BMW K1600 GT/GTL

Okay, it's there at last!

I'll still fiddle with a few bits and bobs but the review is now online, despite the baboons...

Kevin,

Nice review!

Suggestion or Question on the GTL review: Could you please add a paragraph how the bike compares to the aging Honda GL1800? While I am not sure how much of the long distance touring market the GL1800 has in Europe, it is still King of the BIG touring bikes over here in the states!

Thanks,

Aggie85

Nice one Kev. Sounds like the Diavel is still the fun bike though..

Kevin,

Does the sound system on this actually work in some meaningful way that justifies a £1,000 price tag? Can you actually listen to the radio on the motorway? Or when giving it death in the twisties? Sound systems with speakers on motorbikes have always had their limitations from my perspective. One that actually works at motorway speeds would be brilliant. One that lets you listen to talk radio on the motorway would be awesome. If I need to use earbuds anyway, I might as well spend a fiver on a cheap FM tranny and stick it in a tank bag as a grand on the integrated BMW equivalent...

The other question plaguing me is... I have a 1200GT. I had already decided a year ago that the K1300GT was a slightly better bike, but not better enough to warrant dropping a huge sum to trade in my 1200. But I figured that one day it would make a good replacement. The news that the 1300 has been killed off to make room for the 1600 troubles me a little because I thought the 12/1300 was the ideal Grand Tourer - a sort of two-wheeled BMW 5 series. Up for 600 miles of motorway followed by an epic fun blast through an ultra twisty pass in the Pyrenees. I've tested that and it absolutely works. So the question is, is the 16 a better bike? Does the extra weight more than cancel out the Joy of Six? Will the K16GT still delight me over the Collada de Tosas in brain out mode or disgust me?

Oh and also, does the SE come fully loaded with ESA II and all the other options, or is it just the three things you mention at the end of your review?

The sound quality is very good when listening to it stationary, but a considerable oversight is that it doesn't have ambient noise compensation, you have to turn up the volume yourself. If you raise the screen to its highest it's pretty quiet behind and you can hear reasonably well. Personally I don't like this kind of thing on bikes as I think there's enough noise to need earplugs as it is, but others who do listen to music on bikes said this is a good one, though it would be better on the GTL which has a bigger and quieter screen. It also depends on your motorway speeds - at 70mph it would be fine, at 90mph borderline.
As far as I'm concerned, no bike system is £1000 good though, the environment is all wrong to start with.

I have a feeling the 1300 will pull better from low engine speeds than the 1600, although logic says it shouldn't. But I remember the 1300 as being the best top gear motorcycle I've ridden, and the 1600 didn't come across as that. I can't honestly answer without riding them side by side, but if I was to bet I'd say the 1300 pulls usefully better from low revs.

Yes, that was confusing, I'll clarify those bits tomorrow probably. When you're so slow you're dabbing your feet down, manoeuvring into a parking space etc, you do feel the weight, and it can be a bit precarious. It's the same in tight U-turns, anytime really when you're properly turning the bars while still fairly upright, then it feels a bit of a lump. Hairpins can be either side of that, some it will glide round really well, but some of the very tight ones could start to feel a bit difficult

It's not mapping, the bike fuels outstandingly well, it's just the combination of a lot of weight with quite tall gearing. It's not that bad, just not as grunty as those BMW figures had me expecting.

I didn't mention the blonde girls (they were always blonde...) waiting at the coffee stops with cold flannels for us did I? I had to mop my own brow though... It was a gruelling launch.

That ought to be an easy question, but it isn't. I'm a big fan of the 1300 and actually I think it's a lot better than the 1200, and I also think it's a better top gear bike than the 1600. I'm troubled too that it's gone to make way for the 1600, I don't think the 6 really covers the gap it leaves. In the end the money is important, you can score a nearly new 1300 (or even a new one still in some countries) for a lot less, and while the 1600 is a lot more sophisticated and smooth etc, you still get a great bike in the 1300 that I think is better for a bit of Pyrenean twisty road action

Kevin: unless I'm mistaken, there are three throttle-response modes. Do you remember which you were using? Did you try all three?

Yeah, I was chatting to a guy I know in BMW UK at the Excel show and he was telling me that the K1300GT production line has closed, and the 16GT is supposed to fill the gap. The problem with the 13 was that I wouldn't have minded spending a couple of grand to chop in my then 15,000 (now 25,000 mile+) K12 SE for a K13 SE, but 5 was more than the difference was worth. My 12 is probably now worth £7,500 and a K16 would cost me £8,500 on top. I guess that the 12 will be replaced with a used 13 at some point. I love the idea of a 6 cylinder GT bike... but I'm not paying £8,500 plus a trade in for a (dynamically) slightly less competent bike than the one I have...

Great review Kevin, I always get a sense that your review describes the real life experience I'd have if I rode one of the bikes you've tested.

Looks like I'll have to have a ride when it turns up at the dealer. Probably will see one in real life at the Supers Next weekend.

Off to work for me now, will troll around again while you lot sleep !

That review is a pretty long one and there was more I could have covered, including technical stuff, more on the three modes and various other things. But it's plenty long enough as it is, I like the idea of people posing further questions in the forum as is happening now, and I'll post some more technical features later.

I think I'd be just as confused in your position... There's a lot to love about the 16, it's really only that lack of lower rev thrust which is a negative (and it's pretty obvious in the graph a little higher up this thread too), but there's not a lot wrong with the RT (it might be more than a year before a liquid cooled one comes out, and that's if it really does just yet), and I'd agree about the 13GT too.