1100LT vs 1200LT

[bigbear]

Hi all,
A fellow member of our BMW club has a 97 1100LT for sale and I am attempting to determine if it would be a significant improvement in rider & passenger comfort over my 85 K100 RT.

The only reason I am considering another bike is for passenger comfort.

I find that sitting stationary on a bike is not the same as riding one down the road for awhile so any and all advice will be appreciated.

On my RT she crowds me into the fairing & cannot see over or around me. I am 6' she is 5' 9".

Is there a major improvement in these areas on an 1100 or should I be looking for a 1200LT.

99% of two-up riding will be open road, I attempt to avoid cities like the plague. To many days caged up in Chicago.

Thanks

[CARNEYM]

I owned a 94 K1100LT for years, and while it was fun to ride and very reliable, it was no match for the K1200LT in the 2 up comfort department. My wife and I have done a few 650 mile days on the K12, there was no way we could have done that on the K11. Hope this helps.

Mickey

[bigbear]

I owned a 94 K1100LT for years, and while it was fun to ride and very reliable, it was no match for the K1200LT in the 2 up comfort department. My wife and I have done a few 650 mile days on the K12, there was no way we could have done that on the K11. Hope this helps.

Mickey

Thanks Mickey

Was what I was looking for, real life experience from someone who has owned both.

[strsout]

The dealer I use for service is about 80 miles (one way) from home and they loan one LT1100. I used it twice.
Both times I had the wife going back with me, to pick up our own bike and stay there for the weekend.
Well. She always fell a big relief when we got our K1200.
She is about 5.10 and her major complain is the crumpped (??spell?) leg room on the K1100. Also the small seat on the back is an issue, but the leg room is the bigest.

[meese]

I rode an '87 K100LT before getting my '99 K1200LT. The K12 is just so much better at everything that there's no comparison. I'm also 6' with a 5'9" wife, and while she never really complained about the K100, she raves about the K12. She did get a bit of wind blast at speed, which was solved with a Cee Bailey #2 windshield. Now she's comfortable whether leaned into a corner at full-tilt, or heading down the highway at unmentionable speeds.

If you can swing the extra cash, then definitely go directly to a K12. She'll thank you for it.

[Dezrae]

A few years ago my Dad owned a K1100LTSE before he traded it on a K1200RS.
I rode the K1100 a few times. I was not overly fussed about it at all.

Many people complain the K1200LT is top heavy, personally i dont think it is, but the K1100LT, oh yeah, it was insanely top heavy.

[NevadaNez]

Two up comfort for long distance hauls is exactly why we went with the LT when we purchased this year (actually, we purchased about 14 days ago!).
We've been riding together forever and the first time we threw legs over the LT my wife said two things: 1. "it feels like my buttcheeks are being grabbed by the seat and held in place" and 2. "Wow. I can see again!"
Since that fateful day some two weeks ago, we've been riding around Nashville every chance we get with perma-grins stuck on our mugs. When i think back to the bikes we previously owned, it's like going from a rickshaw to a ......


BMW!

:D

[bigbear]

Thanks for all of the feed back. It looks like I will be keeping an eye on the classifieds for a 1200LT in my neck of the woods.

Thanks again

an LT wanna-be :)

[lloyd59hen]

Roy,
I have followed the same route you are considering, 90% of my riding is 2 up. Owned a 85 K100RT, rode it to work in Mexico every day, knees also hit the fairing every day, worse when 2 up. Next bought a 96 K1100LT Special Edition, it was a great bike, more passenger space than the 85, knrees did not hit, however it always felt like you needed to shift into a higher gear that was not there. My 1999 k1200LT is by far the most comfortable on the road. I do greatly miss the K1100LT lighter weight, and especially the removal bags and top case. It was easier to handle at low speed. I will probably get another 96 or 97 one of thewse days, throw away the gooky lookinng rear case and replace with a Givi.

Lloyd
Texas,

[davek100rt]

I have an '85 k100rt I bought in '90 with 14K. It now has 115K and sits in my garage. Wife and I made several cross country trips on it, with 2 towing a trailer( won't do that agin, the trailer that is). When I rode the K1200Lt, '99 around the block, last May, I found much more enjoyment, comfort, handling, and the wife's delight. I feel the K1200Lt is the best motorcycle for all around riding in the USA. And I can still carve the canyon roads and scare the .... out of myself. Lean angles are way over. I am not a supersonic rider but I am no putt putter either. Plus in the cold, heated seats and grips are grand.

[gillboy]

Hi

My K bike experience is as follows:

50K on a 1986 K100 RT, 20K on a 1993 K1100 LT (totalled) 50K on a 1994 K1100 LT SE and 12K on my K1200LT SE, (current bike)

K1100s were a vast improvement over the K100. More grunt everywhere, surprisingly nimble and very fast, more rider legroom and a useful electric screen. Relatively easy to do DIY servicing. Downsides: I am 6' 2 and my knees jammed against the pads when touring two up. Despite a comfort seat, we always got numb bum after 150 miles. After a really long ride we were glad to get off and stay off until the next day. The small period of vibration they all have is not a problem as it can easily be ridden through. Do not get the SE model as the radio sucks and you lose a glove box to accomodate it.

When the time came to replace our last K1100 we tried some other makes, but none came close enough: FJR 1300 - too much a sports bike with no pillion comfort, Pan European 1300 - much better and nearly there, RT1150 - interesting ride, but that vibrating drill of a motor belongs in a GS not a luxury tourer.

Finally the K1200 LT SE. Our experience will be the same as yours, once your regular passenger gets on the back seat, it will be a done deal. The K1200 LT is by far the most comfortable bike BMW has produced. It is the only machine we have done 500 miles on, had a reasonable break and then felt willing to go again. It is not as fast or as nimble as the K1100s. But if you are a confident rider and are prepared to boss it around, you will find it can do most things you need to do on a road. To sum up, it is very stylish and glamourous high tech machine, but like a glamourous women who is also high maintenance you got to be able to afford the costs if you want to keep her.

Hope these comments help the debate.

Regards Dave Gill England.

[bigbear]

My thanks to all of you who responded with real life experience. I have made the decision to go and look at (buy?) an 02 LTC on the 11th. If it is half the bike I think it is it will be residing in my garage waiting for spring :)

I looked long and hard through the posts on this web-site and the Gold Wing site and made the decision for an LT Vs a Wing. It seems that the major concerns on an LT is the final drive & slow speed handling. Hopefully these are both fixable.

Thanks again from an LT Wanna-be

[belga1976]

I also have owned the 1100LT and the 1200Lt (For a shorter amount of time)

I owned a 94 Fjord Gray LT-SE and loved it, my wife and I had no complaints at all riding it, it had a great pick up (but not as good as the 12LT) and was very dependable. Off Course the 12LT comes with more features than its older 11LT and more HP.

I love the 11LT aswell as the 12LT