hi everybody,

i have just bought a 2000 1200LT and i would like to know how difficult is to drive it.

i've read that going slow or low speeds it tends to fall if you break with a slighty turned wheel.

i would really appreciate any tips and suggestions you may have for a begginer.

thank you very much.

Welcome to the LT community from Chamaign, IL! I have an fairly new 05 owner and my understanding is that the center of gravity is a bit lower than your 00 LT. But, yes, you do have to be careful at parking lot speeds due to the weight, high center of gravity, and seat height (if you're not 6 foot plus). Having said that, 4 months of ownership and I have never come close to dropping her. I am only 5 '10, but I'm pretty careful with her and have been weight training most of my life. My best tips are to try and always accelerate through very slow turns (slight throttle smooths her out) and plan your turn before you even start moving plus keep your handlebars straight if you must brake at a slow speed. If you do drop it, just know that you will be in great company. It WILL stand back up. There is SO much useful knowledge on this forum. Use it.

You're going to hear a dozen good tips from many members. Not the least of which is to maintain zero lean-angle at real slow speeds or she can take a nap, keep the forks straight when stopping, Be light on the front brakes when nearly stopped, watch for gravel, that stuff can compound any mistake you make. She's a pig in loose gravel.
And don't put your foot down in oil or grease at fuel stops.
If she's starting to fall, best thing to do is get clear and let her go. You won't be able to stop her.
Learn the proper way to pick her up from her nap if you don't already know.
Likewise for counter steering. If you don't already know.

Good Luck and Welcome on board.
Bob

I was very apprehensive when I upgraded to my lt. (2006), as i read about them being top heavy. I've been riding it for 3 months now and have had zero issues with it. Just remember that when your making a very sharp turn at a very slow speed, that the front brake will lock if you hit them too hard.. I've learned that when i'm baking out of a parking spot or the garage, i don't turn the ignition on, therefore the power brakes don't work.. you can still break, but it won't lock up..
I'm 6'2" tall, so that might make a difference.
One other thing you might consider is taking off the top case. This takes about 35 lbs off the top, and it feels completely different. Once you get used to the bike, you can put it back on. It's very easy to do, and will take you about 5 to 10 minutes to take it off and on.

Welcome from Kennesaw GA!

Is this your first bike? If so I'd highly recommend that you take the Basic Rider Course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Pretty much all bikes will put you on the ground if you brake with the front wheel turned. Bikes can turn and stop, but they can't do both at the same time.

I bought my 05 2 years ago. Havent dropped it yet while riding but I did drop it at a dead stop in my yard. I agree, if she starts going down there's little you can do. I also agree that you take the Safety Foundation riders course. I did it and couldnt believe what I was able to do on the bike. Really upped my confidence level in a great way. Its free and available in most areas. Loving the bike, just gotta respect the power.

Plan your stops ahead of time so you can avoid using the front brake at speeds less than 20 mph and be very light on the rear brake below that. They are top heavy but nothing that can't be handled with some practice. Take it to a good empty parking lot and practice taking off, stopping (slow and panic), slow speed turns. These bikes are much more nimble then they look once you get the feel for them.

Welcome from Springfield, IL. I just bought my 01 LT two weeks ago and it is NOT like riding any other bike. From reading the posts, the RPM's to switch gears is much higher than I have ever experienced, she is a top heavy biotch, and slow turns definitely require a slow throttle to keep it moving. Take it out for small rides and enjoy the experience.

Rear brake control at slow speeds is important. She's a beast, and rather tall. Requires a lot of focus when stopped or slow. When moving, however, she is very responsive and graceful - handles nearly as well as my sport touring bike, and is wayyy more suited to long distance. I'm 5'9", and I haven't dropped her yet. And the ride and performance quality more than make up for the low-speed challenges.

You have received a range of responses already and I am not sure I can add much more. A lot depends on your prior experience, physique, skill, etc.

I was at first concerned after reading the horror stories here, but soon learned, that for me at least, they were irrelevant. I came from a heavy bike, Voyager XII, have 40+ years riding experience, and am 6' and 220 lbs.

I have owned my LT since new and have yet to drop it in 9 years and 54,000 miles. Yes, you have to get used to the dry clutch, too tall 1st gear and power brakes, but just as with cars, you don't drive a car equipped with PS and PB the same as you do an old car with manual steering and brakes.

