is it possible to turn an RT into a GS

[SonicRT]

OK, so I went down today, and pretty much scuffed every plastic piece on the body... I was just wondering if it would be cheaper and easier to make it a GS... it seams like it would be pretty easy...

 

any ideas???

[NonComp]

All depends on what you find on ebay. Find a bike with a blown motor (GS or RT or Roadster) and go from there. Or, strip it down and make a street fighter out of it.

[Haynes]

I've not seen an RT Rat bike. Making yours into one would be your cheapest solution.

 

Make it into a GS! Hmmmm. The RT sure is an ugly bike without the plastic and it would take a number of practical and cosmetic changes before you could ride without people laughing at your hybrid.

Just a GS tank alone could cost you around $1000.

I like the idea of repairing the plastic.

[tallman]

Decals.

There are large themed ones.

Retroreflective too

[Trullion]

The RT and RS have different steering geometry to the GS and R as well as different gearing and handlebars. I suppose if you throw enough money at it you could do it, but to do it completely as opposed to just the bodywork would cost more than it's worth IMHO.

[SonicRT]

I was discouraged at first checking body prices on ebay, but now that I have looked into all I would need to do to make it a GS... craaaaap!!! So my RT will stay an RT... it's just gonna take a while to get it back together.

 

I guess the good thing is that the bike runs, all I need is a hanndle bar and mirrors and I can get away with riding my road rashed bike......

 

Thanks guys!!!

[ESokoloff]

Make it into a GS! Hmmmm. The RT sure is an ugly bike without the plastic

 

If the bike looks better without the plastic ride it that way.

Just make sure you remove the speed nut clips so they don't fall off.

[Bob H]

She looks Ugly with out her Clothes on

[bmw_rider]

If you truly want a GS take the RT and the check from the insurance company and go see you favorite dealer.

[SonicRT]

Rider... believe me, I thought of that!!! I just don't want a claim on my insurance, nor do I want a crash on my driving record!!!

[tallman]

Vinyl Graphix

[bmw_rider]

I don't know your claims record or your driving record. Sounds like it was a 'single vehicle' incident. As such, there may not be a requirement to report it to the police. Therefore doesn't hit driving record.

Claims experience is whole nother ballgame.

[GrayFox]

Get the fibreglass out. You can weld plastic, well maybe not you personally but it can be done. Hope you kept all the bits. You can do a lovely custom paint job with the result. Sorry for your troubles.

[notacop]

Driving through Marysville, Ca the other day I saw what I thought was a GS turned out to be a RT with no fairing.

Just do what they did to bikes for desert racing in the olden days, take off everything that doesn't matter and go for it.

Then again a buddy has made a minor fortune getting insurance claims on his bike and not fixing it. Not that I approve, mind you.

[SonicRT]

In Ca. you are required to notify DMV of any collision where the damage exceeds $500... and most insurance companies out here will go ahead and take care of that for the insured... you know, so you don't accidentally forget.

 

I have 0 claims and 0 points, don't want to start now.

 

 

 

 

[bmw_rider]

Single vehicle accidents, with no injuries shouldn't result in ticket or points assessed against liscense. That happens when at fault accident or moving violation occurs.

If you don't want to file a claim then why pay for insurance?(I know required.) You bought it use it. Check with your carrier if 1st accident affects rate, etc.

 

Or as notacop says strip off everything you don't need and ride.

[OoPEZoO]

Single vehicle accidents, with no injuries shouldn't result in ticket or points assessed against liscense. That happens when at fault accident or moving violation occurs.

If you don't want to file a claim then why pay for insurance?(I know required.) You bought it use it. Check with your carrier if 1st accident affects rate, etc.

 

Due to some recent events in my life I have to agree 100%. In a somewhat related story....we had a pretty bad hail storm last spring. It ended up doing damage to our vehicles and also some to the house. The vehicles we fixed right away, but I ignored the damage to the house. It was just some dents in the 30 year old aluminum siding, ridge vent, and gutters. So nothing serious at all. I ignored it because I had already planned to replace the siding next year. Within the past few weeks, A few of my neighbors have had contractors out to their houses to replace siding and roofs. I spoke with one of them and got a little different perspective. He said the same thing as posted above........."You've been paying for insurance every month since you bought the house, now is the time to use it". I called my insurance agent on a Monday, the adjuster called back Tuesday, and then stopped out at the house to see the damage and wrote us a check on Wednesday. The adjuster also decided that the roof was damaged enough to warrant a complete replacement. So they cut me a check large enough to have a contractor replace the siding on two sides of the house and a complete new roof. If I do the work myself, then I will have enough to replace the roof, siding, all the windows, doors, and should still have enough left over to rebuild our deck (which is also sorely needed). And to think I was going to just blow it off as nothing

 

Moral of the story......there are times for insurance. Give them a call and talk it over.

