Now that it's back on the road, I've been working hard to find faults with my 02 R1150 RT with 22,000 miles. So far I've been able to identify these flaws:
1. It does not do wheelies.
2. Instruments on the handlebars are not lit up at night, so I wind up honking the horn when I mean to lower my brights.
3. The tires wear out over time.
I don't mind that it vibrates. It is, after all, a twin.
Power is fine. In fact, even here at altitude it's capable of dislodging the rear tire on corner exit if you get a little too enthusiastic like I did this afternoon while chasing my buddy on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 through the canyons.
Lean angles are impressive. I took it on the same roads where I've ridden Ducatis plenty of times and at similar speeds this thing did not even scrape the peg feelers. Since I managed to erase the chicken strips on the tires without scraping the peg feelers, I'm guessing that when the peg feelers scrape it's time to let up a bit.
I tend to prefer bikes in the 600-650 lb range over bikes in the 400-450 lb range, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed how the RT handled the twisties more than how my Multistrada 1100S with the Ohlins suspension did. The Multi has more to offer at the extremes, but I don't like to ride the canyons at the extremes, so it's no big loss.
What I'm really enjoying is the comfort. The first time I sat on one was about 10 years ago, and it felt perfect then. Feels even more perfect now, if that's mathematically possible.
I'll think of more to complain about later. It's time to hit the hay.
ape
1. It does not do wheelies.
2. Instruments on the handlebars are not lit up at night, so I wind up honking the horn when I mean to lower my brights.
3. The tires wear out over time.
I don't mind that it vibrates. It is, after all, a twin.
Power is fine. In fact, even here at altitude it's capable of dislodging the rear tire on corner exit if you get a little too enthusiastic like I did this afternoon while chasing my buddy on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 through the canyons.
Lean angles are impressive. I took it on the same roads where I've ridden Ducatis plenty of times and at similar speeds this thing did not even scrape the peg feelers. Since I managed to erase the chicken strips on the tires without scraping the peg feelers, I'm guessing that when the peg feelers scrape it's time to let up a bit.
I tend to prefer bikes in the 600-650 lb range over bikes in the 400-450 lb range, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed how the RT handled the twisties more than how my Multistrada 1100S with the Ohlins suspension did. The Multi has more to offer at the extremes, but I don't like to ride the canyons at the extremes, so it's no big loss.
What I'm really enjoying is the comfort. The first time I sat on one was about 10 years ago, and it felt perfect then. Feels even more perfect now, if that's mathematically possible.
I'll think of more to complain about later. It's time to hit the hay.
ape
