"The ST is smoother. The RT is lighter, faster, better handling, better braking, better equipped, better integrated, and more comfortable. Will the RT be as reliable as a Honda? I’m not holding my breath but not worrying either. Time will tell."
Hi Scott,
Time has passed. How about a quick update? Still loving the RT?
Tom
I am loving the RT, Tom. My statement above still covers most of my feelings. Here are some others.
This bike is so well sorted out it's simply a joy to ride. I haven't ridden another bike I like as much for the kind of riding I like to do. I've ridden faster sport bikes, cushier tourers, more tossable nakeds, but I'd pick this one over any of those for riding the way I actually do.
There was one recall for handlebar switches that was noted when I bought the bike (remember mine was 6 months old, slightly used). Max BMW installed the wrong replacement (lacked cruise control functionality) but when I realized it and told them, they said our bad, let us pick up the bike at your house, fix it, and return it to your house. BMW customer service, at least from Max BMW, is beyond anything I ever experienced from any other motor vehicle dealer, including car dealers. Among other things, they offer a deal for pickup and delivery if your service is more than $250. I did that on the 12k service, which includes valve inspection, rear end fluid, oil change, and a bunch of inspections. I had them pick up the bike a couple days before a family vacation and drop it off the day after I got home. I never missed any ride time and didn't have to arrange for two round trip rides (26 miles each way) to the dealership for drop off and pick up. My time is valuable and this option has proved very worthwhile for me. I do my own oil changes and other routine maintenance and, thus far, have had Max handle the larger service at 12k mile intervals.
FWIW, having my Honda dealer do the ST 16k service costs less than the RT 12k valve inspection, but if the ST valves are out of spec the Honda costs more because the labor is so time consuming. The RT's valves are a much simpler affair to adjust. Mine have not been out of spec yet. Also FWIW, my ST's valves were never out of spec in almost 100,000 miles.
In the first 20,000 miles with my 2003 ST1300, I had one repair and two recalls. At 20,000 miles on the RT I’ve had one recall and no repairs. Both were the first model year for a total redesign. The rear shock recall on the RT was already fixed when I bought it, so I’m not counting that in my case. Not a small issue, but BMW ultimately handled it well, I think.
I took advantage of TechSTOC events to get guidance and often outright services on my ST. Thanks to rulbe and ScubaDave in particular for their help over the years. The BMW community, Yankee Beemers for example, offers similar events although I haven’t done one yet. The RT is a very sophisticated machine with electronics that the ST simply lacks, so connecting it to a proper computer or GS911 is important for service. Max handled a software upgrade for the quick shifter at the 12k service, which I couldn’t do outside of a BMW dealer. The boxer motor appears to be less complicated to work on than a V4, from all indications, and I think clearly the most reliable BMW engine configuration. I have more confidence in the techs at Max BMW than I ever did in the techs at Honda dealers (“Huh…first one of these bikes I’ve seen.”). That lack of confidence is why I started going to TechSTOC events!
I have grown to like the boxer motor, whose characteristics are well suited to sport touring. It’s torquey, quiet, and smooths out nicely at speed. The RT feels faster seat-of-the-pants than the ST, but a V4 is just a different animal. The ST is the only bike I’ve ever owned that wasn’t a twin (I’ve had a V, some parallels and a boxer) so it’s an outlier--a damned fine outlier! Had Honda updated the ST1300 I’d likely have bought another one, particularly if they’d found a way to drop the weight and center of gravity. The RT’s lightness remains a major advantage in my view. Maybe I have some Colin Chapman in me because I’ve learned to appreciate the advantages of less weight.
I've never been a fan of how a top case looks on a sport tourer. Same holds true for the RT, although the BMW case looks like it belongs after I painted the lid to match. BMW GT's get a color matched top case lid but RT's do not...they get "aluminum white" which doesn't match any body work or trim BMW installs at the factory on any RT I've seen. I started leaving the top case at home unless I'm going on a trip or anticipate removing all my gear in favor of walking or hiking apparel along the way and need a place to stash it. It’s nice to have the extra space but the bike looks much nicer without the top case.
The factory windshield is too big for my taste. I downsized with a Cee Bailey Sport Shield which makes the whole bike look less nose-heavy and gives me nice smooth air. I can always raise this shield, but I couldn't lower the factory shield far enough. Plenty of tall guys get a larger aftermarket shield. YMMV
The ST's tip-over wings are a fantastic design, superior to anything else in the sport touring category. I added crash bars front and rear to my RT. Like the FJR and Connie, a parking lot tip-over on an RT without add-on protection will run four figures while an ST will run you what, $30 for the plastic bit that covers the bar, assuming you feel like replacing it. One advantage of the RT’s front crash bars is they make ideal mounting points for accessory lights and highway pegs (I added both).
There is a much larger and well established aftermarket for BMW farkles with lots of things that are bolt on/snap in/model specific. They are often expensive (ok,
usually expensive) but typically great quality and engineered for the application instead of for a universal fit.
