Test rode 2014 RT - nice, but.....

[BanjoBoy]

Lot's of great info here guys, thanks for all the responses. I'm trying to find a dealer close by today who has a FJR in stock for a demo ride - they've been hard to find though. Inside I'm really being pulled toward the FJR vs RT. It's a great bike, a great looking bike and with the money saved from the RT, I can really add some accessories. The RT would have me shuttering over the fact of having to buy accessories after dropping 23K.
BTW, I was in the bank the other day and saw a motorcycle at the stop light across the street. Making a left turn in front of the bank was a 14'FJR. It was beautiful. Visually, I really like the look of the two exhaust pipes vs one.

Omen?

Letz hope so!

Both great bikez butt

1.) Bring Mor Wallet is morally bankrupt as a company. Ever since they went to them single sided swing arms back in the '90s they known 'bout the problems with 'em, (FDs, splines, 'n u-joints) butt never acknowledged it. An FD failure on a freeway or sweeper can spoil yer day or kill you.

When peeps complained 'bout the heat issues (And whatever else?) w/ the gen I FJRs the Japanese say; "sorry, so sorry we fix." and proceed to fix the little thangs their customers complain 'bout. Buy Mor Warranty 'n Harley just laugh at yer ass fer buy'in their over priced crap. Finally in 2014 they've gone to water cooling 'n a proper wet clutch! (Welcome to 1970!

) Who wants to support a company like that?

2.) If money's a concern at all, the FJR is a much better value hands down. Here in the golden (Shower) state, when the price of yer material possessions go up, the cost goes up exponentially. Higher price bike means yer pay'in mor insurance 'n taxes ta da pig gubment.

3.) power Obviously the FJR

4.) Reliability well, we know who wins buy a mile here.

5.) Poseur appeal duz go to the RT though. When I had a Bring Mor Whiners, ever fook'in know noth'in idiot off the street would come and tell me how great mah bike is. Then I'd tell 'em wut a slow, fragile, ill handling, high maintenance, unreliable over priced pos it wuz just ta see the expression on their faces!

If ya like ride'in get the FJR, you'll thank us later.

 

[Chiefblueman]

FWIW, I never said the FJR did not have enough cornering clearance. I simply said the RT has more clearance.
The RT is a great bike and there are so many little features that impress me, it is hard to list.

Yes, there are negatives. My friend had to install the bar mounted mirrors because the fairing mounted ones are useless. The weird front end set-up does reduce front end feel. It cannot come close to the FJR in acceleration and it requires lots of downshifting.

All that said, if you like the RT you should buy one. There is nothing wrong with liking the RT. I happen to like the FJR better.

Sorry for the misquote. My point was, compared to stock GenI - II springing, the RT has more clearance, I agree. I could drag stuff leaving my driveway on my '05 before I modded the suspension. After proper springing, I find the difference negligible. Sounds like this issue has been handled with the '14's.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Some who have tested the RT in prior years are not comparing the same bike/engine. I think this is where some of the discrepancies are occurring. The new water cooled engine has a totally new feel w power and smoothness.

What Banjo said above is true (here on this site), defiantly not so on the other site. RT owners are dedicated and most won't budge within their beliefs. The new water cooled boxer has a new breed venturing into their world, they now are getting serious looks from other "outside" wanderers.

All in all, it's close. You would have to re-ride and weigh your options (and measure that smile you came back to the dealer with after your ride). Dollar for dollar, I would probably take the Red Apple '14 ES, but, no other FJR model nor year.

 

[beemerdons]

These new RTs are awfully well done. Worth considering, for sure.

Yeah Mick, but for picking up "chicks" at the Chandler Senior Center you just can't beat cruising in on a BMW K1600GT. Those Gals are really HAWT and HORNY after the Bingo session! jes' sayin' and nuff said!

 

[Sno Cat]

With regard to the original post: An air cooled twin with the inevitable blue pipes is about as modern as the 'other' twin cyl from Milwaukee. And better yet, when you ride an FJR, you don't have to speak w/that phony lockjaw Haahv'd accent like John Kerry or Al Gore.

