GS-LC V/S RT-LC

[batman1]

Hi Guys, just popped in from the GS-LC camp (forum).

I wonder how many RT-LC riders were offered a GS-LC while they had to wait for their RT suspension to be sorted out, and if yes how you would compare the two bikes.

A comment from anyone who has ridden both bikes long enough to form an opinion would be good.

I'm currently riding a GS-LC fitted with the light crank motor which I really like, but I am feeling tempted towards the lovely looking RT-LC. If I have a gripe with my GS, it's only with the ride, which tends to be slightly harsh on poor (repaired) road surfaces when riding one-up. I would imagine that the RT has a more 'plush' ride...your comments please ladies and gentlemen!

It is my intention to organise a test ride very soon to form my own opinion, but it would be great to hear about what you guys think.

 

[DC]

Holy Mackeral Batman …..welcome to the forum

I was given a 2014 GS for perusal for when my RT was getting sorted. The RT i collected on March 12th and did 3700 miles on it before it was taken back for the recall.

The RT was great , Brilliant weather protection, nice smooth motor. lots of toys on it to play with .ESA ,Audio System etc. It was heavy to manoeuvre while putting away in the Garage.

The GS was incredible. I took it round the back roads of the York dales chasing an R6.he could not get away . wind protection form the smaller screen was no were near as good as the RT , but i didn't expect it to be. it felt so light compared to the Lardy RT.

I liked the GS that much that i then rode the GSA…this was even better for me and for what i was doing with it .It was the perfect combination of the GS and the RT. I liked it that much that i rejected the RT, Got all my cash back and more and bought the GSA…

If you read through the forum you will come across horror stories about the GS /GSA, gearbox probs , with probs , etc etc .Todate after doing 4000 miles on the GS and 1800 so far on the GSA i have no issues at all

the bike of your choice should be decided on what you intend to do on it ..if your doing a couple of euro tours for example ,,the GS will handle that but the RT will handle it better. If your just using as a Sunday toy to escape work/home the RT will do that but the GS will do it better.

Hope that helps and dont confuse your purchase to much

Robin !

 

[batman1]

Thanks Robin,

That sums both bikes up really well, and so now you ride the GSA, wow!

I'm not sure if I have the leg length for the Adventure, although I think that they do make a lowered version. Did you notice any difference in the engine characteristics between the lighter crank GS and the heavier crank GSA.
This is my second GS-LC, I changed the first bike after a year, both bikes have had great gearboxes with no issues at all. The first bike was a more comfortable bike than the second bike.
How would you compare the handling if say you had to jump on any one of the 3 bikes to escape a mass murderer who was chasing you through 50 miles of fast twisties, for the race for your life!!

Which bike would you choose?

 

[TonyBBMW]

I had the GS on loan for 1.5K, I found it to be a pain in the arse for a Motorway ride, so much so that I asked the deal to give me an old RT whilst I was waiting for my LC.

With regard to it being lighter, at first I'd agree...until I got back on a RT LC, I then realised I wasn't riding my LC hard enough. You're sat on a GS, and sat in an RT, for me this contributes to the angle of attack in bends, this makes you feel like your going faster. Add to this the wind rushing by you from the inadequate screen, and you'll feel like a dog with it's head out of the window....fine if you like that kind of thing, but even Fido gets brain freeze.

I must agree with Robin, it all depends what you need the bike for. The only thing I'd need for a 600 mile trip now is a gel seat and money for 1 fuel stop.

 

[DC]

Thanks Robin,


How would you compare the handling if say you had to jump on any one of the 3 bikes to escape a mass murderer who was chasing you through 50 miles of fast twisties, for the race for your life!!

Which bike would you choose?

Well ,if a mass murderer was chasing me on his bike and i had to use one of the three mentioned id take the GS ….its lighter and more flickable and would pull up its weight quicker .....
but if the Murderer was a only a short distance behind id like to have been on the GSA,,so when he runs out of fuel ,,,i keep going like a duracell bunny !

yes i did notice the difference with the heavier crank between the two … the GSA is better for it ..but i know the 2015 model has this flywheel in it now …

like i say it depends what you want from the bike…..initially i wanted the RT for euro trips ,,i did these on a 2013 one that they loaned me the day the RT LC was recalled….my friend went on his GS LC loan bike and was just as comfortable as me , had no prob with luggage and had a great time in the twisties, were as i was knackered after a couple of days from throwing around lots of weight …but the down side was when it rained i was fine and comfy he was wet and miserable ..both have pros and cons

if you have had 2 GS LC and you want to change try the GSA or RT

 

[batman1]

Thanks Robin, I'll try the RT later in the week for a blast around Gotham!
Batman!

 

[Yonkyo]

Batman

I also had a 2014 GSlc to play with for 2 months while my RT was being sorted.
And I was glad to give it back.

If you want the best (arguably) sports tourer available now, with the most hitec toys.
Buy a fully speced RTLE. It's a truly brilliant bike.

However, if you want a bike thats and bit more basic and rugged, which you can do a bit of off roading on. Then the GSlc might suit you.

But only you can decide what you want. So take both bikes for a long test ride first.

 

[batman1]

Thank Yonko, I'm actually on my second GS-LC, love the bike..... but that new RT-LC does looks bloody good!

I'll get a test ride organised soon, my mate has just bought the only demo RT from my local dealer, so I'm waiting for them to sort out another bike.

