I came from the ST1300 to K1600GT. I wanted so bad to stick with Honda but they have given up on the ST. My Honda was 100 percent reliable and never once gave me a lick of trouble in 80K miles. I did however, want a change. I really liked the K1300GT, but it had its' issues; wasn't worth the change for me at the time. The test ride did not impress me, then I saw the designs for the next generation K bike and loved it. I went to the BMW Forums and went through all of the things people had to say, but all I really had to do was to ride one. Almost two years of ownership and 18K trouble free miles and I am happy with the switch. The bike is everything I have wanted it to be so far. Maintenance is somewhat more expensive than the ST and is easier to work on than the ST. It is up to date in terms of technology and I believe it is the best sports tourer on the planet today. As for the dealer network no issues so far. I am stationed at FT Bragg, NC but my family lives up North, so twice a month I'm on I-95. I have used several dealers for both parts and service along the way and have been generally pleased with the way I'm treated. Before I bought the K bike, I went to the same dealerships on the Honda. Yes, I saw somewhat how I was treated differently. BMW people can either be great or snobs. I brought from the dealership that really appreciated the ST for the benchmark it was. They didn't care what someone rode in on, "we're all bikers". I've been to dealers in SD, MT, AZ, TX, PA, CT, NH, VA, FL, NC and MA have not have one bad experience although I know of people that were turned off the arrogance of some dealers (none of which I've been to). I think that if you are going to plop big bucks down on a premium bike, all dealers should have top notch customer service whether you are looking, buying, or getting service. The BMW so far is the best bike I have ever owned, but I will always appreciate the ST1300. Time will tell if it can begin to match the rock steady reliability of the ST.