The BMW R1200RT is a touring motorcycle

Touring motorcycle

A touring motorcycle is a type of motorcycle designed for touring. Although any motorcycle can be used to tour with, manufacturers have brought specific models designed to address the particular needs of these riders...

 that was introduced in 2005 by BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....

 to replace the R1150RT model. It features a 1170 cc flat-twin engine with a six-speed gearbox and shaft drive.
BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad is the motorcycle brand of the German company BMW, part of its Corporate and Brand Development division. The current General Director of the unit is Hendrik von Kuenheim....

 began manufacturing "RT" ((Reise-Tourer, or "travel tourer") touring motorcycle models in the late 1970s. The first of these were "airhead

Airhead (motorcycle)

Airheads are the traditional BMW motorcycles with a flat-twin air-cooled engine that were built from 1923 to 1995...

" models that continued BMW's long tradition dating to 1923 of producing "boxer" or opposed-twin

Flat-twin

A flat-twin is a two cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders arranged on opposite sides of the crankshaft. It is part of the class of flat engines, sub-type "boxer", and shares most characteristics of those engines.-Motorcycle use:...

 engined motorcycles with unit engine-transmission construction

Unit construction

Unit construction is a term used to describe the design of larger motorcycles where the engine and gearbox components share a single casing. The term is sometimes applied to the design of automobile engines and was often loosely applied to motorcycles with rather different internal layouts such as...

 and shaft final drive.