2005 bmw reviews

I bought the first one delivered to the dealer. Almost a year and 12,000 miles later, I am totally satisfied. It does exactly what it should as a sports tourer. It is fun and fast in the twisties, and a very decent tourer. It uses very little oil, gets great gas mileage (50+ mpg), and has no mechanical problems whatsoever. It's even beautiful (to me). I recently bought a new 600cc sports bike and a 650 dual sport to complement the R1200ST, which will remain my primary ride. Nothing can replace it. Did I mention that the motor is smooth as silk? Show less

I loved my 2002 1150RT and was not even thinking about buying a new bike. I started to read articles on the new 1200RT and was bit by the bug to go for a test drive.
So it's in the low 30's in March of '06 and I find my local BMW dealer. Off I go on their 05 demo. Now I had ridden my 1150RT 50 miles to get to the dealer, so I was fresh off my bike onto this one. So I knew the feeling of old vs. new. My initial reaction...not as impressed as I thought I would be. Performance is a little better. However, the seat and windshield were...YUCK. I missed my mostly comfortable seat. The new one seemed too narrow and stiff. The windshield shook like a...gulp...Harley at idle. The new on-the-fly suspension adjustment was so-so, take it if it is cheap...but for the price...NO THANKS.
It is not what I expected. So I get a trade in value for my 02 just because I was there anyhow.... Well, the dealer gives me one of those offers that are too good to be true. A new dilemma. My bike is going to need new tires, brake flush, spring tune up...and we know the costs of BMW stuff. So I am back to thinking about a trade because everyone is raving about the new 1200RT and they cannot be wrong! I trip home to think about it. Next morning I call the dealership and ask about throwing in some goodies. A tank bag costs pretty penny and I will not pay for that. He throws that and some other goodies in and I say "deal"!
What have I done? I say to myself when I am riding my beloved 1150 to the dealer the following week for the trade.
I do the deal and get MY 1200RT. Off I go hoping I did not screw up. Shortly thereafter I am grinning EAR to EAR! What they say is true. Much better performance. Much smoother bike. Bike just, well, what can I say...is MUCH better. It's chilly so I flick on the heated seat...holy crap does this get warm.
Engine revs MUCH quicker and actually sounds like a motorcycle. I still like quiet bikes, but there is something about a LITTLE rumble. The bike SHAKES much more when sitting at idle than my old 1150RT. Nothing serious, but my old one was so smooth. Dealer explained the new bike will shake more at idle because of the new fuel injection and they can't adjust the settings the same as the old. What he adds is the bike will perform much better and be smoother above idle. Heck, I can live with that.
Well, it's been too cold to ride much and besides, I can't take a new bike out in this March weather. So I have less than 200 miles on my new bike...I loved my old 1150, but love even more my new 1200.
So if you have an older BWM and are thinking of trading...you will not regret. Only thing that MUST go is the windshield. At my height, I need more protection. I needed to replace the one on my 1150 and when I did it made a fantastic improvement. I am sure it will be the same with the 1200.
Now go BUY one! Show less

