Thinkin' of Jumping Back In...

[beemerman2k]

I've been chatting with my local BMW Motorcycle dealer, and we might be able to strike a deal. I am so out of water with respect to motorcycles these days, but I do know I've always been an RT kind of guy, and I still am.

 

Cycle World once called the RT the "NPR radio of the motorcycle world". That is to say, boorrrring...

 

So here are my questions:

 

- how do you like your Wet Head?

 

- what do you wish you had done differently when buying it? (I read your post, Mike the Admin, and immediately went searching for a 2014 RT to see if I could follow your example. They're all pretty much sold around here).

 

- what options do you consider essential? (I'm thinkin' I'll pass on the GPS & radio)

 

- how's the lighting (stock headlight), horn, seat? (these items sucked royally on my 2000 R1100RT)

 

- where do you go for accessories now that CycleGadgets.com is gone?

 

- I love the Schuberth C3 Pro helmet, does the Blue Tooth option integrate well with the BMW blue tooth?

 

- Reliability? BMW engines were always extraordinarily bulletproof, but their drive trains sucked relatively speaking (input shaft, final drive, etc). What's it looking like on the Wet Heads?

 

- The Oilhead RT had just sufficient power for 2 up with gear, hows the Wet Head when toting 2 and gear? Will I long for the K-GT?

 

- Replacement shocks? All this electronic wizardry suspension has me wondering what happens when the shocks have worn out and need to be replaced/rebuilt?

 

My incredibly driven and smart daughters are entering their college years (oldest is a Junior in the fall), so I might not be able to pull this off. I have tried many times to get back on 2 wheels over the past decade only to come up short every time. But, just in case, I figured it wouldn't hurt to get educated from those who know.

[TEWKS]

IMO, the new RT is the best RT hands down!

Now, that being said and in typical BMWST fashion I give you a chart.

 

 

 

 

Not a bad idea in your situation to go for the 3M individual springboard or should I say, a very nice used V-Strom 650.

http://nhpowersports.com/91f3aac1-1f82-4020-ae65-a5d90137ec20

 

Pat

[JR356]

I have a 14 GS Adventure,not an RT,but here are a few observations.

 

Ride the new WC bikes,think you will be impressed,you will really like the power.

Try the new GS or Adventure,for me they are better long distance bikes than most of my prior BMWs,including RT.

 

I would get the Nav V GPS,really integrates well with the bike and screen is a lot better than earlier units.I got mine for half off when I bought the bike.Integration with the wonder wheel makes them a snap to use.

 

If the RT's come with LED headlights like the GS,then they are the best lights supplied on a BMW to date,even if the RT has the xenons,they are still way better than prior generation RT lights.

 

JR356

 

[beemerman2k]

The 650 VStrom is a hoot for sure, I've ridden that bike and loved it, but it's not gonna make the cut. I get your point, though. Nice chart

[beemerman2k]

I was surprised to learn that the RT is not equipped with LED headlight, thus my questions about the quality of the lighting.

[AlanS.]

I have a 2014 RT and it is the first BMW that I have owned. I would not say it is boring. It has the power to get moving it will lean easily into corners and the brakes are excellent. The stock headlight left me with a little more to be desired so I installed some Clearwater Darla lights which work great. The stock seat was good for about an hour of riding but not great for that hour. I replaced it with a Sargent seat and it is much better. While the windscreen is not bad after reading several post I decided to give a Werks windshield a try. It cut the noise down on the highway to the point the radio is usable. I do wish I had the keyless start, alarm system, and GPS. I do use the radio through a bluetooth headset installed in my helmet. I can not remember the name of the manufacturer right now. In the two years I have had the bike I have put 18,000 miles on it. It is much better than the 2006 Honda ST1300 I came from.

[realshelby]

The lighting is just adequate. Just. Don't compare the Wethead to previous generation RT's. The engine is that much more interesting! Major failures were something I watched closely at first. So far I cannot think of anyone that has had a major failure, which is one that caused the bike to fail to get back to base? No mention of final drive failures that I am aware of.

The occasional weep of the water pump, not a failure but a glitch, a few switches replaced. Much better track record than previous generation BMW products.

 

The radio is quite well thought out in this bike. The way it integrates into the bluetooth system and with the nav system makes it a very good system. Don't pass it up. There are already two vendors making replacement shocks that integrate with the ESA system on the bike. High end on those is $2000 for both shocks. Which is probably cheaper than stock replacements and not far off what we have been paying for conventional shock packages.

