My RT is in for its first service and they gave me a....

[ducatiparts.110mb]

1200GS yesterday. Which was pretty much how I expected it to be. A bit quicker than my RT which bodes well for when mine is well run in.

Anyway I went back to collect mine this afternoon but it wasn't ready. After plenty of apologies Dick Lovett Motorrad offered me their brand new (200 mile) K1600GT for 24 hours. Blimey its awesome. Just like an RT with an extra 50bhp, which I guess is exactly what it is. Much faster and although the scales say it weighs a good bit more I really couldn't tell when riding it.

I was planning to keep the RT for 3 years, but now I wouldn't be surprised if I'm changing bikes again sooner than that....

 

[ebbo]

power corrupts, so they say

 

[DC]

yes the GT 16 is a superb bike ..you defo notice the weight moving it around while you off it. or braking hard form a highish speed....the brakes dont feel as sharp as the RTS in my opinion , but that will be due to the extra weight its trying to haul up no doubt ....

incidentally can i ask how much the service charge was for the RT ? im due to take in after easter hols

 

[Smug]

Crafty move to give you the K1600GT as a loan bike. Good sales technique.

 

[Yonkyo]

Also had my RT's 1st service done at Lovetts yesterday after a good 700 mile in two days thrash-in.

Yes, the new 1600GT is good (Power) but i think the RT is a superior all rounder, with more than enough real world performance.
Sounds lovely too with DB killer removed from the Akra can.

 

[Deleted account 220427001]

k1600lt to bloody big !

 

[Deleted account Cooperman]

And your 1600 wasn't even run in

 

[ducatiparts.110mb]

how much the service charge was for the RT

£91 plus the VAT. I joined the local BMW Owners group a few weeks ago. £27 a year gets you 20% off parts, labour & accessories. Its a no brainer.

Good sales technique

Yes we joked about that when I took it back. I think they must get pretty good at spotting a gullible mug.

And your 1600 wasn't even run in

Hmmm. What will it feel like with even more horses??

k1600lt to bloody big

I was very keen to see what it was like but a bit apprehensive about the size / weight. Once I was riding it I honestly didn't notice it at all.
It flicked into corners very well indeed, and felt very accomplished. The only thing that did disappoint was that the throttle response wasn't as good as the RT. There was always a small lag after opening the throttle before the power came in even in Dynamic mode.

Riding home on my RT afterwards I was surprised that the RT was closer than I had expected to the 1600 performance below 80mph but no surprise that it was some way short of it above that. I guess thats fast enough, but more is always nice to have. The RT definitely has the nicer throttle response though and that feeling as you just start to crack the throttle open is very important to me.

Reflecting on it now I think I've probably got the better bike, but overall they're so close it would be difficult to separate them and I could be happy with either.

 

[Deleted account 260111001]

Similar thing happened to be last year, ended up with a nice shines 1600GTL for three days, I did say I was off to Norfolk for the weekend, and they didn't seem to mind (they had buggered up the scheduling on getting my RT in).

Absolutely loved the 1600, very very smooth and very nice to ride, but missed the height of the RT and still love the fun of the RT (relatively speaking as we all know the German sense of humour is somewhat less than us childish Brits)..

When my 2013 RT is two years old, I'll be back in line for another RT again, new one seems to be just even better than current one...