First Time BMW Owner

General discussion of the BMW R1200RT/R1250RT
Post Reply
DV817
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:34 pm

First Time BMW Owner

Post by DV817 »

Hello,
I recently sold my 835 pound 2018 Honda Gold Wing Touring in favor of the nimble 505 pound R1200RT, and I am new to the forum. If you live near the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, drop me a line some day. After the first week of owing the R1200RT, here's my initial wish list I will gradually start on...
  • Add the Nautilus compact air horn (safety)
  • Add the 28" tall Aeroflow windshield to suit my 6'4" height (Comfort)
  • Add 2" handlebar risers (Comfort)
  • Russell Day Long front and rear touring seat (Comfort)
  • Add the front and rear crash ilium bars and highway pegs (Safety)
  • Add the Shad SH59X rear trunk (Comfort & Convenience)
  • Add the Admore high output premium LED tail light (Safety)
  • Add pannier reflector sticker kit (Safety)
  • Add Cree 35w/3500 lumens driving lights (Safety)
  • Add breaklight flashers (Safety)
  • Add headlight modulator (Safety)
  • Add a cup holder to the handlebars (Convenience)
  • Add an electrical distribution CAN Bus (Convenience)
  • Add a handlebar RAM mount (Convenience)
  • Add SW Motech Evo tank bag (Convenience)
  • Acquire trunk and pannier bag liners (Convenience)
  • Add kickstand food pad enlarger (Safety/Convenience)
  • Acquire the service DVDs (Maintenance)
Did I miss anything important?

The only complaint I currently have about the R1200RT that I cannot address with an upgrade is the dark instrumentation/gauge display.

rokodude
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:03 pm

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by rokodude »

Also first time BMW owner,Been on Harleys since the 60`s.Only have 800 miles on the Beemer I like it.Its a 2015 1200RT,Only thing is the stock seat It sucks.First thing I will replace.
User avatar
davef1uk
Posts: 188
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:21 pm

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by davef1uk »

Welcome guys
Motorbiking is a life, not a hobby.  Ride with Pride.  😜
rangemaster728
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Been liked: 1 time

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by rangemaster728 »

DV817 wrote: Hello,
I recently sold my 835 pound 2018 Honda Gold Wing Touring in favor of the nimble 505 pound R1200RT, and I am new to the forum. If you live near the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, drop me a line some day. After the first week of owing the R1200RT, here's my initial wish list I will gradually start on...
  • Add the Nautilus compact air horn (safety)
  • Add the 28" tall Aeroflow windshield to suit my 6'4" height (Comfort)
  • Add 2" handlebar risers (Comfort)
  • Russell Day Long front and rear touring seat (Comfort)
  • Add the front and rear crash ilium bars and highway pegs (Safety)
  • Add the Shad SH59X rear trunk (Comfort & Convenience)
  • Add the Admore high output premium LED tail light (Safety)
  • Add pannier reflector sticker kit (Safety)
  • Add Cree 35w/3500 lumens driving lights (Safety)
  • Add breaklight flashers (Safety)
  • Add headlight modulator (Safety)
  • Add a cup holder to the handlebars (Convenience)
  • Add an electrical distribution CAN Bus (Convenience)
  • Add a handlebar RAM mount (Convenience)
  • Add SW Motech Evo tank bag (Convenience)
  • Acquire trunk and pannier bag liners (Convenience)
  • Add kickstand food pad enlarger (Safety/Convenience)
  • Acquire the service DVDs (Maintenance)
Did I miss anything important?

The only complaint I currently have about the R1200RT that I cannot address with an upgrade is the dark instrumentation/gauge display.
Just my .$.02 worth...
1. Look at Skene Designs for their P3 LED lighting systems for auxiliary brake lights and especially their front visibility systems...as a modulating headlight on an RT will usually throw error codes.
2. Another thing to look into is the Hex ezCAN...it can control an air horn, aux modulating brake lights and can flash your driving lights on a horn blast and/or flash-to-pass.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
bandytales
Posts: 554
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:54 am

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by bandytales »

DV817 wrote: Did I miss anything important?
Don't bother with the Aeroflow windscreen, get the Works Quiet Ride screen. Highly recommended.
An aftermarket seat would be way up there on my list. Doesn't really matter if it is a Sargent, Corbin, RDL or whatever, but they are all way better than the stock item.
PS, I have never heard, ever, of anyone complaining of a dim instrument display. I can't fault it.
Last edited by bandytales on Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
rangemaster728
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 01, 2015 3:04 pm
Been liked: 1 time

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by rangemaster728 »

Just a thought regarding the display.

I had a friend with a hexhead that complained he couldn’t see the screen when he went out and rode... I looked at his bike and it appeared just fine.

Then I noticed he was wearing sunglasses so I said “loan me your sunglasses for a second”...

Don’t know where he got those sunglasses, but the polarization on those lenses pretty much made the screen unviewable. A different set of sunglasses solved this problem.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
User avatar
Littlebriar
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 11:10 pm
Been liked: 1 time

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by Littlebriar »

DV817 wrote: The only complaint I currently have about the R1200RT that I cannot address with an upgrade is the dark instrumentation/gauge display.
The instrument panel tilt can be adjusted. If it's an issue with polarized sunglasses changing the angle might solve your problem. If I tilt my head just right while wearing my glasses, the screen gets very dark.
Steve
bandytales
Posts: 554
Joined: Fri Nov 03, 2017 10:54 am

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by bandytales »

Littlebriar wrote: If it's an issue with polarized sunglasses changing the angle might solve your problem.

But, there is the issue. for driving and operating machinery, polarised glasses are just plain dangerous. Some things become invisible (or certainly less clear)!
Dee Dub
Posts: 43
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:26 pm

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by Dee Dub »

Personally I wouldn't rush to make those changes. I have made extensive changes to various bikes over the years, but so far my RT has remained absolutely stock. This is because I haven't identified any major shortcomings (yet)!
DW
User avatar
Sprintgull
Posts: 493
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:41 pm

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by Sprintgull »

Yep the RT is a great bike.  Not really a fan of chucking every gizmo and farkle I can find at the bike though, I bought the bike because it does what I want.  Here's my short list of what has been added:
Werks quiet ride screen (excellent)
Front fender extender
Headlight protector
Louder horn (Steibel - the small one because you may find the larger compressor type from Stiebel and Denali foul the brake hose.  Mine did, but clearly it is not a universal issue)
Big foot on the side stand
Clear film protector on the tank and panniers
Wunderlich cockpit bag.
Satnav lock that works off the central locking

Just added these piece by piece as I felt they were necessary.

Just enjoy!!!
User avatar
bushbikie
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2015 4:22 am

Re: First Time BMW Owner

Post by bushbikie »

+1 for the FenderExtender and the Sidestand Foot Enlarger. I'd also suggest using loctite on the foot enlarged screws.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

2016 San Marino Blue
Post Reply