GS- RT, RT GS, GS RT......

[hondated]

Thanks everyone....

plenty of food for thought there I think. As I said I have some months to go before I get it but the one deciding factor for me will probably be what some one mentioned and I will put in my own words. What will set my heart racing each time I walk into the garage and having gone from a Blackbird to a Vara last time I know that to restore that feeling it will have to be.......a GSA.
Mind you that K1200/1300GT might be the way to go....

 

[Rod]

You should also bear in mind that it is almost definite that the GS & RT will be updated for 2010. There is almost certainty that the engine will be 1250 & most probably new look bikes (especially the GS range to compete with all the new bikes of this style that are coming).
Also, don't overlook the GS as opposed to the GSA which is much taller & heavier, but does look very butch....!
Another thought, unless you tour with a pillion, almost any sporty bike can tour. I have just returned from 2500 miles :Andermatt, Route des Grand Alpes, Route Napoleon, home, on a Ducati Monster 1100S. I've done this trip twice before on a GS and the Monster was just as easy. Sits at a steady 80 mph on the autoroute with no wind noise or turbulence, and was more fun in the mountains......OH DEAR, what did I just say !!!! BUT.....I went with my friend who used to have a 1200GS and loved it, after three years changed to a GSA & loved the image but hated the vibration, so changed it after 6 months for an RT & he loves that, and in the mountains he was very quick (he is a very experienced rider). For sure on the motorway it is like an armchair, it's a great bike and can do everything (last year one of the bike journo's had one out in the fast group at a track day ) but in my opinion a bit too far removed from the reason I ride a motorbike.....enjoy choosing.
One thing is for sure, this site is a major plus to GS/GSA ownership. Great info, help, ride reports....but I'm sure an RT rider can hang out here too!
If you are interested, here is a link to a short ride report about my trip on the Monster 1100S:http://www.ducatisti.co.uk/forum/touring/35454-touring-1100s.html

 

[KarlC]

You should also bear in mind that it is almost definite that the GS & RT will be updated for 2010.

Good point. Not sure about the 1250 though.....

 

[Rod]

Good point. Not sure about the 1250 though.....

WOW....if that's for real I want one...!!

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Personally I'd go for Conti Road Attacks on an RT

Wot he said

 

[Rod]

Dunlop Roadsmarts

 

[Steady Eddie]

Tyres

Wot he said

Contis are the best for the RT .

Steve

 

[Navy Boy]

Michelin Pilot Road 2s are rather good too.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

Personally I'd go for Conti Road Attacks on an RT

Absolutely agree. Make sure they are the stiffer sidewall version ("R" I think) - streets ahead of the ordinary version on the RT - a weight thing I imagine.

 

[moly]

ive had them all best road bike bar none 1200rt . you can cover distance at awsome average speeds while every bodys getting destroyed by the weather you can adj the screen and simplyget on with it if you ride a gs with some one handy on rt its all over. just look at what tyres you can get for rt!!!!

 

[moly]

tryres. pilot sports. pilot race, for proving a point .for atrip away conti attacks. still get the heads on the deck with them

 

[Andrew Dalton]

Don't get the sanitised RT. No feedback, you look like a copper, okay it munches miles on the motorway but so does a Mondeo. I have never felt so disassociated from a bike in all my life as the new RT. I got one as a courtesy bike, and I was proper put off. Is a bike an experience or a mile muncher? If the former get GS, if it is a matter of clocking up miles get an RT, which IMHO is a two wheeled compact executive car, a 2 wheeled 5 series, quick, effective, soulless and efficient.

 

[Alf Garnett]

Bought a1200 RT for my shortarsed Mate from germany (07reg)cheaper here now then in Krautland,he landed at Prestwick Airport we did Cumbria together on the bikes for a few days me on 1200gs he on his new 1200RT,then togehter back to germany (rhineland,Bavaria&Austria)After using both Bikes on the Trip,i defnetly prefer the GS more Fun allround and lots more Space to stretch my legs a must on long Trips,he loves his RT then again he is 10 inches shorter.......!!!!!!

 

[Alf Garnett]

Beverly before Hull(i think)& Klein Walsertal (Austria)

 

[moly]

my R T is far from sanitised full A. W .E.race exhaust, flowed heads,valves, blue printed and balanced, wheelies off the power, nurburg ring 9:05 pisses off jap bike power rangers the GS is agreat bike but when pushed hard it does move around alot and doesnt hold a line, my choice for real fast ride would still be the RT

 

[Flipfly]

To call an RT a 2 wheeled mondeo shows how much you know about Mondeos and RT's

I have a Mondeo ST diesel estate and it is quick, efficient, and very positive to drive. It has great feedback from the steering wheel and lets you know exactly where the grip is. It has 101k miles on it now and has been reliable and cheap to run.

