Considering a K Bike (advice?)

[Qwispy]

Hi gang,

I've been on a 98 1100 for the past year, and have loved it. But - there's lots of great new tech that I feel I'm missing out on. I'm considering trading the ST in on a 09 K1300 loaded. Linked brakes, ABS, cruise, EFI, traction control and electronic suspension control make the K seem like a safer ride - esp here in the soggy North West. Apart from the upfront cost, and the higher repair costs - are there any compelling reasons to not go Bavarian? Safety is more than a state of mind, right? Any K bike owners out there who would rather be on their non-ABS ST, and why? TIA

 

[Daboo]

If you go over to the BMW MOA forum, you can get a lot of info on the bikes there. To make a post, you'll have to join the MOA. But there should be no issue with looking through their forum posts.

Here's one that I thought was pretty comprehensive.

I have owned a 2008 K1200GT from new and do my own maintenance. The bike now has 122,000 miles. It is very similar to the K1300GT in almost all respects.

Getting all the body work off is petty basic, lots of screws is all.

Pulling the radiator you'll do well to buy the clamping tool to remove the radiator hose clamps.

Because...you have to pull the radiator to get to the spark plugs and the valves.

The coils are a ***** to get off the plugs even with the proper coil remover tool. The original white coils chipped easy, real easy.

Checking the valves is standard stuff...once you get the radiator and the valve cover off.

So far, even with the cam chain on our bike jumping two teeth, the valves have not needed any adjustment. An adjustment would require the cams to be pulled.

DO make sure the cam chain anti jump piece is installed. It's a recall and free if it hasn't been.

Filling the radiator can be done without an Air-Lift though the Air-Lift tool with a air compressor makes it a bit easier.

Bleeding the brakes is mostly standard. I have swapped out all the bleeders with Speed Bleeders. Makes it an easier one man job. (See the comment below about the GS-911.)

Draining the oil tank with the straw is a bit slow, and getting the straw off the oil tank can be a real PITA.

The newer rear drives on the K13s do have a fill and a drain. My '08 didn't have a drain, I had to drop the rear drive every time I did a rear drive oil change.

The clutch on our bike got to the point I couldn't get her into neutral when running and stopped. Once that began, the clutch got a bit sticky. It took a new basket and clutch pack to fix it. That was the only big expensive I had because neither the OEM nor the extended warranty covered the clutch.

The older rear drives let dirt in. Wanda and I tried to ride through an Haboob and packed the rear drive with sand. The replacement drive was $2,300 and was covered by our extended warranty.

There is a recall on the fuel pump housing on Beemers past 2005. Need to be sure that was done.

A GS-911 is a very valuable tool that will aid in properly bleeding the brakes, resetting the computer, checking which brake pads are worn and then reset them, and a bunch of other stuff. In my opinion it is a must have tool if you have a modern computer driven bike.

And...order the DVD OEM Repair Manual. Lots of torque settings and stuff to pay attention to.

On the other hand...if you don't do you own maintenance...never mind

Our 2008 K1200GT is our bike of choice for long distance travel. We just got back from Texas for the MOA Getaway in Kerrville, 1,800 miles round trip. The GT averaged 40 mpg two up with six days of clothes.

If BMW did another K12/K13GT, it would probably be our next Beemer.

Deryle & Wanda Mehrten
Sierra Vista, AZ USA

My biggest concern (and it may be unfounded), is the final drive failures. As you'll see, that owner had an issue with his. Luckily, his was covered by an extended warranty. I've seen a lot of posts of owners making the comment that they sell their BMW once the extended warranty runs out. Personally, I wouldn't buy any of the shaft drive BMWs without the extended warranty. But as always, YMMV.

Chris

 

[Upt' North]

+1 Daboo, from what you hear only buy with the warranty.
I don't know what's offered over there but in UK all franchised approved sales have 2 years warranty and B/D cover. I think they offer the great warranty because of the bad reliability reputation. Don't shoot me, I'm not saying they're unreliable, they may be, but the reputation is bad. I think another few £/$/e for a franchised bike could be money well spent.
Upt'North.

 

[Qwispy]

Thanks Gents. I'll check out the MOA site. I'm a bit concerned with the reliability issues too. Pulling radiator to get to plugs and valves seems nuts.

 

[DeanR]

Hard to beat your 98 1100, although I do hear you about the "modern" stuff.

