Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

1111 , 1 I hie ,"'dl CJWR: II reeJIy WOIb. There's a hug8 and noticNbIe dlfI8l'l11lC8 from the fUI.lIp and I1e fukIown positions. At the simple PI'8SS d .,. 1hUmb, you C8I'l ~ c:tl8nge the ehcl8 01 wind 1lIast. In .,. lo.-I position, you gel a lItNdy IIIIIIII of wind wtlIdl reduCes buIIeIing but . I a l.. wind noi8e. In the highest position, wind noiI8 Is reduced siglllllcMltt (and you C8I'l h8ar \he stereo much better) bUt helmet bUIIeIIng AIlUrnI, aa does a small - n 01 bIlck pnlS8Uf8. PemIps the . . pari 01 . . ~ w11ld111creen Is that IIIIlIr you get tIr8d 01 one oombillatlan J'OU can simply c:hange to the oIher, 8Ild lifter a whlle. . . . . ch8nge C8IlIle a gNatreUef. Plus,the wlIlCI8cleen lI8eIf 18 very dunIbIll. we had t o . off.,. "glass" lhree or tour .-- a day during our ~ 1llur and 8CIaA. are nonexls1enl There are lIllIo few curves In the windlJcree'IlIO there 18 very IitIIe d8tol1ion. (Above) A rocker switch on the left handgl1p controls the widely ad/USfable w1ndacreen. Vents (below handlebars) duct warm aIr from the 011 cooler to the I1der', handa. Airflow Is controlled by a somewhat _kward nap valve. s.tlI: BMW _ has four I'IlOCIefa 1Ilat offer iidjusIIIbIw-h 11IbI-- and _ . . operate ....ently. The RT'a1s pethape the almplest to acIjuIt. M)lOU need Is. by tICI pop off b08l the pa..anger and driver's HIlt lIIId II8t tile 0l'0IIIlaf 1hat the ,.... • to the dIIaiNd MIght. ~ the driver's HIlt Is .......... The Ret Is comfortlllltl•. Ir, 111m and MIte and can be sat on for hounI at • time. OUr teat paaalll98' had no _ pIaIata wtIl.IO_. She fell right at home on Ole AT and said II wae the moaI ClOm!ort. able bb the had _ r been on • e~ for a Honda 00Id Wing Aspancade. . . . . . . . _ • lillie _ aftIIl' the 8OG-plua-mlle day, but. _ otherwIee quite happy with the AT. Two .... bags . . bungled on to tfw rear raok gave har _ back aupport, thouQIl. BMW wIII offer a re.r top caee with an Inner bag • apecI8I aquIpmant, as well • • tankbag, ......-: EIIc::lIaI ~ that Is. liICllone, 1M two. ~ ~ flIugs _ 8IBndaId on . . AT· _ tor III drlV8r and one for the palingat'. lhaR . . . ca"I be used to Pl'"l' many **bII 8C C C_ . audI aa haatad rldlng suiIa, an irJIllI-.I or I'IIdar deliIctor. unteered to be a "test passenger," flew up to Kalispell, Montana, and we would spend the next five days riding back to our home near Los Angeles, California. We weren't in a big hurry, so we took the scenic route by cutting west across Idaho and Oregon until we hit the Pacific Ocean in Northern California. From there, we followed the coastline to Los Angeles. When all was said and done, we had racked up 1973 miles on the RT, the shortest day being 190 miles and the longest, 633. This did not include the warmup 407 miles I par- ticipated in during the introductory ride around Kalispell and Glacier National Park with BMW the day before Theresa arrived. My first ride on the RT revealed no real surprises, at least when it came to the motor. As expected, it felt just like the RS, and similar to the GS and Roadster. The RT pulls well off the bottom, but the real excitement starts at the middl~ of the powerband where a noticeable surge of power makes its presence known. It hangs around for a while, too. The power keeps building and building as the motor revs out, quite nicely for a big twin. Sure, there might !?e other big-bore touring bikes out there that make more power, but not the kind of power of' the RT and the Boxer motor makes. Passing is no problem on the RT, but loaded down with baggage and a aI cr J I: The lrIIln.8lIent panel 18 wei laid out. eeay to daciphal and provides all \he Il8C I II Illy WonnaIIon. Pemaplthe naaIaat readout 18 the 1Iquid-cryslal dIIlplay that k IdIcates olll8mpera' lure. fuel ........ lInIllI and the gear currently engaged. The dIgIIlII clock, however, reede In mIN· tary time. I ~, care tor the count8rc1ockwlse-lum1 resallvlob for the lone trlpmeIer. It was . . . dlIlIcuIt to tum. Two bipmaters would've been nice. of mind: A tIre-repaIr kit cornea standard. Thers comtortIng to know on thoee long, bIlmln and amply lltrelChe8 01 highways between Nowhel1l8Yilla and No-stllVlcetown. The huge, 6.7-ga11on gaa lank Is nice, too. Basically, you rarely have to worry about rumlng out 01 gaa with lis 30ll-mila range. The reserve light would usually start to glow around 280 ~ mIIas. A neat feature of the fairing is two ducts that channel warm air onto the rider's hands. The oil-cooler is mounted in the fairing just underneath the head· light, and the warm air coming off the oil cooler blows onto the rider's fingers. Each duct has a flap valve, which when closed simply redirects the hot air to other exhaust vents away from the rider. Loc'\ted on the left side of the fairing is what looks like a lockable compartment where you might store small items, but instead it's where the AM-PM cassette stereo is housed. It's the same stereo unit used in the KllOOLT, and the speakers are located inside the fairing next .to the mirrors. The stereo can be operated by a remote mounted to the left handlebar. Unforntunately, the remote wasn't ready for our early-release test bike, but BMW assured us that the remotes will be ready in time for production. The RllOORT should be hitting the showroom floor by September 19. The cockpit provides all the usual information, including a nice, all-in-on~, liquid-crystal o!l-temperature, fuel-level, time and gear-indicator display. Like the other R1100 models, the subdivided seat is adjustable to three different height levels: 30.7, 31.5, or 32.3 inches. The p'assengeI's seat is nonadjustable. Also, therl~ are two different seat covers. The driver's seat has a rougher surface than the passenger's seat, which has a finer grain to bette.r match the surface of the side covers and saddlebags. ON THE ROAD BMW introduced the new RllOORT to the motorcycling press near Glacier National Park in Whitefish, Montana, located approximately 20 miles south of the Canadian border. This gave us an excellent opportunity to experience exactly what the RT was designed to do - tour. Following BMW's presentation, my wife Theresa, who graciously vol· saddlabega: I never thought much • good or'bad • 01 the BMWs 8addIebaga before our cross-country ride. They have always seemed to get the job done lor -vdBY use or week· end cruises, but tr)/ing to live out 01 them for five days straight made me realize BMW needs a new saddlebag system. I got really tired having to use a key every time I wanIIId to open one. plus I don't know how many limes I walked out to the bike only to reaIlze I had left the kay In my hotel room. I would Ilka to be able to leave them unlocked at tlmM, such as when pacldng in the momlng or unpacking In lhe evening In a hotel paI1dng lot. The bags are also deceMng. They look rather bulbous and you'd nalUrelly expect them to hold a lot oIlIIUIf, but they r8lIIly don't. My size 7·114 Aral helmet fit Inside but it was a tight squeeze. My two-piace IouI-WMth· er riding gear barely fit into one bag. I also don't care lor the. way they open and close. You have to fUl each skle oIlhe bag then cIo8e them togeIher, and it always _ aa though you're trying to close the bag Ilke you wOuld an overatuffed sullcHe. And. aRe half the bag opens outward, lhe contentII fall to the bottom 88 you cIoee the 8kIe lid lIhut, and. without fall. somlilhIng would wedge lIIIaIf ~ the two halYe8. ~ them flom cIo8Ing aI they . way. The elaalic strIIps Inei:te the bags help keep the conlIInta In place but ~'t soIYa the .problem. After • while, I got eo tIrad 01 hasIIng with the 18dd1ebags, that I .-waRy 8tDred almost everything in our tote bags we bunglad to the raw rack. I do like how the saddlabage ca"I be carriad with you to your hoeeI room, but I ~'t do that one time during our trip, evan though they go on 8Ild df the bb _ M8IIy than the olher RS1100a. IIIalIead. whatlIYar we llapt In the aMdIebagIwas 8tDred In a 80ft helmet bag 8Ild canted badl ... foIlh In hit. rd like to _ saddIetiaQI on . . BMW that open from the top - ... dwa GelId WIng • and have Iocfelt(un6c ckabIe IIde. id.., Sldllll td: It'I a p8ln to _. The puIh lib. used ID . . . . . . eU11I tocallId jaat In tI:lnt d ..... tooIpag and shift II tudaIlI it 100 doaafr • .,. "I"ilI& conICfoue aftort ID ". acIIorIli aIIIo . . and J'DUI' toat off. AIso,"''''IIe ID. pIlICIIlouIIy dagreewtlan 011 .... ~ 0llIJlI*_n11n . . fUlng, 1ItUctl pamNlflt the _ _ II _ded In, IDqulc:tdr . . . . . . . . 81t1c1e1.llIdI 1It, flIIlIadmap, _ . I.aDIlIng: A "-The AT In tlIlIt _ _i.E aRc calor na red ,., The wonJ tIM I1ClIbIngto do Y'U IGlllIII:fbI--. ...., cllid COllI~ a .... _ _ gaeen. slenIt EuropCl", baa ... 25

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