Hey, new to the club. I am riding the one-owner 1984 R100RT that just I bought in Illinois back to Albuquerque this Saturday (after going through the bike and having new tires fitted - only thing I don't like doing myself). My route goes through central Iowa before heading south to catch a bit of Missouri, then much of Kansas before crossing the tips of OK and TX.
Very likely no-one else is silly enough to be traveling this time of year (looks a bit soggy in Kansas while I'm there), but if any airhead riders are on the route and want company, please send a PM and we can exchange cell phone numbers and maybe have some safety in numbers for an hour or two, anyway.
My intended pace will be the legal limit, weather permitting... which brings up a question.
I've heard differing things about the RT's fairing in the rain, mostly good. But it'd be nice if someone with lots of miles on an early '80s RT could discuss windshield angle and height adjustment for best coverage. I'm 6'2" and have no experience with the niceties of this fairing.
Thanks very much.
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N. Illinois to NM 10/18
Re: N. Illinois to NM 10/18
Hi, I'm 6'2" and had plenty of RT experience but in the UK, so plenty of rain and some snow. I kept the screen upright and always wore an open face helmet with prescription glasses. I assume you'll have the standard handlebars but it was only in snow, hail and heavy rain that I needed to lean forward for some more protection. I think the screen was 20" tall.
Earlier, I had an Avon fairing on a /6 and then a Rickman fairing on a /7. The RT fairing gave the best protection but was not as robust as the other two when the bike fell off the stand or was bumped. There are captive nuts in the fibrous material, which revolve if the small bolt is corroded, plenty of salt on our roads. My job was riding the bike, so perhaps you'll have a quieter life. I modified the RT lower to make oil filter access easier, I don't think the air vents made any difference. It might be worth having a spare pair of mirrors, they're a bit vulnerable.
I ride a 50/2 now with a BMW screen, which is not quite tall enough. There's a Chinese adjustable screen that clips on, costs about $20 and makes all the difference.
I hope you enjoy the ride. I did many 100s of thousands of miles on RTs, they're a great tourer, reliable, simple and handle well enough to have some fun round the twisties.
Charlie.
Earlier, I had an Avon fairing on a /6 and then a Rickman fairing on a /7. The RT fairing gave the best protection but was not as robust as the other two when the bike fell off the stand or was bumped. There are captive nuts in the fibrous material, which revolve if the small bolt is corroded, plenty of salt on our roads. My job was riding the bike, so perhaps you'll have a quieter life. I modified the RT lower to make oil filter access easier, I don't think the air vents made any difference. It might be worth having a spare pair of mirrors, they're a bit vulnerable.
I ride a 50/2 now with a BMW screen, which is not quite tall enough. There's a Chinese adjustable screen that clips on, costs about $20 and makes all the difference.
I hope you enjoy the ride. I did many 100s of thousands of miles on RTs, they're a great tourer, reliable, simple and handle well enough to have some fun round the twisties.
Charlie.
75/7+ offroad sidecar; 50/2; R 35; XR125V; XR200A; Solex; 1939 Hillman Minx DHC.
Re: N. Illinois to NM 10/18
Charlie,
Okay, very reassuring--thank you. It's now looking like the weather will be clear from the Wisconsin-Illinois border south and west to Kansas City. That's the first 500-mile leg, which must be commenced after lunch in light of ferrying the wheels to and from the dealer to fit tires (only thing I don't like to do) and pack bearings--a 1 hour drive each way.
At least with dry roads, I'll be able to ride at higher speeds for this first leg. So, perhaps won't be riding too late into the night.
However, the second leg looks like it will indeed involve rain and a 50% chance of thunderstorms--which means lightning. So, I will do as you recommend and tilt the windscreen upright. I should have mentioned that it appears to be a taller screen--though still an OEM part, from the look of it. Below is a (very dusty) photo from the ad.
This is a big help, thank you again for posting.
Joel
Okay, very reassuring--thank you. It's now looking like the weather will be clear from the Wisconsin-Illinois border south and west to Kansas City. That's the first 500-mile leg, which must be commenced after lunch in light of ferrying the wheels to and from the dealer to fit tires (only thing I don't like to do) and pack bearings--a 1 hour drive each way.
At least with dry roads, I'll be able to ride at higher speeds for this first leg. So, perhaps won't be riding too late into the night.
However, the second leg looks like it will indeed involve rain and a 50% chance of thunderstorms--which means lightning. So, I will do as you recommend and tilt the windscreen upright. I should have mentioned that it appears to be a taller screen--though still an OEM part, from the look of it. Below is a (very dusty) photo from the ad.
