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Review Summary
- If you want the ultimate incarnation of BMW’s boxer engine with no expenses spared, then this is it. If it’s not included on the options list, then it’s either illegal or NASA hasn’t cleared it for the general public yet. This includes Radar Cruise Control
- It’s refined to within an inch of its life, but all this polish comes at a cost. Throw in a few showroom floor goodies and it’ll cost you as much as a family SUV
- Two-up touring is an absolute delight; just ask my wife. Be it long straights or tricky mountain passes, the bike never failed to impress and always remains more composed than Beethoven’s 9th
Touring has long been a part of BMW Motorrad’s schtick. If you’ll allow me the latitude of including sidecars in the “touring” category, then the company has been in the business for exactly 100 years thanks to its famous and patently revolutionary R32 from 1923. Yes, many things have changed in that time. But as a testament to Max Friz, the German engine design genius who’s talent essentially founded Bayerische Motoren Werke, his vision of a boxer-twin, shaft-driven, wet sump, single unit motorcycle was so revolutionary and so visionary that it’s still being used to this very day. And if you want to celebrate Friz’s mechanical success with your wallet, then there’s no better boxer touring bike in the current BMW range than the 2023 R 1250 RT. It represents the huge oak tree that has grown from the seeds of his remarkable legacy.
Of course, many things have also changed in that time. Sidecars are no longer a popular choice for touring thanks to two-up riding’s popularity and its ability to preserve the fundamental beauty of motorcycle’s ability to lean through corners. And their luggage-stowing abilities have been replaced with bike-mounted cases, first used in WWII and then subsequently made available to the general public in the 1950s. In addition, a slew of modern technical mods including water-cooling, telelever and paralever suspension, ABS and electronic everything have resulted in motorcycles that retain that classic touring experience while ensuring that you arrive at your weekend mountain retreat in one piece and not begging for mercy from the bike and the elements.
Colourway is “Black Storm Metallic” but it’s only available on the Triple Black variant. Image via BMW Motorrad
Sure, BMW has hedged its touring bets by creating similarly capable touring behemoths in the form of the K 1600 GTL inline 6 and the “Heritage” R 18 B. Any of these bikes will get you where you need to go on a magical carpet ride of German engineering, luxury and ego-inflating physical presence, but it’s arguable only the R 1250 RT that can do while while also being able to trace its family tree all the way back to the beer halls and drafting tables of 1923 Munich. Press your ear to the RT’s tank, and you can almost hear the overflowing steins clinking together and the dancing lederhosen being excitedly slapped. Call me nostalgic, but here in 2023 with our vapid Tik Tok habits, annoying ability to be mesmerised by egotistical dictators and sloth-like disregard for the environment, it seems like a rather wonderful, care-free time to be alive.
Snap out of it, Andrew, It’s a new year and I’m trying to think positively about what’s in store for 2024. Hopefully there’s more than a few kilometres of motorcycle touring in store for me and if they are anything like the ones I had on the 2023 RT, then the year can’t be all bad. As you’ve probably noticed, remaining objective here is quite the challenge. Like most regular riders outside of motorcycle dealers, bikes that cost almost half of the average Australian’s yearly income aren’t to be taken lightly. Nor with the manga-like wide eyed excitement that most motorcyclists who still have their heads screwed on straight would no doubt let loose in the RT’s presence. It’s still a machine that has to be built to a budget, no matter if it’s a bigger budget than you’d be comfortable affording. Let’s see what it’s got to offer…
Despite its diminutive on-screen looks, it’s a very substantial beast. Image via BMW Motorrad
Features of the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer
Like the Moto Guzzi V100 S I rode last month, the 2023 RT is a cavalcade of technological bells and whistles. And while it lacks that “active aerodynamics” of the Guzzi, it’s no slouch in the wind protection department. Like it’s R siblings – the sporty R 1250 RS and the R 1250 R nudie roadster, the RT is a substantial bike that sits at the top of BMW’s motorrad hierarchy. A popular go-to for continent-crushing touring, it also seems to be the choice of many of the world’s police and emergency services, thanks to its luggage and super composed on-road abilities. The bike’s ability to excel in most situations means that it’s a blast to ride in the city, but spending bucks like this only to use it to get locally caffeinated or to show off to friends seems like a real waste of an army of very committed German engineers. For me, the obvious comfort afforded to the rear passenger’s position and the price tag shout “I’ve just got access to my retirement funds and I want to take my better half on a relationship-testing, cross-continent odyssey.”