Bought an 05 after Christmas but had never ridden an LT or even heard the power plant. So I picked it up this last week end and it was windy (25mph) and 64 on Sat and windy and 45 on Sun. First Impressions After reading about the weight and size of the bike this past winter, the biggest thing that had me concerned was all of the talk about dropping the bike. I spent my early 20's riding fully dressed bikes Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, HD and never was skittish about the size, weight, not being able to see your front tire when cornering, etc. and kept trying to tell myself I have had a ton of experience, don't freak. While the bike is heavy it is quite easy to balance even at slow speeds. I guess if I drop it I drop it but I was needlessly concerned about the slow speed maneuvering. Within ten minutes I felt very comfortable with the slow speed characteristics...it is true...it's like riding a bike, it came back to me very quickly. I went straight to the Interstate to see if my dreams would come true and I was impressed especially in light of the wind and it was lateral. The first thing that came to mind was the road condition and all of the nasty winter cracks we have in the roads right now and how the bike just stepped across them without a twitch. I had the mono-shock set in the middle and it was perfect. Next, the wind was nasty and of course I had to lean with what it was giving me, but holy crap, I loved the extra weight now. I was not dancing all over my lane at all and was quite comfortable with it. Not bad first impression in light of the conditions and not being on a bike since October let alone this new beastie! I now understand what George Jettisons car ride to work must have felt like! This bike almost feels like a Mag-lift high speed train with an electric motor. I said feels like, but I like the sound of the exhaust. Sounds like a bike! So I put on a couple hundred miles and on Sunday I was really impressed with the heated grips. Thankyou God! After all of the reading about the high speed handling characteristics I have to admit I moderately dialed it up to 100 and this bike is built for speed and stability. Very cool. However, at 4,000 rpm and 80 mph on the speedo, I was still being passed on the I...so what is the speedo off? 5-6 mph at that speed? The braking was just about getting the feel. These brakes really will grab you if you have the touch of Frankenstein. I found that the initial grab of the brake slowing down from highway speed was very kind and easy to feather. It is much more touchy though when you get down to creeping speed as you approach a stop sign, etc. But again, just like the weight issue at slow speeds, if you have any coordination at all, then use your freekin balance and your eye hand coordination with a little touch. All of the electronics were as advertised. Great reception and range on the radio, CB works great, intercom as well. No static or any of the other head aches I've been reading about over the winter. I have the tall wind shield and like it. With an open face helmet I liked being able to hide behind that tall shield and I don't mind the distortion at all. Scared the little neighbor girls when I waved at them and gave them a honk on the horn....yikes! Glad it doesn't have that little pussy buzz my japanese bikes have. Now for the handling. WOW! By Sunday I had all of the confidence in the world in what the bike would do, scuffed in the tires etc. and to be honest I thought the comments about the center stand scrapping was for the nut jobs that trust their tires and public roads way too much. But I can see it would be easy to get carried away and end up scrapping the stand without being a total nut job. I lived on my bikes in HS and college and did MX and have a list of crazy things I've done when on a bike, usually involving too much speed and air time, but now at the sane age of 47 I was reading about the "center stand scrappers" and just chalked them folks up as crazy. Well, bet I scrape that center stand sooner than later cause the bike feels that stable. Loved the push the button and lazily ride the center stand up...loved that one in the parking lot with people watching. I felt like a kid again when we were the first ones in the subdivision with a remote control the size of cigar box for the TV. I'm sure I had the proverbial "watch this " grin on my face when I deployed it. And the reverser, another stroke of genius! At first I was a little leery about going backwards with one finger on the starter but then again, I said just concentrate on the balance and let the freekin bike do the work. Ergonomics At my age I am all about comfort so here is where I have to dick around with my body and getting comfortable. I'm 5'11" 205lbs. 31" inseam and my freekin knees are just screaming at me 45 minutes after leaving the dealer. The bike is just awesome but my gal darn feet are behind my knees and it is stretching my patella tendon. And my hip flexors are not too far behind also in pain. Get off the bike and start adjusting, got the drivers backup back rest adjusted, better. On the bike again so let's try the Jpegs. Ouch! My God, it's like someone put foot rests on a Hippo! Can I spread my legs any further and not be considered the other white meat? Yikes! Let's try it again on Sunday with a little prep. First I stretched for 10 minutes before getting on the bike, took some Aleeve before I got on the bike, and put the seat on the high setting. Much better. I still believe that I would like to move my feet at least even with my knees or slightly in front of would be great, but it doesn't sound like the after market stuff gets you more that a 1/2 inch further forward. Looks like I'll just have to get my dimply white butt in better shape and start my golf stretching exercises now to get my legs and back some flexibility. But I just love this DANG BIKE! P.S. 15 minutes into the ride and I see the third biker of the day coming towards me. It's another BMW. An older one I think an R...(the one with two opposing cylinders? I'm still learning my BMW speak) and while I am doing the ultra cool low hand palm up conservative "what's up waive"...the dude let's go of his left grip and gives me a HUGE FIST PUMP SKYWARD! don't now if it was cause he was diggin my new bike, or that I was a fellow BM'er, or just that it was finally friggin 64 degrees and we live in WISCONSIN! __________________ Vance RD 350 Yamaha KZ 650 Kawasaki KZ 900 Kawasaki V65 Magna (1986) 05 1200LT Show less

