2015 BMW K 1600 GT
User Reviews
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2015 BMW K1600GT
By (I am an Owner) on Jun 16, 2018I bought this 2015 bike brand new in 2016 for the specific color I wanted; I've had it 26 months now, and has 51K miles. I sold 2 bikes to get this; my GL1800 'wing; and my Kawasaki 1400 Concours. My first BMW; and after owning many bikes, this is hands down the best bike (I started street riding ... in 1980). I rode a 13K mile cross country in '16, AZ to the Keys, up to Maine, and back across the Rockies ...a beautiful ride (the bike). Have also rode a lot in the west; Utah, Nevada, the Sierra's. It is not quite as comfy as the 'wing on long rides; but that is the only plus on the 'wing (and, it's not much a difference in comfort). I loved my Concours; and was initially looking for reasons to grade the Concours over the 1600; but there are none. The only thing I will say about the Connie; it did have more quickness off the line. But; I've rode against other 1400's, and the BMW quickly catches the Connie. Little shifting to find any powerband; so much torque, no down shifting; I just lay the concours to the rear view mirror. I love messing around with the larger CVO Harley's; many times they pull up and gun it; depending how I feel, I may twist the throttle and wave bye to them. The bike; handling: 9/10. Probably the toughest bike to handle on a MSF course (and, I was an instructor decades back); take care on slow speed maneuvers. The audio system (speakers) are poor. I did have to buy a taller windscreen; at 6'3", the stock screen did not come up high enough to enable listening to bluetooth inside the helmet. The transmission is somewhat clunky...I have been caught off guard a few times with the shifting going to neutral instead of 1 or 2; nearly caused a tip over one time. I'm going to replace the fog lights with Clearview lights. You think the fog lights are good...until you see the difference with the clearview system. Battery was replaced at 12 K mile maintenance due to defect. Oil was dripping from the pan (a couple drops a night); that was replaced also (around 36K miles). Purchased the extended warranty for 1600; got a great 5 year deal (the best they had to offer)..unlimited milage, and it covers more than the original. Peace of mind; the factory warranty expired at 36K miles. Also bought a maintenance plan for $1500. Covered everything on 5 scheduled maintenances. Well worth the cost. I've got used to the seat; but you'd be better off replacing with a Sargent (my Concours seat was horrible; the Sargent seat solved that; and quality aftermarket probably works). I can't think of any real negatives. If you can afford the price; it is worth the extra several thousand over the FJ and the Concours. I use a Sena 20S as my communicator; half the time, after finishing a phone call (by the way; phone calls are crystal clear; people don't believe I am riding 70 mph down the highway)...when finishing a call, the Sena and the bike have a hard time reestablishing connection to the bikes radio. So; if you want to have the system work perfectly, you are probably stuck laying out big bucks for the BMW system. Actually; that is very irritating. I rode down to Tucson to speak directly to the JM people; they no longer provide the parts to make a direct wired connection to the 1600's; that was 2 years back, perhaps something has changed. The only problem I had while riding, was last year in June in Vegas. I got caught on the strip after riding back from Death Valley; turned out to be the same day that Vegas set their all time high temp. The bike temp gauge pegged out after 10 minutes of little traffic movement (temp was still above 115). With no air adding to the fans; the engine nearly died out. I live in the Phoenix metro area; many days +115...but with the bike moving; no issue. As a matter of fact; that day I was in Death Valley; the temp set an all time record for the highest temp that early in the Year (128 degrees)...bike ran fine; just need ambient air flow....don't get caught in a traffic jam in +115 temps.
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