Engine
Sharing a power plant with BMW’s bread-winner GS adventure bikes, this is the cutting edge of the brand’s century-old engineering pride. For those not as up-to-speed on BMW donks, what we have here is the latest iteration of the BMW boxer twin; the engine that made BMW motorcycles world-famous a full 30 years before the company made their first “modern” car in 1961. Without wanting to spoil the surprise, it’s a great unit that could make an old wheelbarrow seem like luxury transport if you bolted it in. In the 100 years since its creation, BMW has added a seemingly endless list of improvements to it, the latest of which is their “Shift Cam” tech; unsurprisingly, it allows the bike’s intake camshaft to vary it’s timing and lift specs to increase power, torque and fuel economy when the bike’s giant computer brain wants it to.
“Shift Cam” boxer is well hidden beneath all that aero plastic. Image via BMW Motorrad
Electronics
As the cliche goes, it’s probably easier to list what electronics the R 1250 RT doesn’t have than what it does. And that’s because aside from antigrav and a giant subatomic particle collider, the bike comes with it all. This includes such techno titillations as an electrically-adjustable screen, a weather-proof compartment with wireless charging for your phone, a quickshifter, adaptive headlights, cruise control, hill start, an “entertainment system” that includes stereo speakers, riding modes, heated everything, tyre pressure sensors, and an enormous 10.25” TFT display that is likely bigger than the TV in your own house.
The ‘23 white variant has no RT lettering; the ’24 version does. Image via BMW Motorrad
Other Features
But the active radar cruise control is the cherry on the cherries on the Black Forest Cherry Cake here. Beautifully implemented, its distance setting allows you to dictate just how close the bike will get to the vehicle in front of you before it ever-so-carefully applies the brakes to maintain the distance. On bikes (as with cars) this is an absolute revelation on long distance rides and the amount of mental effort it saves could mean the difference between arriving at your destination relaxed and smiling or rolling up a frazzled, frustrated mess. Come to think of it, it could even save your life. Yes, the “no electronic interference” crowd will be up-in-arms at this statement, but I’d prefer to have it available than not at all. Especially if consecutive days of long rides are in store.
Take me to the river. Image via BMW Motorrad
Specs
The boxer twin 1254 cc engine is an air/liquid-cooled, four-stroke powerplant with four valves per cylinder and two overhead spur-gear driven camshafts, one balancer shaft and BMW ShiftCam variable intake camshaft control. Compression is a beefy 12.5:1. Power is 100 kW (136 HP) at 7,750 rpm with a maximum torque figure of 143 Nm (105 lb ft) at 6,250 rpm. The RT’s top speed is around 200 km/h (124 mph). The tank has an impressive 25 ltr (6.6 gal) capacity. Fully fueled and oiled, this Munich mile muncher weighs in at 279 kg (615 lbs) and the seat height is 805 mm (31.7 in). My bike was shod with Michelin Road 5 GT rubber, with a 120/70 ZR 17 on the front and a 180/55 ZR 17 at the rear. Oh, and while you have to really look for it, the front suspension is one of those eccentric BMW “telelever” set-ups.