 

If you liked the previous RT's, but wanted a smoother more refined package with a lot more engine then this is it. I also get better fuel mileage and range than my Oilhead.....

[Ralphie]

I was surprised to learn that the RT is not equipped with LED headlight, thus my questions about the quality of the lighting.

 

I find the lighting on the water cooled RT even brighter than my K1600 with the adaptiv headlight. I find it very effective. Not quite GoldWing good but one of the better stock ones I've used.

[hopz]

Your list of questions is great- it shows me you are a thoughtful person. All that is good and, as a Thinker myself, I can tell you you are not going to get to an answer without the TEST RIDE.

 

My comment, in short, is that if you like the older RT you are are going to love the Wetheads.

 

I see you are leaning toward "no" to the GPS and Audio... yet you want the Shubert helmet and ask about B/T connecting to the bike...? What do you think you will B/T too if there is no audio and no GPS?

 

I can tell you the audio and GPS, for the kind of riding I do is an essential part of the fun. Options? shoot man get them all. If you want the top case though be prepared for the sticker shock. I kept my old top case from the '05 RT and it fits perfectly.

 

You ask about some specific... Lights are fine. May not be the best in class but I have never noticed a deficiency. The ONE thing I think is an issue/joke is the horn. It is an anemic Meep Meep. unworthy of the bike, but this can be fixed easily.

 

What would I do differently? Buy it sooner than I did.

 

This is the best all around bike I have ever owned and that covers a lot of bikes....

 

Feel free to ask more questions or PM me...

[92Merc]

So far I'm loving my Wethead. It's my first BMW. Coming from riding Honda V-Twins for 20 years. My Honda's have been 100% reliable.

 

I'm loving the Wethead. Way lighter and more powerful than my Honda. Great gas mileage, long range.

 

I bought mine used, but only 4 months old with 5500 miles on it. If I had one regret, it didn't come with central locking. Otherwise it had everything else. Not a deal breaker since I ended up saving quite a bit of money.

 

Personally, I love the Quick Shift feature. That is the one feature that has surprised me that I never thought I would like.

 

Lighting is decent. Better than my Honda's. But I still like to be seen. So I added the Clearwater Darla's. Personally, the brighter models are just way to bright unless you drive a lot at night and on high beams. I leave mine on 20% brightness during day to be seen, but not blind people. I think those are a worthy addon.

 

I'm mostly deaf in the voice range, so Bluetooth and other audio options are mostly useless for me.

 

So far, the only reliability issues have been the rear shock, which has been addressed. I hope my Wethead ends up being as reliable as the Honda since my nearest dealer is 250 miles away. So that is still a concern for me.

 

If your Oilhead had enough power, the Wethead will be more than satisfactory. I always ride solo, so I can't comment on the 2 UP.

 

I agree on the shock reliability. I'm hoping if there are any issues, the aftermarket will have figured it out for a cheaper replacement solution than factor.

[beemerman2k]

I see you are leaning toward "no" to the GPS and Audio... yet you want the Shubert helmet and ask about B/T connecting to the bike...? What do you think you will B/T too if there is no audio and no GPS?

 

My monster sized iPhone 6s Plus; that thing already has a gps, my entire music library, and the ability to get streaming radio broadcasts.

[beemerman2k]

It is much better than the 2006 Honda ST1300 I came from.

 

Ive actually browsed Craigslist looking at used models of this bike. Have a hard time warming up to it, though. Doesn't really do it for me I guess.

[Mike]

So here are my questions:

 

- how do you like your Wet Head?

 

- what do you wish you had done differently when buying it? (I read your post, Mike the Admin, and immediately went searching for a 2014 RT to see if I could follow your example. They're all pretty much sold around here).

 

- what options do you consider essential? (I'm thinkin' I'll pass on the GPS & radio)

 

- how's the lighting (stock headlight), horn, seat? (these items sucked royally on my 2000 R1100RT)

 

- where do you go for accessories now that CycleGadgets.com is gone?

 

- I love the Schuberth C3 Pro helmet, does the Blue Tooth option integrate well with the BMW blue tooth?

 

- Reliability? BMW engines were always extraordinarily bulletproof, but their drive trains sucked relatively speaking (input shaft, final drive, etc). What's it looking like on the Wet Heads?

 

- The Oilhead RT had just sufficient power for 2 up with gear, hows the Wet Head when toting 2 and gear? Will I long for the K-GT?

