know about the bike.

[Orson]

Dang!

I thought Beemer owners would be all over this thread Oh well...I'll chime in.

I haven't ridden a 1200 but I rented an 1150RT. I came away very impressed. As a long distance bike, it performs great. It really surprised me in the twisties, performing like a bike half its size. Fast enough to give me a thrill. Once you're underway in the twisties, you'll never notice its horsepower deficit.

As mentioned before, the luggage is the standard of the industry. Throw in heated grips, adjustable windshield & seat. It makes for a solid long distance bike.

[DaveRT]

I have a 05 R1200RT.  I put 25 K on my 00 R1100RT and traded it in on the 1200.  If you ride two up, do 2500 miles a week type trips, want ABS ( I DO ), great hard bags, adjustable windscreen, heated grips, shaft, great fuel range (300 miles), Great performance ( come on now, I said I ride 2 up, how fast do you want to with the SO on the back anyway) , carries the weight and still goes and stops and turns. I put over 40k on a Kawa. Concourse and was tired at the end of a 3 or 400 mile day. The BMW is like a 100 lbs lighter and make a big difference come the end a trip. Put a aftermarket seat on it ( I have a Sargent on this one as well as the 1100.

[toodles]

I have a 05 1200RT and it has been a great bike. Best long distance rig I have ever owned and I have had a bunch of them. No trouble at all with it! Mine is loaded with all the stuff you can get. I did change the seat (Sargent).

GT

[bikerfish1100]

Dang!

I thought Beemer owners would be all over this thread Oh well...I'll chime in.

I haven't ridden a 1200 but I rented an 1150RT. I came away very impressed. As a long distance bike, it performs great. It really surprised me in the twisties, performing like a bike half its size. Fast enough to give me a thrill. Once you're underway in the twisties, you'll never notice its horsepower deficit.

As mentioned before, the luggage is the standard of the industry. Throw in heated grips, adjustable windshield & seat. It makes for a solid long distance bike.

the R12 is a significantly faster/lighter/better handling bike than the R11xx models.

[JustBob]

I had an 05 FJR1300 and now have an 05 R12RT. The only thing that the RT gives up is some HP. The RT outshines in every other way.
Valve adjustments on the FJR is a big job, no so on the RT. After I did my first valve adjustments, it now takes me less than one hour from start to finish, this is my first BMW. Fuel mileage and fuel range is much better on the RT, the windshield is the best I have ever had. My FJR was so hot I didnt ride it during the summer months and I put 30,000 miles on it in 15 months before I got hit from behind by a car. The RT has Cruise control as a option not so with the FJR. IMHO the RT handles better and has a greater lean angle too. Of course for the money the FJR is hard to beat.

[Rocket_Cowboy]

I got rid of my '04 ST1300 back in October in order to pick up a new '06 R12RT. The bike has been incredible for me so far.

Like some other comments here, I got the RT pretty well loaded up: cruise, ESA, heated grips, factory stereo (which I would not option in myself, it just happened to be on the bike I wanted, and they discounted it enough to make sense). I've been surprised at how little I've had to add/change on this bike to make it as long distance capable as the ST1300 I came from. The RT has a higher initial cost, but so far has been making up for it in fuel mileage and amount of options that were included in that starting price.

Since you're comparing to an FJR which I haven't owned (but did test ride before buying the ST1300), I won't even mention how much lighter and better handling the RT is over the ST1300.

[1moreroad]

I rented an R1200RT and put about 300 miles on it.
* Wind/weather protection was excellent, excellent, excellent
* Freeway mileage on cruise control at 70 mph was over 55 mpg -- ride gently and you have MONSTER tank range
* Definitely better engine than the 1100 -- surprisingly smooth engine for a twin
* Good size factory luggage
* Confident cornering on smooth sweepers
* You never notice the transmission (this is a good thing)

* The front end didn't know what the back end was doing.  The thing would bob from it's front wheel to it's back wheel over poor pavement.  Any benefit of telelever/paralever was negated by the crappy (non-ESA) suspension
* It was very top heavy in the parking lot.  I'm 5'10" and I had to tippy toe it.
* Good power but only from 5000 - 8000 rpms.  I like a wider powerband.  Shockingly torque deficient under 4000 rpms for such a big engine
* Ergos didn't fit me.  It needed to have about a 1" - 2" lower handlebar (but I never adjusted the bars which have a 1" range IIRC)

This bike once and for all made me realize I don't like twins.  Period.  90 degree Vs, 60 deree Vs, parallels or boxers.  3s and 4s are superior for distance work.