Initial Impressions of the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer
Despite the bike’s “imperial cruiser” dimensions and unabashedly maximal approach to everything, the bike itself can be deceptive in so far as weight goes. While it gives you all the usual cues that it’ll be a heavy bike thanks to all its bells and whistles, it actually weighs just 279 kgs (615 lbs) wet. And while that is not a lightweight bike in anyone’s books, it’s a good chunk lighter than the equivalent R 18 or K 1600 bikes. Remember that it’s the same bones as the R 1250 R and RS, so in many ways the RS is a midweigh tourer punching above its weight. Still, it’s a physically impressive bike on first sighting. That giant screen really helps things along. My usual banter about “will it or won’t it do its job” is wasted breath here. That’d be like asking if the Hoover Dam is good at holding back water or if NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex is shockproof.
The white colourway makes it look like a Police bike; so that’s why everyone around you is so well behaved. Image via BMW Motorrad
Any Colour, As Long As It’s Black, White or Blue
It sounds moronic to say this about a bike that’s so pricey, but the fit and finish is absolutely top shelf. Go figure. Even inspecting things up close and personally, there’s nary a zip tie, hastily applied piece of tape or stray wiring loom to be had anywhere. The flipside of that is the brutal Teutonic-ness of it all; to say that the RT takes itself seriously is like saying a meal of pork knuckle, potatoes and 12 German beers is filling. Sure, a bike this expensive is not going to be flippant about what it does, but if the available colourways of “black, white, blue, and all the same colours again with very subtle variations” tells us anything it’s that there’s not a hint of fun here. Not until you find a Mozart opera on the stereo and roll up to the lights next to a ponytailed Harley rider with the volume cranaked. Ahhh, German humour!
TFT screen is about the same size as my flatscreen at home. Image via Machines That Dream
Look closely and you’ll see that this particular version of the R 1250 RT is the ‘Triple Black” version. Like a good ol’ options package from a 70s muscle car, this offers owners some paint and accessory options that would normally come at an additional expense on a base-model bike. It’s sometimes hard with BMW bikes to know what’s part of a package and what’s not; this is only made worse when the brand’s dealers add additional extras to the press bikes to make sure us journos get the best experience possible. From what I can tell, my Triple Black bike also had the Comfort and Dynamics package, meaning that there’s nothing missing here. At first glance, I assumed that the very GS-like daytime riding lights were bound to be optional extras too, but no. They are apparently stock on all RTs, which seems a little counter intuitive to me.
Behold the typical BMW “one button per function” ’bars. Image via Machines That Dream
No Dirty Laundry
Similarly, luggage is standard on the bike. It’s classy stuff with both great build quality and an above average amount of functionality that includes internal elasticised straps to prevent your dirty laundry from being publicly aired… quite literally. A common downside of this “vertical suitcase” design is that unlike “top loader” luggage, it’s frustratingly difficult to keep everything properly contained once the bags are turned 90s and attached to the bike. BMW’s answer to this is to include adjustable internal straps that allow you to secure the bag’s contents, ensuring that a quick stop to grab a neck warmer or reading glasses doesn’t end up with an 18-wheeler rolling over your runaway, windswept underpants. When used correctly, it’s a superior design to the common bagger top-loader system as it’s always easier to pack a wide, shallow suitcase with your clothes than try and organise a tall, narrow box with the same.
Ooops. I left the sidestand down. My bad. Image via Machines That Dream
Riding the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer
Riding in the City
Like surfing in a shopping mall fountain, riding the RT in the city is kind of missing the point somewhat. But unlike the aforementioned surfing, the RT takes it all in its stride. It’s not like the RT isn’t a fantastic city motorcycle, it’s just that like the GS or the S 1000 RR, this is not the RT’s natural environs. And should the temps climb, that enormous screen and the razor sharp aerodynamics account for nothing more than a giant barrier that’s preventing the summer breezes from cooling you down. Sure, it’s not something that most Europeans have to worry about outside of the four days a year it’s above twenty degrees celsius, but for us sweaty lot down here in Australia or any American RT riders in the southern United States, it kind of sucks that the bike is actively stopping you from cooling down.
