Updates Coming for 2022 BMW K1600 Models

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

Euro 5 updates and more for six-cylinder K bikes

The R18 Transcontinental and R18 Bagger have been getting a lot of attention lately, as BMW‘s foray into large-displacement cruiser touring segment. Getting somewhat lost, however, are BMW’s existing K1600 range, which used to be the company’s representatives in the touring category. While still part of BMW’s lineup, the six-cylinder models have not been updated since the 2017 model year, not even receiving any changes to meet Euro 5 standards that came into effect last year.

BMW may be about to rectify the situation, as we expect a new K1600GTL, K1600GT and K1600B for 2022. The information comes to us via German certification data which confirms new, lower emissions numbers for the three models (the fate of the K1600 Grand America, however, remains to be determined.) According to the German certifications, the updated K1600 models produce the same claimed power output of 158 hp, but significantly lower carbon oxide and hydrocarbon emissions, as the current engine.

The German document doesn’t offer any clues about other changes, but we’d be surprised if BMW didn’t also give the updated K1600 models the latest technology, including radar-based cruise control and a 10.25-inch TFT display.

Updated K1600 models would be prime candidates to receive the 10.25-inch TFT display pictured here on the BMW R1250RT.

We also don’t know when BMW will announce the updated K1600 models. The manufacturer previously announced an indefinite withdrawal from the industry’s two largest trade shows, the annual EICMA show in Milan, Italy, and the biennial Intermot in Cologne, Germany. BMW will instead focus on online presentations with appearances at regional shows.

There are signs that a K1600 announcement is imminent, as BMW’s official websites for Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland have subtly changed the URLs for its K1600 model pages, adding “-2020” to the end of the links.

This kind of change suggests BMW is preparing new pages for the updated models with the old links. It also suggests that the bikes will stay with the K1600 branding, meaning the engines will remain close to their current 1,649cc displacement. According to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine which captures regular snapshots of websites, the old URLs were active as recently as mid-July but they now result in 404 Page Not Found errors.

We expect BMW will release some information soon, possibly as a social media teaser campaign. We’ll have more information on the updated 2022 BMW K1600 models as it becomes available.

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Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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  • MikeD MikeD on Oct 06, 2021

    Really ? It still lives ? 🤨WOW😮 Color me shocked.
    I'm impressed it got another new lease on life.
    With all the crazy ELECTRIFY EEEEEEVERYTHING rage going on these days I thought it was long gone.
    I thought they had taken the big inline 6 to the back of the barn and shot it on the forehead for good.
    If only they would make another brutal looking bike like their late K1300R/S but using this 6 cylinder engine then I would look at them more often.

    "... 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑲1600 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 158 𝒉𝒑, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆 ..."

    Should we also prepare mentally for mufflers the size of a space shuttle booster housing about $5,000 in precious rare metals in it per side ?
    No wonder these things are so expensive, BMW badging and all.

  • Ducatirdr Ducatirdr on Oct 11, 2021

    Had a 15 GTL and now have a GW DCT. I miss the performance and handling of the BMW. That said, if BMW doesn't integrate with Apple Car Play then they are FOOLS. Lose the POS apps and integrate with AAuto or CPlay. Your apps SUCK.

    • See 3 previous
    • Gee S Gee S on Oct 19, 2021

      Me too.

      I recognize the symptoms. =8-o

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