Top End of a 1200 RT

[snoman]

I know it is probably a little juvenile to ask this question, especially since one ofthe things most people like about BMW's is all the safety features, but what is the top end speed ot the RT? Don't beat me up too bad fort asking. Snoman

[Limecreek]

In June of '05 Motorcycle Consumer News reported a measured top speed of 137.2 mph, 12.02 sec in the quarter mile, 0-60 in 4.08 and 0-100 in 9.64 sec.

[imeyers]

I wonder if that top speed test was with the side bags on. Would definitely make a difference of at least a few miles an hour on the top end. And a slight difference in acceleration. I have to believe that with no panniers the RT would crack 140mph. Never tested it but I was always satisfied with anything that hit 140mph.

[Puddick]

Octobers(?) issue of "Bike" here in the UK has a really good road test of RT1200, Pan, K1200GT and FJR1300.

Top speed for the RT with Panniers on 128.1 MPH. 0 - 60 4.86 Secs. The RT started out as least liked but by the end of 3 days/1,000 miles it was the winner! The GT got caned by the way, no one liked it!!!

[Boffin]

These tests are always with new(ish) bikes and as we owners of older Boxers know, they loosen up and get faster as they age. My R1150RT with 39K is much faster now than it was with only 3 or 4 K miles on it.

 

Andy

[BMT]

...they loosen up and get faster as they age.

Much like ourselves, in fact.

[PaulW42]

...they loosen up and get fatter as they age.

 

Would be a more accurate quote for me.

[Zenhog]

On a lonely stretch of road in eastern Wyoming in August, my 06 RT indicated 135 mph and I had throttle left. I backed off when I zoomed past a herd of pronghorn antelope waiting to cross the road. Thank God, must have been my Remus Grand Prix exhaust and they heard me coming or I was just blind bloody lucky!

 

From what I have heard from other members, the speedo on the new Beemers are pretty accurate so I think it was close to correct speed.

 

Funny though, after that blast of speed my RT quit using oil!!!

 

Bob near Albuquerque

[trident]

I have seen 220 kilometres per hour on my RT1200 with full panniers and a topbox. Still had a bit of throttle left but not much.

[gettysburg]

From what I have heard from other members, the speedo on the new Beemers are pretty accurate so I think it was close to correct speed.

 

Above 60mph, my speedo is off by about 5mph when compared to GPS. I think it gets worse with increased speed. I've had my RT(loaded with 120lbs of stuff)up to 113mph when using the GPS as reference.

[Zenhog]

Above 60mph, my speedo is off by about 5mph when compared to GPS. I think it gets worse with increased speed. I've had my RT(loaded with 120lbs of stuff)up to 113mph when using the GPS as reference.

 

From a thread a few months ago, members posted that through GPS readings, newer RTs speedos seemed more accurate closer to 100 mph.

 

During the same trip I mentioned earlier, a radar gun aimed at my bike clocked me at 86 mph; my speedo showed 86 mph. Cost me $99.00 to get that verification....

 

Bob near Albuquerque

[snoman]

Thank you gentlemen for your insights. No one pummeled me for my curiosity. The speedo on my 06 RT indicated 110. No GPS reference. It was clocking 105 when I realized I had the CEE Baily windscreen half way up. I lowered it and got another 5 mph on the speedo. Seemed like I'd have to wait a long time though for it to creep up to 130 or so. SNOMAN

[aciurczak]

My '05 RT pulled 132 mph (via GPS) on flat ground near Death Valley last year. This was with the sidecases and top case on. My '00 RT pulled 126 mph with the same configuration on the same road a year prior. This was all they would do, GPS not clicking a mph more after holding the throttle to the stop for quite awhile.

 

Speedo indicated 140+ when GPS was locked at 132; while comparing top speeds of a touring bike with sub 100 hp may be juvenile, comparing them by relying on what the speedo says at those elevated speeds is inaccurate as well as juvenile.

 

With no bags on, I'm sure it could get to that 137/138 quoted in some mags; 140+ is doubtful; we have less than 100 hp at the rear wheel and in comparison to supersports we're riding a huge barn door slamming (rather than slicing) through the air...

[JustKrusen]

5th gear and still pulling strong! Speedo was reading 130-135. Did not notice the GPS reading till later in the day.

[timmr]

Whatever it is, top end is a felony ticket anywhere in the US. Most LEO's here are pretty cool with bikes, but I'm thinkin that if he catches you @ 2x the limit, he might want to talk to you. In fact, you might get to talk to more than one.

I pegged the GS one day, just to see. I tried it on the way to Utah once on the 1150 RT. Both are plenty fast. Frankly, I'm a little leary of trying on the S. I don't know if time travel is possible but that thing might get close.

[Bheckel169]

Pardon me for asking but, were you fellas looking down at the moment you read your speedo and GPS while doing 130 + - on the highway? If so, the gods were watching. I know if I did something like that, I would have finished my ride in a tin can.

Bruce

[gfountain]

I had mine up to 130 in the middle of Nowhere, Nevada with side bags and top case. I backed off in repsect of BMW's recommended maximum speed of 100 mph with top case mounted. I thik I could have hit 140 without any problem.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Well said.

