BMW R1200 RT

2006 BMW R1200RT

First Ride, May 2006, Graves Creek Bridge over the Rogue River, Southern Oregon



In late 2005 I was incredibly fortunate and married a most wonderful woman. The good fortune didn't end there - she like to ride. The Ducati wasn't much of a 2-up bike and the /5 was pretty old so we needed a new ride. Another visit to Hansen's BMW and enter the R12RT.

After 5,000 Miles

We took our September 2006 trip (cronicled here) and the bike worked great. The original impression of the bike has held pretty true - lots of easy to use power, great suspension and very comfortable.

The bike's pretty stock with several factory options - ABS (I think stock now), ESA (electronic suspension), heated grips and seats, cruise control. We kept the factory seats (driver's is standard, in the low position) and added Alaska Leather's sheepskins. The bags are stock and we have the large, 49 liter toptrunk. We replaced the factory windshield with a VStream for more protection.

Good Stuff

    • The bike didn't have any issues hauling the two of us with our luggage. The engine pulls like a tractor - what you'd expect from a 1200cc 110 hp twin - and just pulls harder and harder as the revs climb. Very easy, very fun. Got 45-49 miles per US gallon out on the road (41-46 at home, around town). First gear is a little high for tight town manouvering, I smelled the clutch a couple of times. It's a bit too tall (I'm 5'10") but controllable. Once rolling, even a couple of miles an hour, it feels light and easy. Stable and light as speed increases. 6th gear is a lazy overdrive. The brakes are strong and controllable and it's nice to know the ABS is there.

    • The 7 gallon tank with its 300 mile range. Such a nice change from the 110 mile Ducati and the 130 mile Triumph.

    • The electronic ESA suspension is great - it allows on the fly adjustments from a cushy freeway ride to being stiffly sprung and happy on the bumpy, twisty Greensprings Hwy, even two-up. The real sports riders aren't too impressed but it's more that good enough for me. The back highways of Eastern Oregon (or anywhere) can get pretty rough and, if you don't need a stiff, sports setting, switching to a soft ride is easy on the body if you've got some miles to cover.

    • Nice fairing, lots of coverage all the way to your feet. Seems like they could have designed in a bit more storage and wasted less on space for a radio that lots of us don't want or have. The stock windshield was OK but kind of small - driver's shoulders out in the wind and my 5'10" wife reported lots of helmet buffetting for the passenger. The VStream replacement works great. It's not the coverage that a big barndoor shield would give but very comfortable and still streamlined. Especially made my wife's ride more comfortable. The electric windshield is another of those decandent touches that ends up proving that decandence is just what Iike. Protection on the open road. On a hot day, lower it when you come in to town for some cooling air. Reach a twisty section, lower it for better visibility. Rain and cold - raise it until you barely peek over. Very nice.

    • The bags and trunk look good, have lots of space and they come off and go on very easily. The 49 liter trunk is huge and I suppose you want to be careful not to overload it. We used it for rain gear, extra shoes, odds and ends. The saddle bags are pretty good sized - each would carry one person's (carefully chosen) clothes for a week. The streamlined shape wastes space but look nice. Because half the space is in the lid, you need bag liners to keep everything from falling on the ground or getting stuck in the gap when you open it. We used some cheap 20" duffles, loosely packed, which worked fine. Fancier ones are on the market for more. We also used an ancient tank bag, strapped to the rails on the tank top. My good, magnetic tankbag won't work on the plastic bodywork and I'm too cheap to drop $300+ for a new one.

    • The seats aren't bad but we might end up getting some after market ones. Even with our low (150-300) mileage days, the foam was just a little soft for the driver's more-than-desirable bulk. The seat heaters are wonderful. The sheepskins from Alaska Leather made a pretty nice difference on the long, hot days - I recommend them.

    • Instruments are good. The speedometer and odometer are the most accurate I've ever had. The computer is handy. Temperature is interesting, gas gauge is pretty accurate so is handy, and the on-the-fly oil level check was accurate (ours has the updated software and float).

    • Cruise Control. Another decadent addition that I love. Great to be able to rest my wrist on a long day. Shuts off safely if you touch the brake, clutch or roll off the throttle. A little too easily, actually. I have an intermittent problem with it shutting off that needs to be diagnosed. A winter project.

    • The dealer. Hansen's BMW in Medford, Oregon is just great and have always backed their customers.

Bad Stuff

    • Tool kit (or lack of). Not too hard to put one together but my slash-5 had a really nice complete set. Definitely not progress.

    • The owner's manual. Many, many pages of legal warnings. Doesn't tell how to adjust the headlights. Doesn't tell how to change the oil and filter. Maybe the BMW car people have taken over.

    • Horn. The '05 R12RTs had really loud dual horns. Now they come with a squeaky horn that would be embarrassing on a scooter. Horns won't always save you but the might help. This is just stupid and BMW should be ashamed.

    • Tires. The original Dunlop 220s were so worn by the time we started the trip at 2500 miles that they wouldn't last another 2k and we had to replace them before our trip. That is also stupid for a touring bike. The Metzler 880s we replaced them with stick fine and are wearing much better. But the front howls on many kinds of pavement. Next time it'll be Continental Road Attacks that many people recommend.

Postscript

It didn't end real well for the RT. We made a poor decision to ride it to the Oregon coast one damp weekend. I didn't realize that the coast range hadn't gotten rain in a while while inland, where it's supposed to be drier, we had quite a bit. So with its first rain the coast road was extra slick. I was a dumb ass, rode too fast, lost it on a curve and went down. My dear wife ended up with a broken collar bone a couple of ribs. First time I'd hurt anyone that badly in 40 years of riding.

So my wife healed, and the bike was repaired (fairing frame bent, some accessories scuffed). But it made that hard ground real and took a lot of fun out of it. It really was too big for riding around town and we weren't too excited about touring for a while. So it sat.

Sold it to a local guy who wanted to move up and do some touring. He really liked it and was enjoying the bike last time I saw him. But now it was just the R60/5 sitting in the garage.