Test rode BMW R1200RT today - impression

I started looking for a more road oriented bike last fall. My Super Tenere has been a great bike & suits me really well for the type of riding I usually do. I still ride it the most often. But after owning an FJR & C-14 Concours I really missed owning a touring bike. The search began.

My wife fell in love with the R1200RT we sat on two falls ago & we nearly bought one but were glad we didn't when the recall came out last summer. We never did ride one.

Late last fall I fell in love with & bought a used 2008 FJR. We've bought aftermarket seats, windshield, & other farkles to make it work for us. So far it's been great - but...I still keep talking about a R1200RT. I had a R1150GS & 2005 FJR when I met my wife 8 years ago & she know how much I liked both but mostly rode the BWM when solo.

So today, we had business in a city 90 miles away where a BMW dealer is located. Last night after dinner she asked if we were going to test ride a R1200RT. I was surprised she brought it up but thought it was a good idea.

We liked the presence of the bike. It appeared very comfortable & modern. We had a know-nothing salesman that couldn't even start the bike. I informed him that I believed the started was on the kill switch. Off it fired. The dummy then turned the radio up way too loud. My wife hates anything loud let alone country music. She wanted to bag the whole test ride right then & there.

The bike seemed to be very agile & maneuverable in the parking lot as I did a few tight turns & stops. One on the freeway doing 80 or so I commented to my wife via Bluetooth how much roomier my riding position seemed & it had better leg room to the footpegs & the wind noise was nil. My wife commented on how much wider her seat was & footpegs were perfect for her. My wife didn't like the noise & vibration of the engine around town but admitted it was smooth & quiet on the highway. Power wise it was quite spunky but both could feel it didn't have near the power at higher speeds as the FJR.

As we rode back to the dealership I asked my wife what she'd say if I said I have to have this bike. She commented that before we rode it that wouldn't have been a problem but after riding it after coming right off of 90 miles on the FJR she'd throw a fit. I laughed because I felt the same way.

When we mounted our FJR for the 90 mile ride home I said " And this one feels just right". She gave me a squeeze.

This wasn't meant to be a BMW bash. It was a great bike & I can see why people buy them. It's a comfortable well built machine. Just not quite as much for us as the FJR.

Safe riding!

Different strokes for different folks. Some love 'em, some hate 'em.

If you want to really upset the applecart, test ride a Gen3 FJR.

I test rode a new WC RT a couple months ago in Prosser.

Based on reviews, I was expecting nothing short of a spectacular motorcycle. While the RT was very nimble in low speed maneuvering and felt "light on its feet", once at speed it did nothing for me. While the new WC boxer has some power, again [based on reviews] I expected more.

I really Really REALLY wanted to like the RT. Nice motorcycle, but doesn't have the urgency of an FJR or C14!

YMMV

--G

Great reading all that. Did not expect (but certainly enjoyed) the FJR vote at the end.

Gary

darksider #44

I've "test" ridden a couple of BMWs over the past couple of years. The R1200RT and the K1300GT (out of production). The GT was about like riding the FJR. The R1200RT handled very well, but not north of $20,000 well. Plus, their dealer network is very skinny and some of them do not have the greatest reputation.

I was following some BMW forum threads when the 2014 rear-shock debaccle occurred. What a mess, but BMW did offer owners a few options which speaks well of the company. But a blanket "Do not ride" declaration? For a rear shock? It was funny how so many owners treated that the same as they would a bomb threat.

Sometimes I've thought hard about a BMW anyway since I do all my own servicing and mechanics, but just can't pull that trigger....especially after owning a new Gen 3 FJR...

Back in my UJM days, I had a similar experience with the Honda 919 Hornet. As a Nighthawk 750 rider, I was convinced the big Hornet was my next bike. I found a hardly used one at a local dealer and asked to test ride it. I told him I'd be 10-15 minutes as I really wanted to confirm my suspicions, but if it turned out like I hoped, I'd buy it when I got back.

It was horrible. The ergonimics for my size and stature were so bad I knew that no amount of farkling could fix this. After about 5 miles, I turned back and went home.

I think once you get a few miles and experiences under your belt, only then do you really know what you want. Until that point, it's all just chrome, throaty exhaust, and shiney paint. It sound like the OP feels the same way.

