When I first saw the RT it was one of the russet red ones. That’s not the official BMW name for the colour – manufacturers always seem to come up with colour names that are odd at best and downright weird at worst. Having looked at the brochures, I decided that the blue would be my colour. It’s the nearest they do to black. I’ve got a thing about black motorcycles. It probably says something telling about my disturbed psyche.
I also decided in my wisdom that as I had seen plenty of red and arctic silver examples around (perhaps a few rather than plenty) I would have a slightly rarer machine by choosing blue. Can’t move for the damn things now – all in blue.
Within the first two weeks I had clocked up a thousand motorway miles. BMW don’t recommend this but I had no choice. All of my motorcycles are working bikes – I don’t carry passengers. If it doesn’t do the business it goes. My dealer was mildly alarmed at the mileage I clocked up on the RS. 18000 miles in two and a half years to me is low. To him it was about ten thousand over book. I pointed out that as I used two bikes, it could have been worse – about twice the mileage.
Can anyone tell me why motorcycle dealers expect me to shell out thousands of pounds on something I’m not going to use? Am I alone in this? Am I crazy? Don’t answer that last one.
My first impressions of the RT remained – basically a heavier version of the RS. Consequently the sensitive handling was still there. At speed the slightly higher revs caused by the lower gearing was apparent in the slight buzziness and a tingling in the handlebars. For a heavy machine though, it is remarkably agile and once underway, the bulk disappears.
The ergonomics package is slightly amended from the RS. The seat is set with a spring mechanism and once set, remains where it’s put. The handlebars are static, as according to BMW, riders don’t alter them anyway and if they were moved, they would no longer catch the warm air streams. Whatever, I’ve not felt the need to move them so perhaps they are right.
I’ve not felt any inclination to adjust the gear lever either so I can’t really make any rational comment on that. The handlebar levers have an adjustable brake but not clutch. Why? The screen is a boon. Easily adjusted with the handlebar button it is the best screen I have ever ridden behind. At its lowest setting the bike feels diminutive, dainty even. On its highest setting it starts to feel like a big touring bike. It is also quieter. Although I would say that ear plugs are a must, regardless of screen setting, for high speed riding.
Since January I’ve ridden this bike to Crewe a number of times, commuted between Bristol and Swindon, taken it to Peterborough for the BMF rally, ridden around the Cotswolds, taken a trip through the Alps and to Ireland – in all, 10,000 miles in ten months. I regard this as a fair range of riding conditions and mileage for assessing a bike.
The weather conditions varied from the abysmal middle of winter freeze to the best (which wasn’t much) of the summer. Like most of the owners I’ve spoken to, I have the heated grips fitted. I would never, never, ride through a winter without them again – ever. Toasted pinkies are perhaps the greatest morale booster on a long winter ride that I can think of. Warm hands mean the rest of the body feels warm – even if it isn’t particularly. The fairing keeps just about everything off the rider.
With the screen on its highest setting, I rode back from Crewe in falling snow with my visor up and suffered no discomfort. During heavy rain the outside edges of my gloves and arms get wet. Water splashes off the road onto my boots and that’s about it. That is, that’s about it until I stop – then I get wet. Apart from the wind and rain protection it offers, the fairing’s slippery shape means that it is less affected by air turbulence.
During our ride through France and Italy, we found that trucks, both those we were overtaking and those oncoming were less of a problem than on either the TR1 or the RS. Usually I have to brace myself for the inevitable buffeting from large vehicles. With the RT, the effect is dramatically reduced. There is a downside. While the rider is spared the turbulence, the passenger gets the full blast.
Fuel consumption is almost on a par with the RS. Now that it is properly run in, I am able to properly analyse fuel use – particularly on long runs. Around town this has settled to around the mid fifties. On a run this rises to an all time best of 62mpg. Maybe not quite so efficient as the RS, but with its lower gearing it’s still pretty good for a fat old tourer.
The tyres are still the original Bridgestone Battlaxes. I like them. They are a reasonable compromise between grip and longevity. The front one is due for replacement in the next week or two. The rear will follow shortly after. My dealer is surprised at the tyre wear I get from my bikes. The norm is somewhere around 3,000 to 4,000 for a rear tyre. Ten is unheard of. Not for me it isn’t. I expect it. I also expect good grip. I don’t ask much.
One of my hobby horses is that tyre wear has less to do with compound than riding style. If you like to ride on throttle and brake, fine, it’s your choice. Just don’t complain about the tyres you’re getting through.
Brake pads are also the originals. I expect to replace them sometime before the next service at 12,000 miles. Service intervals are at 6,000 miles with the 6,000 miles costing around £100 and the £12,000 up to half as much again. I don’t feel that this is out of the way and am generally happy with the service I get. The bike behaves faultlessly so I am satisfied.
I bought the RT with the full luggage kit, including the top box. This is the first time I have used a top box and I wondered how I would get on with it. The disadvantage that I could see was the restriction of loading space on the carrier. As it turned out, this wasn’t a problem. We carried most of the stuff we didn’t need every day, such as the waterproofs, in this and left it all on the bike. This made loading and unloading quicker and easier. I also use the inner bags for the hard luggage.
It seems a simple enough idea but when in use it makes light work of arriving and unloading – with far less strain on arms and shoulders. Thay are not particularly cheap but having used them on several long tours, I will say they are good value for money. The same goes for the tank bag. I replaced my tired old Bagster with the BMW item this year. Unlike just about every tank bag I have ever owned, this one did not flop about or slide around on the tank. This may have something to do with being designed for a specific model. Again, it isn’t cheap.
So, are there any niggles? Well, very small ones. The rider information display gives out a range of information including the gear the bike happens to be in. I’ve managed all these years without one so I guess it’s a superfluous gizmo. It is amazing how irritating it becomes when it doesn’t work. One afternoon during the summer mine decided to go binary, giving a readout of either one or zero.
The dealer told me that the new switch necessary would cost about £8 but would take two hours to fit as it involved removing the gearbox. Although this was academic for me – the bike is still under warranty – it needed planning. We decided to combine the work with the 6,000 mile service. If, in the meantime, it self righted as he fully expected it to do, then we would leave it. Apparently a mote of dirt sometimes causes a temporary problem as it did on mine. After a couple of days it reverted to normal and has behaved impeccably since.
The seat is fair rather than brilliant. Admittedly the old numb bum syndrome doesn’t materialise until you’ve been in the saddle for about half a day. With a fuel range of around 250 miles, it is rider fatigue that will bring about stops rather than fill ups. My problem with the seat is the tendency to slide forward. Apparently Mike Corbin has addressed this with his after market version. Trouble is, I’m not sure I’m bothered enough by the problem to shell out $450.
The only other niggle is the offside mirror mounting that occasionally pops loose. Nothing happens and there is no danger of the mirror coming off. I think the base plate is slightly warped. I intend to take this one up with the dealer when I see him about tyres and servicing.
Perhaps my biggest problem with the BMW R1100RT is that I like it too much. Here is a bike that demands riding. I look for excuses to use it and ride it at very opportunity that presents itself. 1,000 miles a month with another bike in the garage tells its own story. I don’t think I have ever ridden a bike that grabs me like this one. Usually after this kind of mileage I am starting to look ahead at the kind of machine that will make my next mount. I’ve already decided – a BMW R1100RT. For the first time I will be replacing like for like and I guess there can’t be a better recommendation than that.
