St0nkingByte Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Out for lunch today in the south end of downtown Seattle what do I spot parked on the sidewalk just south of Qwest Field but four King County Sheriff R1200RT-Ps Some camera phone pics, sorry it was all I had with me at the time. The sight that greeted me as I was heading back to the office. If that tree wasn't there you could see the building I work in... The BMW light package is very slick looking. We debated whether or not the holster looking thing zip tied to the bar on the side was a radar gun holster or a cup holder. One of them did have a bottle of water in it but it looked like a radar gun holster to me... In this picture you can see the crazy huge radio or something or other they had mounted between the handlebars, it was gigantic, I thought I was pushing it mounting a Garmin SPIII there but I've got nothing on this... They are using Touratech tank bags which makes sense because all the extra gear they have on there wouldn't work with the huge BMW tank bag. I was nosy and peeked at the paper they had in the transparent top and it was titled something like 'May 23-24 Escort Duty Training Plan'. This is the first time I've seen a R1200RT-P up close that is actually in service. The bare one BMW showed off at the motorcycle show looked so much sleeker than these. Its probably just personal preference but the engine bars AND the head guards AND all the other stuff on there is too much for me but I imagine if someone was paying me to ride it I could probably get used to it They had some sort of radio or something mounted between the handlebars that looked really large and akward to me. The back rest, the side casesand the nightstick holders looked pretty slick though. Link to comment
Deadboy Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 Saw a few over the weekend here in CA, the motor officer said liked it better than his 1150...... Link to comment
BailyD Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 We just received ours last week. I've never ridden a BMW twin with a dry clutch before and I found it is a little tough to get used to. I was told it has a "parade" 1st gear. When I get it rolling it will putt-putt along at 10 mph with no input from me. It seems this gear is a little tall considering my Concours will do the same thing. Is the engine and drive train always noisy? It seems to make a lot of noise and feel "knocky" when you first get it going. I'm used to riding in-line 4 engines, smooth but buzzy. I need to get used to the clutch and power delivery at low speeds in order to run the motor courses. I am concerned about damaging the dry clutch. I heard that you can work the clutch a little bit from the disengaged side while keeping your RPM's low so as to not damage anything? I don't know? I suppose miles in the seat will get me used to it, just like any other bike. BTW, they do have a container which gets mounted on the ride side which holds papers and ticket books. I should mention that everything else is really nice. Getting your leg over the light pod on the rear can be tough. I need to find out if anyone is using a wider screen and if it helps and if there is a trickle charger I can connect directly to the battery to by pass the harness system. Link to comment
sundaeman Posted May 24, 2007 Share Posted May 24, 2007 As far as 1st gear goes. I've been able to putt around 5mph, I think it's a momentum thing. I've been experimenting with keeping power and working the rear brake more at low speeds. I ride through a few round-abouts on the way to/from work and it seems to work well in them. As far as the ticket book container goes, I've seen a picture of a R1200RT-P with one mounted to the right fairing. LA (or LA county) had them on 11xx bikes (P/N 99 99 0 005 476) mounted on the rear bar. The right protection bar one for the 11xx motors is P/N 99 99 0 000 559. I don't know how well these will work with the 1200s. There is also a fire extinguisher mount that I believe attaches to the fairing you may be able to attach a box to. I believe Kisan Tech makes a charger that works, but I'd imagine there are others. I ding the right case or the radio box/light pod getting off on a irregular basis. Stretching helps. Use the left peg mounting and usually no dings. Enjoy the bike, it's a sweet ride. Link to comment
St0nkingByte Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 My pics seemed to have dissappeared above, or maybe I just posted them wrong. Here's another try: Link to comment
SMD Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I was in downtown Olympia the other day and had the pleasure of a brand spanking new WSP 1200RTP pull up and park next to my 1100RT. I was admiring the RTP when the WSP officer took off "her" full face helmet. Both the bike and the officer were absolutely gorgeous ! WSP uses the Touratech tank bags as well. They also have replaced the windscreen with a larger aftermarket brand. Link to comment
