Any regrets or outstanding issues with the lastest series of RTs 22+

[fourteenfour]

I am starting to get that regrettable itch to buy another motorcycle complete with the horror of going to the gas station again... my last RT was a 2019 and now that 22's are starting to hit the used floor near 20k I am almost interested again.

 

I suspect the software issues are worked out but how would I confirm the bike has the latest update?  has ACC been all that useful to you?  Are the speakers really that much better than what the 19s had?  The rest of the bike looks the same outside of finally having an adaptive headlamp the bike always deserved

[60Aviator]

Go here and get plenty of information.

https://www.bmwlt.com/forums/rt-series-post-2013.46/

 

I got one of the first ones and the bike really wasn't ready for release yet. Took BMW about 6-8 months to get it close to right. No speakers on mine but I like ACC. Main issue is you have to use BMW connected APP. Go to the sight above and there are many threads on different issues and solutuions. 

[Hati]

Motorcycles are one of the most subjective matters where one's opinion is king, right?  So everything said here has to be filtered through your own rose or otherwise coloured glasses.

 

Having said that, this is the first bike I had where my initial excitement of the purchase did not vanish as my time with the bike went by, if anything I love the bike more. Bought it new in May '21 but unlike many out there I was buying a motorcycle with a large screen attached to it, not a large screen that happened to have a motorcycle under it, so my level of disappointment was in line with any other first edition product I have bought before it. The fact  is that BMW did work on fixing the issues, and for me, now with a dedicated Android bike phone, those issues are all solved. On the last big trip, (9k kilometres in 3 weeks, two up with a single wheel trailer in tow), I experienced no issues at all and I used the phone based BMW Connected App navigation for all of it.

 

If all you need is point to point navigation with no randomness thrown in, the built in nav is fine. If you want more, you will need a dedicated GPS with all the extra fruit.

 

As far as the rest of the bike is concerned, it is the best RT BMW has built to date. I had two other BMWs (a camhead RT and a CLC) and a bunch of Japanese bikes before this and I have now 42k kilometres on this RT, just as a perspective. The radar cruise is magic, the engine is fantastic and very engaging (yes the Boxer motor is definitely has me wrapped around its conrod :D), suspension well sorted and the handling is unreal, not just for its size and weight but in comparison with  most other non-sports motorcycles.

 

For me this is the perfect bike. Just a shame that it took me this long to finally have it ;)

[Daveyator]

I noticed one minor thing with the cruise control on my first ride home. Lane filtering is legal here in California as some of you know. As a result I tend to ride near the edges of a lane from time to time. When I do that, sometimes, the cruise control sensor “misses” the vehicle in front of me and the bike speeds up. Kind of eye opening when not expected. IOW it seems like you almost have to aim the sensor. 

[strataj]

1 hour ago, Daveyator said:

I noticed one minor thing with the cruise control on my first ride home. Lane filtering is legal here in California as some of you know. As a result I tend to ride near the edges of a lane from time to time. When I do that, sometimes, the cruise control sensor “misses” the vehicle in front of me and the bike speeds up. Kind of eye opening when not expected. IOW it seems like you almost have to aim the sensor. 

 

I haven't noticed the above but I can say it's not effective if you are following other riders that are staggered.   I need to be closer to the middle of the lane for the radar to see the rider in-front of me. 

[Daveyator]

4 hours ago, strataj said:

 

I haven't noticed the above but I can say it's not effective if you are following other riders that are staggered.   I need to be closer to the middle of the lane for the radar to see the rider in-front of me. 

Actually that makes sense. I have to wonder how narrow that beam is. I’m 

[alexp]

It took me almost 10 months to get my bike in 2022. Now with 11K on it and flawless.  Great machine!

[fourteenfour]

How is the new headlight, both high and low, for night riding. One of the issues I had with my 19 which even had the fogs is that the light never seemed to be where I needed it nor go as far as I liked.

[Hati]

2 hours ago, fourteenfour said:

How is the new headlight, both high and low, for night riding.

 

Both excellent. Had a CLC with the 4 headlights (2x high, 2x low). It was considered the best in the industry at the time. It created daylight especially on high beam. This is much like that. Plus you can get the "active" headlights with the higher specced bikes that swivel into turns. Convenient to say the least.

[fourteenfour]

On the subject of phone integration, I read that the phone cannot be allowed to lock. I have a work requirement to keep my phone locked when not in use so it automatically times out.  What are the options or is this not an issue?

[Hati]

7 hours ago, fourteenfour said:

On the subject of phone integration, I read that the phone cannot be allowed to lock. I have a work requirement to keep my phone locked when not in use so it automatically times out.  What are the options or is this not an issue?

 

Depends on the setup. The BMW Connected App has to stay in the foreground working, so it is technically in use. You can always download the app and see it for yourself. You get two weeks without a bike connected to the phone and therefore the app to test.

[RussInParis]

On 1/24/2023 at 9:46 PM, Hati said:

If all you need is point to point navigation with no randomness thrown in, the built in nav is fine. If you want more, you will need a dedicated GPS with all the extra fruit.