This is a big help, thank you again for posting.
Joel
1984 R100RS (converted from RT), 1971 Triumph Bonneville custom cafe, 1951 Harley Pan-Shovel
Re: N. Illinois to NM 10/18
You reminded me : I always had hand muffs (covers). It means dry hands and normal gloves and preserves the switches.
Bon voyage, Charlie.
Bon voyage, Charlie.
75/7+ offroad sidecar; 50/2; R 35; XR125V; XR200A; Solex; 1939 Hillman Minx DHC.
Re: N. Illinois to NM 10/18
Ah, I've seen those... well, too late for this trip! However, I have good winter gloves in addition to my favorite unlined leather gauntlets--and waterproof 'over gloves' for the rain. So, I'm hoping to come through without hypothermia...
...which I've had before. Not fun. Had to be warmed up in a vat of heated water for hours.
Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm hoping it will be a memorable, if somewhat hurried trip. As I'm a novelist, I may scribble something down about the experience, too.
...which I've had before. Not fun. Had to be warmed up in a vat of heated water for hours.
Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm hoping it will be a memorable, if somewhat hurried trip. As I'm a novelist, I may scribble something down about the experience, too.
1984 R100RS (converted from RT), 1971 Triumph Bonneville custom cafe, 1951 Harley Pan-Shovel
Re: N. Illinois to NM 10/18
Got in last evening after three plus days on the road. Below are a couple of shots by a very wide river I had just crossed (I don't know why the thumbnails are rendering upside down in my draft but come out right-side up when clicked on)...
Some impressions and notes:
The RT fairing provided very good protection, as I dealt with some rain and lots of wind. However, the buffeting about one's head--even with the windshield all the way up--was pretty bad. I placed my open hand just above the center of the windshield... and it was gone. So, one of those attachment deflectors would apparently solve the problem.
But the thing increases the frontal area so much that the bike was working awfully hard to maintain 80 mph when the wind was head-on or a cross-headwind. Gas mileage varied a great deal depending on the wind. Add a substantial grade--like the climb west into Albuquerque--and it really struggled, and gulped the gas. Some of that lowered performance was bogging down due to an overly rich mixture with the increase in elevation, presumably. But that said, I'm 99% sure I'll be swapping the RT uppers for RS (will start a separate thread for the mods to this bike). I'll list the fairing for sale on this website.
The suspension was amazing. I must have felt, quite literally, a half-dozen bumps through the (fairly new OEM) seat over 1,300 miles which covered lots of construction work. Just an amazingly comfortable ride. Yet even with all that suspension travel--and I believe the original shocks from 1984--the bike held its line well over uneven pavement, threading the needle alongside semi trucks doing 80 mph with concrete barriers just off my left elbow.
Perhaps the fork brace helped with the stable front end...?
The H4 halogen headlight is barely adequate. The high beam nicely illuminated the mist above the road and overpasses, too, but little else. The low beam really wasn't enough with all of those deer crossing signs flashing past; I was over-driving the headlight during my night riding. I will be replacing it with an LED unit--and probably one that can be aimed from the saddle, like the hand-made aluminum mount/adjuster and retainer ring I fabricated for the Bonneville (next pics).
The charging system worked well. The voltage meter and clock worked perfectly, and I got a hair under 14 volts, holding steady at anything over 2,000~2,500 rpms.
The bike has a stainless exhaust, so I'm assuming I can just hit the mufflers with the buffer wheel and stainless polish, and perhaps the headers will clean up with wet sanding before buffing. I mean, if they're stainless, there's no finish to destroy, right? Just start from scratch, I assume...
I really like the Brown side stand. Any reason to keep the OEM one installed, too? Seems redundant...
The Bridgestone Battlax BT46 tires in stock sizes were excellent all the way around. Only thing is they're a little wider than stock, so the clearance at the R/H swing arm is very close. But no contact at the sidewall, so no biggie. Notably, the PO was not running tubes inside the old tires (which looked great but at ~14 years old, no way I was leaving them on). The BMW dealer in Madison, WI said they were seating fine on the rims and indeed I did not have to add any air despite 1,300 miles at sustained highway speeds.
The bike did not use or leak any oil from the engine, driveshaft, or final drive.
The paint has only one major defect, apart from expected wear and tear from 63,000 miles (well, now 64 and change), as it looks like some battery acid or something got on the L/H side cover. I think the OEM windshield will clean up nicely with wet sanding and then a good polish, like they do with those headlight kits.
