First Impressions on BMW R 1250R and BMW R 1250RS: NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED! | Amelia2Wheels 

Sound needs attention.

I can't understand why anyone would ever buy a naked bike, unless maybe they never go over 80 km/h. They're just sooo tiring. I started on them, mostly dirt bikes (XL350,XR250) then a CBX400. I only had the 400 maybe 8 months before switching to a CBX550F2 which had a fairing. Omg! Suddenly a 900 km ride was no more tiring than 250 km on the naked bike. Tried an R80RT for about a year but it was just tooo much fairing, and no power. Had a K100RT for seven years. Good, but then the R1100RT came out. Perfect! I've had that bike for 28 years now, still love it. Recently I was loaned a Yamaha MT-03 while my bike was in for service. Nice engine, smooth, surprisingly torquey for a 300. Easy handling. But just brutal at 110 km/h on a cool day. I took it back and got on my CRF250 Rally and ... omg ... this is SO MUCH MORE comfortable at 110 km/h. It's a dirt bike with a small windscreen and pretty minimal lower fairing, but it works REALLY well. Not as good as the R11RT, of course, but compared to nothing it's just amazing. I remember how when I was 26 or 27 100 km at open road speeds on my XR600 would leave me exhausted, but now at 60 I can do 300 km on the 250 Rally and feel good. But for 900 km days I insist on the RT :-)

I test rode both of these in the UK back in June as I was looking for an alternative to my 1250GS as my wife no longer rides pillion so we don't tour anymore (I've had 3 so fancied a change but love the boxer engine) I thought the R was just too tiring to ride above 50mph, maybe I just wasn't used to riding a naked bike and I really don't like the look of the headlight. Both were far easier to manage than the taller GS at low speed and for filtering though neither have the telelever front suspension so feel more connected to the road where as the GS just glides along. The RS has more wind protection than the R and will probably need a different screen but overall I preferred it to the R and here in the UK a RS with all the packs is far cheaper than the equivelent GS so my RS is due in my garage very soon ❤