100,000 Miles in 5 years on BMW K1600GT

amorley said:
For those of you that I have ridden with, you know how much I love riding the K1600GT. I had a great 6 years riding 85K miles on STA5, my 2005 ST1300A but was amazed when I made the switch in 2015 to the K1600GT.

If you are interested in the K1600, I strongly recommend taking one for a test ride. The first thing you'll notice is the engine, how smooth and powerful it is. All the power and torque you will ever need for touring. The K1600 is a big, heavy bike like the ST1300 but the weight is lower.

Electronic suspension adjustment for pre-load and damping, with anti-dive on hard braking. ABS and traction control with Dynamic, Road and Rain settings. Cruise control like in you car that locks the speed perfectly. Heated grips and seat for those cold days. Integrated Navigator GPS made by Garmin that can be controlled by the wonderwheel, the interface on the LHS grip used to control the bike settings and dash readings. 7 gallon tank that take me 300 miles, just a few miles less than I could go on STA5.

If you are interested in buying used, buy 2015 or 2016 as BMW had fixed the earlier problems with the water pump and switch gear. After 2017 the added hill climb and shift assist, and reverse none of which I am interested in. From 2017 the EU4 regulations limited the throttle performance and power. A $700 ECU flash from Brentune will fix that but you may have to have it re-flashed every time BMW updates the ECU.

BMW have continued to invest in the K1600 platform bring out new models.
- For solo touring, I recommend the K1600GT. I added the OEM top box as I enjoyed the Hondaline top box on my ST1300
- For two up touring, I recommend the K1600 GTL or GTLE
- If you like the cruiser look and riding position, the K1600 B (Bagger) or GA (Grand America). However the GA is speed limited to 100 mph which is killer for me.

I consider the K1600 as reliable as the ST1300 I owned and no more expensive to maintain. My dealer is also a Honda dealer and charges the same for mechanic hours. I bought a 4 year, unlimited mileage extended warranty to add to the 3 year 36K mile standard BMW warranty.

Two problems with the K1600 platform:
  1. All that power eats rear tires. I only get about 7K miles from a rear tire
  2. Over heating. This was never a problem initially but after going to Alaska and riding the dirt roads, and then more riding, the radiator gets clogged and the bike will overheat when going slowly in traffic, or under load when going slowly up hill. Keeping the radiator clean is an essential part of the maintenance after every ride.
I am a member of the K1600 forum which is a good resource on the K1600 bikes.
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I second what Andy says. Having owned a 2005 ST1300 for over 60000 miles and then a 2013 K16 GTL & now a 2018 K16 GTL they are great and for me reliable bikes. Ownership is no more costly than the ST. The only difference would the valve checks. I can get 8 -10,000 thousand on tires. Go to a BMW dealer and take one of the models for test ride. New ones can be a little pricey but there are pre owned ones out there for some good savings. Check out Cycletrader. Try it ..you’ll like it
 
I second everything the OP said about the K1600.. but one clarification.. my 2016 GTL does have manual hill assist, its not automatic like on the brand new models, you have to manually engage it with the front brake.. coming from SF, I could have used hill assist because it holds the bike without having to stand on the rear brake, and that would have been nice on the SF hills. Even though now in Dallas, I still use it to hold the bike when not on level pavement. My advice is to also look at the 2015 or 2016 and skip the earlier and newer bikes, as both have more issues. Check out the BMW K1600 forum and a thread regarding the most reliable years for the K1600. Consensus is 2014-16. ... oh,.. and I'll never sell my '06 ST.. too many great memories on it, and I still love the sound of that awesome V4 growl. I don't hear that on the K bike.
 
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amorley said:
@TPadden has a K1600B that he regularly rides between Florida and California.
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Congrats Andy! :wave1:

Just turned 36,000 trouble free miles on the not quite 2 year old B,not one warranty complaint. Did have a transmission recall; completed without a hitch. Without a doubt the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. If I could only have one vs 5; the choice would overall probably go slightly to the RT. For the distance it'd be the B.

Tom

49379950627_c31cb376e2_z.jpg
 
Congrats on the miles, I just joined the BMW club with a K12GT ... nice garage queen, looking fwd to many miles or kms here :)
 
Hwy 337 must be a blast to ride !
Looks like Ur K1600 can handle it just fine.
Nice Milestone !
 
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Cool Video! What is the vest you are wearing over your jacket? Or that is what it looks like to me,
 
STJohnS said:
Cool Video! What is the vest you are wearing over your jacket? Or that is what it looks like to me,
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It is a Helite Turtle Airbag vest which I now always wear over my Aerostich Roadcrafter R3 Lite suit.
 
amorley said:
Thanks for all the responses. Thanks to all of you who have ridden with me over the years. I have enjoyed all of those rides and look forward to riding with you again, and sitting around a campfire together. For those of you I have not met, I look forward to riding with you down the road.

My riding will remain curtailed by the social distance requirements to just day rides. If I stay overnight somewhere, my wife and I have to quarantine for ten days before we can re-enter the bubble we share with our family and grandkids. Those are our rules to stay safe and healthy.

I plan to keep KBiK and continue to ride as many miles as we can together. 150K miles is my next goal.

My rides on KBiK to date:

spotwalla.com

KBiK - All My Rides

All my rides on KBiK, my 2015 BMW K1600GTS motorcycle
spotwalla.com spotwalla.com
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Link is down. Any chance of an update? Thanks!
 
I rented one of these (a 2015 I believe) in Colorado back in 2021- insane power, scary at first, then quite addicting. It was a little large for my needs, but very, very smooth:

IMG_7571.jpeg

That’s me on the left, my brother on the right- he had a blast with it as well. When he was riding with his GF on the back, I was on the ‘baby’ ST1300!
 
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