LT or RT - My First RT Ride

[rkortes]

I ride a 1999 K1200LT. I must say that this is the finest motorcycle that I’ve owned out 9 street bikes so far. In the past year I put about 12000 flawless miles on my LT. The partial list of other bikes I’ve ownded includes a couple of Goldwings, three Kawasaki Concourses and a Suzuki Cavalcade.

Now that my LT is starting to get up there in the years and miles, I thought I’d start looking for another bike. Since I rarely ride with a passenger I thought I’d go back to another sport touring bike similar to the previously owned Concours. From the reviews and specifications, the R1200RT sounded like the best bike for me so I thought I’d give it a ride last weekend. When I finished the ride one of the salesmen saw the look on my face and said, “hmm your not smiling.” I wasn’t. I simply didn’t like much about this motorcycle.

The engine reminded me of a sewing machine on steroids. It has this annoying vibration at slow to moderate speeds and simply has no “umph” or kick in the mid or high RPM. It was quite smooth at Freeway speed, but still didn’t have the “kick” for passing that I was looking for. Frankly, the LT has more of a sport fell than the RT.

I’m not going to sit here and pick this bike apart. It has very many cool and revolutionary features. I’m just giving my 2 cents for those that are shopping for a bike and want an opinion before they chunk down 20 grand. I’d highly suggest trying it first!

The three other bikes that I want to try are the Honda ST 1300, Yamaha FJR 1300 and the new BMW K series (can’t remember the model) sport-touring bike that comes out this May. If none of these babies “blow my skirt up” I’ll probably get another LT.

[jeffdean]

I have own two K1200LTs over the years, and do not own one now. I traded my last one for an R1150RT. Why? Nothing new to LT riders. It was too heavy for me, especially when riding slowly. At speed it was great. And it was the best bike I have ever owned for carrying a passenger.

I was interested in your comment about the power band on an RT vs. and LT. I find the RT to have much better "grunt" off the line than the LT. I had to rev the heavy LT's engine pretty high to get the thing going. If you want "kick" for passing, downshift. As far as vibration goes, yes the RT has more than the LT -- which is as smooth as a sewing machine. If you don't like any boxer vibration at all, you won't like the RT. Even so, the R1200RT is much smoother than the R1150RT.

I am also prejudiced by the fact that my first real motorcycle was an R60/2. I loved its vibration. I still love it:

http://bmwdean.home.att.net/r60-r1200rt.jpg

Now, however, I ride an R1200RT. To me, it has a wonderfully smooth engine, and I love its rumble at low speeds. I don't like the appearance of the R1200RT as well the better-looking (to me) R1150RT. I wish they put the engine of the former in the latter's fairing.

As regards the ST1300 and FJR1300, their problems with heat cooking the rider are notorious. The RT and the LT have fabulous heat management. Honda and Yamaha never put that in their equations when they started designing the ST and FJR.

The "other BMW" you are thinking of is the second iteration of the K1200GT, due out shortly. It has more of a sporty riding position than the RT or LT. I predict the first accessory GT buyers will buy will be handlebar risers. And the GT's electric windshield will not give the range of movement or coverage of those of the RT and LT.