New BMWMOA &BMW Owner saying hi!

[JoyceLuvs2Ride]

Hello,

I'm Joyce, the proud new owner of a bouncing baby R1200RT that I call "Bullet." Picked up my 09 RT on Friday night; it had 3.5 miles and now has 345! "Bullet" is my 3rd bike and my 1st BMW.

Others =
2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 (no name; sold in 2005)

2006 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail = "Beauregard"

2009 BMW R1200RT = "Bullet"

[SIBUD]

Let me be the first to welcome you to the family.

Great intro post with a pic. Would love to hear the story of why you chose a Beemer.

Lots of good folks here who can answer any of your questions, give you advice on where to ride, how to maintain your bike or just hang out.

Happy to have you here.

[dancogan]

Your smile says it all! Beautiful bike. Welcome to the site and to the MOA. If you indicate your home area you might find clubs and people to ride with, or at least meet for a meal and some talk.

[stkmkt1]

WElcome to the BMW Family Joyce. Hope you enjoy your RT.

[JoyceLuvs2Ride]

Bud,

Thanks for the first welcome! Actually, I've been thinking of writing an article and submitting it to BMW ON for consideration about how and why I chose an RT. The working title--or at least the spirit of it--is called "The 2700 mile sport-touring conversion of a female Harley rider" and describes--complete with a few piccies selected from over 400 color piccies--a trip on a rented BMW that coursed through California, Oregon, and Nevada in 9 days. Roads included PAC HWY 1, and stops included Eureka, Alturas, Lava Beds, Lassen Nat'l Park, the Cascades, the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon coastal road, Mono Lake area, Yosemite.

The short of it is, that I've been taking 2500 mile tours in 10 days every year, including riding all the way across the country on a Harley. I really like touring, but started to want certain things, such as cruise control (I need that b/c I have to slab major miles--ie some segment of my annual long rides--due to limited vacation times), heated grips, and a bike that falls over in the corners. I also wanted to go lighter in bike wet weight. I read a bunch of articles about sport-tourers (in Rider, Roadrunner and on some websites), and decided to rent a BMW R1200RT for one of my summer trips b/c that's the sport-tourer that met many of my initial criteria. I then used that ride as the basis of further comparisons and research about sport-tourers in general, which included signing up and asking questions on all the sport-touring forums (Honda ST, Yamaha FJR, K-bike.com, Luxury Tourers, and Kawasaki Concours). That research also included riding other sport-tourers including the MG Norge, the Honda ST (which has a singularly unremarkable ride, plus it burned my legs up in 2 seconds flat, and it looks retarded without the bags), and the K Bike. I couldn't find a dealer to do demo rides on the FJR and Connie, but finally ruled them out b/c aggressive seating positions don't work well for me, plus they lacked other amenities as OEM options that I wanted. The RT purrs like a little kitten and is very nimble in corners, and the seating position works well for me. In short, it rocks! :-)

The extras I got for the new ride (most of which are yet to arrive) are GS mirrors, aluminum cylinder covers, and the panier covers for the bottom of the bags. And BTW, why doesn't BMW or some after-marketer make some kind of rubber stoppers to protect the top part of the bags???? The first thing that gets whacked in a tip over are the bags. Anyway, after I ride it a while, I might get bar risers and see if I need to lower the pegs a bit, b/c I'm all legs and the RT did bother my left knee on the summer ride b/c of tight angle that my leg is in on the bike. I ride w/ the seat in the low position b/c I like to feel like I'm sitting in the bike, as opposed to perched on it. Perhaps I'll ride with it in the high position a while to see if that alleviates the knee thing!

Hmmmm . . . I guess the "short of it" wadn't all that short!

Joyce

[JoyceLuvs2Ride]

Originally Posted by dancogan

Your smile says it all! Beautiful bike. Welcome to the site and to the MOA. If you indicate your home area you might find clubs and people to ride with, or at least meet for a meal and some talk.

Thanks Dan! I'll get around to editing the profile soon! I belong to the Ocean State BMW riders. I joined the group before I bought the bike to check things out further--what the community of riders is like (all great people) and about tips about different bikes and why they chose them, etc!

[GSinNC]

Originally Posted by JoyceLuvs2Ride

Bud,

Thanks for the first welcome! Actually, I've been thinking of writing an article and submitting it to BMW ON for consideration about how and why I chose an RT. The working title--or at least the spirit of it--is called "The 2700 mile sport-touring conversion of a female Harley rider" and describes--complete with a few piccies selected from over 400 color piccies--a trip on a rented BMW that coursed through California, Oregon, and Nevada in 9 days. Roads included PAC HWY 1, and stops included Eureka, Alturas, Lava Beds, Lassen Nat'l Park, the Cascades, the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon coastal road, Mono Lake area, Yosemite.

