BMW R1100RT

After spending an entire road riding "career" on sportbikes, it was past time to buy a sports-tourer. After all, the Ducatis needed a garage mate with a bit of a different mission. Something able to carry a few days worth of gear-for-two in comfort, yet be a jack of all trades. A bike that could rail through twisty mountain passes while carrying said load. A bike that stopped hard when asked and pulled smartly out of corners. A reliable bike with minimal maintenance needs, an effective fairing and thoughtful ergonomics.

And yes, truth be told, our sports-tourer had to have that elusive trait that many choose to call character. Having ridden various friends' BMWs over the years, I knew good and well there was one machine that would nicely fill that void ... an R1100RT.

rtwithbags.jpg (36246 bytes)

"I feel like I have been looking for an RT for years and didn't know it."
The quote comes courtesy of Jay Bottolfson and it came to him after getting to know his own recently purchased RT. I couldn't have said it any better.

Hope you folks enjoy the pics, info and links...

Modifications thus far...

I use Garmin's GPS III Plus and it's become indispensable. I know it may seem like overkill, but once you've mastered its function and relied on it for navigation on a long trip, you'll never want to ride without it. It's a fantastic little gadget.

To have a place to mount the radar detector and GPS, I installed a widget above the instruments called an RCU Shelf. Made and sold by BMW of Salt Lake City (888-269-6375), it's a very ingenious use of this space.

As handy as the RCU Shelf is, I wanted to move the GPS down and out of the blast which makes its way under the windscreen. Mainly because I don't like having to rearrange everything if rain hits. (The detector gets shoved into the tankbag on these occasions.) I contacted Cascade BMW (425-823-5045) and ordered their upper triple clamp mount made by Martin Engineering Products.

For a little extra visibility, the front & rear blinkers were converted into running lights using a "RUN-N-LITES" kit. The kit includes new sockets, bulbs and wiring. Installation is a snap and the lights make you much more visible, particularly from the rear. FYI: The bulbs are standard #1157 units, so replacement on the road is a no brainer. The R1100RT takes a type 12 kit for the front and a type 13 kit for the rear.

I replaced the stock 50/55W headlamp with a PIAA Super White. It's said to deliver 100/110W lighting, while only consuming 55/60W. It works great and I don't really see the need to add the auxiliary lights that many find so useful.

What good is a two-up sport tourer without a communications system? After seeing numerous testimonials, Autocom got the nod and my unit was supplied by Grant at Honda of Houston (713-467-2426).

I went with their Eurocom model and it simply works fantastic. On the RT at least, we're able to converse normally at speeds WAY above what's "reasonable & prudent". Speaking of which, no longer do I have to fumble with flimsy earphones plugged into the revenue collector detector. It merely plugs into the Autocom using one of their filtered leads and all alerts are piped directly into the helmet.

I mounted the controller under the seat just aft of the fuse box. The only things visible are the helmet leads which can be pulled out from in between the passenger and rider's seat. When not in use, they can be neatly stored under the seat. These leads plug into jacks which exit from under the helmet liners on the side. I used cable mounts on the helmet shells so the whole thing appears very nice and tidy.

Anyway, after two decades of riding on the street, the ability to converse with my sweetie is most welcome. Jules and I really enjoyed it as we covered every square inch of Colorado and riding without it now just wouldn't be the same. (BTW, at one point, I was ranting about something or other. A few minutes of blabbing had passed with no response. Suddenly, Jules shows me an unplugged lead. Seems she'd purposely gone off line during my epic speech. %$#@ hooligan! I just love this girl.)

A Throttlemeister throttle lock went on. This thing is just beautiful. It's machined stainless and includes a matching bar-end weight for the clutch side. Very handy for giving the throttle hand a little break on occasion. For your late model RT, you'll need their "FT&20mm SHCS" model. Adjustment for temperature extremes can be finicky though, especially with heated grips thrown in the mix. May try one Bob's Wrist Rests next.

Remus Exhaust system ... I'd long heard about these systems and how nice they were. Well, I stopped by Wild West (see below) for a visit and there was one on the wall ... I was a goner. After trying a BMP system on my previous RT, there was no way I was gonna install anything that was loud on this one. Sure enough, the Remus is nicely subdued and mellow. Even better, there is a small but noticeable increase in power and believe it or not, the engine runs smoother. Not sure why, perhaps losing the catalytic converter has something to with it. Whatever the case, I'm thrilled with the results. Here's what it looks like...

If you're looking for just a tad more "burble" topped off with a small but useful gain in performance, I highly recommend the quiet Remus exhaust system.

Please indulge me for a minute...
To make a long story short, a very dear old friend had a run in with a stray gallon of 10w-40 in a right hander on my previous '97 RT. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, but the bike sustained a fair amount of cosmetic damage. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Wild West Honda/BMW/Kawasaki/KTM and Progressive Insurance, I was able to upgrade to this beautiful '99 model.

At a time when RTs were selling for MSRP and folks were waiting for units on deposit to arrive, Wild West's Randy Cook sold me the '99 at a fair price that worked with my numbers. Thanks Randy.

And mega thanks to service manager Dan Drom. (That's his friendly mug on the right in rtnew5.jpg.) Without his efforts, none of this would even have been possible. It warms my heart to know that he's restored and is enjoying my '97 model as his own.

These folks have genuinely earned one little guy's loyal patronage.

Wild West Honda/BMW/Kawasaki/KTM
22515 I-10 West
Katy, Texas 77450
Sales & Parts: 281-392-8850
Service: 281-392-8940