In the early hours of this morning I had my nose to the window of BMW Park Lane W1 to look at the K1600 GT ... a magnificent beast in maroon / red .... to me, in the flesh, it looked just stunning ..... reading the card it told me of the standard fittings... then, as my eyes rolled downwards ( probably due to tiredness ! ) I read about the top box with LED light on the rear .. optional £1024 !!... the extra this and the extra that ...... a total of £19,208 !!!!!! For a BIKE !
Another £6000 on top of what one would pay for a Gtr ... how on earth can they do that ? I still find it hard to believe ;D ;D
It almost makes me want to go and test ride one for the day just to see what you get for the money ... don't get me wrong, it may be just fantastic but that is nearly £20,000. Blimey ! I am stunned ! Anyone out there ridden one ? Fancy one ? Know someone who has one ? Let me know please .....
I hope you weren't looking at bikes when you should have been working! ;D
NB mentioned this evening that he has a test ride organized with one for next weekend.
Saw one at Ponerosa Cafe on the Horseshoe Pass this morning. Looks like your typical German Boxhead machine ;)
with all the extra work that your friendly neighbourhood rioters are potentialy creating for you guys in the Big Smoke you'll be able to go and pay cash for one ;D
Steady chaps ... I was simply off the bike, on foot, mixing with my community, overarching between uniform and civilian, listening to the community needs and working with my partner to endure a safer London ;D ;D
NB, on a serious note though, let us know what you think of your test ride.
Test drive cancelled. Had to get discs on bike sorted
Fair enough .... anyone else out there sampled this K1600 ?
I think E20NY said he had test ridden one when talking about them last weekend at swallow falls, may be worth PMing him
Tony also mentioned that his test ride was postponed for a week because the bike was dropped by an experienced rider on the day and this other no doubt embarrassed rider lost a £900 deposit.
Haven't actually got my 2010 GTR yet - so this is a bit early, but I have had a K1600GT.
Here is my confession :-[
Been a happy BMW owner for a few years, 3 RT's including the DOHC engine. I'd followed the K16 launch with interest and was really interested in a little more speed and performance. The boxer is - shall we say agricultural - but not a slouch. I demo'd the GT - loved it, the looks, comfort, speed, gizmos and found myself doing a deal on a cancelled order. Had it for 5 months - but after the shine wore off, I realised that it's still a bike and cost a fortune for the extras that everyone will put on, if only for resale. e.g. ESA, Audio system, GPS, adaptive headlight, alarm, cruise etc.
As a bike - it delivers on every front. ;D
- The engine is superb, 3 ecu modes really change the character.
Comfort is fantastic - heated seats are great in winter.
Dash and idrive system - works very well with the TFT screen.
Brakes - brilliant
Handling - is much better than the RT, very tight.
Sound system - I used it a lot and loved it! I didn't think I would but it was great. Bluetooth to helmet or speakers - worked well. But there are some catches on that - bluetooth works - but if you want pillion to integrate "please buy a £1200 System 6 BMW with b/t"
Throttle - takes some getting used to as no cable. All electronic
The adaptive headlight is a whole new experience - night time riding is transformed.
I could go on - but you get the picture
Down sides
- Insurance costs were very high and one reason for selling the bike - £550 - £800 per yr - all down to the value of the bike. I have 8 yrs NCB.
Tyres - are very limited at the moment and cost a fortune. Bike is heavy in tyres due to weight. mileage soon comes round.
Dropping it - you don't want to! no engine bars available as yet from BMW. Some owners reporting £8k of damage for low speed drop. Damage to engine casing.
Servicing - as you'd expect with this much gizmos on board you won't wanna touch it yourself! Costs are high.
Oil - burns a little oil and this stuff is like liquid gold. Have to use BMW recommeded and has to be bought from dealers (£15-17 per litre)
All in all - I came to the conclusion that I just want to ride and can do without all that stuff and don't need the pressure or expense of maintaining such a high value motorcycle. Our cars have never cost that much - and so it seemed excessive for me.
That about sums up my thoughts - no disrespect to K16 owners. If could justify keeping the bike I would but it had to go. :'(
Cheers all.
Thanks for the info. Its probably best to wait till the second hand market opens up before venturing into a 1600.
Thanks for writing that up Mr Simbad .... as you can see a lot of people have read it so well done you .... ( I'd still like to try one though ;D )