My 99 ST is all I need.

Pulling radiator to get to plugs and valves seems nuts.

This caught my eye as well. Geez....

 

[Daboo]

I hate to come across negative about BMW bikes (I have one - but with belt drive, not shaft drive). What I see on the MOA forum is about what I saw on the Suzuki Burgman forum. The 650 model began building up miles and everyone who asked about the CVT's reliability was told it is designed for the life of the bike. But then they started failing. Some as early as 17,000 miles; many between 35-50K. And when it failed, the repair cost was so much...it really was for the life of the bike. As one owner said, it becomes a "throw away bike". Doing the work yourself dramatically lowered the cost of the repair from about $3000 to @$600...but there aren't a lot of people comfortable with undertaking dismantling the bike like that. Initially, the reaction was that the failures were one of a kind. No one says that any more. And Suzuki hasn't really done anything to eliminate the cause that I know of.

The attitude of many BMW owners is just they accept the cost of a final drive failure as the cost of ownership. And if you can't afford it...you don't deserve to be a BMW owner. To me, it is unacceptable. I know Honda shaft drives are reliable if you keep the rear splines lubed. If Honda can do it, then BMW should be able to as well.

I remember a MOA member writing in last summer that his final drive failed without warning up in Alaska. No one in Alaska had the parts needed. And even if they did, the two shops in the area didn't have the tools. He had three weeks vacation and started in Texas. I have no idea what he finally did to get home.

BMW makes some wonderful bikes. But I'm just a little leery of them.

Chris

 

[drrod]

Mechanical "iffiness" aside, you best prepare yourself to another dimension of performance!! The K bikes are rockets compared to an ST.

 

[caldercay]

Mechanical "iffiness"

vs occassional "rocketness"?

Zero comparison - I'll take reliability over "iffiness"

 

[Booger Man]

I had 2009 K13GT it was the best handing and fun bike to ride. I have K16 GTL now. Basic maintance I have found is no more expensive than any other bike. Valve checks is another thing. Not many guys do BMW valves like the Honda shade tree guys. I believe the final problems are a thing of the pass. Try the BMW you’ll like it.

 

[drrod]

vs occassional "rocketness"?

Zero comparison - I'll take reliability over "iffiness"

And that is why so many Toyota Camrys are sold.

 

[amorley]

I moved from my much loved 2005 ST1300 which I had shared 85K miles with in 2015 to KBiK, a 2015 K1600GTS. I just love my new ride. The K1600 engine is amazing. Ride one and you'll never look back. The power and torque produced by this monster makes you realize our much loved ST1300 is dated.

KBiK and I have shared 56K miles in three years. All that power means you'll eat through rear tires. By 2015, BMW seem to have solved the problems with the final drive, water pump and switches. I replaced the sprag clutch on my starter last month which seems to be an inconsistent problem some K1600's have.

The K1600forum is a good place to go to find out more.

I plan to blow by 75K miles by December!

 

[Tor]

It kind of depends what kind of riding you plan on doing. Touring, moto camping, off-road, short day trips. Is this a K13S, GT? The 13GT is nice Sport tourer. Or you could go to a 1600GTS (Gold-Wing size touring, moto camping), or you could go to an R1200GS or GSA (off-road, on-road, touring, moto camping.) Choice Choices .

 

[Qwispy]

Well gang, reliability won out. While the K13GT is a great riding bike, I found a nice ST1300 that checked almost all of my boxes. For the electronic suspension control and cruise control, I'll just wait for my next bike. I've got 3 kids to put through college in the next 7 years so I think the Honda will be much kinder to my wallet. And its a sweet upgrade from my ST11. Thanks for the helpful posts and links and see you down the road!

 

[Chunk]

I just added this one to the bunch. So far i like it. Very smooth and pretty nimble. Not too heavy and not much weight up high, center of gravity is not as low as the r100r Mystic, but still feels like a light weight. Cheers.

 

[jpcollinsworth]

I traded in my 2006 ST1300 for a 2009 BMW K1300S when my significant other stopped riding with me. The BMW had 9000 miles on it when I bought it and I put an additional 33,000 miles on it. Other than oil changes, the only maintenance required was a set of brake pads, and checking valve clearances (all within tolerance) and changing plugs at 36,000 miles. I also had to replace the crankshaft position sensor ($75.00) at around 30,000 when the engine started cutting out at 7,500 RPM.
However, there are several accounts of lemons on the I-BMW sportbike site so I must have gotten a good one. I loved the bike the whole time I had it (recently traded in on a 2018 1200 GS Adventure). However, I wouldn't recommend it for two-up riding.
I did miss the ST1300 and sometimes regretted getting rid of it.

