The Ancient and the Modern: Joe's New Ride

[Lone_RT_rider]

I haven't been on the board nearly as much as I could be lately. Work has been taxing my time (a common theme these days). Mitch let me know about this bike purchase through email before BRR and of course I congratulated him!

 

After a full 3 days of riding and 4 nights of kicking tires at night in front of the BRR hotel, I think he is already starting to do the mental farkling that will help him to have another wonderful 10 years with this bike.

 

Oh... one more thing ... I wanted it duly noted that I picked this color first this time, even though I like the 2009 in black better....

 

I think we need to get another shot like this, but with the new bikes.....

 

 

Mitch my friend, I believe we have some riding to do.

 

Shawn

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Now, I've read a bunch of your posts this past winter that lead to this choice of bike. Being an engineer, I'd love to see the data leading to the decision. Why not the GT?

 

"Data."

 

Usually I'm big on data, but I guess it can only go so far when trying to figure out what you want. Basically I took the GT for a test ride and was underwhelmed. Yes, tons of power, but to me, that was pretty much all it had going for it. It had less wind protection, sounded strange, and the fairing seemed tiny. I hopped on the 12RT, and it felt more "familiar." Settled in behind a big fairing, with a massive, pregnant fuel tank right in front of me, and a rumbling, roly-poly boxer motor chugging away near my feet, it just seemed a better fit somehow.

 

One thing I couldn't really assess during test rides in the suburban Detroit environ was handling. For that, I'm trusting in the advice of those who have gone before me: I'm informed that the RT is superior to the GT when it comes to handling really tight technical stuff.

 

I started out with a desire for more power and a smoother engine than my 11RT, which is what initially led me to consider the GT. the GT's engine isn't so "throbby" as the boxer, but it's more buzzy, not necessarily better. More power, but a bit too much for my tastes. the 12RT seems better on both counts: more power than the 11, but not too much more (for me), and the engine is smoother.

 

Now that I'm back from BRR, I'm looking forward to getting in some saddle time on the new beast.