I’ve had huge fun with my cruiser.  I’ve travelled over a good bit of the UK in relative comfort and have thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed pace of cruiser life.  However, things change and I can neither afford or have space for a bike stable.  So, when there was a need to do a little commuting I had to look for a more suitable steed.  Don’t get me wrong, the cruiser would have done it, but rainy days would have proved challenging not to mention the cold weather.

I have read so much about BMW RTs over the years I thought it might be worth a look.  Like most of us two wheel devotees I had a few preconceptions to overcome when it came to a BMW, and then there was the cost.  They’re not cheap.  Would I really like one ?  I have read so many glowing reports about them but was properly sceptical.  How could any bike be so good, surely there’s a fair bit of poetic licence being employed here.  And then there were the doubters of which more than one is a personal acquaintance.  Could the engine really be so characterless ?  There was only one way to find out. Ride it.

The experience was something else.  I was concerned about the seat height and the weight, even if it was lighter than my cruiser.  Surely the centre of gravity would be higher and make it difficult to handle.  No actually it doesn’t.  Obviously its a big change and takes some getting used too but it’s nothing scary.  And the engine is a revelation.  I have had a couple of six cylinder BMW cars in the past and absolutely loved the engine characteristics.  There’s no great powerband just a steady flow of torque which gets more urgent as the revs rise.  You simply accelerate at an ever more urgent pace.  The R1200 K26 engine is much the same and I loved it.  So that was it.  I was smitten.  The cost was still an issue and I also had concerns that on a longer term basis it may not be all I thought it would be.  The answer came in the form of an ex-police model.  There are a lot of them around at the moment and the price is £2-2,500 less than a decent civvy spec used bike.  It seemed like a good way to dip my toe into the world of BMW Motorrad.

A few weeks down the road and I’m really falling in love with the bike.  Time to look at converting the bike to civvy spec.  This should have been relatively easy, there are companies out there advertising a kit of parts to do exactly that.  The trouble is that the parts are in very short supply, it seems I’m not the only one to have this idea.  Anyway, parts were sourced, the conversion completed and now I have a twin seat, well maintained very pretty R1200RT.  My permanent pillion is much happier with her really very plush pillion perch and all is well with the world.

I never fully bought into the whole continent crossing tourer thing and especially not the hype that surrounds the RT.  No bike could ever be that good.  I was wrong.  The RT is indeed everything it’s been made out to be.  It’s supremely comfortable, it’s fast and an absolute joy to ride and last, but not least, my pillion is very happy.

If you’ve never tried it and are in the market for this type of bike don’t let your preconceptions put you off.  At least try one, I think you’ll enjoy it.  If not at least you’ll know for sure.  For me and mine the BMW R1200RT would appear to be about as good as it can get.

Ride safe.

Well it’s been a while.  Life has got very busy lately and with the weather the way it has been the opportunities for the Old Dragon and I to get out have been severely limited.  For my sins I have also been doing some work on the Ulysses UK website.  Hopefully there will be a new version up and running soon.

Anyway, more work has been done on Jessica all brought on by a planned 4 day trip around Wales at the end of the month with my little brother.  The rear suspension was stripped done to re-grease pivot points etc etc which revealed that the seals on the shock absorber were on their way out.  Strangely I have been finding the rear end a little bouncy around corners recently so it wasn’t that much of a shock, no pun intended !  Fortunately a cost effective used item in very good condition was sourced from a breakers yard and one worn out spacer in the linkage was found at Pro-Bike in Newbury.  The end result being a bike that handles considerably better and sailed through it’s MOT.  The only thing left to do now is to fit a 12v socket to charge a phone from and run a sat-nav and we will be ready to go.

On the subject of the MOT, I found a wonderful workshop that, if you’re in the area, you really should know about.  2 Brothers Motorcycles are fantastic guys.  I had heard rumour they were good but the reality is even better than I had been lead to believe.  These are proper bikers with a real love for bikes and utterly nice guys as well.  Please, support them if you can.

Well I say new, it is in fact a 12 year old Suzuki GSX600F, and what a beautiful bike it is.  I remember these when the were originally launched and quickly labelled the ‘teapot’.  It is one of those designs you either love or hate.  Fortunately I love it and always have.  This particular example has, and continues to be, a much loved machine, it is immaculate and an absolute pleasure to ride.  I look forward to much fun over the coming months as I indulge my burgeoning mid-life crisis.