[NonComp]

Moral of the story......there are times for insurance. Give them a call and talk it over.

Of course, if you own the house/bike long enough, you will have paid all of that money back in premiums from your lost no-claims discounts. Think of it as a low interest loan.

[OoPEZoO]

Moral of the story......there are times for insurance. Give them a call and talk it over.

Of course, if you own the house/bike long enough, you will have paid all of that money back in premiums from your lost no-claims discounts. Think of it as a low interest loan.

 

Total damage to the house and 3 vehicles was in the range of $20k, and in this particular case it didn't effect my premiums at all. That was the first question I asked. All I had to do was take my $500 deductable out of what they gave me. My rates didn't go up at all on my homeowners or auto insurance, and I didn't lose any "no-claims discount" either.

[bmw_rider]

Ok - Now you have opened a whole nother can of worms. Homeowners insurance - -I hope you plan on staying in the home for the next 3-5 years - because the claim follows both the property and the owner. We had has a water claim on the Ohio house, then moved back to Chicago area.....getting insurance almost became a deal breaker for us. I was fine with paying the higher rate for 3 years due to our claim, the increase was no where near what they paid out. I objected when they said 'others in the area had hail damage roof claims' and you've got to pay for them too... told that insurance company to go scratch - they can't have it both ways. Anyway next insurance company (big national name) says we won't even insure the house your purchasing because it has had a claim against it. (water heater blew up) So on to company number 3, really exhorbant rate until the 3 year mark for the water heater claim (December). So Homeowners doesn't work quite like Auto/motorcycle.

[NonComp]

Yeah, that seems like a more typical response from an insurance company. Even if they say nothing will happen, just wait until two years down the road and you will get a sudden 70% increase "out of the blue."

 

$20k is a substantial payment and you should win on that one. I had a power surge claim (car hits pole and drops 12Kv line onto 600v line) which resulted in about $2000 in electronics damages. By the time all was done, I had more than paid that back in increased premiums. YMMV.

[tobyzusa]

Surprised no one has mentioned this and I'm really late to the party.

 

When I was have a mechanical issue that was difficult to diagnose, I had the covers off for close to a month and rode the bike that way.

 

All was well until I got into a heavy rainstorm. The RT's headlight got lots of moisture in it without having the tupperware in place. Ultimately lead to all the bulbs going out and the ground wire rusting off.

 

 

So. I don't recommend running without the plastic.

 

[tallman]

Just be glad it wasn't a different storm (hurricane).

We have a mandatory deduction based on value of house that insurance doesn't have to pay on.

So if you have a $200,000 house, damage must exceed $10,000 before they even get on board.

State requirement by statute I believe.

[AndyS]

Hi Brad, those problems were not caused by running with the plastic off.

All the bits on the bike are designed to see extreme conditions and the plastic on or off should make no difference.

The RT's headlight is afforded as much protection with or without the remaining plastic. All covers are designed to seal. If you got water in there, it was due to a faulty/incorrectly fitted lamp/lamp cover/grommet.

 

Andy

[SonicRT]

Moral of the story......there are times for insurance. Give them a call and talk it over.

Of course, if you own the house/bike long enough, you will have paid all of that money back in premiums from your lost no-claims discounts. Think of it as a low interest loan.

 

Yeah, kind of where I'm at... $500 deductible for maybe $800-$1000 damage....

[AviP]

Total damage to the house and 3 vehicles was in the range of $20k.

Holy smokes! 3 vehicles damaged and siding and roof replacement for $20K? Where do you live, dude? Amish country?

 

Over here in Fairfield County, CT they charge $5K just to draw up kitchen plans. I think I'm ready to move.

[JamesW]

Uuuuuuhh...Keith, that must have been some hail storm. Any chance of seeing that kind of thing happen in July around the time of the MOA rally? Never been to PA or anywhere out east for that matter.

[NonComp]

You don't need to worry about the hail. You'll be sucked into the vortex way before the hail starts. :O

[bmw_rider]

The Amish are not just in PA.