I've owned many bikes over the years, from H-D to Honda, Yammie, Kawi, etc., and could have any bike I want. This is the one. I can ride it day in and day out, in any weather and at any time. I have no problem in a cross wind. On highway or backroads, it's just as useable. I'm short with a 28-inch inseam so I made some adjustments, but it still rides great. Great engine, great brakes, great ergos, nothing bad to say. Show less

I have ridden the last 40 years many motorcycles and this is by far the best of the best. I moved up to an LT in 2002 to persuade my wife to join me in my passion. Not sure this plan would work I keep a R1200C for solo riding. It didn't take long to realize that the Cruiser was never being ridden, I loved the LT but I struggled with the 2002 LT getting it on the center stand and got caught a couple of times at slow speeds unable to keep upright. One test ride on the 2005 LT and my wife voted to get the new bike -- It is a very different bike -I never have trouble at low speeds - the extra power is awesome - and of course the power stand a pleasure. Show less

On a scale of 1 to 10, this bike gets a 9. Why not a 10? Two reasons -The first is the fuel gauge. Ride 100 miles and it still shows full. Ride 101 miles it drops to half. The second is the digital display. It is very difficult to read in bright light. Also, when you turn off the bike the display shuts off. The clock on my 95 R1100 GS stays on all the time. It's nice to have the clock on all the time. I know it sounds like I'm nit picking but when you spend 20K everything should be a 10. Other than these two problems, I love the bike. Engine, transmission, brakes are all top notch. I have 82K on my R1100 GS and I plan to put 100K plus on this bike. Show less

I recently bought the R1200 RT; I have owned other bikes but never a BMW. My sales person knew all there was to know about this bike and even went out of her way to give me very good tips on picking a bike that was right for me. When I took delivery of it, the first thing that you will love is the comfort. Of course, you must learn the layout of the signals and various other buttons, but this soon became second nature. The bike has excellent power, it is not a racing bike but it can be quite impressive. I enjoyed taking it out on a very crisp November morning at 34 degrees so if I am right that would give you a wind chill of about 19 degrees when you are traveling at 50 mph. With my heated seat and heated handgrips, I really did not feel the chill. I actually had to turn it down a notch. The bike handles very well; quick maneuvers are a piece of cake. On the highway, it has very good wind protection. The ABS works nicely and it is always nice to have someone say, "that's a nice bike". Bottom line... it works well for me, do your research to make sure you get what you really want... and always ride safe. Show less

I absolutely love this bike; it does so many things well. On freeways and off-road, the Mojave in July and New England in sub-freezing temperatures, fully-loaded on the PCH in Big Sur and dodging cabs in mid-town, through it all I've been very impressed and averaged 45+ MPG. Set aside some vacation time, because this bike encourages some serious adventure touring. Show less