I use my front brake in turns right up to zero speed. Not a problem. You just modulate the brakes appropriately. ANY bike will go down if you slam on the front brake while turning at slow speed. The solution, in my opinion, isn't to stop using the front brake, it is to not slam it on! With the LT, this just means using a lighter touch due to the servo assist.

Ride the LT correctly, and it easy to ride. Ride poorly and it will bite you. So will a Voyager, Wing, or Electra Glide. Lose your footing on gravel or oil with any 900 lb bike and it will get interesting. Focus your eyes 20 feet in front of the bike at low speed rather than 100-200 feet as you should and it is easier to lose your balance.

Try to put on 1000 miles or as much as you can to get used to the bike before going 2 up. After a few thousand miles, you and the bike will be one. And you will love it.
A 900 lb uniquely-styled sport touring bike equally capable of eating continents, curves and the occaisional harley davidson.

Are you suggesting the two-mile test ride I took solo with the dealer salesman before taking my wife on a longer test ride was inadequate?

Good luck with your new bike.

You mean I screwed up by flying to New York and buying the bike sight unseen and riding it back to Texas?

Robert

You don't drive a Motorcycle, you ride it.

It's a Light Truck. He can drive it if he wants to.

Welcome from Sugar Hill GA.

thank you very much to everybody for the kind welcome and the tips!!

i know they will help me a lot!!

first step will be taking her to a big empty parking lot and practice a lot, then get confidene to ride it on the street.

i wish i could take the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course, but living in Mexico does not help much hehe.

i really appreciate all your help... i will keep you posted on my progress!!

muchas gracias!!!

is it possible to take off the top case in every model? i thought about it at the begining, but i wasnt sure. they guy who sold it to me said it cant be removed. i will take a look on it this wknd.

i guess i wont needed it until im ready for a long trip, hopefully it wont take that long.

Yes, the top case can be removed.

The 4 screws that hold it down are under the liner inside and that is held in by velcro. remove the support strap being careful to not let the top fall forward hard and then pull out the liner. There are some cables to disconnect.

i really appreciate it!!!
i will try to take it off this wknd.

is it possible to remove the side cases? to get used to a lighter weight and later on add them?

Yes, they do come off but it isn't pretty

in that case i will leave them... why ruin a beautiful bike, right?

Welcome to the bike and the forum. The easy solution to your questions is: ride, ride and ride some more. You will get used to the nuances of the bike if you ride it. These bikes aren't make to look pretty in the garage. If you just put 250 miles on it a year, get something else as you will never get used to the various nuances. Otherwise, you will love this bike. Mexico has some beautiful places to ride!

is there any other way to learn something? i will ride it a lot....
mexico has great highways to ride, but not really safe anymore

hi!! so, i tried to remove the top case and i got all the way to the cables, but unfortunatly i wasnt able to disconnect the stereo and charger pugs (the cilinders)

how do i unplug them? i've never seen those kind of plugs before.

thank you.

Rotate the two parts. They will unplug by themselves.

Robert

hi guys, one question. that has been in my mind for a while and havent figured it out.

when this beauty goes to sleep, does it rest against the mirrors, the foot plates, the side panels?

and when she does... is it going to smash wherever it lands?

thank you all!

When she does decide to take a nap, she lays down on the bumpers. Those are the wings in front of your feet and the bumper strip along the side cases. Unless you go down at speed, these are usually enough to prevent any other damage. The mirrors normally don't hit the ground in that circumstance but they can fall off so they should be tethered to the bike. I use tie wraps to keep mine from hitting the ground if they pop off the mount pins and they do pop off. They are expensive to replace so check to make sure yours are tethered and if not, find some good way of doing it.

You can tell if she has napped before as these bumpers will be scuffed up a bit.

