rs or rt which one

[jackassdave]

i know its something only i can decide ,but cant make up my mind .
so ,the bike will only be used for pleasure, and the occasional foreign jaunt ,
maybe a bit of touring in the uk .
ive had a rt before ,both an 1100 ,and a 100rt ,the 100rt i quite liked ,the only things i dindnt like were ,the fairing did rattle and wobble a lot ,and side winds were a reall bugger ,oh and the seat was as hard as rock .
my resevation over an rs ,is the ridind position ,i brought a pan european for the jaunt to the int gs rally ,and hated it .i felt the riding position was all the weight on thewrist ,even at 90 +++ miles an hour it still hurt my wrist .so i sold it the minute i got back .
other than that i like the look of the rs ,dont know wether mono or twin shock though .......what do you reckon

 

[David Nimrod]

Whichever you decide (RS or RT) the twin shock is way nicer than the Mono, which to me simply feels cheap in comparison.

For the full experience get a heavy flywheel engine version (the ones with the metal, not plastic air-box) for great flexibility.

My preference is for the RT, the fairing don't have to rattle, and they do cover mileage fantastically well (never had an RS)...

And yes, the seats are hard!

 

[DrFarkoff]

I have a strange affection for the RS probably because if you feel you need to get it on you can

The RT is great with superb weather protection but that barn door up front takes some pushing thru the air and I am sorry to say that I never feel as sure footed on an RT Go figure that one out

The wiring on pre mono bikes is a nightmare more cables that battersea telephone exhange and they all meet in the headlamp

 

[Weekday Rider]

I wanted an RS.Went to buy one,took a short test ride and didn't like it.I then took a ride on a RT and fell in love with it. You need to ride them both before you decide.Good luck.

 

[jackassdave]

perfomance ,is not my top priority ,as i tend to cruise at 80 + ,your right ,the wiring is a nightmare,ive had a few before ,and getting the wires back in .
for me its the joy of riding a aircooled bmw ,no they dont make sense ,for £2500 you could buy a modern tourer ,that would actually do the job ten times better vfr for example brilliant super smooth engine etc .
but once youve been bitten buy the badge its hard to let go .
id really like a gs aircooled ,but cant afford it .

 

[David Nimrod]

id really like a gs aircooled ,but cant afford it .

OK, you could find yourself a basic R100... In a way that's the best of all worlds

But with this stupid fashion for Airhead based 'Cafe racers' and 'Bobbers' there's very few stock bikes around at reasonable money.

 

[Ogmios]

my resevation over an rs ,is the ridind position ,i brought a pan european for the jaunt to the int gs rally ,and hated it .i felt the riding position was all the weight on thewrist ,even at 90 +++ miles an hour it still hurt my wrist .so i sold it the minute i got back .

Based on the above and my experience with an RS faired 80/7;

get the RT.
My "RS" felt very constricted inside the fairing - 'Bars too narrow, too low and too much weight over the front.
I took off the fairing, added higher Touring 'Bars and loved the Bike after that.
The build quality was the best of ANY BMW i've had. The heavy flywheel effect meant a very pleasant ride - but the Bike often dictated the pace, not me!
You canNOT just ram open the throttle - it wont overcome that flywheel - but honestly; if i could only have one Beemer - i'd want that one back.

HTH.
~~
Og

EDIT:

id really like a gs aircooled ,but cant afford it .

... i sold my 1990 R100GS (eventually) for €2300

 

[David Nimrod]

Someone once said the riding position of an R100RS was like 'having your hands in a small bowl of washing up'...

Re. Ogmios comments - the build quality on my '79 RT is stunning, about as far from a 'modern' BMW as it's possible to get.

And the 'heavy flywheel effect' is wonderful, a whole different way of 'making progress'...

 

[jackassdave]

i know you did ,i looked at it ,but at the time was inbetween oilcooled bmws

 

[David Nimrod]

... i sold my 1990 R100GS (eventually) for €2300

Well, that's more than I paid for mine

 

[jackassdave]

i know the rt is the sensible choice ,and if truth be told the right choice for what i want ,but sometimes we donrt make the right choices .
and where did you find a gs aircooled cheaper than 2300euros ?

 

[Kenny]

Whichever you decide (RS or RT) the twin shock is way nicer than the Mono, which to me simply feels cheap in comparison.

For the full experience get a heavy flywheel engine version (the ones with the metal, not plastic air-box) for great flexibility.

My preference is for the RT, the fairing don't have to rattle, and they do cover mileage fantastically well (never had an RS)...

And yes, the seats are hard!

He's right BUT the mono is a better all round better handling bike

 

[jackassdave]

dont say that kenny ,i was just of on a twin shock thing,but the monos look good as well .
it will be a relaxed tourer ,as long as its got an aircooled engine ,im not to hung up on twin or mono, reliabilty,is first

 

[David Nimrod]

He's right BUT the mono is a better all round better handling bike

But to me they look shite... those side panels, that seat cowling, the front mudguard

They also seem a bit smaller all round, and simply more flimsy (which the twin shock's ain't!).

But like all these things... It's personal

 

[tuftywhite]

You might like to ready this. Linky

It convinced me to get my twin shock RT last weekend.

 

[David Nimrod]

You might like to ready this. Linky

It convinced me to get my twin shock RT last weekend.

Article by Neil Murray, that's a name from the past...

His conclusion:-


I’d forget the Monolever models straight away. Too wet, too slow, too thirsty.

The old heavy-flywheel bikes (the ones with the ATE brake calipers) have a huge charm and being an old-fashioned git, I’d try and hunt for one of these - but they’re scarce. On balance, an early-1980s model with the light flywheel and Brembo brakes is probably the best choice.

 

[Sylvester]

What about an R100CS? You get the best of both worlds. Espesh in the smoke red

 

[jackassdave]

that is another one to consider

 

[jackassdave]

what about this then

 

[jackassdave]

does it matter if a bike has not had the unleaded valve conversion ,if it does what does it cost ....(that ones for kenny)