It would make a good interstate touring bike.  It has lots of limitations on less-than-perfect mountain roads.

EDITED TO ADD: The ESA is supposed to be fantastic from reviews I read, but I don't think it is serviceable and will cost $4000 to replace.  I think member Jetpilot5 brought up the same point (but bought it on his K-S anyway because he loved it so much).  Suspensions usually need work every 30k - 40k miles.  Seems like a nice Ohlins set up would be a better value.

[R1200RT]

My first BMW - '05 R1200RT  24,000 miles (9,000 two up) in 16 months. Front rotors have been replaced twice under warranty, they claim redesigned brake pads will cure the problem, windshield supports broke at 20,000 miles, warranty replacement. Paint chipped on the from grill and they replaced it which surprised me I figured it was a road hazard.

Longest day 854 miles all interstate could have kept going. Have ESA and feel it's worth the money - don't know about the cost of service others have mentioned.

I'm happy with the bike and the service from my dealer (Ventura County BMW), and the two other dealers I've been to for routine service while on the road, Tallahassee & Omaha. Before this I had a HD T-Sport FXDX-T never felt there was anything wrong with it -after a one hour test ride on the R12RT I put the HD up for sale.

[Optimus Prime]

how much "sport" does it have in the twisties with the bags removed?

[BBB]

I rented an R1200RT in New Zealand last November and did just under 2000 miles on it on the South Island. The whole trip was 2 up. My wife and I found it comfortable (I'm 6'3 and built for comfort and she is 5'5" and medium build). I could have done with a slightly higher screen. The handling was excellent with no mismatch in the front and rear suspension (it was the non ESA model). I was amazed how it handled the twisties given the weight of myself, my wife and our luggage. The fuel range was excellent and it was consistently running up to 250-260 miles before the low fuel range light came on. Best I recorded was 56mpg (UK gallon, not US).

The bike I hired only had 1000 miles on it when I first picked it up and it was certainly tight at first and didn't respond udner 3000rpm as well as I was used to with my own R1200GS, but as the miles mounted, the engine was getting looser and looser and responding better.

All in all, it was a very impressive motorcycle, one that I would consider buying in the future if I decide to go the route of a full on tourer, but my GS does all I want in a motorcycle for long distance 2 up runs for now.

[toodles]

The ESA system can be seviced. I have seen the shop I use do one. Not a big deal at all.

GT

[Mr Sunshine]

how much "sport" does it have in the twisties with the bags removed?

the same as with the bags.  don't remove the bags it looks funny and does nothing.

[Hardware]

I have an '07 with every option except for the stereo and stability control.

I'm loving it so far.

Here's a thread I started after doing two BMW test rides.

https://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,8666.0.html

on February 27, 2007, 01:55:54 pm

how much "sport" does it have in the twisties with the bags removed?

the same as with the bags.  don't remove the bags it looks funny and does nothing.

...well, I think it looks okay without the bags.  

[Mr Sunshine]

...well, I think it looks okay without the bags.  

I will say the R1200RT looks better than the R1150RT without the bags.

[Daggy]

I have been coveting the R1200RT for awhile, and I finally got to test ride an '05 last weekend at the Hiawatha Rally in SE MN.
Hardware hit it on the head when he called the engine "agricultural". To me it just seemed buzzy. I guess I was expecting more out of it.
I didn't care for the way the windshield shook on its' mounting, and at the position I liked for wind protection, the upper rim was right in my siteline (I'm 5'10")
Although I didn't run it over 5000 rpm, the owner later told me it runs good from 6000-7000rpm, and will run all day like that. Is this what some of you have experienced?
I love BMWs, but I couldn't justify the cost.

[Hardware]

I have been coveting the R1200RT for awhile, and I finally got to test ride an '05 last weekend at the Hiawatha Rally in SE MN.
Hardware hit it on the head when he called the engine "agricultural". To me it just seemed buzzy. I guess I was expecting more out of it.
I didn't care for the way the windshield shook on its' mounting, and at the position I liked for wind protection, the upper rim was right in my siteline (I'm 5'10")
Although I didn't run it over 5000 rpm, the owner later told me it runs good from 6000-7000rpm, and will run all day like that. Is this what some of you have experienced?
I love BMWs, but I couldn't justify the cost.

I'm still on the break-in period so I don't rev it above 4000 rpm but even the one I rode on the test ride never seemed buzzy to me.  The transmission is clunky but as I get more used to the bike, that goes away.

The windshield does shake but I've only noticed that at pretty high speeds (120 km/h or so) or in severe winds, like strong head or crosswinds.