BMW R1250RT (2019 - on) Review

Bar the typical telelever 'crash' over big ruts, nothing whatever to 'complain' about. Combined braking is nice.It's the best all-rounder I've had, by far. Does everything extremely well, even twisties.I don't know what a more comfy bike would be like.

4 out of 5 for a simple reason: the engine is lacking in the sound department. Much better than previous boxers (have owned a 2010 R1200R), but still found wanting, despite the Akrapovic. The 1250 GS sounds better to me, and the NineT produce a great sound. So it's possible.But beyond that, I can't think of a better touring engine: peppy if you want, but also able to be cruised without feeling like you're restraining yourself - the problem I have with the K16, or inline-4 tourers.

Kept indoors. Very resilient: filled it up with diesel by mistake, and after TLC by BMW it was as new. Got tipped and run over by a white van, and was still going. Cold, hot weather: no problem.

Couldn't say. Not cheap to service, but commensurate with cost of the bike and what you get from it. The tank capacity is fabulous.

Adaptive cruise control is grand. 716 seat transforms the look of the bike in my view, for the much better. All the other gizmos are equally impressive and useful: self levelling, tyre pressure monitor, heated seat and grips, capacious topbox, so on and so forth. Amazing machine.

Sure footed, even when changing down at speed on bends. Whilst ABS brakes give confidence they are rarely, if ever, needed.

More than enough power and pulls in every gear.

Reliability is good but quality is not what BMW used to be!

After 4 years and 20,000 miles other than service items I have only needed to replaced the battery.

Favourite standard feature - Hill assist (parking brake)Recommended accessories - Stereo, heated grips, cruise control, hill assist, quick changer, additional (GS) mirrors.Not required accessories - Heated seat and fog lights.

I get back pain but put it down to my jacket with back protection.

Price alters every time due to oil costs etc but labour charges exspencive.

Didn’t like the original tires, but would like a top box as standard

The motorised exhaust flap has seized twice in 5000 miles. BMW Motorrad has told me that the bike has already had two replacement header pipes in 11000 miles. BMW know there is an ongoing problem with this and still fit the same system on new bikes. When out of warranty, the cost to replace the header pipes is approx £1500.My next bike won't be BMW.

Not had dealer service since buying the bike.

Can ride a full tank to empty (300ish miles). Usually stop every hour but can push on its so pleasant to ride. Quite flickable too. Brakes were underwhelming at first. Just need a touch of rear too sometimes

Power getting smoother with each generation. From the air-cooled 2011 triple black gs that used to wobble before driving to the 1250 rt I have now. Loads of grunt and more revs too. Was really nice over the mountain at the tt. Thought I had an issue but it was on the limiter in top on the mountain mile!

Three years and no issues

After getting over purchase costs it gets better. Running in free, 1st service free (agreed on purchase), 2nd £180, 3rd £240 with mot. Not huge, surprising really and I've had new beemers since 2011.

Adjustable screen, heated grips and seats, central locking panniers. My garmin from my first gs works but not linked to the thumb wheel so not as easy to use now. Put a fender extender on to stop road rash on the front of the engine. Metzeler tyres ok, might try different next time

Fully loaded the road holding is sublime. The Dynamic Mode is great. But lightly loaded the bike performs better in Road for the dampener and Dynamic for the engine.Even with the lowered seat I can comfortably put is an 8 hour day in the saddle with 4 to 5 stops on the way.The breaks are a little underpowered for my tastes but perform very well in all situations including a torrential downpour. The ABS & ASC are very unobtrusive but perform above expectations.

Being a twin, I expected a fair amount of vibration and was surprised to find only a little vibes at low rpm (<2000) after that all is well. The boxer motor still has that slight rock to the right when you blip the throttle at standstill but it's barely noticeable.The engine is a two-faced masterpiece. Ride gently the engine is a mild torquey cruiser that pulls evenly and steadily up to 120km/h. Grab a big handful of throttle the mild cruiser goes ballistic. I don't know how they managed to smooth out the variable cam system but the only noticeable result is a change in the exhaust note. This somewhere around 4250rpm when driving mildly but when given a handful it seems to rise to around 5000rpm. It also seems to affect lower rpm grunt as with a bit of throttle you can get a shunt on very rapidly out of tighter corners.

