Demo'd the new 2010 RT this morning

[Sailorlite]

The big BMW demo truck was at my local dealer's open house yesterday and today so I took the opportunity to ride the new RT (less than 200 mi. on the odo.). I've put about 22K miles on my own '08 RT in the past 1.5 yrs. and think I'm quite familiar with how it feels on the road. Here's what I noticed riding the 2010 RT:

 

1. The engine definitely has more pep and sharper throttle response (at all rpm's) and idles a little more smoothly.

2. The engine sounds better - I wonder if there's been a muffler change.

3. The transmission emits about 20% less "clunk" when shifting.

4. The new windshield is barely more "protective" than the earlier one.

5. The seat and riding position is unchanged (despite new bars).

6. I didn't really get to test the new ESA - no conclusion.

7. The new switchgear is OK.

 

The biggest change (improvement) is the new engine. It seems to me that the HP and torque increases are much more than the published specs suggest. What we have no way of knowing yet is what the new engine will be like at 15K miles. If it improves as much as the hexheads do in that kind of "break in" period, wow, that will really be one sweet boxer!