The RT is very similar, gives good feedback and turns quicker than a GS. Yes it carries more weight, but the distribution of it is good and you rarely notice it. The engine is better tuned than the GS, for road work and it is as quick point to point if not a bit quicker.

What the RT does havve is an old man image, and unfortunately many are swayed by this before they even crank the motor.

Your opinion is your own and I applaud you for voicing it........you are however very wrong

 

[zoltan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEIpEPs7Tek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYt6qmqwvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in3_aJbpkA0

Boring,pipe and slippers.
Remember when Honda told Rossie that the bike won the races and not the rider.
In the end of the day is down to preference, after 4 RTs ( a 1150 and 3 1200RT'S) a short love affair with 1200GSA , I am back to the 1200RT.
Take the panniers off ,lose some lard and is the same weight as a GS.
O...and the new Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 INTERACT , are excellent.

 

[Andrew Dalton]

To call an RT a 2 wheeled mondeo shows how much you know about Mondeos and RT's

I have a Mondeo ST diesel estate and it is quick, efficient, and very positive to drive. It has great feedback from the steering wheel and lets you know exactly where the grip is. It has 101k miles on it now and has been reliable and cheap to run.

The RT is very similar, gives good feedback and turns quicker than a GS. Yes it carries more weight, but the distribution of it is good and you rarely notice it. The engine is better tuned than the GS, for road work and it is as quick point to point if not a bit quicker.

What the RT does havve is an old man image, and unfortunately many are swayed by this before they even crank the motor.

Your opinion is your own and I applaud you for voicing it........you are however very wrong

I think we are almost agreed then. The Mondeo is a fast effective mile muncher. So is the RT. That is why I compared it to the RT because Ford do make an effort to involve the driver. If I wanted total detachment I would say an E class Merc. (Apologies in advance to anyone who drives an E class. Lovely car)

Feedback is subjective. I found the RT (admittedly I have only ever ridden two over about a total of 500 miles, so I ain't no expert) really detached. It is an effective bike and I genuinely did think about getting one as I ride a lot, in all weathers for work. Then I rode one. I still think my comparison to a 5 series car stands. It is quick, efficient and unflustered. But is it soulless? Well, Ducati riders say our Gs's have no soul and give a detached ride. I disagree. But I think the RT does it job of cossetting the rider just too well. I have to say I hated it as a ride, but could understand why mile munchers loved it. I could also understand a rider who put comfort over involvement opting for one. I accept that those of you who really push an RT would probably have a huge grin, because there is nothing funnier to watch than a crotch rocket pilot totally failing to lose an"old man's bike" a trick that you can't really pull of on the GS because everyone knows they can hustle. Horses for courses. And having been behind a copper on an RT on a Bikesafe (who also happened to be a privateer racer) those big girls can move a bit. So there it is, totally subjective. I hated it, but then again I hate opera, but it doesn't mean opera is bad. I just don't get opera, I just don't get the RT.
As to old man image, who cares? The Jap crotch rocket boys think all of us are old men, and many of their bikes stay in the garage, using more polish than fuel. We may well be older riders, but at least we ride, and don't dress up as power rangers three times a year with massive chicken strips on our tyres and brake and wobble mid corner.

So there you go, my working bike of choice is the GS. If yours is the RT, good onya. We want much the same out of a bike. Maybe you are just more sophisticated in what you want out of a bike. I'm not sure either of us are wrong. We have a different perspective on what makes a bike work for us, and what ticks your peripheral boxes doesn't tick mine. The core however of a torquey bike that can go through anything and leave the rider without a back like quasimodo and wrists like - well - better go careful there - we agree on.

So ride what you like, but make sure you like it!

Andrew

 

[Andrew Dalton]

my R T is far from sanitised full A. W .E.race exhaust, flowed heads,valves, blue printed and balanced, wheelies off the power, nurburg ring 9:05 pisses off jap bike power rangers the GS is agreat bike but when pushed hard it does move around alot and doesnt hold a line, my choice for real fast ride would still be the RT

Aah yes, but you have desanitised your bike and made it a stealth fighter. I can get that. It is like the V6 Mondeos, Vectras and Galaxies. Look innocuous, go like stink. Tormenting sports bike riders by unflustered pace on an old man's bike seems like a most excellent way of whiling away time. Mind you it feels a bit odd defending the GS on a GS site.

 

[Andrew Dalton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEIpEPs7Tek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgYt6qmqwvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in3_aJbpkA0

Boring,pipe and slippers.
Remember when Honda told Rossie that the bike won the races and not the rider.
In the end of the day is down to preference, after 4 RTs ( a 1150 and 3 1200RT'S) a short love affair with 1200GSA , I am back to the 1200RT.
Take the panniers off ,lose some lard and is the same weight as a GS.
O...and the new Metzeler ROADTEC Z6 INTERACT , are excellent.

Point made. Those RT's move a bit, but in fairness I did know that they could. And the riders are quick. My fastest ever Sheffield to Leeds was on and RT, but I still find them detached.