I have encountered some aluminum oxidation on the framework behind the front fairing. There has been only one mechanical problem, being the exhaust flapper valve getting stuck. Quickly fixed at my local dealership.But then there's that GPS. Two replaced in first 18 months, and just recently it started the ghosting again. The overall build quality is excellent. No loose panels or fittings. No squeaks or rattles after 34000km. The one slightly irking thing are the panniers, they are heavy even when empty.

Service costs are South African rands.We pay per liter in RSA and over the 3 years of ownership I have averaged 5.7l/100km. My best ever range, before hitting reserve, was 476km. My worst was 212km but that was a very heavy right hand.Overall the cost of ownership over 3 yrs. and 34882km has been R598 242 (approx 35k Sterling)

My bike was fully loaded except for a top box and no radio. The electrically adjustable windscreen is fantastic, it almost eliminates the wind blast from highway speeds and provides pretty good rain protection as well. The panniers are good but waste some internal space, they are also heavy. Avoid the Navigator 6 like the plague.

The brakes are superlative. Ironically the ride in dynamic mode is far better with a pillion, suggesting the rear spring is the culprit. Given I'm 190cm and 110kg there aren't many riders that would make the spring work solo! My Scottish friend is even lighter....

The engine is the star of the show, great power characteristics and the shift-cam is a tour-de-force, reminescent of the difference the DVT made to the original 1200 Multistrada only more so

The quality, fit and finish are top class

It's difficult to answer this, it had a free 1st service and it's not had an annual one yet. It's vey economical and the BMW connected app is a work of art.

Buy one of these and you'll still be finding things you didn't know about when you sell it.....

When touring for sure. Has a decent turn of speed when required and is no slouch in corners. Luggage capacity is good and a two week tour is easily catered for The limiting factor of how long you can travel is the tank capacity which when 2 up with luggage is at least 270 miles

A joy to ride with the bomb proof boxer engine. The shift cam offers an increase in performance. Very versatile and loads of torque throughout the rev range

Totally reliable (so far) and dependable. Never deliberately ridden in rain but have been caught plenty. Still looks like new. 3 yr guarantee gives you peace of mind

Just coming up to first service and no problems to report

Best feature for me is the boxer engine. Good all round weather protection especially with the large screen. Love the quick shift especially when you’re in a hurry Like the Michelin road 5 tyres I find the instruments and electronic aids all easily selected and easy to use

The best ride quality possible, I doubt there is anything out there to beat it. 200 mile posterior range for 2 people.

Shiftcam is a great piece of engineering. Excellent top gear roll on, performance is very good anywhere in the rev range.

no problems so far, 2 years 7K miles

Got a deal when I bought the bike. Compensation for late delivery.

The active suspension is one of the best features. Best accessories are a top box and sat nav. I have also fitted a 7 Jurock screen (larger then standard). This gives Goldwing levels of wind protection.

Ride is just what you would expect from a regular top of listing reviewed bike. Three hours rides without stops are common.

The engine is absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately having to keep magazine reviewers happy has lead to bigger engines and heavier bikes.Not just this make or model) Smaller capacity engines did the same job, a little slower, but with less weight

Top quality with no problem areas.

Cost are as expected for a BMW, however service provided does not always meet the customer expectations.

Pay your money and the list is endless

We had an FJR1300 previously, it was sharper and quicker, but the BMW is more comfortable and as quick as needed.

Its got better as the miles go on.

Would have given the Bike 5/5 but when we had the bike in May the Sat Nav was garbage! The latest version installed in November while not perfect is almost there. Gearbox was initially a bit 'clunky' but as the miles went up its go better. Fuel consumption (not that we bought the bike to save money) averages about 55 MPG always two up and not exactly gentle on the bike. Bikes done just over 8k miles and have another few thousand left. Dealer has been good and no problems at all with them. Ordered the Bike with the Low Rider seat, awful! after few hundred miles hurt. Fortunately we also had the standard seat, so had that remanufactured - lowered and with better foam, result much better. Nav upgrade means the function keys and now user programable, which makes more sense and much improved. The main question would we buy another - well yes.

The BMW winter servicing promotion was timed perfectly, When we bought the bike I agreed a deal that the first service would be done for £150. The second service was less than £200 on the discount and they picked it up and collected FOC - thankyou BMW.