I have been motorcycling for 10 years now. I have the means to ride anything I choose. I have been through 2 dozen or so bikes trying them on to find one that fit my needs. Some were too big, some too small, some too fast; some not fast enough, etc. I am a Honda rider at heart, but after a Gold Wing, ST 1300, VFR, and VTX I have only two bikes in my stable- a BMW 1200 RT and BMW 1200 GS. The two gripes I had on the 1150RT were not enough engine power, and too strong on the servo assisted brakes (2004). Both were fixed with the 1200. The engine is strong, smooth, with a broad power band. I love the Honda V4 but the ST 1300 had too much driveline lash and engine heat; the VFR was too uncomfortable for my size - too much of a reach to the bars, even with risers. The FJR had a stronger engine, but more engine heat, and fewer accessories - supposedly addressed for the 2006 FJR. FJR was a great bike, but I ride year round so I needed the heated grip/ seat/ accessory socket for heated vest. The BMW 1200 brakes are powerful but very linear - I like ABS. Ergonomics are as comfortable as the Wing, much better than the VFR or ST1300. On the ST, the seat slopes forward so you ride into the gas tank. BMW is slightly more upright than the FJR. FJR had the best stock seat of all the bikes. I never did like BMW stock or Honda stock seats. I am partial to Corbin and Wunderlich aftermarket seats. Handling is as good as the FJR, ST, and Wing. I thought BMW felt much lighter than FJR or ST even though they are about same weight. BMWs burn oil for the first 5000 miles or so. Other than that, I have not had any mechanical issues whatsoever with any of my BMWs. I like to be able to take highways as well as run the back roads, which I couldn't do as easily on the Wing because it was a pain to turn around on a back road. The BMW is the only bike that makes me want to ride regardless of the weather. Too cold? Just fire up the heated seat/grips/vest. ESA electronic suspension is well worth the money. You can tell a difference in the settings, and most people don't spend all day fine-tuning their suspension for a track day. Downside is cost, but you get what you pay for. I can't recommend this bike highly enough. The only other bike I liked this much was a Yamaha FZ-1, but for different reasons of course. Show less