Note the square sensor for the Active Cruise Control just beneath the central headlight. Image via Machines That Dream
Yet even without pushing the RT, the Paralever rear and Telelever front end shine through, giving the bike yet more silky, imperious vibes. The bike magic carpets along like some ancient emperor being carried aloft by an army of manservants. Don’t mistake this for meaning that the bike feels disconnected or overly soft; the main effect feels to me to be a reduction of brake dive and acceleration lift. You’ll know what the road is doing at all times, but it’s not conveyed like a sportsbike, Matrix-style, into the base of your brain. Instead it’s more like watching a 70mm film. It’s vivid and bright and detailed, but not overly intrusive or annoying. Just incredibly pleasant. And in a brief moment that makes me laugh out loud to myself, I honked the bike’s horn at some oblivious Soccer Mum only to realise that the bike HAS A PROPER, BIG BOY HORN. How many bikes have you ridden that have pissy, comical-sounding horns that are always a disappointment? Not, the RT baby. Its horn game is on point.
Luggage is well-made, useful and quick to detach. Image via Machines That Dream
Jumping onto the RT quite literally minutes after returning the Moto Guzzi V100 from my last review, the differences between the gearbox could not have been more stark. The sometimes brutal, angry changes of the Guzzi were replaced with something akin to a Rolex changing its date display at the stroke of midnight. It’s hard not to be impressed by the seamless precision of it all. No, it’s not perfect. Changing when backing off the throttle while high in the revs in lower gears and you can catch the bike out, but that’s not really saying much. Any bike or quick shifter can be fooled if you ride stupid enough, but for 99% of the time the RT is an absolutely incredible cog-swapper.
Sleek from this angle, but still a super wide bike. Image via Machines That Dream
Riding on the Freeway
In a sign of my commitment to this job, I decided the best way to test the RT on a longer trip was to get my better half on the back and take her to the always charming Kangaroo Valley, a popular biker destination in the Southern Highlands about two hours south west of Sydney. The roads in and out of the valley are properly twisty, but the freeway to get there ar a good test of the bike’s high speed cruising chops. To say that my wife is well versed on being a passenger is an enormous overstatement. I remember a previous attempt to ride two-up where she started leaning against the bike in corners. Talk about unsettling. So for this trip we rode around the block for 15 minutes or so just to make sure she (and I) were not going to end up shouting at each other, or worse.
Fast forward to an hour later and we’re deep into the trip and travelling at freeway speeds. It suddenly occurs to me that I not only have the mother of my three daughters on the back of the bike, but I’m also 100% responsible for both here and a AUD $40,000 motorcycle that I don’t own. If any poop hits and cooling machines, there’s a chance both of us could end up injured and owning BMW Australia a very large chunk of cash. No, it’s not very Hunter S. Thompson of me, I know. I take a few deep breaths and place our fate into the hands of the Motorcycling Gods. I’ve been a devout follower for decades now, so please don’t smite us just yet.
Seats are super comfy and have separate heating controls for rider and passenger. Image via Machines That Dream
Riding in the Curves
The final set of curves down into the valley are well-known to most Sydney motorcyclists and pose quite the challenge, mainly due to the fact that they arrive at the very end of the trip and are all downhill. With my fingers metaphorically crossed for my wife’s largely untested ability to handle her balance on a bike that’s properly leant over, I make plans in my head as to what I’ll do if she loses her nerve and starts to fight against the RT’s undoubtedly excellent cornering abilities. To her eternal credit, she handles it like a pro and somehow manages to disappear into the bike so that all I can feel is the single mass of the Beemer and its lovely lean. It’s no MotoGP racers, but it took the bendy bits much better and more slickly than a 280 kg bike has any right to.
