BEEM ME UP
BMW’s a big name in the touring game. It has been for many years. Right from the off it’s been creating bikes that are capable of covering big miles while offering riders comfort, reliability and weather protection. That’s why, to track the constant evolution of the German factory’s mile-munching RTs, we rode the 2020 R1250RT back to back with its much older, much less sophisticated, but also much cheaper brother, the R100RT.
Both of the bikes you see here are designed for long-distance riding, though the R100 largely started it and the R1250 is the culmination of 40 years of evolution. Both share the boxer engine configuration, though the R1250 has more than twice the power. It also has, depending on which figures you read, 50kg (110lb) more weight – and it feels more. Besides that, it has more gadgets than a spaceship, whereas the R100 is, in this company, sparse; though back in the 1970s it was the bike for professionals and those covering miles. And it had a clock.
“How can the equivalent bike be so large?” asks Matt, my classic bike converted colleague.
We are both looking at the brand new, £19,000 BMW R1250RT alongside its much older predecessor, a 1989 BMW R100RT. Though the R100 is one of the last, its design harks back to 1978 and further; so effectively