I was lucky enough to be on an Edelweiss French Alps tour when the first 1200GS's were delivered. Werner Watcher, the owner of Edelweiss, dropped in on our tour just to try the thing out. My friend scored the second bike. Werner went home on Wednesday and let me use it until Saturday, our last day of riding. I'd rented an R1100S. This GS was such a huge improvement over that bike. I was smitten. I'd ridden an 1150 GS in Austria the preceding year and really liked it, but riding the new GS showed me how hard BMW engineers had been working to improve the breed. I nearly bought a GS when I got home, but I'd just got a great deal on a twin spark 1150 RT and I really think RTs are best for the kinds of riding I do... at least for me. They offer great weather protection, great handling, decent power, lots of engine braking, which is great in the hills, and have great hard cases for your stuff. They aren't so big that you can't manage them on nearly any paved road. As you can see from the stats above, I've put a fair amount of miles on my RT since April when I bought it. It's my 3rd RT and by far the best. Everything is better. Some things are only a little better, some things are a lot better, but everything's better. The brakes are less grabby than my 1150 and the rear brake is not linked to the front. When the servo is off, you have more braking power than with the 1150. It's a better system. I didn't appreciate servo brakes until I had a traffic emergency one day and was able to stop really, really fast on a crowded street when a car ahead did not signal and slowed far too much to make a right turn. I rarely use the rear brake pedal anymore. It's just not needed unless you're at a rally trying to ride very slow. I don't trail brake, I use the gears to steer the rear wheel in turns. The engine is such a nice improvement. The balance shaft really smooths things out unless you're hard on the power. There isn't a hint of surging anywhere. It does take a very steady hand to modulate at low speeds, but it's doable. The power above 6K RPMs is spectacular. Below that, there's always plenty of torque. The engine is smoothing out with miles and oil consumption has really come down. I'm still using non-synthetic oil though, until there is no oil consumption. Then it will be synthetic for the life of the bike. Making the bike lighter really helps. I think more of the weight was removed at the top of the bike because it seems less tippy at very slow speeds. Even though it looks wide, it's very easy to control. It's also more catchable if you do begin to drop it. The seat, I would say is an improvement, but I'll probably replace it. I like the heated feature, but it's not something I could ever say I've really needed so far. I'd rather have a seat I can ride on all day in total comfort. Maybe next year. This seat is not bad, just not great. I've replaced the windscreen with a Cee Bailey's and it's much, much better. I had a larger windscreen on both of my old RTs and was worried that the aftermarket would not be able to make a good one for this bike. Wrong! The Cee Bailey's is terrific and the new Aeroflow system looks like it may be even better. I'm an iPod person, so I didn't get the sound system. The non-E suspension is very capable. It corners right out of the box better than my 1150, which was better than my 1100, which was really good. It's not, however, completely poised. A chassis this good deserves the right sort of damping and I'd say that these shocks are almost good enough. If I rode a lot with a pillion, I'd consider BMW's electronic shock system, but I know my loads and settings after riding all these RTs, so I'm happier with a good manually adjustable damper. I had Ohlins on both my old RTs, so I have high expectations. I found the front shock to be harsh over bumps and I found that the rear shock would porpose a bit even with the rebound damping set all the way firm. It's an adequate system, but not worthy of the rest of the bike. So I got a set of Wilbers for it. Problem solved. The bike feels very confident now and yet is more compliant over bumps. It cornered on rails before and still does. It's just that I feel more confident charging through on nearly any sort of road now and I'm never getting unwanted ride motions or putting up with harsh impacts coming through the bars. I installed my V-1 inside the dash with very little problem. The unit sits inside the right cowl, strapped to the front subframe with tie wraps and stuck to the frame with velcro. Hard to describe, but it's completely secure in there. I have a remote display and sound unit velcroed to the underside of the "dash" on the left. A "Legal Speeding" bluetooth sender wired up and hidden inside the dash so that a little light goes off in my helmet when the detector goes off. I put a slick little flat black rocker switch on the left side blank plastic cover where the radio buttons would have gone. This allows me to shut down the whole system anytime I want in a flash. Handy for shopping centers or when the officer pulls up right next to you and you have this red light flashing in your helmet. Speaking of the radio I didn't order, I didn't get a radio on either of my other two RTs and both of them came with a very large waterproof compartment for keeping all manner of things securely ensconced. The new bike has the radio pocket on the wrong side, too far forward and under the handlebars for easy access. I nearly always turn on my right blinker when I'm pulling my water bottle out for a drink now or wiping my visor. (Das ist verboten!!!) One other tiny design mistake I feel BMW made was putting that soft plastic cover over the instruments instead of having seperate glass covers on seperate instruments. I've scratched mine already. don't know how much it'll cost to fix, but I did this about the first week. It's too delicate for a motorcycle. Doesn't hurt the function, but it's got this little eyesore scratch right in the middle and it shouldn't. I'm very happy about the new latches for the cases on this bike. You can lock them with the key, but for the first time, you don't have to lock them with the key if you don't want to. I always carried an extra key in my old bikes just so I could open a couple bags at once for packing and so I could access the unradio box in the fairing while riding. Now it's not necessary. Why didn't they think of this before? The footpegs are higher on the new 1200 than on my old RTs, while fairly comfy, they are unnecessarily high on this bike. In 14,000 miles, a lot of it scrapping around on some pretty wicked back roads, I never got close to touching a peg or any other part of the bike. Tires have very minimal "chicken strips" on the sides I'm really leaning the thing over, yet no touching down at all. I've not tracked this bike nor will I. I have a proper maniac bike for this purpose. So recently, I bought some of the Suburban Machinery peg extenders and, while I was at it, I got the handlebar risers too. When these were installed, it was like riding a whole new machine. My legs are much more comfortable and it's easier to see behind me through the mirrors because I don't have to look so far under the bars anymore. that's the good news. The bad news is that you have to re-learn hard cornering with this setup. The whole bike feels much different. After deliberately trying for 3 weeks, I finally touched the left peg slightly while flying down back roads in Missouri two weeks ago. Just a little scrape, but still, a scrape. It's not that I want to necessarily scrape, it's just that I feel that if you don't scrape during extreme riding, you're eligible for more legroom, which is nearly always more comfortable. Might as well get it.