 

These bikes need a long, long time at WFO before they will reach top speed. Actually any bike, even the mighty ZX-14, needs a good long time. The CD of a good sport bike is still not much better than that of a school bus and the HP requirement to reach top speed goes up as the cube of change in speed. Given that the 1200RT comes with some pretty big frontal area, it's gonna be tough to see 140 actual.

[Mainuh]

With only about 3K miles on mine all I could squeeze out was 131, but my buddy who bought his the same day and had near the same mileage got 133mph (I should add that he outweighs me by 60-75 pounds). We both might have gotten 1-2 more miles an hour with a little more time and space. Those speeds were from the GPS as the speedo was reading it's BMW optimistic 136 for me and 138 for my buddy, but calibrated on radar the GPS was spot on and the speedo (as has been every beemer I've owned) was reading 2-5mph higher depending on the speed (it seems to add roughly 1 mph over actual for about every 25mph).

 

I guess now that mine is nearing 10K I ought to try again and see it it has loosened up any.

[Green RT]

5th gear and still pulling strong! Speedo was reading 130-135. Did not notice the GPS reading till later in the day.

That puts you on I-75 near the Vanderbilt Beach overpass. I wonder if there isn't enough information in that picture for the highway patrol to cite you from that photo alone.

 

(Actually it puts you on some city streets West of the Interstate, but I assume that is inaccuracy in the GPS or Google maps.)

[ShovelStrokeEd]

No problems on the citation. It just says he has done a max speed of 124 mph at some time since the last reset. Doesn't say he was doing it at that position. I suppose he could be asked to prove where he "legally" went 124 mph.

 

My GPS V once showed me a max speed of 321 mph. I chose to think it might have made a small mistake. I can approach that in kph (more like 290) on the Blackbird but, I think I would have noticed it in mph.

[Albert]

True. I took mine on a business trip and had it on in the airplane. Mine said max speed of five hundred some mph for a while before I reset it.

[Green RT]

I didn't realize that it was the max speed rather than the current speed. That explains why the position is on a local street.

[JustKrusen]

Might be a little hard to shoot the pic at that speed!

[graemer57]

On the continent did 127 mph (according to GPS, speedo read 132 mph) two up, fully loaded. Bike still felt like it was pulling stongly and could manage a bit more but had to slow down as my wife was compaining of buffeting over the Autocom. Screen kept me well protected and she was getting most of the wind-rush. Adjusting the screen up to highest position made it a lot better for her but killed top speed by about 7 mph. Had GPS mounted at eye-line above dashboard using motorrad concepts mount. Makes it very easy to read without having to do anything more than merely glance at it, so you can keep eyes on road.

[jakfrost]

Calm wind, standard barometric pressure, (approx 29.95), 11 degrees C., side bags on, no top case, no tank bag, windshield (Ztechik) about 1/3 up and the GPS said 200kph...pretty much tapped out. Maybe could have gotten another 5-10kph with enough time/road but that translates to 124.27mph. Oh, rider weight (just came from a major physical exam), 176lbs without jacket and helmet.

Must be pretty much ballpark. My modified Duc916 would hit 260khp on the back straight at Mossport but that was a whole different kettle of horses.

 

Jim

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Rider weight, just as an aside, will have little or nothing to do with top speed. In fact, under marginal traction conditions, such as Bonneville, people add up to 100 lbs of ballast to the bike. Top speed is about 3 things, traction, HP and aerodynamic drag. Bad news is that an R1200RT is down on two of those (traction is not really an issue on the highway). It'll take you longer to get there, as acceleration is influenced by mass, but get there you will. The most important influences in the aero drag thing are around the rider's hands and the closure area behind the rider. Wouldn't surprise me to find out that an RT would actually be fastest with a small top box and a tiny passenger to fill in the area behind the rider.

[JayW]

Rider weight, just as an aside, will have little or nothing to do with top speed.

 

Yes, I read of this same principle in a car mag once. Larger people may affect the aerodynamics, either positively or negatively changing top speed, but the mass itself only affects the acceleration.

 

Jay

[LordHumongous]

Wouldn't surprise me to find out that an RT would actually be fastest with a small top box and a tiny passenger to fill in the area behind the rider.

 

I would have to agree. I have had my R12RT over 135mph with the small top case and no side cases.

[Mudman]

I have seen 136 mph on the GPS (141 speedometer) in Utah on a level stretch of road at 5600 ft elevation. This was with a 49 ltr top trunk, saddlebags, and the windshield fully lowered. This same speed was done twice on HWY 24 between I-70 and Hanksville. It hit top speed pretty quickly and then HP=drag occurred. The next day in Panamint Valley west of Death Valley 134MPH indicated on the GPS. There the elevation is about 3000 ft. Both times the wind conditions were calm. and the temp was about 65f.

 

The rest of the weekend was ridden at a more sane speed

[ADulay]

Have done 130 mph several times on Alligator Alley down here in south Florida. Bags loaded about half way and reasonably full tank bag.

 

It appears to really like 90-100 a LOT when on the open road, at least for me.

 

AD (2006 R12RT)

[lubie]

Yeah....Likes it too well. Got a ticket thanks to IL state police. Had mine to 130 once running back roads between the cornfields. Too spooky. Can't see anything coming from the side roads. Stuff happens way too quick at those speeds. Too bad we don't have autobahns here...Not only is it fast, it loves the twisties. Just got back from Arkansas. Gotta be some of the best motorcycle roads in the US. Too bad they're 600 miles away. Maybe some day....