BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi Folks,

I'm considering trading in my '04 R for an '04 RS. Is anyone familiar with(has owned/riden) BOTH bikes? Can you give me a quick pro's and con's list based on your experiences.

Thanks, Keith

I considered both before I finally decided on the roadster. I originally liked and prefer the looks of the R (and still do). I test drove both, back to back and did notice a few considerable differences. I'll try to sum them up:

R1150R: Lots of low end grunt; seemed more fun
R1150RS: Made more sense as a commuting machine/fairing gave more protection from the elements, had lower pipe/full sized left bag, came with bag mounts, optional top case, higher power output, but at a higher RPM.

I think looking at it from a financial view, it would've made more sense to buy the RS, but deep down I liked the R better, and it had more low end power off the line.

Do you have a dealer near you? Go give one a ride!

Good luck!

Kieth,

My love of the R caused a mate to look at both the RS and the R. Both are fine tourers. I have other mates who are on the RS, and have ridden them a number of times. the RS is good in that it has a minimalist fairing setup. I don't like fairings, so for me the R is better with just a screen. My mate purchased the RS. Nice bike, goes well and all that stuff, but it just doesn't 'point' as well as the R. Not quite as 'flickable', but nimble just the same. In the tight hills, I'd take my R any day over the Rs. For lots of longer distance stuff, I think the RS might be better, but the riding position is not quite as upright. Consider that as well.

Mick.

Like John and Mick, I looked hard at both.

Overall, the RS is more integrated for commuting and light touring (as they said). I think the added weight offsets the added torque and HP.

The Roadster, however, is simply the best balanced bike front to rear and side to side ever produced by BMW. While it gets costly to add-on enough farkle, glitz, and bangles to make it a semi-tourer, at least you do it at your pace and to your liking.

Frankly, for the money, the RS was badly positioned in my opinion. Still, I wouldn't say a fellow was wrong to buy one.

The RS' fairing offers more protection from the elements and the bike has slightly more power. I like the styling of the RS, especially if it has the lower chin fairing. For some reason, U.S. spec BMWs don't include the fairing. It's available on European models.

The one RS I rode some years ago was an 1100. Nice bike, comfy riding position, I thought, but it had a weird attribute common to the early 1100 models - the handlebars were mounted in rubber, ostensibly to reduce vibration thru the bars. It worked, to a point, BUT, it also delivered a weird, bouncing vagueness to the bars. In a turn or just passing over road bumps you were never quite sure just what the front end was doing, the bars were kinda floating in your hands. Very weird. I understand that later models had this corrected somewhat. Don't know how the 1150RS's compare, but it's something to be aware of and watch for on a test ride.

As to power, the 1150RS has the 95 bph motor, same as the RT, that's 10 hp more (at the crank) than our R's. It should have a little more steam at full bore, WFO riding. But, our R has the more-torque (torqier? torqueier? sp?) GS engine - the torque is rated at jut a bit more than the RS/RT, BUT, full torque arrives several hundred RPM lower, so the R is gonna FEEL quicker down low, and while passing.

The R1150R has the aftermarket anti-gravity add-on .. have you seen UltraViolet?

Cheers

Meow

76

I, for one, find the RS' riding position the most comfortable out of any beemer i've sat on.

i just like 'em naked.