[jono]

Good to hear from you. When the weather cools down, I'll take it out for a ride on a triple digit road and reevaluate.

FWIW my K1600GT had very different high speed handling characteristics with the cases installed, which is why I expect BMW recommends a top speed of 112mph for the current RT with loaded cases. The K1600GT had a weave around those speeds with the top case installed. I've had my RT (with a top case) over that speed and not had the weave, but it does feel less planted the higher the speed over that number.

 

[shuswaper]

It's always ridden much lighter than it is, i.e. BMW truly put the "sport" into the bike. However, when it's NOT moving, well, balance is important when moving 700 lbs, cause ya ain't gonna "brute force" this baby. 😁

I too had an FJR, in fact 3 of them over 20 years ! Anyways, the last one weighed in at 645 lbs, while my '23 RT comes in at only 615 lbs. It's a 30 lb difference in reality, but the RT actually feels 130 lbs lighter to me owing to its fine balance.
The thing handles like a dream compared to my FJRs, and at any speed !!

 

[mrt1364]

Go get a Hayabusa or ZX14 or some other hooligan bike. You are definitely not a BMW rider. Anyone that brags about wanting to ride triple;e digits is usually the reason our insurance rates keep going up.

 

[MLW]

With regards to what the 1300RT should be, there are dozens of different views.
Many think they know exactly how BMW should make it.
Super-light and lower HP., Not a chance. People always want more power, or at least similar.
Maybe that group should get the F line of bike. or a Yamaha.

Not sure why people complain about the weight. This is a sport TOURER, not a sport bike.
It doesnt weigh much more than a GS if you put the cases on the GS and equip it similarly.
I dont even notice the weight on the RT like I do on the GS.
It's still hundreds of pounds less than Harleys and full tourers.

Tech is good and the advances are usually welcome, like adaptive cruise control, LED lights, electronic suspension and traction control.
I am of the opinion that the RT is the soul of the BMW motorcycle company. Just a belief. But the majority of European customers are touring motorcyclists. And BMW is obsessed with handling. I think this model is very important to them and they are putting a lot of thought into it.
Im also glad the 1300GS was released earlier. There will be a lot of beta testers for the new engine and other components. Hopefully BMW can fix any early issues.

YES, B U T . . .

"Touring" in Europe is different than in the US. My former Honda ST1100 was sold in Europe as the Pan Europen and marketed as a touring motorcycle. Here it is CLEARLY considered to be a Sport Touring bike.

If the Soul of the Beemer is the RT and they love to tour in Europe than it should rightly be considered the "flagship".

As for handling @ speed... my 2014 R1200RT (Betty Beemer) does just fine @ 135 mph with 50K mi. and, no doubt, stock suspension.

 

[cdr9592]

1) I'm an old man. Are you trying to make some kinda point?
2) It's not the bike. It's the rider. Maybe someone else needs to be riding your RT, to get the most out of it.
3) My son rode my old 2005 RT nearly as fast in the corners as he rode his Ducati (though the Ducati pulled away quite smartly). My son was a competitive rider.
4) True, most BMW RT riders don't need to ride 160 MPH, nor even 130MPH, either, (though there are some notable exceptions).

Ride what you like. But be ticked that a BMW "Sport Tourer" motorcycle, frequently labeled the best in it's class, ain't a Ducati cafe racer.

Sorry Scott I don't really know what you mean about maybe it's the writer because my bike is ready for a rider except I cannot get it to supply its own gasoline to the injectors to make it run right so it's not the writer right now it's the bike cuz my mechanic which would be me does not know how to fix it at the moment and it's trying to get information from people that know what the problem might be so as you can see the issue is not just the writer it's the writer trying to get information from people who know so you can fix his bike and make it work like it should so he can invite it stop by and talk by and talk about whatever is going on with me anytime talk to you soon Charlie

 

[Scott9999]

Sorry Scott I don't really know what you mean about maybe it's the writer because my bike is ready for a rider except I cannot get it to supply its own gasoline to the injectors to make it run right so it's not the writer right now it's the bike cuz my mechanic which would be me does not know how to fix it at the moment and it's trying to get information from people that know what the problem might be so as you can see the issue is not just the writer it's the writer trying to get information from people who know so you can fix his bike and make it work like it should so he can invite it stop by and talk by and talk about whatever is going on with me anytime talk to you soon Charlie

Crap, yet another AI post. Moderator?