 

- Replacement shocks? All this electronic wizardry suspension has me wondering what happens when the shocks have worn out and need to be replaced/rebuilt?

 

You'll have to take this for what it's worth, from someone who only has a few hundred miles on my wethead. I can't answer all your questions, but I may be able to add some insight as to some of them.

 

First, the new RT's responsiveness is a vast improvement over my previous oilhead and hexhead. Perhaps it's the fly-by-wire technology, but maybe it's just the greater power, but it does respond instantly as long as you're above 3,000 rpm or so. The engine is really nice. And, though it's been a while, the handling does seem much better than what I remember of my oilhead RT--it just seems to effortlessly handle curves and it's easy (for me) to place it wherever I want to as I'm flicking it back and forth. I have to think that the gee-whiz ESA suspension has a lot to do with this, though that doesn't overtly manifest itself in casual riding.

 

Overall comfort isn't really much improved, though the stock seat is the best of the BMWs I've ridden. Having said that, it's not--at least for me--an all-day seat. After a couple of hours, I was uncomfortable and I'm sure that I'm going to get an aftermarket upgrade at some point.

 

Lighting is okay, but when riding with low beam it's noticeably worse that my R1200ST. I'd say that you would definitely want to add aftermarket lighting at some point.

 

Looking back on my previous BMWs, the nicest "upgrades" are the cruise control (helps tremendously on the slab) and the responsiveness of the bike.

 

Aftermarket stuff? I've been shopping various places, but www.twistedthrottle.com seems to have a lot of the bases covered.

 

Overall, I'd give the new RT a resounding thumbs up. As I was shopping around I did find a few other low-mileage buy-backs around the country, but they do seem to be pretty hard to come by these days. Good luck with your decision!

[szurszewski]

I see you are leaning toward "no" to the GPS and Audio... yet you want the Shubert helmet and ask about B/T connecting to the bike...? What do you think you will B/T too if there is no audio and no GPS?

 

My monster sized iPhone 6s Plus; that thing already has a gps, my entire music library, and the ability to get streaming radio broadcasts.

 

Have you used an iPhone as your main GPS/etc. on your bike before? That's what I do, and it works but mainly because I primarily want it for music and don't really care if I can see it. The way the screen is setup, even if you find a good angle, it's still often obscured by sun glare (on recent trip from Vegas back here to Portland, there was one day where I could probably only see the screen 1/3 or less of the time), and on a warm sunny day, particularly if you have it in a case, it will get too hot and go into cool down mode (essentially like being off) - GPS and streaming both warm it up quickly.

 

...and, it won't integrate to your fancy new Wonderwheel, though being that my newest ride is c. '99, I wouldn't really know anything about that.

[Panhandle Chuck]

I'm a Previous '10 GSA owner and current '14 RT owner. I ride with a few guys on '13 RT's. I, of course, rode all the bikes before buying the '14 RT. So, assuming within the title Sport/Tourer all things are equal, 50% Sport and 50% Tourer, the '14 and later RT shifted more towards the Sport side of the equation. It's wicked quick, off the line and within all ranges.

 

I like the ergo's better on the '10-'13 RT (better out of the box for long distance touring) and motor and technology packages of the '14 and later. Yes, you will need a new seat almost immediately (Sargent for me). My '14 has all options and I don't regret having any of them, albeit I use my iPhone for tunes with a Sena and forego the BMW system. Folks say if your melon (mine doesn't, at least on the C3) works with a C3/Pro the technology packages works fabulous.

 

 

 

[szurszewski]

Do you ADV? If you were considering a GS, there's this just posted:

 

 

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/2015-gsa-priced-to-sell.1139737/

 

Price $19,750

 

Mileage 1366

Factory warranty with Roadside assistance till June of 2018

initial service completed at BMW dealer

Location - Connecticut

[kpd1999]

Did CycleWorld call the wethead boring?? I would be shocked if they did. I came from an '11 RT and I have to say I think the '14 is an improvement in just about every category.

 

I would get the GPS prep and radio to increase the resale value if nothing else. The more I use the Nav V, the more I'm impressed with it (This is my second one. The first was replaced by Garmin). The live traffic and weather has come in handy several times and I don't have to press any buttons or "slide to unlock" to use it. I also think the radio/gps prep is the only way to get bluetooth. Speaking of bluetooth, it sucks (imo) on the bike. BMW still uses Bluetooth 2.0 in its audio system. Most new systems use 4.1. They are backwards compatible, but the sound quality is lacking. I use a SENA 10R for reference, and listen to satellite radio 95% of the time. I also have the Works windscreen, however a CB sport is going on for the warmer weather.

