BMW K1300GT

Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
65
Location
West Hills, CA
Bike
'08 Goldwing
Did I read the specs correctly? The fuel capacity is only 5.3 gallons? Well, I just lost interest. I'm in the planning stage of getting a new Sport-TOURING bike and liked the looks of this GT. But after having an ST with 7.3 gallons, and then a FJR with 6.6 gallons, there is no way I would consider a sacrifice of only 5.3 gallons. Even the new Harleys have 6.0 gallons. What are those BMW people thinking?
 
Joined
Jul 23, 2006
Messages
18
Location
Placentia, CA
Bike
2009 FJR 1300A
I have a friend that wants to sell his 2007 BMW K1200GT to me for $11,500. Has anybody priced used ones? Is this a good deal? It has all of the bells and whistles-heated seat/grips, ESA computer, BMW matching trunk.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
1,494
Location
Texas
Bike
2013 Triumph Trophy
Definitely sportier than the ST, and more options too. I wanted a K1200GT when I bought the ST, but I couldn't get past the $7000 price difference.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
1,494
Location
Texas
Bike
2013 Triumph Trophy
I have a friend that wants to sell his 2007 BMW K1200GT to me for $11,500. Has anybody priced used ones? Is this a good deal? It has all of the bells and whistles-heated seat/grips, ESA computer, BMW matching trunk.
Hard to say, but it was over 20K brand new. I have heard that BMWs can depreciate like a rock, expecially the LT model, because its a niche brand.
 

Austin city limits

R.I.P. - 2010/11/19
Rest In Peace
Joined
Dec 9, 2004
Messages
1,831
Location
East Central Illinois... 12 miles from Moonshine..
Bike
2006 ST1300 ABS
Everything,,, will find the "Float" area...

What is the float area???

The BMW starts out at $21,000 lets just say to be saying...

The ST-1300 ABS/Connie 14 ABS and the FJR ABS are all around the $12500 - $14,500 area new...

The BMW will QUICKLY,,, settle down to what a new ST/Connie 14/FJR are priced for new once they are used... They MAY be able to ask a shade more,,, but not get much more than this on average...

Why???

People will buy a New ST/Connie 14/FJR with a longer warranty before buying a $2,000 more expensive BMW used bike with a shorter warranty...

Sometimes,,, i just know things... ;)
 
Joined
Jul 13, 2010
Messages
2
Location
north east
Bike
honda st1100
I just returned from a 10 day trip on a rented 2009 BMW K1300 GT, and think this review might be interesting for some ST owners considering a jump to the far side.

Looking at the dimension specs, my ST1100 is very much like the GT. But, the similarity ends here. The bikes are totally different. My impressions of the GT follow. My ST does not have to fear the competition.

1. Comfort. For a sport TOURER one would think long distance comfort is a consideration. But, this is the most uncomfortable ride I've been on. I reviewed the bike before renting it, and came across one review that likened the seat to sitting on a split rail fence, with splinters. I learned to understand what that review meant. 1 hour in the saddle required a break. My hips felt like they were pried apart by the jaws of life.
2. Hardbags are BIG. This is obviously good....but not really, as getting on the bike invariably resulted skuffing the saddlebag. At 5'10" and 30 inch inseem, I found it impossible not to scuff the top of the bag most of the time. This must be a problem because the dealer glued a plastic foil to the top of it. These bags are heave when fill them. And, they don't balance to well off the bike and on the hotel room stand.
3. The brakes. Superb. Superb. So superb, you gotta watch your rear 'cause nothing following this bike will stop nearly as well.
4. Speedo/Rev gauges are not readable. The numbers are small, and what's up with the striations? One would expect large numerals from a German manufacturer, but not on this bike. The ST1100 has the gauges just right.
5. Tranny. Clunky. Not exactly top of the line.
6. The motor. Power galore in all ranges. I really liked the motor, but what's up with 4000rpms doing 80 with a six speed? This is supposed to be a tourer. The power and torque of the motor can easily match a Harley's 2800rpm at 80.
7. Wind protection. The windshield is electric. I never found a setting that is nearly as quiet as my ST1100's 22" shield.
8. This bike feels like a whale at slow speeds. It's the same weight as the ST1100, but feels 'fatter'.
9. Finally (?) BMW uses Japanese type turn signals. But wait!, why is there no quality feedback, feel, etc, for a 20+k bike? The turn signals are worse then the cheapest import I've ever ridden. And, no auto cancel? For a luxo tourer not good.
10. Ride. Great. But I didn't find a huge difference between the sport, komfort and normal settings. Cute, but not necessary.
11. Heated grips, seats and cruise control work superb. Best components on this bike.

After 10 days riding the autobahn 160+, country roads, alpine roads, parking lots, old towns with really small streets and tons of parked cars/traffic, I find it hard to cost justify a GT. And even if it cost 100$, I could not ride it longer then 1 hour, without major seat mods.
 

Winged_STer

Gary Gray
Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
254
Age
64
Location
Spring Hill, FL
Bike
'20 BMW R1250GS Adv
2024 Miles
000826
STOC #
7118
Nice Review!

To be fair, the stock STseat is just as bad. I couldn't spend more than an hour on the ST either. I REALLY wish the ST had a factory cruise control system but the Audiovox solution works great.

Still for the money differential the ST is hard to beat. My .02 cents.
 
Joined
Jul 13, 2010
Messages
2
Location
north east
Bike
honda st1100
Hm, the ST1100 is perfectly balanced for American traffic conditions. TheK1300 is built for German roads, by German drivers. What's that mean? We've heard about their autobahns and no speed limits. But that's not the true picture. Many stretches have no speed limits, but they are broken up by speed limits of 60mph and 80mph, then unlimited again. Their trucks hog the right lanes and seem limited to 60mph, while other trucks try to pass at 65mph in the middle lane, while some vehicles fly by at 130+ mph in the left lane. And then every now and then, road construction decides to block off a lane. That makes for a lot of hard acceleration and hard breaking from super fast speed. Hard riding. The K1300 is perfect for that. This is a country where many ride in full racing gear. The 60mph on state roads seems merely a suggestion, most seem to exceed that speed handily, even the trucks. While their villages have rotaries at their entrance, to cut the speed down to 30mph. They do a lot of aggressive driving there. The K1300 fits right in. But for much safer and saner American road conditions, a k1300 is overkill, really no place to take this bike through its paces. Just the humble opinion of this 60 year old.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
154
Location
chicago
I've spent a good deal of time on an 06 K1200GT. Here are my impressions.

On the positive side, the Duo-Lever/ Tele-Lever front ends are a tremendous improvement over conventional forks. They provide noticeably better stability, particularly at high speeds.

The electronic suspension (ESA) is an excellent option. Going from comfort mode on slab to sport mode in the twisties really produces a noticeable change in handling. Sure beats stopping and fiddling with manual adjustment.

The engine is butter smooth as far as I4's go, and pulls like an F-18.

On the down side, I did not find the bike to be as comfortable as I liked. I'm sure a Russell seat, and taller shield, and perhaps risers would transform the bike though.

The transmission was a little clunky, and the fuel mapping seemed to be a bit abrupt as well.

I hear the K13 has resolved the fuel mapping abruptness and has a nicer torque curve.

Overall...nice bike, but I prefer the RT hands down.
 
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