The PO threw in a new-in-the-box Parabellum windshield for the RT fairing (which I'll be selling), some specialty tools (alternator rotor remover, rear main seal press, exhaust collar wrench, etc.), and a few hundred dollars in spare parts still new in their boxes (alternator stator and rotor, extra Omega diode board, extra voltage regulator, carb float-and-needle kits, a second set of diaphragms, oil filter change kits, ball-end allen extension for R&Ring the oil filter cover--which was simple to do with that tool--and some other stuff I don't recall). So, looks like the cost of flying out there and hotels riding home were paid for with this stuff. And, frankly, the bike didn't cost much more than the cost of the trip...
Anyway, I made it by suppertime last night.
Some impressions and notes:
The RT fairing provided very good protection, as I dealt with some rain and lots of wind. However, the buffeting about one's head--even with the windshield all the way up--was pretty bad. I placed my open hand just above the center of the windshield... and it was gone. So, one of those attachment deflectors would apparently solve the problem.
But the thing increases the frontal area so much that the bike was working awfully hard to maintain 80 mph when the wind was head-on or a cross-headwind. Gas mileage varied a great deal depending on the wind. Add a substantial grade--like the climb west into Albuquerque--and it really struggled, and gulped the gas. Some of that lowered performance was bogging down due to an overly rich mixture with the increase in elevation, presumably. But that said, I'm 99% sure I'll be swapping the RT uppers for RS (will start a separate thread for the mods to this bike). I'll list the fairing for sale on this website.
The suspension was amazing. I must have felt, quite literally, a half-dozen bumps through the (fairly new OEM) seat over 1,300 miles which covered lots of construction work. Just an amazingly comfortable ride. Yet even with all that suspension travel--and I believe the original shocks from 1984--the bike held its line well over uneven pavement, threading the needle alongside semi trucks doing 80 mph with concrete barriers just off my left elbow.
Perhaps the fork brace helped with the stable front end...?
The H4 halogen headlight is barely adequate. The high beam nicely illuminated the mist above the road and overpasses, too, but little else. The low beam really wasn't enough with all of those deer crossing signs flashing past; I was over-driving the headlight during my night riding. I will be replacing it with an LED unit--and probably one that can be aimed from the saddle, like the hand-made aluminum mount/adjuster and retainer ring I fabricated for the Bonneville (next pics).
The charging system worked well. The voltage meter and clock worked perfectly, and I got a hair under 14 volts, holding steady at anything over 2,000~2,500 rpms.
The bike has a stainless exhaust, so I'm assuming I can just hit the mufflers with the buffer wheel and stainless polish, and perhaps the headers will clean up with wet sanding before buffing. I mean, if they're stainless, there's no finish to destroy, right? Just start from scratch, I assume...
I really like the Brown side stand. Any reason to keep the OEM one installed, too? Seems redundant...
The Bridgestone Battlax BT46 tires in stock sizes were excellent all the way around. Only thing is they're a little wider than stock, so the clearance at the R/H swing arm is very close. But no contact at the sidewall, so no biggie. Notably, the PO was not running tubes inside the old tires (which looked great but at ~14 years old, no way I was leaving them on). The BMW dealer in Madison, WI said they were seating fine on the rims and indeed I did not have to add any air despite 1,300 miles at sustained highway speeds.
The bike did not use or leak any oil from the engine, driveshaft, or final drive.
The paint has only one major defect, apart from expected wear and tear from 63,000 miles (well, now 64 and change), as it looks like some battery acid or something got on the L/H side cover. I think the OEM windshield will clean up nicely with wet sanding and then a good polish, like they do with those headlight kits.
The PO threw in a new-in-the-box Parabellum windshield for the RT fairing (which I'll be selling), some specialty tools (alternator rotor remover, rear main seal press, exhaust collar wrench, etc.), and a few hundred dollars in spare parts still new in their boxes (alternator stator and rotor, extra Omega diode board, extra voltage regulator, carb float-and-needle kits, a second set of diaphragms, oil filter change kits, ball-end allen extension for R&Ring the oil filter cover--which was simple to do with that tool--and some other stuff I don't recall). So, looks like the cost of flying out there and hotels riding home were paid for with this stuff. And, frankly, the bike didn't cost much more than the cost of the trip...
Anyway, I made it by suppertime last night.
1984 R100RS (converted from RT), 1971 Triumph Bonneville custom cafe, 1951 Harley Pan-Shovel