2014 Wet RT

[Francis]

I saw and sat on the new 2014 "wet' RT at the New York motorcycle show 12/15/2013. No price had been announced for the bike by show time.

 

This is a very impresive machine. The fit and finish was outstanding. The color was a very impressive "black tone" with silver trim. Seating was very comfortable for me as the two piece seat design was narrower at the tank and then flared out at the rear of the driver seat to provide appropriate support. I have a 34 in inseam and the controls felt quite comfortable to me flat footed on the ground.

 

Handle bar controls mimic the K 1600 with a funciton wheel on the left bar and other control buttons on both bars. Electrics were not on so I could not see how the control panel lights up. I'm sure the press release kit has this information.

 

The lower fairing section is wider than on my past 1150RT and fits closer to the cylinder heads. It appears that the fairing will offer better wind and rain protection than previous RT models.

 

My overall impression is that this is a real contender for serious purchase consideration. Its well made, felt good in my hands and was very comfortable to sit on...even though it was just in a convention center. All I can say is...I'm signing up for a demo ride as soon as they are available.

 

[Guest Kakugo]

Yes, it feels like a good bike but there are a couple of things that probably will make me skip this generation as well:

 

1)Weight. BMW may have done the homework as only they can but 20kg over Hexhead and Camhead models is a lot.

2)Fuel consumption. BMW originally released some figures which confirmed what they already did on the GS, namely building a more efficient engine (more power and lower fuel consumption). Now they've amended that with a considerably worse fuel consumption than its predecessors, no reasons given. One of the things I appreciate the most about the RT is its extreme range and I ain't going to sacrifice that over 15hp more.

[John Bentall]

Yes, it feels like a good bike but there are a couple of things that probably will make me skip this generation as well:

 

1)Weight. BMW may have done the homework as only they can but 20kg over Hexhead and Camhead models is a lot.

2)Fuel consumption. BMW originally released some figures which confirmed what they already did on the GS, namely building a more efficient engine (more power and lower fuel consumption). Now they've amended that with a considerably worse fuel consumption than its predecessors, no reasons given. One of the things I appreciate the most about the RT is its extreme range and I ain't going to sacrifice that over 15hp more.

 

Kakugo, if you look at the other threads on the forum you will see that the weight difference is not 20kg.

Go onto the German BMW website and there the weight of the old RT is quoted without panniers and the new one with panniers.

I think the weight difference with panniers will only be 3-5kg max.

 

You may also notice that the weight of the K1600GT has jumped from 319kg to 332kg as they are quoting with panniers now.

 

Fuel consumption: According to the the German website the fuel consumption is fractionally better at 55mph (by 2 mpg) and fractionally worse at a constant 75mph by 1 mpg. Surely not the earth-shattering difference that you are making it out to be - 8 miles on a tankful.

 

I did not think I would ever see you knocking BMW's.

[Guest Kakugo]

John, I've personally tested my own RT over the course of many many miles and at a steady 120km/h it gives about 5l/100km (or 20km/l). Sure, it's not a scientific test, but I've done this enough time to be pretty sure about it. Granted, the engine's now fully run in and the PR3 tyres are probably more fuel efficient than the BT020 the bike was originally tested with, but it's still one damn good achievement for a 1200cc Otto cycle twin.

BMW gives the new bike fuel consumption at 5.3l/100km (or 18.8km/l) at same speed. It's not much, but considering the GS, using the same engine, has actually improved its fuel consumption that's very hard to explain. Maybe the bike runs on a richer F/A mixture, maybe BMW is just being conservative (it happened before), but still... I expected something better.

 

Regarding the cases: I've weighed mine and total weight was 10kg. That's not much (the Kawasaki cases were 15kg).

If the new one weigh as much, 10kg cases plus 9kg liquid cooling (same as the GS) equals 19kg and that would explain all.

However, after having had a 300kg or so tourer in the past (aforementioned Kawasaki) I am always very wary of extra weight.

The Kawasaki had a ferocious engine but the extra weight was a curse when the going got good.

 

So I have never knocked BMW... I can assure you I did that a lot before I sorted the brakes.

Only it was done at the side of the road while waiting for them to cool down or in my garage while fixing the damn rear caliper sliding pin.

[John Bentall]

The weight of the K1600GT jumps from 319 to 332kg with the saddlebags on, and the RT will have the same saddlebags.

 

 

[Francis]

The saddlebags on the model I sat on were the largr size vs. the historical RT. They were well integrated into the chassis and fit close in. However because of the larger case size I believe they will need some form of protection for spills and and dings.

 

From my perspective, living and driving in stop and go city traffic, the wet clutch and fluid cooling go a long way to improve the experience of motorcycle riding. I had a BMW K1300GT with these features and it made stop and go traffic and bike care in-traffic much easier. Gas milage is not a factor for me in these urban circumstances.

 

Just looking at this bike and sitting on it lead me to beleive it could be a very comfortable and satisfying mount in just about any highway driving situation. The one area of concern I noted is that the header pipe on the left cylinder is routed down and under the motor to the exhaust can on the right side of the bike. This could potentially present a problem in certain riding situation where you have to go over ruts and obsticles and the pipe could be dented or worse.

[Guest Kakugo]

The one area of concern I noted is that the header pipe on the left cylinder is routed down and under the motor to the exhaust can on the right side of the bike. This could potentially present a problem in certain riding situation where you have to go over ruts and obsticles and the pipe could be dented or worse.

 

There's a GS out with the same engine... just saying.