Speakers were a conundrum to me until I figured out you need the screen up to hear them while riding. Image via Machines That Dream
For the rest of the trip the BMW was exemplary. It had so little trouble doing so much that there were moments I felt that I may have been wasting its time. ‘Where’s the autobahn and the snow-covered mountains?” the bike asked as I tootled past the Dapto Dogs Race Track on our way back home. Talk about a stark contrast. The stereo system was a bit of a mystery to me until I realised that I needed the screen to be fully raised before the buffeting wind blast was subdued enough for it to be audible. While being excellent and clearly quite powerful, I began to wonder just how you’d use it if I took the RT home for keeps. I mostly ride with noise cancelling Apple Airpods which effortlessly take care of my hearing protection, nav and music needs. And while they aren’t any good for hands free calls, I never answer my phone while I’m riding (as a parent with three young girls, I need all the “me time” I can get), so I’m more than happy in that department.
I can see how it’d be a nice-to-have if you were spending the day riding quiet country roads without too much speed, but I’d take my Airpods any day. The one thing it does have going for it is the fact that it doesn’t stifel conversations between rider and passenger. With that said, any serious moto couples will likely already have person-to-person comms in their helmets, which will also allow for music which will mean that the speakers won’t get that much use. But I can also picture being parked up for a beautiful summer sunset in some exotic location with some food and wine, with the BMW providing the tunes. That would be very pleasant indeed.
Exhaust is meaty but polite and rarely seen unless you remove the baggage. Image via Machines That Dream
Actively Avoiding Strangers
For me at least, the novelty item on the bike that I played with the most was the active cruise control. While I have a similar system on my family SUV, it’s the first time I’ve got to try something like this on a bike. Remarkably similar to the SUV in its implementation and “user experience”, the system allows you to choose from three distances that the bike will keep from the vehicle in front. I tend to think of these in terms of how good or bad the conditions are, and also how fast or slow the speed limit is on the road. For instance, if I was riding in the rain at freeway speeds, I’d never set it to the closest distance. Likewise, if the conditions are perfect and you set the distance to its maximum setting, you can tend to get other road users jumping into the space the bike creates in front of you, resulting in the bike continually slowing down to make more space which is then just filled up again… if you get my drift. Whatever the nuances of the system, it’s something I think is a real boon on both cars and bikes and I welcome its increasing availability on both high-end Yamahas and BMWs.
Note internal retaining straps to control rebellious underpants. Image via Machines That Dream
Arriving home after a full day’s riding, I quizzed my wife as to how she found the bike. For a non-biker, she was clearly impressed. She’s no dummy either, so she knew it was an expensive piece of kit. I pushed her and she commented that while she was comfortable most of the time, she was beginning to feel a little cramped in the legs by the end of the day. Yes, she was probably scraping the bottom of the barrel and I also suspect that if we decided on a proper, multi-day trip, she’d quickly get used to the riding position rather than it becoming unbearable over extended distances. I think it’s safe to say that we were both suitably impressed.
Engine is a genuine marvel but visually it’s definitely not the star of the show. Image via Machines That Dream
What Could Be Better on the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer
It’s tough finding fault with a bike like this. BMW have a century of motorcycling experience under their belt and you can bet your bottom moto dollar that they would do everything in their power to make sure all their top shelf bikes like the RT are as amazing as they can possibly make them. The result for reviews like this is that most of my criticisms are subjective, so as a possible future owner your mileage may vary. First and foremost, the bike is really expensive, but that’s more of an observation than a criticism. As I noted above, the bike’s incredible wind protection can result in a much more sweaty summer ride than you might get on a similarly specced naked bike. This won’t count for much in most of North America, Europe or North Asia, but Californians, Aussies and South East Asians take note. With that said, I’d also suggest that if you are forking out the cash for a bike like this, you may very well have more than one set of wheels in your garage already. I also felt that the bike’s mobile phone charging hidey-hole was a little small, and I’d guess that if you shelled out extra for an iPhone pro/max/whatever they are called this year, it may not fit. For me and my little ol’ regular iPhone 13, it was a tight fit with the charging cable attached and I’m very confident it wouldn’t have if I had opted for a bigger version.