 

The stock seat was replaced with a BMS. I like the RDL, but I have a height issue.

 

Like several others, I agree the stock headlight works well. I have the headlight pro option which gives me the angel eyes that I love!!! I also added Darla's for auxiliary in the front, and the Billie jr as on auxiliary brake light. The stock tail/brake lights are anemic. Clearwater makes some incredible products for the wethead.

 

I ride two up about 60% of the time, and I've never thought the power was lacking. There is adequate room for both of us as well (We are both 5'8").

 

My bike has 27k miles on it now. I did get is used with all the service records. It has never had any reliability issues.

 

Good luck with your decision.

 

 

[Mike]

Just to further complicate things, it's part of one of the option packages, but if optioned correctly, the "Dynamic mode" is added to the standard "Road" and "Rain" modes.

 

Now, I'm not going to claim that it transforms the bike into an S1000RR, but it really does become much more responsive in that mode. The first time I used it, I did an involuntary wheelie. That's not my normal riding style, but the increased throttle responsiveness is notable . . . and fun.

[beemerman2k]

 

That's a beautiful GSA.

[beemerman2k]

Mike, coming off an ST, how would you compare the headlight on your RT with the ST?

[Mike]

Mike, coming off an ST, how would you compare the headlight on your RT with the ST?

 

The RT is not as good on low beam. High beams seem pretty similar. I guess that's to be expected since the ST had the stacked hi/lo headlight arrangement. I'll definitely be adding auxiliary lighting.

 

 

[szurszewski]

That's a beautiful GSA.

 

 

Yes. It's not anywhere near affordable to me, so I don't even know if that's a good price, but it sure is pretty (and has lots of toys added).

 

 

[marcopolo]

That's a beautiful GSA.

 

I'd be all over that GSA.

 

By the way, I rode a 2006 RT for 9 ½ years. Last Spring I was going back and forth with a dealer on a new wethead RT, but the negotiations broke down and I just continued with my older RT. That was until the Fall of 2015, when I got the itch again. But this time, I was no longer interested in the new RT, but rather the new GS/GSA.

 

I ended up getting a 2015 GSA in November. I have to say, on second thought, I realized I just had not warmed up to the front-end looks of the RT. I'm really enjoying the GSA (factory-lowered). Having changed the turn signal bulbs to LED bulbs, the bike is now entirely LED. I also added Clearwater Darla LED lights (fork-mounted), and the Billie Jr. brake/tail light, all controlled (in terms of "programming") via the Wonder Wheel on the bike (requires the Clearwater Canopener).

 

As others have said, you really need to go for a test ride on a wethead to see what people are talking about.

 

I have to say, in this day and age, I'm not sure how useful a sound system is on a bike. On my RT (which had a sound system), and now my GSA, I used/use my iPhone for music to my SENA headset (listening through Arizona Al earbuds). When I was looking at the new RT, any bikes bound for dealer inventory were pretty much fully loaded. To get one without the sound system, it would have to be a custom order, and take a number of months for delivery (unless you find a used one without it).

 

As for GPS, I would never use my phone for that on a bike. I can't see the screen in daylight when I'm walking down the sidewalk, let alone on a bike. It's also not waterproof, doesn't really respond well -- if at all -- to gloved hands etc. The Nav V is very well integrated with the bike, and I would not dismiss it out of hand.

 

Good luck on your hunt.

[Rob L]

About the seat. You didn't like the 2000 RT seat. I don't blame you! I've had a 1998, 2004, 2006, and now a 2014. I replaced the seat on the first 3 with an RDL. I rode the 2014 with the stock seat and accumulated 16,000 miles without a problem. I did a couple of 850 mile days and the seat was OK with me. Then Barb rode with me for a 350 mile day and said "change it!" I spent $800+ on another RDL in January and the seat is great. But I would still be riding the stocker if I was solo. It is much better than BMW's previous seats. Give it some miles before deciding

[beemerman2k]

Thanks all, your posts have been tremendously helpful and informative. This kind of insider info you can't get from magazine road tests.

[beemerman2k]

Beautiful seat, Rob. I had a RDL on my RT and loved it. People tell me they're ugly, but I disagree. Put in a thousand mile day and that seat will come to look glorious!