RT peculiarities (noob questions)

[nateschisler]

Hi all,

 

I've owned and ridden by 2009 RT for 6 months now.  Commuting full time, plus the occasional jaunt on the weekend.  I don't want to be "that guy" who re-asks lots of "new owner" questions so I've been taking time to get a feel for the bike and uncover those things that I'm really curious about.  For context, my first bike was a Suzuki V-strom DL650.  I bought it and rode it for 10 years, and as it was my first - and only - motorcycle, I was never bothered by the majority of things V-strom owners complain about because it was all that I knew!

 

So the jump to the RT felt like going from a Ford Fiesta (the old one) to a Bentley!  But, alas, a few things I'd like to either have someone tell me "dude, it's normal, get used to it" or "dude, get that looked at".  Here goes:

 

Throttle roll-on/roll-off

 

Basically, I'm idling at ~1,200 rpm (which I believe is the correct warm idle) and when I roll the throttle on, as gently as possible, the lowest rpm I can hold is like 2,000.  So what I experience while riding is when I roll the throttle off, I get a pretty hard transition to engine braking no matter how gently I do it.  I had a similar problem with my V-strom and I simply adjusted the warm idle to split the difference with much improvement.  Is it really that simple, is this normal, or a symptom of something else?

 

Front suspension sensitivity

 

Of the many changes from moving to California, learning to lane split has been a big one!  It also means I spend a lot of time running over those reflectors in the road!  The RT is my first bike with the telelever suspension.  Compared to my V-strom, I feel super planted all the time which is awesome.  But when I hit a reflector at say 40 MPH or faster, or god forbid happen to be decelerating when I hit one, it feels like I'm running over a parking barrier.  I've found if I unweight the front end by accelerating over one then it gets soaked-up like nothing is there.  But cruising at highway speed it's seems unusually rough.  I'm pretty familiar with mountain bike suspension setup and I would call this phenomenon "high speed compression" and if this were a mountain bike, I would simply adjust that setting.  I'm on a non-ESA bike and curious if this is just a "telelever thing" or if there's any adjustment I can make - I believe my preload is otherwise set correctly for my weight/gear.

 

Clutch pre-engagement "clunk"

 

I'm familiar with the BMW dry clutch "clunk".  My father has owned a few and I've ridden them so that wasn't alarming to me and I feel like in generally my clutch skills have adapted well and I can shift up/down pretty smoothly.  When I'm at low speed, say working my way through stop-and-go traffic, as I start to let out the clutch - but BEFORE it starts to engage - I feel a "clunk".  It only seems to happen at low speed, and only when I'm working the clutch it 1st or 2nd gear.  Maybe it happens all the time and I just don't notice it - but at slow speed it's very discreet.  Normal or something to check out?

 

Thanks in advance!

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, nateschisler said:

 

Afternoon  nateschisler

 

Throttle roll-on/roll-off

 

Basically, I'm idling at ~1,200 rpm (which I believe is the correct warm idle) and when I roll the throttle on, as gently as possible, the lowest rpm I can hold is like 2,000.  So what I experience while riding is when I roll the throttle off, I get a pretty hard transition to engine braking no matter how gently I do it.  I had a similar problem with my V-strom and I simply adjusted the warm idle to split the difference with much improvement.  Is it really that simple, is this normal, or a symptom of something else?  -- This is difficult to tell you much without riding it. The large piston 2 cylinder BMW boxer does have a LOT over-run compression braking so some aggressive throttle-off decel braking is very noticeable.  You kind of learn to throttle around it after you ride it a while. 

 

OR, you just might have a problem that you can fix, first try doing a new TPS relearn. That re-sets fueling computer to know fully closed throttle & fully open throttle position. 

 

The BMW 1200 hexhead has a stepper (computer) controlled idle so you can't set anything manually without really screwing it up. Those computer controlled steppers also act as throttle followers so are supposed to eliminate some of that abrupt dropped throttle engine braking but that large piston high compression engine is still one heck of a brake.

 

Also, make sure the your throttle cables are adjusted to minimum slack but not binding.   

 

You need to get someone that has owned a 1200 hexhead for while to ride your motorcycle then tell you if what you have is normal or not.   

 

 

 

Front suspension sensitivity

 

Of the many changes from moving to California, learning to lane split has been a big one!  It also means I spend a lot of time running over those reflectors in the road!  The RT is my first bike with the telelever suspension.  Compared to my V-strom, I feel super planted all the time which is awesome.  But when I hit a reflector at say 40 MPH or faster, or god forbid happen to be decelerating when I hit one, it feels like I'm running over a parking barrier.  I've found if I unweight the front end by accelerating over one then it gets soaked-up like nothing is there.  But cruising at highway speed it's seems unusually rough.  I'm pretty familiar with mountain bike suspension setup and I would call this phenomenon "high speed compression" and if this were a mountain bike, I would simply adjust that setting.  I'm on a non-ESA bike and curious if this is just a "telelever thing" or if there's any adjustment I can make - I believe my preload is otherwise set correctly for my weight/gear. --- Again,  without riding that motorcycle it  is difficult to tell if you are normal or have an outlier. How much front tire air pressure are you running? If much above 33 psi (cold tire) then that alone will make the front end harsher on square edged bumps. So try 32 psi cold as a test. 

 

If that motorcycle was stored on the center stand for a while (especially through large temperature swings)  then it probably has excess air pressure built up in the front fork tubes, that over-pressure adds both spring load & spring rate to the front so you might try bleeding the air out of the front forks with motorcycle on it's wheels.  There are bleed plugs on the top of the fork tubes but they are not easy to access. 

 

Another thing to look at is the front fork spacing at the front axle. If that isn't correct then you could have some excess fork stiction & that can make bump reaction harsher.  

 

Clutch pre-engagement "clunk"

 

I'm familiar with the BMW dry clutch "clunk".  My father has owned a few and I've ridden them so that wasn't alarming to me and I feel like in generally my clutch skills have adapted well and I can shift up/down pretty smoothly.  When I'm at low speed, say working my way through stop-and-go traffic, as I start to let out the clutch - but BEFORE it starts to engage - I feel a "clunk".  It only seems to happen at low speed, and only when I'm working the clutch it 1st or 2nd gear.  Maybe it happens all the time and I just don't notice it - but at slow speed it's very discreet.  Normal or something to check out?--- Without actually riding that motorcycle then no way to tell if normal or not, The BMW transmission is designed with more slack in the lower gears  as those gears are not normally ridden in for long. The extra clearance makes shifting the lower gears easier but does add some more drive train slack.

 

BMW also uses thin walled alloy castings so the noise telegraphs though the thin casting so they typically sound louder than older bikes as well an the 6th gear adds more loose gearing floating around on the transmission shafts. 

 

You REALLY need to find a current long term 1200 hexhead owner to ride that motorcycle & tell you if you have a normal 1200 boxer  bike or have an outlier that needs some attention. 

 

It also sounds like some of your above issues might be caused by the that snatchy feeling throttle.   Make sure throttle cables are adjusted correctly & no stiffness or binding in the throttle control system. 

 

We can help you with some of the things mentioned above but it should be done one thing at at time with a new posting (in this thread) for each new problem or it can get way out of control & confusing trying to cover more than one thing at at time in each posting.