I rode a BMW K1600GT

[ST Pili]

I was at the Honda dealer picking up an oil filter and noticed they had a white '15 in their used bike area. Curiosity got the best of me. I love the keyless start, gloves and keys don't mesh well and that would be nice. First impression, after a too loud clunk dropping into gear was that the pegs are surprisingly high in configuration to the seat; I'm 6 feet even and can't imagine spending hours on a highway crunched up like that. The clutch is silky smooth and the engine is diesel like. Exhaust note is surprisingly loud (the exhaust was stock) over about 4000 RPM, but you would never need to go there. Torque at 2000 RPM is astounding; you can be as lazy as you want shifting and it pulls like a freight train all the way up. I set the suspension to comfort and honestly it wasn't as compliant as STella, but the handling is just as good. Very maneuverable, maybe not quite as good is parking lots as the ST but once underway it handles sublimely. Shifting is not as smooth as the Honda, but what is? The panniers look nice, very roomy, but upon opening don't, in my opinion, match the quality of the ST's. Factory cruise and heated seats (plural) and of course grips round out what could be a great road companion if you could do something about the seat to peg ergos. I then rode STella home and appreciated her all the way.

 

[Darth rider]

Looks like it has the "low" seat on it for whatever reason. That seat is good for someone that is on the shorter inseam side, not for you at 6 foot. That can be switched out for something more comfortable. '15 is one of the "good years" for power and reliability due to emission standards. Just an FYI.

 

[Obo]

The grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence

 

[Larry Fine]

RDL to the rescue!

 

[Daboo]

I read on the BMW MOA forum of an owner who had one of these. He hit some loose sand or gravel in a turn and the bike went down. Wasn't going fast. He had frame sliders installed, but still the engine case was scratched.

He took it to the dealer and they said the engine needed to be changed.

Chris

 

[mortenk]

I only once laid my ST1300 down - going 10 mph on black ice, trying to make a turn. The bike sled about 10 ft on the "wings" and there was no damage to mirror or panniers. I was amazed. If you need to change the engine because you lay it down at low speed, something is wrong with the design.

 

[skulldugger]

Interesting observations; especially about foot peg ergonomics. While not the same bike, a few years ago I rented a RT1200 for touring in the alps. It definitely became noticeable after riding this bike that the pegs were too high. And I am 5’9”! Really made me appreciate riding comfort on my ST1300

 

[Darth rider]

I only once laid my ST1300 down - going 10 mph on black ice, trying to make a turn. The bike sled about 10 ft on the "wings" and there was no damage to mirror or panniers. I was amazed. If you need to change the engine because you lay it down at low speed, something is wrong with the design.

Probably due to no engine guard protection installed. Don't think any engine could take that abuse without something protecting it.

 

[Larry Fine]

If you need to change the engine because you lay it down at low speed, something is wrong with the design.

True, but I've had to replace the alternator housing more than once on an SOHC CB750.

 

[MaxPete]

I read on the BMW MOA forum of an owner who had one of these. He hit some loose sand or gravel in a turn and the bike went down. Wasn't going fast. He had frame sliders installed, but still the engine case was scratched.

He took it to the dealer and they said the engine needed to be changed.

Chris

Can you imagine what that would cost.........holy cow!

 

[Daboo]

I did a lot of head-scratching while a member of the BMW MOA forum. I had just come from owning a NT700V...a baby brother of the ST1100 and ST1300. All three of those are bullet-proof. I only knew of one final drive failure on an NT700V and that was caused by the dealership not lubing the gears when the rear wheel was off for a tire change. Many of the bikes were well over 100,000 miles.

But on the BMW MOA forum, I kept reading about final drives failing. One owner even wrote that this is part of the wonderful BMW experience and that you should feel extremely good to have these highly qualified mechanics working on your bike. (I feel better when I don't have to visit the mechanic and can just ride.) It just blew my mind that a manufacturer would have a defect like that...and not fix it. If Honda could do it, BMW should be able to.

And while not a K1600GT issue, I also thought it rather strange on the boxer engines that you'd use the cylinder heads as tip over wings. Really?!?! I dropped my NT700V, and simply replaced the rubber boot for about $10.

Chris

 

[red one]

@ Daboo. Yep I find it really facinating when a company like BMW who was a pioneer in shaft drive bikes over 90 years ago still did not get it right. Although I think in the last 10 years its not now an issue. Water pumps and gears have been in production for over 100 years and reliability have gotten worse. To be fair they all have had some problems but not to the degree as BMW. Still today I would buy one because they and Yamaha are the only manufactuers that are making dedicated sport touring motorcycles.

 

[dduelin]

I did a lot of head-scratching while a member of the BMW MOA forum. I had just come from owning a NT700V...a baby brother of the ST1100 and ST1300. All three of those are bullet-proof. I only knew of one final drive failure on an NT700V and that was caused by the dealership not lubing the gears when the rear wheel was off for a tire change. Many of the bikes were well over 100,000 miles.

But on the BMW MOA forum, I kept reading about final drives failing. One owner even wrote that this is part of the wonderful BMW experience and that you should feel extremely good to have these highly qualified mechanics working on your bike. (I feel better when I don't have to visit the mechanic and can just ride.) It just blew my mind that a manufacturer would have a defect like that...and not fix it. If Honda could do it, BMW should be able to.

And while not a K1600GT issue, I also thought it rather strange on the boxer engines that you'd use the cylinder heads as tip over wings. Really?!?! I dropped my NT700V, and simply replaced the rubber boot for about $10.