MotorinLA Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Is the engine and drive train always noisy? It seems to make a lot of noise and feel "knocky" when you first get it going. I'm used to riding in-line 4 engines, smooth but buzzy. I need to get used to the clutch and power delivery at low speeds in order to run the motor courses. I am concerned about damaging the dry clutch. I heard that you can work the clutch a little bit from the disengaged side while keeping your RPM's low so as to not damage anything? Welcome to shaft drive. Yes, it is “noisy”. As far as the dry clutch goes, it can take quite a bit of abuse without blowing up. A good telltale sign of over-abuse is when you start smelling an acrid odor, kind of like when the ballast goes out on a fluorescent light. P.S. try second gear as the “parade gear”, just watch your throttle, smooth and slow does it… unless you like the nickname “Capt. Kangaroo”. I need to find out if anyone is using a wider screen and if it helps and if there is a trickle charger I can connect directly to the battery to by pass the harness system. Cee Bailey offers a nice screen. It is taller and wider. It allows you to ride with the screen in a lower position with better wind coverage. And yes, it is a great enforcement motorcycle! Link to comment
BailyD Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Thanks, I'll get my chance tomorrow. Link to comment
tbloomq Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 I was in downtown Olympia the other day and had the pleasure of a brand spanking new WSP 1200RTP pull up and park next to my 1100RT. I was admiring the RTP when the WSP officer took off "her" full face helmet. Both the bike and the officer were absolutely gorgeous ! Let's stick to the important item. Id dyou get her name or badge number? Tom Link to comment
Deans BMW Posted May 28, 2007 Share Posted May 28, 2007 We just received ours last week. I've never ridden a BMW twin with a dry clutch before and I found it is a little tough to get used to. I was told it has a "parade" 1st gear. When I get it rolling it will putt-putt along at 10 mph with no input from me. It seems this gear is a little tall considering my Concours will do the same thing. Is the engine and drive train always noisy? It seems to make a lot of noise and feel "knocky" when you first get it going. I'm used to riding in-line 4 engines, smooth but buzzy. I need to get used to the clutch and power delivery at low speeds in order to run the motor courses. I am concerned about damaging the dry clutch. I heard that you can work the clutch a little bit from the disengaged side while keeping your RPM's low so as to not damage anything? I don't know? I suppose miles in the seat will get me used to it, just like any other bike. BTW, they do have a container which gets mounted on the ride side which holds papers and ticket books. I should mention that everything else is really nice. Getting your leg over the light pod on the rear can be tough. I need to find out if anyone is using a wider screen and if it helps and if there is a trickle charger I can connect directly to the battery to by pass the harness system. Two items, First, you can directly connect a Battery Tender or BT Jr to the battery, simply plug it in when not riding, the battery will last for years that way and always be fully charged. Second, The R1200 engine has computer controlled servo motors that control and keep constant the engine idle speed, appx 1100 RPM. When running in 1st or 2nd gear as in parade duty, just let the engine idle and the bike will put along just fine, no problems, no over heating. Link to comment
BailyD Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 The rep. who dropped off the bikes kinda warned that the gel batteries in our bike are different in the way they take their charge so it would need a special charger? We couldn't keep the bikes slow enough over the 3/4 mile parade route. I got it down to about 4-5 mph, but any slower and I have to work the clutch. We would have had to been at a solid 3 mph to keep the slow pace of the honor guard walking behind us. Link to comment
NoHeat Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 You can use the Battery Tender Jr. to charge a gel battery. From the manufacturer's FAQ: "The Battery Tender Jr. is capable of charge maintenance on all lead acid battery types, including both AGM and GEL cells." http://batterytender.com/faqs.php Link to comment
bmwdude Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 The beauty of the RT and RT-P led me to pick one up two weeks ago and...what fun!! Is it possible to buy the RT-P side bags, top bag or the crash bars for a civilian RT? Those crash bars (or whatever they are called) are cool looking and practical though I hope to never have to use them. Link to comment
BailyD Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 While at a traffic post the to other day a guy on a black RT with the tip over bars rode by twice. I can only guess it wasn't a "P" and that he put the bars on himself. I think it was an 1150 though and did not have the 1200 bar configuration. (the new ones are different) thanks to everyone for the advice. Link to comment
Deans BMW Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 What No Heat, (John) said above is absolutely correct. Link to comment
sundaeman Posted May 29, 2007 Share Posted May 29, 2007 Is it possible to buy the RT-P side bags, top bag or the crash bars for a civilian RT? Those crash bars (or whatever they are called) are cool looking and practical though I hope to never have to use them. I'm not sure about the "Protection Bars", they appear to have a chance at fitting. If I remember right there are 6 places on the engine block where they attach. I'm fairly sure 3 of them would be on a "civilian" RT, haven't looked close enough to know about the other 3. You're looking at $400+ in parts if they fit. I heard that someone put the RTP cases on a RT. I haven't looked that hard at the mount points, but it's $800+ in parts. I don't know easy it would fit but the Radio box is easily another $300+ If you can pickup used parts... who knows how much. Hope this helps. Link to comment
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