It can be frustrating to do things BMW's way. For example, I bought the BMW Communication System to go in my Schuberth helmet and soon discovered that it limited me to doing things to BMW's way. Examples include no voice dialing a paired phone (you have to make calls via the BMW Nav5 GPS), no bike to bike, no option for hardwired audio out for ear buds (stuck with their crappy sounding helmet speakers), no option to choose alternative audio streams or choose how streams layer over each other. Max BMW was kind enough to acknowledge my lack of satisfaction with the system they sold me on, and they uninstalled the system at no charge. I promptly sold it to an RT forum member who loves all things BMW and was thrilled to save some $$. I decided to use a Sena 20S instead which has better sounding helmet speakers, an audio-out jack for earbuds (which I typically use and sound WAY better than helmet speakers), bike to bike, layering, voice dialing (or anything I care to ask Google), longer battery life, and more. With so many possible configurations it took some trial and error to get it set up the way I like, but works great.
I’ve seen many examples of RT riders who use Apple products, and who are accustomed to doing things Apple's way and get miffed at having to figure out how to accommodate their iPhone's needs and their BMW's needs. The two do not always live happily together; iPhones seem to have potential the BMW doesn’t choose to leverage. They seem to do better via a third party comm system (like my Sena or other brands) but I’m not an Apple user so I may not be the best source of info there. Just offering an observation.
There are lots of little details that BMW gets right. One example is “A” (for Automatic) trip meter. After the bike is off 8 hours, A resets. So pretty much always, when you start a ride in the morning A is at zero. It’s easy to know how far you’ve gone today without having to use trip meter 1, which I use for an entire trip, and trip meter 2, which I reset at fill-ups. Hundred mile rule for breakfast today or 500 miles before dinner? Easy to check on my progress.
Once you get acclimated to the Wonder Wheel, it’s easy to cycle through settings. blueSTormer gave me a tip on setting the Favorite button to go straight to the GPS zoom control. It’s VERY handy to be able to zoom in or out very fast without reaching out for the GPS screen. That setting also happens to be about half way through the top level menu options so it’s also a way to jump ahead. It doesn’t take long before you remember the order of menus and they’re color coded so you learn to recognize them quickly.
I love that this bike has two big round analog gauges for speedo and revs. I’m old school in this regard. The RT’s audio info screen reverts to a digital speedo if you turn the system off, which I rarely do.
The traction control is surprisingly helpful in the wet. My friend Mr. Padden shared with me his experience waking up at camp and having to exit on a dirt road turned to mud with overnight rain. He set his RT to RAIN mode (push a handlebar button) and just rode out. In RAIN mode the traction control system interacts quickly to arrest slippage and kept him going straight down the road. Once you hit smooth pavement you can set for ROAD (normal) or DYNAMIC (minimal traction control interaction). The settings impact throttle sensitivity (less sensitive in RAIN, more in DYNAMIC) but not engine output. The preload is similarly easy to adjust electronically, although that needs to happen with the bike stopped.
The audio system is crazy feature laden. AM, FM, Weather Band, Sirius, audio in from a phone, USB as a source, all Bluetooth or through dash mounted speakers. One button mute so you can hear someone talk to you or just listen better around town. It would be awesome if there was a factory audio-out jack for a hardwired option, like BMW used to offer on pre-liquid cooled RT’s. Fortunately the Sena model I chose provides this. What I actually get is hardwired output of a Bluetooth signal in my earbuds, but it still sounds WAY better than helmet speakers, especially if you wear ear plugs. Since I’d wear ear plugs it doesn’t take me any longer to put in my sound attenuating Klipsch earbuds. Nice that I can get off the bike and walk around without being wired to it, too.
The ergos are the best of any bike I’ve ridden. It’s the perfect perch for me, especially with a lower seat. The OEM seat was OK for shorter rides but my first trip to Moonshine convinced me it would need an upgrade. Russells are great but just too high for me. I got a Sargent, which is plug and play with the BMW heating system and is available in a low version that is lower than the stock seat though higher than BMW’s low seat. Major improvement, I even get the balls of my feet down on the road now. My ST seat had been lowered by Spencer. He did my Versys seat as well. FWIW, Spencer does not work on BMW seats…he was the first vendor I reached out to.
I love how mechanical things work, like the saddle bag latches. I love the sideways facing valve stems molded into the rims. I love the bike’s overall appearance; it’s a beautiful design…sometimes I just like to look at it. I love all the info available on demand, from temp to oil level to tire pressure to various time and distance records.
I wish the fairing pockets were bigger. I wish it sounded like a K1600GT instead of a blender (no aftermarket pipe I’ve heard makes much difference in the sound, just creates an angrier blender). I’m glad BMW went to a single turn signal switch as I never liked the three switches approach that they used to use and Harley still uses. (Raising this point is a great way to stir the pot with BMW traditionalists around a campfire.)
I have yet to carry a passenger on the RT. My daughter and wife have both kind of moved on from riding with me. That’s cool, we all have our passions and they’re both glad I get out and ride.
I’d definitely buy another liquid cooled BMW RT. Gladly, I don’t need to as my kid starts college next year.