 

[SMSW]

Thanks Gents. I'll check out the MOA site. I'm a bit concerned with the reliability issues too. Pulling radiator to get to plugs and valves seems nuts.

How often do you do the plugs and valves? I LOVE my ST, but i think the contortions necessary to change hoses (or temp sensor) on the thermostat housing are ludicrous - or pull the tank, air box, throttle bodies, etc for easy and complete access. Or, how about rebuilding the clutch slave cylinder? Every bike has its peccadilloes. All of these items require infrequent (very in some cases) attention.

 

[SMSW]

I hate to come across negative about BMW bikes (I have one - but with belt drive, not shaft drive). What I see on the MOA forum is about what I saw on the Suzuki Burgman forum. The 650 model began building up miles and everyone who asked about the CVT's reliability was told it is designed for the life of the bike. But then they started failing. Some as early as 17,000 miles; many between 35-50K. And when it failed, the repair cost was so much...it really was for the life of the bike. As one owner said, it becomes a "throw away bike". Doing the work yourself dramatically lowered the cost of the repair from about $3000 to @$600...but there aren't a lot of people comfortable with undertaking dismantling the bike like that. Initially, the reaction was that the failures were one of a kind. No one says that any more. And Suzuki hasn't really done anything to eliminate the cause that I know of.

The attitude of many BMW owners is just they accept the cost of a final drive failure as the cost of ownership. And if you can't afford it...you don't deserve to be a BMW owner. To me, it is unacceptable. I know Honda shaft drives are reliable if you keep the rear splines lubed. If Honda can do it, then BMW should be able to as well.

I remember a MOA member writing in last summer that his final drive failed without warning up in Alaska. No one in Alaska had the parts needed. And even if they did, the two shops in the area didn't have the tools. He had three weeks vacation and started in Texas. I have no idea what he finally did to get home.

BMW makes some wonderful bikes. But I'm just a little leery of them.

Chris

One of the guys in the local BMW club lost his final drive in Colorado somewhere. Cost him $3K + flight home and shipping the bike. He didn't like it, but has not complained vociferously. And he still owns a BMW. Consider this. It is only a few bike models that have had the FD fail - many of them have been reliable. Is it the newer design or increased hp? I don't know, but some research might direct you to a more reliable Beemer.

 

[Darth rider]

Its too bad most folks shame BMWs for the "final drive" problems. Truth is, the only beemers that had the problems, were the older RTs. Yes, I have heard the horror stories associated with these bikes and its rubbed off on ALL the beemers. I know plenty of folks that has the K bikes, and NEVER heard of an issue with the final drives going out ever. I previously owned a 2010 ST 1300 before the 1600 I have now. It was an awesome bike and Honda builds a great machine, but the short comings on the factory equipped stuff is a little short in my opinion. If Honda would have built a "better" ST, like most of us, I would have been on board with that. BMW truly builds an amazing machine...….

 

[Mellow]

Its too bad most folks shame BMWs for the "final drive" problems. Truth is, the only beemers that had the problems, were the older RTs. Yes, I have heard the horror stories associated with these bikes and its rubbed off on ALL the beemers. I know plenty of folks that has the K bikes, and NEVER heard of an issue with the final drives going out ever. I previously owned a 2010 ST 1300 before the 1600 I have now. It was an awesome bike and Honda builds a great machine, but the short comings on the factory equipped stuff is a little short in my opinion. If Honda would have built a "better" ST, like most of us, I would have been on board with that. BMW truly builds an amazing machine...….

Yup, none of them are perfect, since have more issues than others.

 

[Chunk]

The twin shockers, with the wet drive shafts were / are very reliable, almost never a problem. The mono-levers were / are also quite good as long as the sliding splines at the final drive are lubed at each rear tire change, an easy job. The para-levers, especially on the GS models have some u joint failures due mostly to a very steep angle at the final drive and a non greaseable u joint. Replacement driveshafts with grease fittings are the accepted fix, when and if the original goes belly up, usually around 40 k miles.