(Well, at least I hope that THIS AI bot is a pretty girl. The ugly ones are hard on the eyes.) 🙃😁

 

[NMDan]

I can't comprehend the "it's not a sport tourer... followed by "I enjoy riding fast, not canyon carving"
Firstly, sport touring is canyon carving. Riding fast is just turning the throttle. No skill required.
That said, my RT is great at triple digit speeds and is confidence inspiring when scraping pegs.
Perhaps you should work on improving your skills.

 

[dbw11]

Not sure about you, but "many BMW riders" seem to be in their ... ah ... later years. They don't want to give up riding, some (on this forum) have jumped down from the fabulously equipped LT's to the lighter, sporty RT's (or GS's), and some are considering their age and mortality, and thinking a few hundred pounds lighter than an RT, might be wiser for their riding future. That may explain some of the references you cite regarding comments about the new(er) RT's weight.

My guess is that BMW's primary riding audience in Europe is significantly younger than the average BMW rider in the USA. The young one's are looking for fast and sleek and "modern", and don't much care what that requires technically. I don't know for certain, my reference to BMW owner's average age largely anecdotal. I agree with you that if BMW is your favorite cookie, and the weight LT or RTs are becoming a bit much for you, dropping down into the F series bikes might be in order. As far as BMW is concerned, their bikes are made to fit "marketing slots". I wouldn't expect them to change the RT's basic market slot, however they decide redesign the next one. If they make their RT's light and snappy, maybe like an electric Moped, they could lose their primary audience/market overnight. (Of course, apparently that's not stopping them from moving to a reported, "all EV" bike line in the near future. Maybe they're just like the American car makers who were bamboozled into making electric "muscle cars" and trucks, which are contradictions in terms and purpose, which from sales figures, apparently have NO market at all. But, of course, I digressed a bit ... 😁).

As far as I'm concerned, (a) I'm not riding enough to justify owning ANY bike, to my better half, (b) I "feel" that I should be on a GS, because the majority of my years of riding have been off-road (but that may be a close thing, maybe street and dirt are split evenly), but my body says "Idiot, you ain't 20 years old anymore!", and (c) Over my 20 years of owning BMW motorcycles, BMW has almost deliberately made policy changes that put me off their product. A half dozen years ago, BMW's were the only motorcycle I though about owning (even though all my dirt bikes had been Japanese). That attitude has changed almost completely. It's not so much that they discontinued sales of BMW specific tools and their maintenance DVD's, which ticks me off to no end, but the German's at BMW are flat out arrogant about the value of their product, and express an utter disregard for their customers. It's as if, they consider their customer base as suckers, who will accept any crap that they choose to put on the plate. I'm sure that I have a distinct minority opinion, but hey, I'm an old and crotchety guy, and I don't really give a f**k anymore for decorum or dissembling.

So, my next bike will probably be both lighter, and "OTB", as in "other than a BMW". They can build their next RT into a 3000 lb battleship, for all I care. (I mean, they're gonna do it anyways, regardless of what their owners feedback is. Oh, wait a minute, maybe I'm wrong. They did eventually respond to owners complaints about the drive shaft issues. It only took them 20 years to do so, while owners picked up the tag for their engineering and manufacturing mistakes.).

Interesting comments. Currently ride an Indian Challenger, in my 70s and looking at something lighter. Rode a new 2005 K12s for 7 years, loved it, went to another brand when the dealer wanted to skin me on getting a GT. The Rt is 200# lighter and what has my interest is the RS at about 300# lighter. Considering if i go BMW again of possibly a factory order this winter if/when they start accepting 1300RS/RT orders.