Pu-leez. If that's your level of knowledge of the BMW boxer twin, you're painfully uninformed.

Creg, don't get your boxers in a knot (no pun intended), it was a joke. I've driven the RT. Nice but not nice enough for my garage. Now the 1600GT on the other hand, that's a nice ride.

 

[fjrzrcool]

One last question about the FJR......can you folks relate experience with windshield(s)? My research seems to find answers that are all over the place. With the new 14' FJR or Gen III model, for those that own, what is your experience - recommendations? Isn't the new fairing a bit different than Gen II's?

I know it's probably not as full coverage as the RT and some have said you can fix with the touring shield or others. Is there a way to get pretty full coverage? No shoulder buffeting. Rain protection. 70-80mph with some sort of "cone of silence"? Etc, etc..

thx.

 

[ionbeam]

One last question about the FJR......can you folks relate experience with windshield(s)? My research seems to find answers that are all over the place...some have said you can fix with the touring shield or others. Is there a way to get pretty full coverage? No shoulder buffeting. Rain protection. 70-80mph with some sort of "cone of silence"?...

The 'right' windscreen is totally a personal preference, nobody can tell you the one right solution. There are a 100 (wild guess) different windshield solutions because there are 100 types of individuals, each with their own interpretation of 'best'. If you want protection, a cone of silence and no buffeting you are probably looking at the Barn Door class of windshields which many people like with a top edge flip, and some using a 'tuning block' at the bottom to change the angle of the windshield. Unless you can ride a bike with one of these windshields you are buying blind, even after reading testimonials and manufacturer's specifications. There is a fair chance that you will try a windshield, put it up for sale here and try another. That's life.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

One last question about the FJR......can you folks relate experience with windshield(s)? My research seems to find answers that are all over the place. With the new 14' FJR or Gen III model, for those that own, what is your experience - recommendations? Isn't the new fairing a bit different than Gen II's?
I know it's probably not as full coverage as the RT and some have said you can fix with the touring shield or others. Is there a way to get pretty full coverage? No shoulder buffeting. Rain protection. 70-80mph with some sort of "cone of silence"? Etc, etc..

thx.

The winshield was a large determining factor of my moving from the FJR to the RT. I had four windshields on my FJR at one point or another. I could never get a pocket of quiet air. I am 5'9", 32" inseam and had 1" bar risers/backs installed riding on a Russell seat.

The boon of great protection on the RT is also a bane when it is 90+ degrees with 90+ % humidity here in Virginia.

 

[Aasland]

My experiences on the Gen2 involved buying a whole pile of them and cutting down a stocker until finding the best compromise was a tuning block, combined with either a CalSci shorty (summer) or a VStream (spring/fall). I don't get very bad buffetting but there is still tons of noise, more than any other bike (faired or naked) I have since ridden. You may have to go through the same process to find the perfect shield(s) for you. Fortunately the market for used sheilds is pretty healthy.

 

[CA G-Man]

FWIW I ride with the Gen III stock shield and find it totally fine. Nice clean air from the shoulders up in hot weather with the screen full-down, and pretty much a warm, silent pocket when full-up in cold conditions. At 6'1" I get a bit of air skimming over the top of my helmet in the full-up position but it doesn't bother me (Schuberth C3 might be part of the equation though...).

 

[art miller]

You will note that chick on the BMW has her legs crossed. If she were on an FJR they would not be crossed. Keep this in mind when selecting a chick magnet!!!

 

[Top_Speed1]

You will note that chick on the BMW has her legs crossed. If she were on an FJR they would not be crossed. Keep this in mind when selecting a chick magnet!!!

YUUP! We like 'em classy!

 

[beemerdons]

You will note that chick on the BMW has her legs crossed. If she were on an FJR they would not be crossed. Keep this in mind when selecting a chick magnet!!!

YUUP! We like 'em classy!

Plus, we really like it when they talk dirty to us in German! Jawohl, Arnie!

