RR for LD touring

[rabbibgr]

I like to do long distance riding as well as local sport touring. I have owned many beemers and still own a 73 toaster. My current ride is a 650 v-strom set up for touring. I am considering a R1200R. My question is about setting up the RR, bags, shields, seats etc. What works? My major concern is buffeting, i dont mind the wind as long as it doesn't hammer. Thanks for your help

Don

[ka5ysy]

Hi Don ! Welcome to the group.

In the search field above index "Chitown" and see what the RR is capable of. Essentially our bikes are terribly underrated as to touring, but we can carry the same luggage as the RT without all the plastic fairings to deal with. In the southern states, we tend to find that the relative lack of cold weather makes a much better buy than the RT, because the RT is so effective in wind protection that it is very hot in the summers.

The RR is fully capable of embarrassing a lot of sport bikes in the twisties too !

Add a windscreen and some other goodies and tour to your hearts content on a new RR

This is my setup with the large top case installed:

[jed1]

Hi Don,

I have just returned from a 5300km trip from Brisbane down the eastern coast of Australia and back again. My longest day in the saddle was about 930kms. I had the time of my life on the R1200R. I appreciate you're very keen on getting opinions on screens and buffeting etc, but unfortunately I cant offer too much here. I have the standard BMW 'touring' screen, Im 5"10 tall and I have no problems with buffeting, but I do know that other ladies and gents on this forum have experienced problems with wind buffeting using various screen combinations.

As for the seat, the standard seat is pretty good for round town and short day rides, but for touring it can be a bit painful. You'll see that most people who do a few miles here have fitted an aftermarket seat. I have a custom seat that I had made for a very reasonable price ($240 Aus) which is a vast improvement on standard.

I have the BMW panniers which are a bit expensive, however they do work very well. They are attached to/removed from the bike very easily and you dont even notice them there even when they full of luggage. Nor do you notice the mounting points when the panniers are removed. Again, other people use different luggage and have different thoughts there.

I think that the R1200R is a very capable all-rounder. It is the sort of bike that will impress you no matter of what you ask of it. A few reasonable modifications from standard will see a very capable tourer which will still put a big smile on your face when you hit the twisties.

Good luck mate,

Jed.

[Caroanbill]

Buffeting of rider .. not as such, but the R12R has a definite wind noise issue that has caused many of us no end of grief, and if you read a few threads you'll see one on the culprits is the scallops that allow the tank to be mounted fruether forward without fouling the forks. I've only had buffeting from an XL parabellum and calsci screen - which wen away when i cut them down a bit. I've simply got used to wind roar ... part of the bike. I can't say its worse than my older RT / LTs, but I do notice it. (5'8", 29" inseam, low seat, use BMW Systems 5 opening helmet which is noisy on most bikes).

Buffeting of bike .. no problem at all. I find the R12R to be the least affected by sidewinds and truckwash of any bike I've owned, inclduing K100RT (next best) to K1100LT (worst, despite similar fairing to K100RT). This includes the panniers and small topcase (colour coding obviously helps ).

As for the BMW panniers (so essential for relaxed touring), they create no buffeting or weave problems whatsoever - quite a revelation even after owning 5 different BMW pannier profiles. That's rare for a naked bike in my exprience - you'd never know these things were even on. I reaslise these are also on the R12RT - my point is the roadster suffers no ill effects from them (as some naked bikes might).

I use an Arihawk and have lowered pegs (Suburban machinery) and bar-backs (MV Verholen) and find the ride position very relaxed for an all-day ride, yet still flicks over to "evil billy" mode (as my mates say) when I want to attack a stretch at less sedate pace.

Quality shocks (Wilbers in my case) also make for a superbly competent LD ride.

[AbqDave]

There's more wind protection than you think. Among other things, the tank is molded to give your legs a quiet pocket to ride in. With a touring windshield, it will keep enough wind off you to take the edge off. You will still feel the wind however. Your hands are very exposed. Think about getting some hand guards if you're going to be touring extensively.

I make the run from Albuquerque to Vegas all the time. I could ride this bike all day.