 

[AMN 1652]

I can't comprehend the "it's not a sport tourer... followed by "I enjoy riding fast, not canyon carving"
Firstly, sport touring is canyon carving. Riding fast is just turning the throttle. No skill required.
That said, my RT is great at triple digit speeds and is confidence inspiring when scraping pegs.
Perhaps you should work on improving your skills.

Skills, that's it. They don't understand, they don't see beyond the metal.

 

[Stiggy]

Interesting comments. Currently ride an Indian Challenger, in my 70s and looking at something lighter. Rode a new 2005 K12s for 7 years, loved it, went to another brand when the dealer wanted to skin me on getting a GT. The Rt is 200# lighter and what has my interest is the RS at about 300# lighter. Considering if i go BMW again of possibly a factory order this winter if/when they start accepting 1300RS/RT orders.

I own both, a 1600 and an RT 9and also came from V-Twins.) The weight difference feels like more than 200 lbs to me, even 'nimble.' The RT is arguably the best balanced 'do everything well' and 'something even better' motorcycle that I've owned over the past half century, and will outlast the 1600 when I get to old to handle 750 plus lbs. A definite keeper.

 

[AMN 1652]

I own a k1200lt 2007...I used yo like it a lot, beautiful ride and smooth. But, there's always a but.,I'm getting rid of it as I know by experience and a few friends in Germany, it doesn't cut it when 843lbs stops at the light or you need to walk it.,it's a pain. Again, while riding a beautiful, while stop a pain.
I found the balance on the weight distribution is off cause all the weight is right under the passenger seat, so here's the question: Why don't they work, I mean BMW work in the weight of these bikes? What's the main frisking purposes, it seems we're made for body builders or some kind of.haulks. I'm trying to sell it, but most riders are short plus the weight...not a pretty pic.

 

[markdcoco]

I'm 70 and have had my 2015 RT over 130mph in AZ where you can see miles of road and even more to the shityourpants level. Motor doesn't seem to know when to quit just keeps pumping it out.

 

[Stiggy]

There's a Yamaha V-Max sitting without an owner at my workplace if the RT doesn't suit you (and it's a little less expensive too )

 

[thehueg]

Interesting comments. Currently ride an Indian Challenger, in my 70s and looking at something lighter. Rode a new 2005 K12s for 7 years, loved it, went to another brand when the dealer wanted to skin me on getting a GT. The Rt is 200# lighter and what has my interest is the RS at about 300# lighter. Considering if i go BMW again of possibly a factory order this winter if/when they start accepting 1300RS/RT orders.

Also a 70 year old rider of a 2013 R1200RT. At 75,000 miles I’ve done some 5,000 mile trips with my son. As I’ve “matured”, one caution about BMW is the lack of dealers. I’ve traveled in maritime Canada with zero BMW dealers in entire provinces. There are few dealers in many U.S. states. So any breakdown can leave you hundreds of miles from dealer support. Even so, I won’t return to my Harley Ultra Classic days with dealers on every corner. H-D seems a bit lost as to its vision of a future and their touring bikes are simply prohibitively expensive. That’s a lesson BMW should learn from.

 

[Corey61]

Hi all! I personally own a 2015 and it's not a sport tourer. It's an old man's bike. It is really not good for higher speeds. I'm talking about speeds that will get you busted. I am in the Las Vegas area. I can see 5 miles down the road. I used to ride 85 to over 100 mph but with my 2015 RT I find myself riding about 15 mph slower. The bike doesn't feel like it was made for the speeds that I ride. It's a real let down. I'm pretty sure that most of you are much slower so don't notice it and/ or you don't have anything to compare it to...but I do.
I want BMW to produce another 4 cylinder K sport tourer. They dropped the ball back a few years ago. My 1996 K1100 LT was a much better bike for higher speeds. Granted it had a 2 thousand dollar rear Ohlins shock and Hyper springs in front but this was a 1996 vintage motorcycle. BMW, again, needs to get back to a 4 cyclinder water cooled inline motorcycle with an aerodymically designed fairing that will cruise at triple digits and have good carrying capicity. I am disappointed with my boxer so far. Thanks for reading this semi rant.

