BMW K1600GT...beauty or behemoth?

[motrhead]

So far I am of the opinion that this new bike is a behemoth, with no reason to exist...the K1300GT it is supposed to replace has the same hp and at least 100 pounds less weight to pack around than the new bike.
But, what I am hearing from other motorcyclists is that they are expecting this new bike to be faster and better than the 1300. Personally, I can't see it matching the 1300GT, let alone the 1300S with 15 hp more...
So what do the rest of you think? Is this bike the answer to a question that no one was asking? Do we really need a bike between the big sport tourers and the Gold Wing? Are the Big Bike Weirdos here already salivating over this new bike?;)

[yzf1000jon]

More torque, more goodies and the coolest headlight since Lucas was the prince of darkness? They'll sell.

[yzf1000jon]

BMW lists a 30kg difference only.
Doesn't matter to me, I'm not old enough for either and probably won't own a "Bavarian" bike unless some one gives me the winning lotto numbers in advance. or an S-RR, hmmm...

[motrhead]

I read 635 versus 767 pounds...so more like 132 pounds between the pannier equipped models, but I expect the number will be higher than 767 when tested. I think BMW is fudging numbers to make things sound rosier than they are, since their own 1300 number is 635? That 635 pound number for the 1300 was with full tank , while it's 562 pounds dry. That works out to 60kg, not 30kg difference!

[TimP]

It's no K1200LT.;)

Hey! What happened to the winglets? What happens when (not if) I drop it? Who's gonna help me pick it up?

[motrhead]

winglet? nah this more like a full scale wing ;-)
You may have to travel in packs so you can help each other pick em up...actually, it's probably no worse to pick up than an ST1100, but it's definitely not going to be fun when it does happen.

[TimP]

My previous K1100RS fell down only once (my foot slipped off the stand while levering it up at a gas station in Belleville on a wet night) but there was no way I could lift it up alone. I ride alone and at night often, so the LT's "assistive devices" had real appeal.

Winglets / Wings / Props (call 'em what you will) are easy to fit when the bike offers geometry as wide as a Korean import, but the new GT & GLT are clearly trying to be svelte - if only to offset criticism of their engine's real or imagined width - so there are no wings.

[motrhead]

Okay, now I understand what winglets are...lol
I'm okay if I do have to pick 'em up. I can pick up my GL1100, but in another ten years, who knows. I think I've only dropped a streetbike about four times ever...although the wind here did blow my Seca 650 off of the centerstand twice :eek:
I still wouldn't mind a K1100RS myself. They were a nice package, and the K1200RS brick looks even nicer...both are on that short list for my next bike, depending on what the budget allows, and what I can find.

[TimP]

If you're test riding "brick" RS's, make sure you ride at highway speeds in top gear long enough to notice whether the infamous peg-and-grip buzz is present. My first K100 didn't have it and I rode it for years wondering what all the fuss was about. My second K1100 did have it and it cost me a K12LT...