 

Not sure I'd agree... in the year and 9ks that I've had our 2022 I've only used the built-in nav.  At the beginning there were dropouts in connection, but that changed after an upgrade.  For a recent 10 day trip through the French alps I used Google maps for route planning and transferred all the routes to the Connected app on my iPhone 12.  One day it went a little silly with a road detour, but my previous Garmin GPS units have done similar stupid things occasionally as well.  (Like leading us down a no-exit road for 5kms and then telling us to turn around in Sardinia...).  Moving from a 2008 this RT was a huge step up and an amazing motorcycle.

[Hati]

1 hour ago, RussInParis said:

Not sure I'd agree...

 

I suggest you do some more reading as to how people (especially those in the UK) use their GPS navigation. They often look for POI on their trips, such as service stations, various eateries and so on that are not planned, or left to chance. Good luck trying to do the same, especially on the go, with the Connected app.

 

Here in Western Australia I plan my trips with those stops already included so I do not need points of interest and to be perfectly honest, we do not have that many anyway. Towns with a single (or two at the most) service stations and one pub are the norm outside the capital. so the choices are very limited. The UK is much "busier" that way. That is what I mean by "randomness" and "extra fruit". 

[strataj]

4 hours ago, Hati said:

 

I suggest you do some more reading as to how people (especially those in the UK) use their GPS navigation. They often look for POI on their trips, such as service stations, various eateries and so on that are not planned, or left to chance. Good luck trying to do the same, especially on the go, with the Connected app.

 

Here in Western Australia I plan my trips with those stops already included so I do not need points of interest and to be perfectly honest, we do not have that many anyway. Towns with a single (or two at the most) service stations and one pub are the norm outside the capital. so the choices are very limited. The UK is much "busier" that way. That is what I mean by "randomness" and "extra fruit". 

I've been off the bike for a while since I had the other hip replacement but I recall you can look up and go to POI's on the fly.  The connected app needs to be on, it's on page 121 in my manual.  I don't know how limited it is but finding a gas station is available.  For a lot of what you can do on the fly with a GPS you'll need to stop, access the connected app.  

 

The TFT/app can work if you are willing, But life is too short to compromise and I can't get over the way it imports waypoints or the lack of it.  This week I purchased a Garmin XT, 

[RussInParis]

I did go through 2 or 3 standalone GPS units from Garmin and TomTom on previous bikes however I usually used my phone for POIs anyway as the database in the GPS was never totally up to date and I found myself using other tools like TripAdvisor etc and then putting the address in the GPS, which is the same thing I do with the TFT/app.  And it's true there are POI's you can look up on the fly on the TFT/app eg for gas.

 

In any case, my point is simply that I have not missed having a standalone GPS and do not intend to get one.

 

Of course there's still the mystery of why BMW didn't do Apple+Android CarPlay which I think would have been by far superior.  I've seen speculation that it was due to chip shortages (as apparently was the case for BMW cars), but I think it's unfortunate.  CarPlay + voice recognition through bluetooth helmet intercom would have been wonderful and would have allowed me to move seamlessly from car to moto.  Oh well.

[Daveyator]

My new issue is I can’t get my phone to charge on the charging pad. It’s an iPhone 13 mini. BMW service says they haven’t seen this but I may have to pursue it during break in service.

[Mellow]

I have a '21 and still has the original software version.  I don't have programmable left side fairing buttons but not worth sitting at the dealership for hours on a Saturday during the update only for the dealer to say Germany doesn't work on Saturdays and they couldn't confirm the update so I would have to come back during the week.

 

I hate the BMW connected app and how it works on the bike.  I have a Zumo XT which is better in pretty much every way.  Garmin has been doing this for years and it's gonna take BMW years to catch up.

 

I love the dash and would have purchased this year model just for that difference between previous shiftcams.

 

ACC is ok, works well.  Sometimes I use it.  I can take it or leave it but would still want basic cruise control.

 

I don't have the radio kit and that's okay for me since I always use Sena and ear buds.

 

I really like the adaptive headlights (side-to-side) and auto-leveling..

 

I would buy the bike again 100%... Will be interesting to see how BMW improves the bike in future versions...

[9Mary7]

FWIW....... when I worked at a large BMW dealer in 2012-2013, the running gag was that the Mothership in Germany is still running on a Commodore 64, and that is why everything takes forever to update, order bikes, search for parts etc, etc......

[Teddy]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:21 PM, 9Mary7 said:

FWIW....... when I worked at a large BMW dealer in 2012-2013, the running gag was that the Mothership in Germany is still running on a Commodore 64, and that is why everything takes forever to update, order bikes, search for parts etc, etc......

 

Yeah I don't get why it takes so long to download and update these TFT's. I haven't bothered updating the TFT on my R1250R too much trouble and hassle leaving the bike at the dealer for hours at a time.

However contemplating a new R1250RT mainly for the better weather protection, I hope actually I will insist it has the latest update to the TFT before I pick it up from the dealer.

Tesla can remotely download and update my Model 3 in around 30-40minutes and surely BMW is a bigger manufacturer than them and can do the same, then again with so many Tesla's on the road thesedays maybe not?