BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

It's getting close to the time to renew my tabs on my R1100R, but instead I'll be stripping it down for a ground up rebuild. Looking at a replacement ride since when I'm done, it will no longer be a decent touring ride.

I've always liked the Rockster, but am wondering if the rider geometry is better than the R11R. I have bad knees and spent 9 hours in the seat last summer, by the end of the day my knees were killing me. Sat on some newer RT's and GS's, really like the seating position, a couple extra inches between the seat and pegs makes a world of difference.

Anyone here go from a R11R to a Rockster and can comment on the geometry? Is it better like the GS?

bout the same as a R1150R, shorter peg and further back than the GS. Stock bars are for SHORT trips and some of us that travel on Rocksters have instaledl the roadster bars or something similar. BTW I have traveled quite a bit on the GS and don't really like the height of stock bars on same. Compromised for standing on the pegs.

Roadster bars ares about perfect.

Don't think you will notice much difference between a roadster and a rockster. (except for the bars..too flat and short for distance IMO)

I do 800+ miles a day (solo) when I need to on the rock, but your fitness/age might be quite different than me. Some add highway pegs but I have no experience with those, although seen them on RTs. If I need to stretch my legs I can just take them off the pegs for a bit or sometimes will lay them on the cylinders straight out.

Thanks, doesn't look like the Rockster would be a good tourer for me.

Got pointed to this site on another forum. Good info there. http://cycle-ergo.com/

I always think of the Rockster as the precursor to the Nine T - which is clearly designed as a general-purpose naked machine with a certain amount of 'pose' factor built-in. Unless you change the bars and maybe also lower the feet, the Rockster wouldn't be the ideal tourer. It's more of a fun street bike for the older rider. Very capable, easy-to-drive and IMHO a seriously under-rated vehicle. At the time, back in the early Naughties, the bike journos were typically sceptical of it - but I've had two and loved them both, among my eight other varied Beemers.

If you're into serious touring, esp. 2-up, get a 1200 RT; the dry-clutch air /oil cooled ones are all over the place on the web 'cos everybody wanted to chip them in for the post-2013 water/glycol cooled 1200 bike with the Chinese wet clutch and the shaft on the left... so there's dozens of right-hand-side shaft bikes at bargain prices, 1150 and 1200 models which generally tend to have been int he hands of careful riders.

So long as you look after the pesky hydraulic clutch mechanism, they'll go for ever and ever.

smutny wrote:Thanks, doesn't look like the Rockster would be a good tourer for me.

Got pointed to this site on another forum. Good info there. http://cycle-ergo.com/

Came here to post that exact link. - It's a good site.