Having written that, the RT is a wonderful motorcycle. I've ridden one before and it is a very capable sport touring bike. Smooth as silk and great wind protection and quite possibly the best shifting transmission I've ever ridden. But again, it just didn't fit my size, stature, and riding style. I like my S/T bike on the sporty side, which is why I ride the FJR.

The new WC RT is a great bike according to a couple of my trusted friends that ride them, citing suspension, wind protection, rider room, etc. as better than most. But it all comes down to total cost of ownership, and for me who has wrenched a couple of BMW's, my conclusion is that some things are over-engineered and the bikes are not designed for easy service.... have to disassemble half the bike to get at stuff. It will take you a few hours just to bleed the clutch and brake system once you get over the price of some special tools and use a rogue procedure that circumvents the need for the special BMW dealer box to cycle the ABS pump. For the DIY guy, there will be more labour hours involved, and you will have frustrations.....

That said, one day I could see myself on a used RT when I decide I don't need the greater horsepower of the FJR..... but I can just as easily not go there.

Well, for me it came down to two bikes... The FJR or the RT. And I have to say, the expectations for the RT were much higher given the $8K price difference. Yeah, yeah I know the RT base price is within a grand, but good luck finding one under $23K... Then when you take maintenance and dealerships into account, I really started leaning heavily to the FJR. I saw a 2014 FJR A for $14,900 and went hmmm, then Pro-Caliber quoted me $15,200 for a 2015 FJR ES OTD, and that's all she wrote. I couldn't be happier. I mean I have owned a few bikes over the years and many have given me lots of joy, but nothing compares to the shear pleasure of riding this machine. Whenever I stop, all I want to do is take off again.

Ride your Ride and be happy!

One of the problems with "test-rides" is that you will be riding the bike as the manufacturer delivers it. They are all designed and delivered to meet what the makers think is the "average rider" ... which is none of us

Even the casual Sunday rider (nuttin' wrong with that), makes changes that the bike better suits their size, shape and riding style. For example ... It has long been said that the FJR1300 leans towards the sport end of the sport/touring continuum. That generally means a higher chance of aching knees and hips, pain in wrists and a general feeling that riders of that machine, especially tall riders, would be better served elsewhere if they want to actually ... tour on it.

That is the bike you ride from the dealership.

So, take that same bike and throw on a better windshield, bar-risers and a Russell Day-Long and it is NOT the same bike Yamaha sold you. Not even close. Add some suspension tweaks, better mirrors ... etc, and suddenly that sport/tourer is comfy for endless 1000 mile days, and because you modified it for you, it also feels like yours (especially after you drop it once).

So be wary of test rides. They are fun and can provide useful information, but there is a rub. With all these machines, each has a loyal and enthusiastic following. But they are not riding the bike you tested at the Dealership. They are riding their bike. The BMW R1200RT has a legendary reputation for comfort, equipment and sheer competence. That rep. was earned and is justified (leaving aside for a moment the known failures). That reputation will not become apparent until you have made it your own.

There is a suggestion among the IBA membership that ANY bike can provide a decent platform for big miles. Most SaddleSore 1000 rides are, for example, ridden on Harleys. The proportion of Harleys falls away for the tougher rides, but 1000 miles in a day is freakin' nuts to normal people, which suggests that HD can be, and are turned into quite decent motorcycles for many people.

The same holds for most brands, to an extent. I once managed 500 miles in a day on a 1958 BSA Bantam D7, with a broken exhaust. It was not comfortable, but I was 18 and it was fun.

I'd test ride a few if I was looking for a new bike. I wouldn't be looking for what the bike can do, mostly they are known quantities and easily found out by simply asking. What I would be looking for, knowing the advantages, is what needs doing to make the bike fit me, and my riding. How difficult and expensive that might be and whether or not there were features that couldn't be compromised.

After that, ride whichever particular poison you want.

Dealer network and parts availability was what drove me from BMW to an FJR. I haven't found a bike that compares to an R bike for long distance comfort and agility. But BMW is with HD at the bottom of the big boy heap in motorcycle reliability. I wanted something boringly reliable, and something with an excellent warranty. FJR1300. Origato.

