Forums > Motorcycle Discussion > Compare and contrast BMW lineup

Howdy. I too bought an RT last year. I actually like it for scooting around town -- the hard cases are great when running little chores; although gas milage drops when used like that.

I have taken it out on some gravel roads, but it gets a little heavy on the loose stuff. (I'm a novice rider, more experienced riders may be more comfortable on dirt on an RT.) As a result I am going to add a dual purpose bike to the garage so I can explore some of the dirt roads and trails that abound out west.

It is hard to advise. The RT makes an awesome touring bike for winding through the Rockies--much of which is paved. I might trade it for a GS, but that's about it. If you are intent on exploring the dirt, consider using the RT in the Motor city and finding a dual sport bike for the Rockies. My 0.02.

Jack

---------------------------------

"There ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk." -- T. Waits

This question came up, I believe on the old forum, and was well answered.  I wish it still existed.  Here's my basic intro.  Also, the RT (I have an 05) would not be my choice for a city commuter.  The weight doesn't bother me, she is very balanced and nimble, performing low speed manuevers as well as a bike half her weight.  But, she is air cooled (ok, oil too) and doesn't get the kind of mileage I'd want for a commuter.  Air cooling is an issue in hot stop and go traffic.  Otherwise, not a problem and I drive in the city often.  But, I'd be looking at something very small with mileage in the 60+ range (Terry's Ninja 250 is coming up again!).  Something water cooled and cheap.

The RT is not suited to off road use, except short stretches of dirt and gravel. She's too big, has the wrong tires, and won't tolerate a drop like a true dual sport will.

BMW:

R engine is the classic boxer twin (older are air cooled, newer are air/oil cooled)

K Engine is the liquid cooled multicylinder. (now a 4 cylinder inline, older are different, KLT different) (Help me out here guys if I mess this one up as I don't own a K).

F Engine: This is the Rotax engine.  Single Cylinder 650 or twin 800 engine.

The above three letters are on the front of the bike designation, followed by engine displacement.

Hence:

R1200 is a 1200cc boxer (non liquid cooled)

K1200 is a 1200cc inline (liquid cooled)

The letters after the number are the bike style.  These are german words but to me, they roughly translate to:

RT: Road Touring (full fairing and bags but lighter and nimble enough to be sporty)

LT: Luxury Touring, like a Goldwing

GT: Gran Tourismo?: Like the RT but more sporty (like the K12GT)

R: naked bike (ex., R1200R)

S: Sport (like R1200S)

RS: Really Sporty (ok, not a good translation): Small racey fairing (F800RS).

GS: This is the dual sport (on road/off road) bike. (R12GS, F650GS)

Here's a link that will help:

http://www.bmbikes.co.uk/bmwmodels.htm

Robo

If you really want to get off road, a big issue is weight.  The lighter the bike, and the more surface area to the tires, the better you're going to feel riding in loose material.  An R1200GS on gravel with something like Metzeler Tourance tires is something that I would personally want to avoid... and an RT with RoadTec Z6s would be even worse.  If McGregor had a lighter bike, he wouldn't have spent so much time with the axles poking the sky.

A local commute/errand bike, and an off road bike could be the same bike with nice removable tank and tail bags.  With this in mind, one of the 650s would probably be my choice.  Tires would be the major concern, and I might just keep one set of road shod wheels in one location, and a nice set of knobby shod wheels in the other.

FWIW, the RT should be a great bike for over the road miles.  For its class of bikes (sporty touristy style), its not too heavy to be an OK commuter bike too.  I've done a lot of errands on 700 pound bikes with saddle bags, and the RT would be a whole lot more maneuverable.

---------------------------------

Die Entropie des Motorraddes wird immer groesser. Most roaches are created unintentionally. IBA #27546