I wonder why you were pleased to hand your GS-LC back?

Does the RT feel a heavier bike?

 

[ianboydsnr]

So is Dave Robin, or is Robin Dave?

 

[Yonkyo]

Thank Yonko, I'm actually on my second GS-LC, love the bike..... but that new RT-LC does looks bloody good!

I'll get a test ride organised soon, my mate has just bought the only demo RT from my local dealer, so I'm waiting for them to sort out another bike.

I wonder why you were pleased to hand your GS-LC back?

Does the RT feel a heavier bike?

I had the GS LC from new and did over 1600miles on it, but i just didn't bond with it.
Lots of reasons, the main ones being; It had a horrible gearbox, the engine and tyres (Anakee 3's) were very noisy, there was a lot of vibration through the grips and it felt a bit flighty at high speeds....etc etc...

The GS was a bit lighter to push around my driveway, but i dont have a problem pushing my RT around either.

I've owned every generation of the GS and GSA (my favourite being the 2013 GSA TC Anniversary special), but i'm just not a fan of the new LC versions.

The new RT just gives me almost everything i need from a sporty touring bike.

 

[Wreford Miles]

I had a loan RT LC when my 1200 ADV TC 90year was in for a service

What an amazing bike, very quick, very smooth and it felt tiny compared to the GSA and if I needed a tool to do big miles and have fun along the way it would be perfect but when I got back on the 1200 ( and on is deffinatley the right term) it reminded me that owning the right bike for me is more than just how effective it is as a bike...

 

[DC]

So is Dave Robin, or is Robin Dave?

Daves Dave !

 

[batman1]

I had a loan RT LC when my 1200 ADV TC 90year was in for a service

What an amazing bike, very quick, very smooth and it felt tiny compared to the GSA and if I needed a tool to do big miles and have fun along the way it would be perfect but when I got back on the 1200 ( and on is deffinatley the right term) it reminded me that owning the right bike for me is more than just how effective it is as a bike...

So you kept the ADV...correct!

 

[Wreford Miles]

So you kept the ADV...correct!

Yes... And mine is the twin cam (not LC)

But do note, the RT LC was only a loan bike during a service I was not testing it as an alternative. Having it as a loan just gave me some insight to a great bike (the RT) but it also reminded me that there is something quite special about a big GS and it's not all about effectiveness as a tool.

 

[ianboydsnr]

Daves Dave !

if Dave's Dave, does that mean Robin's Robin?

thanks for clearing that up!

 

[batman1]

Had a test ride on a brand new RT-LC today, 2 miles on the clock when I picked it up....130 miles on the clock when I took it back later this afternoon.

Brilliant bike, much better than I would have expected, I was amazed at how much smoother and quieter it was than my GS-LC, great steering, turned in just a tad quicker than the GS, it tracked very well, a really very swift very impressive ground covering machine. Very comfortable seat and riding position, and it felt so light and relatively small compared to the GS. Very nimble and flickable too, able to change direction quickly, and bags of power. A credit to BMW this is a very good bike indeed.

Only one downside, the screen... riding with the screen down was quite a bit noisier than my GS in fact when I phoned my partner from the bike she could hear the wind noise during the call, when I ring from my GS she doesn't even know if I'm on the bike or not, its fixable by raising the screen then its very quiet, but I found that riding with the screen up sent a cold draft around the back of my neck.

I'll try it two-up next time which will probably change the aerodynamics.

A truly great bike!

 

[batman1]

Had a test ride on a brand new RT-LC today, 2 miles on the clock when I picked it up....130 miles on the clock when I took it back later this afternoon.

Brilliant bike, much better than I would have expected, I was amazed at how much smoother and quieter it was than my GS-LC, great steering, turned in just a tad quicker than the GS, it tracked very well, a really very swift very impressive ground covering machine. Very comfortable seat and riding position, and it felt so light and relatively small compared to the GS. Very nimble and flickable too, able to change direction quickly, and bags of power. A credit to BMW this is a very good bike indeed.

Only one downside, the screen... riding with the screen down was quite a bit noisier than my GS in fact when I phoned my partner from the bike she could hear the wind noise during the call, when I ring from my GS she doesn't even know if I'm on the bike or not, it's easily fixable by raising the screen then it is very quiet, but I found that riding with the screen up sent a cold draft around the back of my neck.

I'll try it two-up next time which will probably change the aerodynamics.

A truly great bike!

 

[Yonkyo]

so good you posted twice.....

BTW the Wunderlich touring screen fixes the wind protection issues.

 

[batman1]

Apologies for the repeat post, but if what you say about the Wunderlich screen is correct that's brilliant news, because for me the effects from the standard screen could be a dealer breaker when compared to my GS-LC.

Have other riders had the same issues with the screen that I have mentioned on this otherwise perfect bike, and have they found that the Wunderlich screen sorts the issue?

 

[Yonkyo]

Apologies for the repeat post, but if what you say about the Wunderlich screen is correct that's brilliant news, because for me the effects from the standard screen could be a dealer breaker when compared to my GS-LC.

Have other riders had the same issues with the screen that I have mentioned on this otherwise perfect bike, and have they found that the Wunderlich screen sorts the issue?

I think that s few bods have had issues with the oem screen, but nothing major. And i might be the only one on here with the Wunderlich screen though.

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