So far I have 350 miles on the new K1600GT. Thought I would give you an update that others could read. This is a wonderful motorcycle. This is also probably the most complex motorcycle I have ever ridden. I have not got all the electronics figured out yet. Reading on the forums I will probably go with the BMW Nav 4 GPS because there are a couple things that are proprietary in the connection with the bike. I will probably have to change to the SENA blue tooth headsets also. I will probably keep my Cardio head sets because of the advantage with them for group riding.
Ok, now about the bike. It is very much like the K1200GT. In fact I have a hard time telling the difference. It has the BMW feel in the corners. Just very solid and predictable. I started a ride up Vanocker Canyon but the road was too ice covered and sandy so I decided to do a u-turn. Being icy I decided to just baby walk the bike around. What I did find is that the handlebars really crank a long ways to the side which made the turn quite easy. Some bikes hit the stop way too soon. I believe this bike probably has the best seat of any BMW that I have had. I sat for a full three hours on it and it was noticeable, but not painful. Had an interesting experience with the fuel on this bike. I was driving out on the plains where the roads were dry and found this lonely road. In fact it said next services 33 miles. I looked at the fuel range and I had over 90 miles so no problem. Also there was an intersection at 66 miles. So off I go. I'm trying to vary my speed a bunch and not just sit at one set speed. Often dropping down to 1st and then blasting through the gears running it up to about 4000 rpm in each gear. Oh, what a wonderful sound this six cylinder bike has. I was bucking a wind and I was impressed with the windshield as it was really giving me quite good protection. If I raised it all the way up the wind would actually push on the back of my helmet. I normally have it set about an inch down from the very top. I get up to the 33 miles and being a Sunday afternoon everything was pretty well shut down. I didn't see any gas pumps either so I thought, well there has to be something up at this intersection which is only another 33 miles. So I continued having fun with the bike hitting any sweepers with a high amount of energy and loving how the bike feels. I check the fuel range and it has gone down a bunch. If fact when I get to the intersection all that is there is just the intersection and the fuel remaining is 19 miles. Hmmm. The sign says Buffalo 24 miles. This is not good. I pull into the wind and set the cruise at 52 mph. Had not used the cruise yet other than to just check that it worked. I figure that it was better to run at a constant speed rather than run out of gas. This bike has two fuel consumption meters. I had been getting 36.4 mpg doing my running up and down through the gears. I found that against the wind, strong wind at 52 mph it would usually get about 44 mpg. Calculating in my head I'm thinking well this might work. At least get me close enough I can get cell service so I could call AAA if I do run out. I keep watching the remaining miles and it drops off and show me the temperature. It had dropped below the 37 degrees and I got the snow flake on the dash. The hand grips and the seat now have five levels of heat. I had the hand grips all the way up. I had the seat on the third level. The fifth level of the seat I couldn't keep my butt on it. Too hot, which can be a good thing. I had my Gerbing jacket on over a long sleeved T-shirt and a jean shirt. I only had my Stitch on over that. Had I planned on going so far I would have dressed warmer. Finally I come over a hill and can see Buffalo in the distance. Maybe 5 miles. The fuel range is done to 4 miles. I pull into the gas station at Buffalo with 1 mile remaining on the fuel remaining. I promptly fill with gas. I put in 6.876 gallons of gas. Hmmm that is interesting, I didn't think it had that big of tank. Now with a full tank a gas, a call to the wife telling her I'm going to be late, and a potty break I head back home. This time the wind is more behind me. The temperature drops to 32 degrees, but the grips are warm and my seat is hot and my Gerbings is doing the job. When I meet a car I slow down and then I hit it. Now running the bike up to 5000 rpm. This thing really pulls without even getting close to full throttle. Can't wait till I can do full on. Anyway, passing a car it doesn't really matter what gear you are in it just goes. By now I have most of the menus on the bike figured out and got things set how I think I am going to like them. When I have a passenger I will probably mostly run in the rain mode. I found in the dynamic mode if you hit a hard bump you will turn the throttle enough that I'm sure the passenger would probably complain. The middle mode Road is probably the best all around. I still have some things to work out with the electronics. I am making a new version of the FarkleBar just for this bike and really missed having some of my gadgets with me. This is really a great bike. Did I tell you how great a sound it has...
Ride Safe,
Dougals
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| Doug on his new K1600GT |
Here is a photo of Jim waiting for his new K1600GT to be un-crated and setup. Of course it is red:
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| Jim with his new bike, not quite ready to ride. |
Doug found a new feature on his bike (Spoiler Alert: Honda VFR fans need not watch this):
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