The short of it is, that I've been taking 2500 mile tours in 10 days every year, including riding all the way across the country on a Harley. I really like touring, but started to want certain things, such as cruise control (I need that b/c I have to slab major miles--ie some segment of my annual long rides--due to limited vacation times), heated grips, and a bike that falls over in the corners. I also wanted to go lighter in bike wet weight. I read a bunch of articles about sport-tourers (in Rider, Roadrunner and on some websites), and decided to rent a BMW R1200RT for one of my summer trips b/c that's the sport-tourer that met many of my initial criteria. I then used that ride as the basis of further comparisons and research about sport-tourers in general, which included signing up and asking questions on all the sport-touring forums (Honda ST, Yamaha FJR, K-bike.com, Luxury Tourers, and Kawasaki Concours). That research also included riding other sport-tourers including the MG Norge, the Honda ST (which has a singularly unremarkable ride, plus it burned my legs up in 2 seconds flat, and it looks retarded without the bags), and the K Bike. I couldn't find a dealer to do demo rides on the FJR and Connie, but finally ruled them out b/c aggressive seating positions don't work well for me, plus they lacked other amenities as OEM options that I wanted. The RT purrs like a little kitten and is very nimble in corners, and the seating position works well for me. In short, it rocks! :-)

The extras I got for the new ride (most of which are yet to arrive) are GS mirrors, aluminum cylinder covers, and the panier covers for the bottom of the bags. And BTW, why doesn't BMW or some after-marketer make some kind of rubber stoppers to protect the top part of the bags???? The first thing that gets whacked in a tip over are the bags. Anyway, after I ride it a while, I might get bar risers and see if I need to lower the pegs a bit, b/c I'm all legs and the RT did bother my left knee on the summer ride b/c of tight angle that my leg is in on the bike. I ride w/ the seat in the low position b/c I like to feel like I'm sitting in the bike, as opposed to perched on it. Perhaps I'll ride with it in the high position a while to see if that alleviates the knee thing!

Hmmmm . . . I guess the "short of it" wadn't all that short!

Joyce

Very well put Joyce!! Most of your experience and comments mirror mine and how I got into my first BMW in 2000 .... a barely used R1100RT. I came off a Yamaha Royal Star which I really loved and was much like the Harley Soft Tail but was big and heavy and did not like curves. And I wanted ABS and heated grips and good wind protection. Ditto on the leg/seat issue .... I am 6'3" tall but like the low position to feel "in" the bike. Today I have a R1150GS and R1200RT. Love them both and really enjoy touring .... i.e. ride all day no matter how many miles, stop at the end of the day, have a nice dinner glass of wine and get up and do it again the next day. I have never been able to get into the "take a 30 min. ride" but prefer to ride for at least the whole day. Sounds like you made a great bike choice and one that really "fits" you which is as important at the bike you select. Fit if so important and much like shoes and jeans ... not all bikes fit everyone the same. Good luck and ride safe!

[SheRidesABeemer]

Welcome to the forum, post picture of garage!

[wezul]

Originally Posted by JoyceLuvs2Ride

The first thing that gets whacked in a tip over are the bags.

Wilkommen Joyce.

You are so correct! My '07 was 3 weeks old and I was on my way to my first rally (GR3) when I had a little . . . uh . . . well, see for yourself.







I was happy I opted for the cover guards. Right mirror just popped off so no breakage there. But enough about me.

I have been very happy with my RT. When I'm going to make long hauls it's my bike of choice, definitely. It's the comfy chair. I hope your bike brings you as much joy as has mine over the last 3 years.

As was previously mentioned, do take the time to update your user profile, as much as you care to.

Enjoy!

[Oznay]

Welcome from the frozen north,maybe see you at Redmond next summer?

[Newstar]

Welcome Joyce! You've chosen a great bike! I look forward to your contributions here on the forum.

As for the bags and a tip over, Linex can color match your paint. It isn't as smooth as the paint job but it can take a beating! I'm going to have my Vario cases on my 1200 GS done after the holidays.

Here is a link with pictures: Linex bags

[womanridge]

And a welcome from a fellow R1200 RT rider. This is my second season riding my RT and I enjoy many of the same opinions regarding it as you do.
Good choice. Now the farkling begins.
Enjoy the forums and feel free to stop in to the "Women of the MOA" if you like.

[Gilly]

What to say to your HD riding friends when they ask why you bought a BMW:

"If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand."

[Semper_Fi]

Welcome Joyce, beautiful bike.

I had my obligatory bike dump on day 2 due to improper side stand deployment.

Had a local foreign car body shop that works on BMW's car color match my Biarritz Blue perfectly.

Check in often

Again Welcome

Luis

[Rapid_Roy]

Welcome! I am sorry, but naming your bikes is weird.
I should know, because I do it too!