 

[rfespinosa]

I had an '08 FJR for five years and put 32k miles on it. Great bike, I loved it, best bang for the buck. Perhaps best bang for any buck. I don't have a single negative comment about it, I had zero mechanical problems with it. I just had it for a long time and I was ready for something different.

My current ride is a 2014 BMW GS, not an RT for sure, but very similar except for bodywork. The engine and transmission work great, lots of power, pretty smooth motor, it has a completely different character than the FJR. You rode the RT so you can gauge these things for yourself. The RT now has liquid cooling and a wet clutch which removes several major seals from the old boxer's dry clutch. It also has a slipper clutch, which I like very much and the FJR does not have this.. The warranty is 3 years.

My only recommendation is to stop over analyzing this decision. Go test ride the FJR and give the test rides 90% of the weight in your decision. Go with your gut. Both of these bikes are great bikes, neither one has killer concerns, one is not better than the other one.

Test ride and pick one.

 

[kebo123]

Interesting discussion here. I did on my last FJR (07) 65.000 km and now I have FJR MY13. Beginning of February I was in Almeria on BMW test camp (actually it was really GREAT event https://www.bmw-motorrad-test-camp.de/ ). I tested many BMW bikes there but one of the reason for me to spend money and time there was new RT.

Let me share my experience:

RT is huge bike for first look. When parked next to K1600, RT looks almost the same big. Test bike was fully equiped and I like a lot colored display, control on handlebar, radio, ESA, build in NAVI, heated grips and seats, cruise control, Traction control... Last year I rented K1600GT for 5 days in Alps - on this RT I found all features what I liked on K at that time. In addition there is on RT a new feature - quickshifter - this is really nice to have a clutch but have an opportunity to switch the gear under full power without using it.

Ergonomy is very good and I feel better on RT than on K because handlebars are not so long and so far from fairing and of course weight is tottally different.

Also ride by wire is much better on RT (may be they corrected something on K1600 now but on the bike what I tested last year I needed half an hour to learn how to operate throttle smoothly...

RT windscreen works very well, no turbulence or strange noise. I like also sound of engine. Sound of radio you can hear well up to speed of 70 km/h. I think in very hot weather and slow ride it will be too hot on the bike. There are no side air flaps on RT (as they are on K). But on February it was not a problem at all. Bike had Metzeler Z8 on it and they works well. I did not recognize any instability or loos of grip. Engine has vibrations on idle and you can feel them also during riding but nothing disturbing. Torque is great and you feel huge power from 1000 - 8000 rev's. Top is not as nice as on 4 cylinder and also top spead is not very high. This is one of negative. On the other side consumption of the bike was extremely low.

Breaks are really great. I think the best what I ever experienced on touring bike.

I already mentioned that bike looks too huge. But when you start to ride this feeling is over. Handling - specially in curves - is better than on FJR. In low speed as well as in higher speed. Bike is cornering like charm. I spend half a day with by wife and half a day alone - I enjoy both. On curvy roads on 2-nd speed you did not need to change a gear at all. Just to focus on riding.

My wife (as passenger) likes more FJR because on RT she seated higher. She also "hit" my helmet very often during acceleration and braking - this is not happening so often on FJR.

Overall I was positively surprised by new RT. Engine has enough power, starting from low rev's and handling is very good. FJR is more expensive in Europe than in NA and price of FJR and RT (base) is the same here. But with BMW you pay for everything extra so the bike what I tested was approx 3.500 Euro more than stock price of new FJR AE.

So would I change my new FJR to new RT? Answer is NO. I like more 4 cylinder power from FJR (I tested also K1300S and I enjoyed that more than boxer). Handling and suspension is better on RT - that's a fact. Build in NAVI and Radio is nice to have too. But for me styling of FJR is far better. This is very important for me. I was considering also last year Triumph but I simply do not like it.

And because I had 0 technical issue on FJR so far I will not change it to BMW.

Last comment from this test - I LOVE RnineT - if you will have a chance to ride this bike do it. I had a lot of fun with this bike in Almeria roads. But of course not for longer touring...