Right on, man! My 2004 K1200GT is completely comfortable at sustained triple-digit cruising. Comfortable, that is, as in: (a) I'm comfortable on it. The only thing that tells me I'm going over 100 mph is the wind roar in my helmet. No vibration. No wandering, wobbling, wallowing, rattling, buzzing, or airflow funkiness with the side cases attached and hanging in the wind - nor when I throw the big duffle with all my camping gear across the pillion. And (b) the bike isn't even breaking a sweat. It's totally within its comfort zone.

 

[jono]

Also a 70 year old rider of a 2013 R1200RT. At 75,000 miles I’ve done some 5,000 mile trips with my son. As I’ve “matured”, one caution about BMW is the lack of dealers. I’ve traveled in maritime Canada with zero BMW dealers in entire provinces. There are few dealers in many U.S. states. So any breakdown can leave you hundreds of miles from dealer support. Even so, I won’t return to my Harley Ultra Classic days with dealers on every corner. H-D seems a bit lost as to its vision of a future and their touring bikes are simply prohibitively expensive. That’s a lesson BMW should learn from.

I'd be interested to hear from Canadian riders about this. I've been planning a cross-country route across Canada and I believe I'm never more than 250 miles from a dealer when traversing Canada. I was in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last spring and visited a dealer in Dieppe, so there is at least one in the maritimes.

In my Harley days, despite the proliferation of dealers, I have been on rides when the closest dealer was a couple hundred miles away.

My only breakdown, where I was stranded on a BMW, I was less than 10 miles from a dealer!

 

[Ultra54]

I live along the route you’re likely to take in Sault Ste Marie and I can assure you that the nearest dealer to me is 600 km away. Why do you feel the need to be close to a dealer at all times?

I'd be interested to hear from Canadian riders about this. I've been planning a cross-country route across Canada and I believe I'm never more than 250 miles from a dealer when traversing Canada. I was in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick last spring and visited a dealer in Dieppe, so there is at least one in the maritimes.

In my Harley days, despite the proliferation of dealers, I have been on rides when the closest dealer was a couple hundred miles away.

My only breakdown, where I was stranded on a BMW, I was less than 10 miles from a dealer!

 

[Steve Aikens]

Many long years ago, I was stationed at the radar site in Port Austin, MI [now closed] which was part of the dew line. A buddy and I did several rides into Canada, generally across the Blue Water Bridge near Sarnia. Followed the coast to Sudbury then on to Sault Ste Marie to cross back into the U.S. a couple times. Also did some longer runs north, around and down to Thunder Bay, followed the coast down to Duluth and then back across MI and back up to P.A. again.

Never once did Tom or I ever wonder how close the nearest BMW dealer was....

 

[The_real_hati]

Why do you feel the need to be close to a dealer at all times?

Irrational paranoia perhaps? I live in the biggest state in Australia. Almost half the size of the entire continent. We have 1 (one) BMW Motorrad dealer in the state. ALL of the rides you can do in any direction of the compass (except west, Indian Ocean) will increase the distance from that lone dealer. The most popular brands (Japanese bikes generally) may have maybe 4 or 5 dealers around the state, but distances in between can be well over 2000 miles (yes, miles, not kilometres).

The solution is not to worry about dealers, learn your bike and have enough tools with you to be able to get yourself back on the road. Even breakdown covers don't work everywhere here. Catastrophic failures these days are very rare for any brand, it really makes no sense to worry.

 

[jono]

I live along the route you’re likely to take in Sault Ste Marie and I can assure you that the nearest dealer to me is 600 km away. Why do you feel the need to be close to a dealer at all times?

I don't - that was an earlier poster.

I was looking at the dealer network to decide where I might plan a tire swap - I've since swapped the tires so I can now make the trip without needing a change.