I just don't know how any 2 cylinder bike is going to satisfy any of us here. The watercooled has less vibration that the air, but still.. not harmonic at all!

Enjoyed the reading, thanks for posting up.

I still always look at Top_Speeds pic there and want one of those 1600's, and I could afford one, but couldn't swallow all the truth that is spelled out in the last few paragraphs...

Well said, Twigg. I test rode a 2014 RT and a 2014 FJR. I bought the FJR and never looked back, but it did take a bit of farkling before I got the FJR dialed in for me. One might argue that the RT would have required fewer ergonomic modifications (probably wouldn't have needed a new windscreen, custom seat, bar riser plate, highway pegs, etc.), but my test ride opinion that the RT lacked the soul of the FJR -- the sheer pulse-pounding acceleration of that great FJR engine and the overall sportiness of the bike -- wouldn't have changed no matter how much modification and personalization done to the RT. And, of course, I saved 7 or 8 grand by choosing the (superior IMHO) FJR -- a win, win for me.

Do keep in mind that the folks who shopped both bikes and bought the BMW are just as positive as we are that they picked The Right Bike. The wonderful thing is that they did pick the right bike and so did we. We all like what we like.

DHS1981 posted:Well said, Twigg. I test rode a 2014 RT and a 2014 FJR. I bought the FJR and never looked back, but it did take a bit of farkling before I got the FJR dialed in for me. One might argue that the RT would have required fewer ergonomic modifications (probably wouldn't have needed a new windscreen, custom seat, bar riser plate, highway pegs, etc.), but my test ride opinion that the RT lacked the soul of the FJR -- the sheer pulse-pounding acceleration of that great FJR engine and the overall sportiness of the bike -- wouldn't have changed no matter how much modification and personalization done to the RT. And, of course, I saved 7 or 8 grand by choosing the (superior IMHO) FJR -- a win, win for me.

Click to expand...

That last line: "And, of course, I saved 7 or 8 grand by choosing the (superior IMHO) FJR ..." means you have a $7K - $8K budget to do a lot of dialing-in before reaching the BMW purchase price. You get the soul of the FJR with customized -- to your specs -- comfort and convenience.

<edit> .... that uses regular grade gasoline.

Two thoughts. One that to my eye the 1200RT is butt ugly. No butt ugly bikes in my shed unless they are dirt bikes. Second is the test rides really are pretty useless. If I had test ridden my FJR, I probably wouldn't own it now. The handling felt just plain weird when I first rode it and I wondered if I had made a mistake. If it had been a dealer test ride I would not have known that the front tire was underinflated. Even with proper pressure I wasn't sure I liked it because it was way different in feel than my VFR. Heavy handling, strange low speed turn in, slight shaft effects. After 3500 miles I flat love the thing. I took about 1000 before it felt "normal" to me. If I ride my Ducati SS for a couple of hours the FJR feels weird again for about 10 minutes until my brain boots up the FJR control program again. When you test ride a bike, it almost always feels wrong because it isn't the one you spent years getting used to.

I have to disagree about the test ride. I had about 45K on an ST1300 with the bar risers, custom seat, and all the little things we do to personalize our bikes to make them fit perfectly. I loved that bike, I had every intention of riding it to at least 150K.

Then that damned SkooterG showed up with a Demo Truck. I rode the 2014 ES and within 2 miles I knew that my beloved Honda was not going to be with me much longer. Really, before I ever shifted into 3rd gear my mind was set on a new FJR. Some bikes are just that way. Or maybe some riders are just that way.

I rode the same bike as the OP and it seemed like a pretty nice bike if you can get past the initial cost, expensive maintenance, outrageous parts costs, and questionable reliability. Do you know why BMW extended warranties cost so much.....because they are worth it. When comparing the RT to a GEN3 FJR the FJR still has a smoother and more powerful engine plus much better suspension. The RT excels in putting the rider in a pocket of still air at highway speeds and would be my choice for riding in the rain or cool temperatures but I think would be very hot to ride when the temperatures get above 85. I wouldn't buy one unless I got a great deal and the intent was to take advantage of all that plastic and use it as a foul weather bike.

How much is the extended warranty on a BMW these days?