Some pictures of us on RT:

 

[beemerdons]

An excellent writeup and photos kebo123, you definitely know your motorcycles! Thank You, Nice Work!

 

[Top_Speed1]

Very good review Kebo, thanks!

Yeah that RnineT is so new, my dealer still does not have one. I'm going up today for my init 600mi service, I'll be showroom shopping as the service gets done on my GT-Sport, so maybe a test ride will be in order while I wait.

 

[kebo123]

Yeah that RnineT is so new, my dealer still does not have one. I'm going up today for my init 600mi service, I'll be showroom shopping as the service gets done on my GT-Sport, so maybe a test ride will be in order while I wait.

When you will have a chance do the test ride.

 

[MCRIDER007]

I test rode a 14 RT this week and my impressions were a little different than Kebo's. I am not a boxer fan but was curious about the new wet head and really wanted to compare BMW's new semi-active electronic suspensions to other BMW and Ducati ES's I have ridden.

I have always liked the seating position on the 1200 RTs, its almost like they were custom made for me, and the 14 isn't any different. It seems very wide but once moving it doesn't seem that big at all. Its definitely lighter than an FJR and higher. Great for leaning around a sharp corner but I think it would get blown around quite a bit more than an FJR in a heavy crosswind. It seemed like a lighter version of the C14 in respect to ground clearance and lean angle.

The engine is easily the best boxer engine I have ever ridden, both in terms of power and smoothness. It doesn't have the low end grunt of the FJR nor the high end power rush but has very adequate power in the mid-range. Overall, I much prefer the FJR's engine over the RT but not enough to be a deal breaker unless everything else was equal.

The transmission was clunky. Not a big factor in a touring mode but I think it could be pretty annoying trying to ride at 8/10s on a twisty road that required a lot of gear shifts.

The semi-active ES was a huge disappointment. There are 4 preload (ride height) positions and 3 damping selections (Soft, Normal, Hard). The RT felt like an old buick with worn out shocks in the soft position and didn't even have a decent ride unless the road was very smooth. The hard position was very harsh on every road surface except very smooth roads and reminded me a worn out GEN1 shock in the hard position. Maybe it would work better at triple digit speeds but I couldn't test it on my route. The normal damping position was by far the best but it really wasn't very good, not nearly as good as my 13' FJR. I tried all three damping positions on different road surfaces and unless the road was very smooth the damping was not very good and not even close to Ducati's Skyhook ES. It also didn't seem to be any better than BMW's previous ESA systems and like the previous ESA systems it seems to only adjust the rear shock. If it was adjusting the front end I sure couldn't feel it. I have 5 bikes in my garage that I feel have better suspension than the RT I rode. I'm sure the BMW faithful and the magazine testers will rave about how good the suspension is because you can definitely feel it change when you change the damping but a back to back ride with a bike with good suspension on the same road will highlight the deficiencies.

I had a 2 hour time frame to ride the RT but after an hour I decided to quit the test because I was not having fun riding the bike and couldn't imagine ever buying one. Quite a contrast to the K1300GT that I really felt comforable on or the K1600GT that I absolutely loved and would probably own if we had a dealer within an hour of my house. I might mention that I liked the 13' FJR so much when I did a test ride that I bought the demo. I really wanted to like the RT but the only way I would ever buy one after that test ride is if it came without the ES and it still would not be as good as a FJR.

 

[Slardy]

One thing that I don't like about the BMW RT line is that you have to keep steering it. Not like the FJR that feels planted and on a rail. I believe it is the front fork rake/trail setup. While it may be more flickable, you have to constantly keep an eye on it or it will wander. To me this was tiring.

Another thing that I don't like about the 1200 GT is the boxer engines, they are twins, with big jugs. They don't pull until you hit ~3000 rpm, whereas the FJR pulls from 1500 rpm. Then on the other end, the boxer (I rode the 2012 model) is that the power band is so narrow: it quits at ~ 7500 rpm. The FJR pulls from 2500 to redline without a hiccup.

With regard to the weight of the FJR, the only time I notice the weight is when I put it up on the center stand. I am 73 years old, was 5-11 at one time