I HAVE ONLY ONE BIKE. AN 1150 GS ADVENTURER. BUT I HAD THE USE OF THE 650 DAKAR. BOTH ARE FINE BIKES. WHEN I GOT TO A SPOT IN THE TRAILS THAT I DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE ON THE ADVENTURER, I WOULD TURN AROUND AND ON ANOTHER DAY WOULD GO BACK AND CONTINUE THE RIDE ON THE DAKAR TO SEE IF I WOULD TRY IT AGAIN ON THE 1150. THE MORE YOU RIDE THE BIKE THE MORE CONFENDENCE YOU BUILD AND LEARN YOURS AND THE BIKES LIMITATIONS. AS YOU SAY YOU ARE NEW TO RIDEING I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU FIND A BIKE THAT IS LIGHT AND NIMBLE. YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WERE YOU WANT TO RIDE THEN THE MORE TIME IN THE SADDLE THE MORE PLACES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GO. BMW OFFERS A LOT OF DIFFERNT BIKES FOR DIFFERNT STYLES OF RIDEING. I HAVE TALKED TO SOME THAT HAVE THE F800S-ST AND THEY LOVE THE WAY IT HANDLE AND THE WEIGHT. I AM WAITING FOR MY BROTHER TO GET HIS NEW F800GS SO I CAN TRY THAT OUT. AS FOR WITCH BIKE FOR WHAT HOME YOU WANT IT AT I KNOW THAT IF YOU ARE RIDING IN THE DETROIT METRO AREA AND ARE THINKING OF TRAVELING I-94, I-96, I-75, ETC.  IT MIGHT BE BEST TO HAVE GET UP AND GO THAT HORSEPOWER CAN GIVE YOU. THE BEST PART IS THAT YOU HAVE A MOTORCYLE, YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING TO BETTER YOUR SKILLS, YOU ARE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FROM OTHERS, SO THE MORE YOU RIDE THE MORE YOU LEARN TO RIDE SOME MORE TO LEARN SOME MORE TO......   IT IS ALL ABOUT ENJOYING THE RIDE AND THE PEOPLE YOU ARE WITH.      HAPPY TRAILS

CM,

Here in the rockies also.  I have found that three bikes are needed to suit all conditions.  You already have the 100% road bike in the RT.  The other end of the spectrum is the 100% dirt bike, which typically has to be trailered to Rampart or wherever you'll be using it.  The one in between these two is the tough choice.  I went with a 650 Vstrom which is 90% road and 10% dirt.  it is really a pretty crappy heavy dirt bike for anything mildly serious, but an excellent light tourer.  Amazing fun handling, I can outdo most sport bikes in the twisties.  I am now considering replacing it, but if I go for a 990 KTM adventure I'll probably be less happy on the road to the off-road adventure than I am with the Vstrom.  Same for a KLR 650, my other choice.  What a quandry.

It's really pretty predictable though if you can choose what surface you want to be happiest on..  If you want to be happy on the dirt it'll really take an enduro type machine which is crappy on the road.  Oh yeah, yopu also gotta prepare yourself for that inevitable moment when your nice shiny new enduron bike takes a dump in the dirt and all that flashy plastic gets all acraped up.  Sad.

Well thats why the three bike scheme works for me.  Obviously I have a very understanding wife...

 Bill in Denver

One more thing...oh yeah, I rode a BMW 650 loaner when my bike was in for repairs and I was unimpressed.  It seemed particularly unsuited to the price they want for it (hope I am not offending anyone, just one bozo's opinion here).  It was a crappy road bike in my opinion and I could hardly stand a 10 mile freeway speed ride, like being strapped to a bumble bee.  Maybe it was a decent dirt bike but I have a hard time believeing that based on its size and road manners.  Maybe the F800GS will be better but I bet BMW is aiming more at the road market since I have read that most adventure bikes never see dirt, like the Triumph Tiger and Vstrom 1000.  I am interested in this new bike because BMW does let you road test it, but I expect that it'll be a lot like my Vstrom.  I mean 400-500 pounds in the dirt is just a terrible handful.  If you ride a 300 pound real dirt bike first you'll know the difference.  You can stand hopping around on a skinny mountain trail with a steep dropoff side.  I damn near killed myself on the Vstrom over Engineers pass, which in contrast was easy on a 300 pound KLR300R dirt bike, a piece of cake.

Bill in Denver

My wife only lets me have 1 bike at a time.  So, I have an RT. I commute daily. It is great. The windshield and fairing is perfect for bad weather and the hard cases are perfect.

I get about 47 MPG combined  now that they had gone to E10 gas all over Missouri.  When I go on trips, I get 50+ MPG.

I had a naked bike prior to this. A Sportster 1200C. I was a great bike and I miss it, but in bad weather I suffered a bit. I toured and commuted on it. My MPG was about 45.

---------------------------------

No matter where you go, there you are....