St0nkingByte - Motorcycle

BMW R1200RT

In December 2005 after a couple months of thinking about new bikes I took the plunge and bought a 2005 BMW R1200RT.

The RT replaces the Marauder as my daily commuting bike and hopefully will allow me to do some motorcycle day trips that I hadn't gotten around to before.

So why the BMW bike? When looking for a new bike I had decided that I really wanted a bike with anti-lock brake, something sportier and something with more protection from the weather/wind. This steered me into the sport touring bikes. There were really only three options. The BMW R1200RT, Honda ST1300ABS, and the Yamaha FJR. The first week of December the International Motorcycle show came to Seattle and I had a chance to sit on all three bikes

Right away I didn't like the FJR. The seat felt way too wide to me. The Honda ST1300 was a pleasant surprise. I really liked the seating position and despite it's relatively high weight the bike felt good. I also sat on the BMW R1200RT. The BMW felt good too but rather than being sure about which bike I wanted I had only eliminated the FJR.

The following day I dragged the family to a local Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/etc dealer and took a look at the Honda ST1300. The bike looked great and the salesguy started it up for me, it sounded great. However the sales experience was pretty subpar. First off no test rides allowed and no ABS bike in stock. Also the salesman couldn't really explain all the features of the bike to me so it was off to the BMW dealer.

At the BMW dealer the salesman was very knowledgeable and able to tell me everything I needed to know about the R1200RT. As I understood the bikes the BMW appeared to have the superior suspension and braking compared to the other bikes. Also the fit and finish of the BMW seems to be a notch better than the Honda. I also didn't feel given the options on BMW versus what was available on the Honda that the price premium for the BMW was not as significant as it seemed. I was pretty convinced but when he put the seat in it's high position it was basically a done deal.

The following tuesday I went down to pickup the bike. First off the dealership had me ride their demo R1200RT. This was great because I was able to make sure the RT was the bike for me and I got a valuable opportunity to get the hang of the RT before heading out with my brand new bike.

After closing the deal I left the dealer with my brand new bike, with only 6 miles on the odometer.

More pictures of the RT here.

Suzuki Marauder VZ800 In October of 2004 I purchased a 1997 Suzuki Marauder VZ800 as my first motorcycle. I had set out looking for a 'standard' bike to use to commute to work. I was planning on getting a cheaper 500-750cc bike, a Honda Nighthawk seemed to fit the bill until I found my bike and fell in love with it. I used my Marauder to commute to work daily and occaisonally go somewhere on the weekend. The Marauder was actually a good commuting bike. The front tire was a little floppy in very slow traffic but otherwise it worked out very well. The 800cc engine provided plently of power on the highway and I found the fat front tire and heavy front-end is a blessing on bumpy city streets. The bike really doesn't much mind those little bumpy things on the road when you're moving. Overall its a pretty nice ride and I enjoyed it alot. Labor day weekend 2005 I pulled the saddlebags off and switched to a rear mounted trunk. I also removed the PAIR valve, the big chrome box that was on the right side. In July of 2005 I replaced the stock Dunlop tires with new Metzeler ME880s which dramatically improved the handling of the bike, it was really like a completely new bike. The stock Dunlops were kind of skittish in the corners which didn't make for very confident riding but the Metzelers were just dreamy. Over Christmas vacation of 2005 I pulled the windshield and trunk off the Marauder and cleaned it up really well. The bike was looking great but after some time on the RT I just didn't really want to ride it anymore. Sure it was fun but I was spoiled by the RT. After riding the big RT the Marauder felt like a toy. In spring of 2005 I sold the Marauder to a friend of mine at work who was new to riding. It should be a great first bike for him just like it was for me.
The picture on the right was taken in February 2005 the day before I went down in the middle of an intersection in the rain after getting cut off by a SUV and the day after I ran over a bit bit of metal on the highway and put a lemon sized dent in my exhaust pipe. The statistics said I was going to have some sort of accident in the first six months, nice to know I'm so average. No worries though I put the bike back together myself and its still in great shape

	1997 Suzuki Marauder VZ800 Overall Length: 93.1 in Overall Width: 29.5 in Overall Height: 43.7 in Wheelbase: 64.8 in Ground Clearance: 5.3 in Seat Height: 27.6 in Dry Weight: 456 lbs Engine type: Four-stroke, water-cooler OHC, 45-degree V-twin Engine Cylinders: 2 Engine Displacement: 805cc (49.1 cu. in)