The initial problems with the Navigation dented things, else would be a 5

Had problems with the navigation. My Phone 11 Would not connect which also meant the headset had issues connecting. BMW issued a software update in Sept and have had no issues since but was frustrating for the first 2 months of ownership

Was an expensive bike to purchase after adding extras like the topbox at an extra £1100 !!

Good even delivery of power across the whole range.The Boxer engine is not as smooth as a triple or four cylinder engine.

Favourite feature, Shaft drive.Accessories to add:- Tall screen, foot-lower lowering kit, handle bar risers, front mudguard extender, front engine protector, narrow pannier lids (for commuting), enlarged side stand foot plate, engine bars.

Uncomfortable on a long ride for me and the wife, the bike causes massive knee pain for us and the vibration is wearing. Much more so than the 1200. Good on a short ride though (say 100 to 200 miles) provided we stopped to stretch legs. Great weather protection and good heated seats and grips. You can hustle on this bike but you will need to wrestle with it.

Good performance but at a price, compared to the 1200 engine the 1250 is rough, harsh and noisy. It discourages spirited riding.

Delivered over 2 hours late as the front brake callipers needed replacing as they were leaking fluid. Once I was given the bike I was told the callipers would need changing again as the replacement set had poor anodising. It took weeks to get them replaced and I was never sure they did anything after having the bike for a few hours. The callipers looked exactly the same to me. They didn't leak though.The pin supporting the front nearside screen (held in place with a circlip) fell out on tour and I had to replace with a nut and bolt!

I hated the bike so much I got rid of it before its service. I tried to get the dealer to look at the increasingly uncomfortable vibration but IMO they were not interested. It made the decision for me (Bhanstormers). Good MPG though, easily getting 54 mpg.

Weather protection and warm seat. For such a big lump it handles very well.

600 km days no problem, no complaints from rear seat, and bike handles superbly when you push on.

Shiftcam lump is superb, bags of torque. Only let down by Q shift which can be a bit lumpy.

No issues after 18 months all year/weather riding. Only negative was OEM tyres severely cupped at around 4k.

Bahnstormer collect and return bike FOC

We only do about a hour then have a break, but could do much longer

enough torque and power for me

£ 234 for first annual service, oil filter and brake fluid

Perhaps could do with a windscreen wiper and the heated seat isn't as powerful as the grips

Rides brilliant, great tourer completely at home 2 up and luggage. Can ride all day ( if it doesn't break down)

Goes well, much smoother than my previous bmw. Some days it just knocks and rattles like its about to blow up.

Absolutely appalling, full of corrosion, started at about 3 months from new. Purchased new in August 2019. So far:- New Engine, gearbox, swinging arm assy, bevel gear housing. Centre stand, side stand. Exhaust front pipes (failed flap valve) twice to date, well known fault! Failed battery (another well known fault, but bmw dont recall) they just wait until you break down. From new, the bike would leap forward when putting into first from rest, dealer said "its normal, they are all like that" stangely after having new gearbox fitted i never had that problem reoccur. Following faults not recognised under warranty Front mudgaurd just disappeared after a ride out (broken lugs remained, just not fitted correctly at manufacture). Wheels corroding at same rate as the rest of the bike. Leather pattern just crumbling off riders seat. Bike kept in dry garage. Two years old, 14000 miles Mostly summer dry riding. Only comment from dealer "I must be riding it on the wrong sort of roads". The dealer made me feel as if i was the only person with these problems and that I was being unreasonable, but having spoken to other owners it appears that my experiences have been fairly typical.

Servicing acceptable Depreciation appaling Cost new £19000 Two years old, now worth £11000

Great wet handling, inspires confidence. Michelin road 5, brilliant tyre. Screen buffets badly in any position, replace with wunderlich item. £1025 for a top box. What!!!!!

Ride quality not as good as GS

Great spread of power and good fuel consumption

See above ref dash

Truly exceptional bike.. I also ride a 2019 R1250RT-P for work and love the all day ride ability.

More than enough power for me. I also have a K1600GT and I love it but omg you can get into trouble with the K bike, were as you can get in trouble with the RT, but it just feels more suited for everyday riding.

Heated grips, ESA, and Riding Mode Pro are very good................. Shift assist is pain because sometimes its smooth but sometimes not.

Long time

Exceptional

None

Tyres extra

Capacious top box ,excellent panniers.