LT to RT?

[joevano]

I have an '02 LT and it appears that our long distance riding days may be over as my wife does not like long days in the saddle. Therefore, the LT may not be the bike I want to keep. I'm really not in a position to be able to afford the LT if the clutch issue, or rear drive issues come up for me. I do my own work but the parts can kill!

I had an RS for a while but that would not work for us as a two up bike for day trips.

Is the RT platform a good alternative, or does it have the same issues as the LT?

My alternative I guess is to look at the FJ or go back to Honda, my Goldwings held up real well!

[deilenberger]

Dunno what issues you're referring to. The LT does sometimes (but not always) eat the rear drive, but I haven't heard of clutch problems.

The RT (or any Hexhead) is a generation newer than the LT. The LT was based on a design from 1983.. I suspect you'd be happy with a hexhead. Lighter, handles better, faster, better brakes..

[mneblett]

I have an '02 LT and it appears that our long distance riding days may be over as my wife does not like long days in the saddle. Therefore, the LT may not be the bike I want to keep. I'm really not in a position to be able to afford the LT if the clutch issue, or rear drive issues come up for me. I do my own work but the parts can kill!

I had an RS for a while but that would not work for us as a two up bike for day trips.

Is the RT platform a good alternative, or does it have the same issues as the LT?

My alternative I guess is to look at the FJ or go back to Honda, my Goldwings held up real well!
Had 4 LT's; moved to an RT in May, so I'll pitch in my $0.02 --

The RT has the same basic clutch and slave cylinder arrangement as the LT. However, as many slave cylinder/clutch oiling failures as I saw on the LT site, I have to say I haven't seen nearly as many on the RT lists. Plus, the RT slave cylinder is much easier to get to if you do have a problem.

As a touring platform: like you, my needs changed -- no longer needed to pull the Bushtec trailer, and one-up most times now. I only miss a few things from the LT, but on balance the ~300 lb drop in weight and the loss of the horrid '05-up seat (even after having it rebuilt by a big-name vendor, it was still - literally - a pita!) more than compensate. The R12RT is, like the LT, a very good mile-eater, particularly since the R12 version picked up more of the LT features (the most important being the cruise control).

Don't get me wrong -- I still greatly like the LT, but for my needs today the RT is a better match (but I'll be the first to admit that I'm waiting to see the next LT, too).

Happy to respond to more specific Qs.

[deilenberger]

The RT has the same basic clutch and slave cylinder arrangement as the LT. However, as many slave cylinder/clutch oiling failures as I saw on the LT site, I have to say I haven't seen nearly as many on the RT lists. Plus, the RT slave cylinder is much easier to get to if you do have a problem.
The hexheads use mineral oil in the clutch circuit instead of brake fluid. I haven't heard of any of the mineral oil ones giving problems. Has anyone else?

[nplenzick]

Sold my 05 LT for a 07 RT this past spring. I really liked my LT and I had zero problems with it however it no longer suited my needs and I really got tired of the weight. Right now my RT is the perfect bike for me and it really fits my ridding style.

[TomfromMD]

We had a similar situation. After encountering 23 days of rain on a 30 day tour to the Canadian maritimes a few years back, we switched from a GoldWing to a BMW convertible for our touring. And as a retirement present to myself, I traded the Wing on an '06 RT in 2005.

The RT is great for extended solo tours and acceptable for 2 up day trips. It is much easier to maneuver, yields 50 mpg on average and feels more like a motorcycle than a two wheel car. If your wife will be accompanying you on day trips, I strongly recommend the 49 litre top box for both storage space and passenger comfort.

So far, I've only had one major issue on my RT - at 19k miles, the ESA became locked into the 2 up preload position requiring replacement of the rear shock and a software re-flash. It was handled under warranty with no problem.

Tom

[mneblett]

The hexheads use mineral oil in the clutch circuit instead of brake fluid. I haven't heard of any of the mineral oil ones giving problems. Has anyone else?
Not me, but my hexhead experience is limited.

When did BMW switch to mineral oil? 2005? The reason I ask is that most of the the oilhead and LT slave cylinder issues I'm aware of were on bikes with either a fair number of miles or were 3 or more years old -- in other words, in service long enough for water and/or crud in the hydraulics to work their way down and attack the slave cylinder.

I'm wondering whether an absence of hexhead slave cylinder issues is due to the fact that mineral oil is not hygroscopic, or there just hasn't been enough time for a notable failure rate trend to develop. Hopefully, it's the former -- it would be nice to finally have a true techincal fix for what has been a too-widespread problem (while we continue to wait for news on the various final drive issues!).

Mark

[Funride]

Get a new R1200RT.

This is my second one and I really like them. Especially if your riding solo most of the time.

My wife rides with me, once in a while, and I just put the big BMW top case on the back which she likes.

The new RT's are very nice. You still get some vibration, IT IS A TWIN. (I think the Boxer engine has character). The handling is great and they are easy to work on.

Not sure when they switched to mineral oil for the clutch. It surprised me when I went to check it on my new bike. BMW says you never have to change the stuff.

The new RT's do not have the big involved brake bleed process. You bleed the brakes like any other bike.