Screen is probably the largest and the best that I’ve ever had the pleasure to use, but it also blocks cooling breezes on hot days. Image via Machines That Dream
Final Thoughts on the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer
I remember as a kid being ushered into the cockpit of a 747 while on a family holiday. Riding the RT had more than a few similarities to that memory, and not just because I didn’t own the 747. The bike oozes a kind of professionally-engineered capability that few other motorcycles do. Like bumping into a celebrity at a party, you very quickly realise that they are on a whole different level and not just because they have more money than you. They are where they are because they are amongst the very best at what they do. Similarly, the RT ticks so many ownership wishlist boxes it’s just not funny. No, it won’t outrun a sportsbike or smash a set of bends like one, but it’s all-year comfortable and for the remaining 99% of the time when you aren’t pretending you’re Valentino Rossi, the RT is going to be the better bike.
Luggage seems to have aero wings to improve airflow behind the bike. Image via Machines That Dream
In a perverse sort of way, maybe the RT is so good at what it does, you’d be better off asking yourself if you are really going to be able to ride it like it deserves. Planning to ride two-up around your nearest continent over 12 months with no real schedule and the luxury of not needing to worry about your bank account? Then the RT is probably the bike for you. But there’s little doubt in my mind that many owners – in a similar fashion to luxury off-roaders – will just want it because it makes a statement about the size of your wallet. It’s the same reason old white guys buy GS BMWs and never take them off road. Both bikes are big, impressive and very good at what they are designed to do. It’d be a real shame if you didn’t let them out of the stable regularly to stretch their legs a little.
Eats continents whole, with zero burps. Image via Machines That Dream
All up, the RT is an incredible machine. It’s lighter than you think and therefore it does a whole lot of things very bloody well. It’s slick as a thoroughly greased SR-71 and riding it makes you feel like the master and commander of an interstellar cruiser. And as always, that boxer engine – for me at least – provides an unbeatable mix of character, authenticity, and charm that only a 100-year-old design that’s been perfected and then perfected again can deliver. If you like what you’re reading but you think that you probably won’t be going on any cross-continent rampages this year, then have a ride of the R 1250 R or RS models. They’re the same basic bike but are much better suited to weekend shenanigans and one day adventures. But if the horizon is calling you and the idea of getting properly lost really appeals to you and (hopefully) you better half, then the BMW R 1250 RT is an almost perfect combination of comfort, tech, luxury, mile-crunching and handling that will impresses even old, jaded riders to their core. If you have the cash and the time to really explore the planet we all call home, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than this two-wheeled wunderkin.
The 2023 BMW R 1250 RT Triple Black Tourer at a Glance
| General Info |
- Price: $19,695 USD / $23,875 CAD
Key Features:
- 10.25-inch color TFT instrument cluster with connectivity and integrated map navigation
- BMW Motorrad full integral ABS Pro
- DCC (Dynamic Cruise Control with braking function)
- DTC (Dynamic Traction Control)
- 3 Ride Modes (ECO, Rain and Road)
- HSC (Hill Start Control)
- Engine: 1,254 cc Air/liquid-cooled 4-stroke flat twin engine
- Power: 136 hp (100 kW) at 7,750 rpm
- Torque: 105 lb-ft (143 Nm) at 6,250 rpm
- Wet Weight: 615 lbs (279 kg)
- Seat Height: 31.7” (805mm)
See Also: 2023 BMW Model Lineup
Pros
- A techno tour-de-force with Active Cruise Control
- Supremely refined
- Makes cross-continent rides a comfortable reality
- Handles much better than you expect, even two-up
Cons
- Properly, seriously expensive
- The class-leading wind protection means that you’ll be hot in summer
- Hidey-hole for mobile phone charging seems a bit too small to handle bigger handsets
2023 BMW R 1250 RT Photo Gallery
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