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One important thing I have not seen mentioned yet is the kickstand/parking issue. This motorcycle's kickstand does not lock when it is extended, so if you park with the bike in neutral, it will roll forward off the stand and fall over eventually, and probably sooner than later. The habit to develop quickly with the LT is to stop the bike in first gear, extend the kickstand, which will turn off the motor, then with the clutch out, push the bike forward slightly to take up the gear lash in the transmission, and then lean the bike over onto the kickstand. This process effectively creates a parking brake out of the engine and transmission, and will not allow the bike to roll off the kickstand and fall over. My only drop of my LT was in the first week of ownership, and embarrassingly it occurred while showing my co workers my new cool BMW.... yes coolly sitting on my new bike one second, watching it crash to the ground beneath me the next..oh I learned one other useful fact about the LT at the same time, don't bother to try to hold the bike up when it has already decided a nap is in order, you can't! It is frickin heavy!!! Buenos Suerte Amigo

I've had mine about a week. Ridden it three times approx 400-500 miles. This bike is way easy to ride. Not as top heavy as my GS! 99% of the time I use the centerstand. No smoking! The only thing is your calves will get a work out. I feel it every time I get off. Love this bike.

My only previous bike was an R1200CL, which seemed to prefer laying down to standing up. I must've dropped that thing 5 or six times, and the side cases took the beatings each time. (What a dog...apologies to those in disagreement.) I hadn't started riding until I was 50, and the R1200CL is not a beginner bike for reasons of handling. The K1200LT is (for me at least) like a weeble! Seems low center of gravity to me. I find its handling incredible by comparison, even with two up and a case of beer in the topcase. Never a drop or close call in 78K miles. My best advice after 7 years of ownership -of the 2009 model- is "learn how to do your own maintenance", you'll appreciate her more, and save a ton of money. If you farm it all out to the dealer, you'll think you are funding the maintenance of a helicopter.

+1 on doing your own maintenance.

The "High Risk" zone is when moving (under engine or foot power) at 0 - 2 mph.
Particularly if you have full or near full steering lock.

But it is not a huge problem.A recently retired BMW dealer told me that when the bike was introduced to the British dealers they let it fall over (deliberately) and explained, after the audience gasps had died down, that the only damage was to the chrome strip and the rubber bit on the engine guard.
(Yes, the bike was designed to "take a nap").

Avoid full lock when "paddling" or "wriggling" into a parking space.

Ain't that the truth. I tried to turn around in a paved driveway covered with loose stone on a hill. It got away from me and I just jumped outta the way. The plastic rub strip on the side and the chrome strip on the saddlebag did their job. The mirror popped off but not before scratching up the paint. How easy & expensive is it to replace those strips? Can you replace just the chrome on the mirror pod? Had the bike a week and a half and it was flawless. Ugh!

Yeah, that would do it. The strips look like they are held on by sticky tape strips so I would imagine you could get them off using the floss trick. They are expensive though. Check MAX BMW site. The chrome strip on the side case shows $141.29. The black bumper cover is not that bad. It is only $33.55 and that is held on by 2 screws.

You might should just leave them like that for awhile if you think you need a little more time to get used to her. I have dropped mine 4 times in the last 4 years, all in tight stops with bars turned and since it came with them scratched up, I have not replaced them yet. You would think I would have gotten the trick of keeping the bars straight down by now.

Thanks. I was gonna wait till winter either way. Funny thing is I coulda just straightened the bars and drove into the grass. A tip over there woulda been less tramatic. I am getting better at my jump off.

Well, that is hopefully something we DON'T get a lot of practice at.

The proper way to ride a motorcycle slow is balance and throttle/clutch control. You will hear a lot of people in this forum say don't abuse the clutch, which IS important on this bike. But, moving below 5 mph with slight throttle and slight clutch slippage for a few seconds will not kill your clutch and it's s lot better than falling.
Practice in a parking lot by keep the throttle slightly above idle, then while turning, pull in the clutch just like you do when coming to a stop then let the clutch back out as you start to lose your balance. It will upright the bike each time and soon you will have total confidence in yourself. Start with the slight turns at first and get sharper as you get comfortable.

Good luck.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

You have no choice but to slip the clutch at speeds below about 7 mph. My LT idles at 7.4 mph on the level in first. Stupid gear ratio choice by BMW, but it is what it is. In slow traffic, I prefer to fall back a few car lengths and then engage the clutch fully and idle up to the car ahead. Then pull in the clutch and coast until a couple car lengths back and repeat. Easier on the clutch that way.

I'm surprised by the number of folks that say they've never dropped the bike. Shucks I was down in the first 2 weeks.

FWIW there is a rumor that falling over so easy is a feature.
Makes it easy to check tire pressure.
:-)

I have been riding for 44 years now. I gave up dropping bikes when I stopped dirt riding and bought my first street bike 40 years ago. Just no reason to drop a street bike.
🙂