Chris

BMW did fix the final drive issue around 2010 but like the Goldwing cracking frame issue and the VF750 camshaft oiling problems people remember a long time and ascribe a particular model problem to all bikes of that brand even when most Hondas don't develop cracks in the frame and the oiling problems that soured the public on Honda V4s were fixed by the VFR750.

R series BMWs are very easy to work on and very reliable. A popular aftermarket R bike mod is cylinder head protection. Some had final drive issues but that was fixed over 10 years ago. But BMW builds K bikes, G bikes, F bikes and R bikes and when people lump them all together you get a bit of truth and a lot of not so much that is particular to model.

Funny thing is in recent reliability polls is the bikes that get the lowest marks have happier owners and have owners that demonstrate brand loyalty and buying another and another despite problems. Human nature, eh?

 

[MaxPete]

R series BMWs are very easy to work on and very reliable. A popular aftermarket R bike mod is cylinder head protection. Some had final drive issues but that was fixed over 10 years ago. But BMW builds K bikes, G bikes, F bikes and R bikes and when people lump them all together you get a bit of truth and a lot of not so much that is particular to model.

This is absolutely true - the brand (BMW) encompasses a huge array of technologies and generations of technologies ranging from primitive (the 1970-80's Airheads) to state-of-the-art (the K-bikes and recent G and F models).

But, the one unifying characteristic is the outrageous cost of parts.

 

[Winged_STer]

I just bought a 2014 K1600 GTL... and I'd agree with all of your observations for the most part. The seat on that particular bike is super low. I am 6'4" with a 36" inseam and the seating position on mine is a little cramped but not too bad. It is a different seating position than the ST to be sure. I'd like to see if I could find a taller seat but it isn't a critical issue yet and I'll know more after a few more hours in the saddle. With that said, a set of highway pegs is very high on my Farkle list.

 

[mlheck]

Exhaust note is surprisingly loud (the exhaust was stock) over about 4000 RPM, but you would never need to go there.]272648[/ATTACH]

And this is where you missed the best part of the K1600 motor. Like any inline motor they have a power band, and above 4000 RPM the inline 6 starts to make F1 type sounds and power. On the ST1300 you get use to low RPM. On the K1600 it will ride at lower RPM's, but it loves to be rev'd.

 

[ST Pili]

And this is where you missed the best part of the K1600 motor. Like any inline motor they have a power band, and above 4000 RPM the inline 6 starts to make F1 type sounds and power. On the ST1300 you get use to low RPM. On the K1600 it will ride at lower RPM's, but it loves to be rev'd.

I wouldn't dare miss it . I revved it out in each of the 3 lower gears and immediately fell in love. Not quite to the point of trading my beloved STella, but that inline 6 is the bike's crowning glory and deserves more than one mention. I own an 1100 Tuono and a Hayabusa and love acceleration as much as anyone. I can imagine owning both the Beemer and STella although I struggle with justifying why, and besides, I'm running out of room lol.

 

[ST Pili]

It's a beautiful bike. It does it all including competing with sport bikes in the twisties. However the girl is BIG chested, top heavy in parking lot speeds with smaller downlow torque.
However, the Grand America reminds me a lot of the ST in size and feel. if I was in the market for a new bike, I'd go with that.

I love twisties and I agree, right up there with the amazing engine, the GT handles really well. The ST is no slouch either but the BMW felt like it tips into corners more willingly. The gear indicator is a nice touch too. If a guy wanted to update his ride, the Beemer is a very good candidate. I priced an BMW top case, which I would need for long trips and it's $1400! This would be a pricey undertaking but I was so impressed with the way the bike works, I'm considering it, keeping STella, just in case

 

[mlheck]

I kept my ST1300 for a year after getting my K1600. My ST had the full Racetech upgrade and was a hoot in the twisties. I could definitely ride my ST faster in the twisties than I can the K1600. After a year of having and riding both bike I finally decided that the bikes were to much of the same thing. Each had it pluses, but in the end there were the same type of bike. If I was going to have 2 bikes then I wanted something totally different. So I sold my ST and am still trying to decide what that totally different will be.

There is a big price difference between owning and farkling a ST compared to the K1600. The K1600 will cost you about 2X more. I do all of my own maintenance which isn't any harder to do than the ST was. It does require some new tools and electrical gadgets though.

Good Luck.

 

[ST Pili]

I kept my ST1300 for a year after getting my K1600. My ST had the full Racetech upgrade and was a hoot in the twisties. I could definitely ride my ST faster in the twisties than I can the K1600. After a year of having and riding both bike I finally decided that the bikes were to much of the same thing. Each had it pluses, but in the end there were the same type of bike. If I was going to have 2 bikes then I wanted something totally different. So I sold my ST and am still trying to decide what that totally different will be.

There is a big price difference between owning and farkling a ST compared to the K1600. The K1600 will cost you about 2X more. I do all of my own maintenance which isn't any harder to do than the ST was. It does require some new tools and electrical gadgets though.

Good Luck.

Thank you for that input. I have other bikes and you're right the K16 and ST are too similar to have both; it's just that I want to be sure the BMW turns out to be the long touring companion that my beloved STella has turned out to be. I was about to invest $2000 into cruise control, different risers, drop pegs and a RDL seat on the ST when this other bike came around. I would still have to invest, and as you mentioned at a higher price, for a top box and different seat & pegs for the K16. Another thing to consider is the ST has 60k miles and the BMW 15k. The fact that you eventually decided to sell the ST tells me the BMW can have enough pluses to warrant the expense.
One other thing, you mentioned questioning a second bike. If you like one day blasts in the twisties, you might consider a V4 1100 Aprilia Tuono. Mine changed my 2 wheeled life.