by Victor M. Castaneda Jr
2011 BMW K1600GTL
I’ll start off by stating that I have never liked any of BMW’s “K” bikes that I have ever ridden. Starting with the mid ’90s K1100RS to the ’06 K1200S. Fast forward five years and the K1600GTL. Since the last “K” bike I rode, it’s gained 400cc and 2 cylinders. BMW has also added Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA II) and Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) which are both switchable via the handle bar controls on the fly among other things. All of the technical features of the K1600 have been well documented in a variety of cycle magazines and on the web. So, I will forego all of the technobabble and proceed to describe how the GTL is to live with.
The first impression I got from seeing this bike at it’s US debut at the Long Beach, CA International Motorcycle Show was that it was big and heavy. At a claimed 767 lbs wet, it IS heavy. At 8.1 feet long, it’s pretty big too! When sitting in the saddle, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of bike in front of you, and a lot of bike behind you. It takes a bit of muscle to pick it up off of the side stand, but after you turn the key, watch the dash go through it’s dance and hit the starter button, that weight and girth start to disappear. The bike really didn’t make a great impression on me during the ride home after picking it up. It had been a while since I’d ridden a full on touring bike and was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of techno-whizardry that the K1600 has. I fell into the trap of trying to see what all the buttons do all at once which detracts from the riding experience.
When I was doing bike sales a few years back, I always told customers to not put a lot of stock in a demo ride or their first ride on any given motorcycle because you usually get a bad impression from unfamiliarity with the riding position, handling and controls. With that in mind, I set out the next day on a group ride with the local Triumph club (yes, they let me go even though I was on a Beemer). I have to say, that my second impression was much more positive than my first. After getting over my initial “button shock”, I just concentrated on riding the big 1600. I left the ride mode on Dynamic which gives me full power and throttle response and sets the DTC at it’s least intrusive, the ESA on normal and turned the radio off.
I did mess with the electrically adjustable wind screen. Once at speed on the freeway, I set it at the right height with the touch of a rocker switch on the left handlebar to a position high enough that sent the oncoming air over my helmet but low enough not to have to look through it. On slower roads, I set the height to it’s lowest position to get a bit of a breeze through to me. Very practical! Speaking about breeze, the fairing has two chrome winglets that you can pull out that funnel a jet of air right to your chest. It’s a nice touch especially in hot Arizona.
After a good 10 hour day in the saddle, I’d have to say that the riding position was perfect for what the bike is intended to do. My feet were directly underneath me with my knees not bending at any radical angles. The reach to the bars left me in a perfectly upright police style posture. My only very minor complaints are that the saddle keeps you in one position. The ability to move around would be welcome on long days in the saddle. Also, the rear of the seat is canted a bit forward, a flatter seat would have been better. These are things that are easily fixed in the aftermarket.
At the heart of this bike is a big 1600cc, inline six cylinder engine which is smooth as silk and extremely torquey. It pulled cleanly in sixth gear from 1,500rpm! I would have liked to have heard a little less “BMW Whine” and more intake growl and/or exhaust note. Perhaps the latter can be fixed with the Akrapovic titanium slip-ons available from BMW. I guess Beemer owners like their bikes quiet, but I prefer a bit more engine “music”. The only glitch I could find was that at about 2,500 rpm with steady throttle there was surge and jerkiness. I’m not sure if it’s from EFI or throttle on a thoroughly modern bike such as this one!
During the day, the speedometer was a bit hard to read. The font is too small because they tried to cram too much information in a small space. A nicely modern, large digital speedo with the analog tach and LCD screen would have been easier to read and more at home on such a technically advanced motorcycle.
At the end of the day, this is a very competent motorcycle that is very efficient at doing what it’s built to do. Alas, it’s the German way! It is the perfect bike to take a long freeway drone to a special place then once you get to that place, you can have fun on the twisty roads and then take the a long freeway drone back. All in the utmost comfort so you feel fresh to do it again the next day! I would never consider owning a Honda Goldwing or a big Harley bagger, but the K1600 would be a bike I would consider owning if I had the $26,000 + asking price burning a hole in my pocket. Check out the video below to see some of the dash functions, hear what the six cylinder sounds like and to see the adaptive headlights in action.
Finally, I’d like to give thanks to Steve Bittner and BMW Motorcycles of Scottsdale/Go AZ Motorcycles for providing me with the test bike and the pre-ride class on what all the buttons do!
