UNTIL I BOUGHT MY FIRST RT (’96 R
1100 RT), I rode a Gold Wing. After riding that RT, the Gold Wing sat in the garage, and I eventually sold it. I was hooked on the RT. I’m at almost a million miles, with nearly half of them coming from my series of beloved RTs, from the two 1150s (2002 and 2004), through the Camhead (2012) to my current RT, a water-cooled 2014 model. I fell in love with the R 1100 RT and
couldn’t believe there was any way they could improve it, but they did, and each new model proves that to me. The 1150 saw improved performance from the motor and the servo-assisted brakes. Most RT riders initially hated them, and the first run-in on the ‘02 R 1150 RT was not very linear. I found the brakes grabby and hard to modulate. The twin spark in
‘04 was a big improve- ment, giving the bike a smoother motor with even more power and eliminating the surging that BMW told us didn’t exist. The ‘04 R 1150 RT was one of my favorites. While the R 1200
single bike. Despite my reluctance to buy a first-year bike (and helped by her insistence that she preferred the RT to my 2010 R 1200 GS Adventure), I bit the bullet and traded both of my bikes for a new ‘14 R 1200 RT. While heavier than my ’12 model by 50
pounds, the new bike offered a totally dif- ferent ride. It was smoother, quicker, had a better suspension and ergonomically was much better. It handles so well the weight difference was not noticeable. The electronics on the bike are well inte-
THE ELECTRONICS ON THE BIKE ARE WELL INTEGRATED, WITH
EVERYTHING NOW AT MY FINGERTIPS. DATA, GPS, SIRIUS RADIO, AND BLUETOOTH HEADSET
RT was introduced in 2005, I resisted change until 2012. My ‘04 R 1150 RT had over 93,000 miles and I just couldn’t believe there was any way the RT could get better. Nevertheless, I kept reading reviews and hearing good things. With each visit to BMW of Las Vegas, I kept staring at a blue 2012 R 1200 RT on the showroom floor. I finally weakened. A friend put a wad of cash in my hand to buy my ‘04 RT for his son, making my purchase a bit less painful. As the looks of the new Camhead started
to grow on me and the performance and features were readily apparent, I wondered why I had resisted the upgrade. The Cam- head (dual overhead cam) engine was supe- rior to the old R 1150 in many ways. The bike was noticeably smoother, quicker, had improved handling and didn’t have the hated power assist brakes. It was also about 70 pounds lighter to boot. I put about 31,000 miles on my ’12 RT and
was able to resist for a while when BMW introduced the Water Boxer. Not long after, my wife convinced me to downsize to a
92 BMW OWNERS NEWS August 2016
ALL WORKED BETTER ON THE NEW RT.
grated, with everything now at my finger- tips. Data, GPS, Sirius radio, and Bluetooth headset all worked better on the new RT. The bike features cleaner, easier to read instrumentation, and the dash itself offers great improvement. The comfort features we all love (heated grips, passenger and rider heated seats, electronic cruise con- trol) are still present and work well. The mirror positions and overall weather pro- tection are excellent, and the windscreen is the best I’ve ever seen on a stock RT. Most of all, the ESA was greatly improved. While the old version of ESA
(2012-2013) was typical BMW and on the soft side, the new RT was finally equipped with a more than adequate suspension for one-up or two-up riding. The hard saddle- bags are the same style used on the K 1600 GT and GTL with the air flow vents on the sides to keep dirt and dust from building up on the rear fender (there is no longer a vac- uum created behind the bags). BMW of Las Vegas delivered my new
bike on Wednesday night, and the next morning I was off on a day ride to one of my old haunts, Palm Springs, California, for a chance to visit an old friend, have a quick lunch at the Las Casuelas, and be home by 4 p.m. The perfect 600-mile break-in ride. Everyone who rides the bike for the first
time finds the ride-by-wire throttle so sen- sitive that the bike wants to wheelie with little effort due to its impressive torque. To get used to the RT’s throttle response, I kept it in rain mode initially to get used to it, switching to Road and Dynamic modes
once I became comfortable. With my initial ride and 600-mile service
done, my wife and I left for a ten-day trip to Arizona and New Mexico. We both found the new RT superior to previous RTs. During that ride, I noticed a bit of cool-
ant dripping from the left side of the motor. Apparently there is a seal on the water pump that can fail and allow coolant to leak through a hole in the side of the motor just above and forward of the left cylinder head. Before my next trip, BMW of Las Vegas changed out the
water pump under
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134