BMW K1600GT (2011 - on) Review

This is a BMW which used to mean it was bullet proof. This bike has had constant niggles. Electrics are flakey, Limp home mode kicking in , even some of the plastics breaking easily. Then I have a 2 month wait for BMW to fix issues. My missus has got a Ducati. Ducati should mean shoddy Service and build quality. Well BMW, Ducati put you to shame. They have been great and I will never but another BMW again

That is the costs I'm averaging with all the things breaking on the bike

Shocks (ESA) get overwhelmed on long bumpy sections. I have had them rebuilt to suit my weight and riding style.

Great Engine, gearbox could be slicker. I like the ability to change power modes dependant on the weather, rain mode takes the delivery when riding in temps as low a minus 3. Dynamic gives it the go when you want it. It pulls really well as you would expect.

No issues at all in four years of ownership

I service it myself, so servicing varies, I only use good quality oils and K&N oil filter with K&N air filter. Tyres are expensive, Pilot 6 touring. But make the bike handle very well given its size

I like the heated seats an grips, I like listening to music so the stereo is good for me, once you have upgraded the standard speakers. I like the ability to put the Sat Nav in the dash. I’ve added Sargent seats as the BMW ones are rubbish, I have Denali spit lights and extra rear side/brake lights by running a van is controller. The horn is rubbish so the bike now runs a Denali horn and a Denali air horn which comes on after 1 sec of holding the horn. The standard screen creates buffeting so this has been replace and I have aero wings for when the weather gets colder. Crash bars are obligatory in my book

i ride a lot of 2up - i find the standard seat not comfy even with the heater on , she finds it fine - i can only go 75 miles before getting a sore butt

best bit , power , smooth , noise , although in dynamic the throttle is very sensitive

its a BMW, expensive , and should be built to last

only run it on the higher grade petrol , so doesnt feel cheep to run, but miles per gallon for such a big heavy bike is impressive, even at speed

added the sat nav and back box - expensive even on EBAY

Fabulous engine and comfortable to around 400 miles without issues on a day ride. Masses of room and plenty of vroom! Brakes ok so far, no info on anything else yet.

Absolutely sublime motor. Awesome delivery.

6 months old, 2500 miles needed a new engine. BMW did the warranty without any issues.

Dont know yet, we'll see. 6k services and average cost supposed to be around £250. My previous Triumph was every 10k.

No issues so far.

Main roads and motorways this thing loves, but on a single-track country lane, you may find yourself wishing for something smaller and lighter. Needs fuel between 300 and 320 miles, at which time a stretch of the legs is welcome.

Love it; smooth as silk and an absolute powerhouse. Doesn't seem to matter how I ride it, I've averaged 54.5 mpg in the last four thousand miles, be it motorways, country A or B roads, down to London roads and 20mph limits - which by the way it will do on tick-over in sixth! The only thing is it's so willing you have to watch your speed, and if you want to pull out suddenly, you may find yourself in a too higher gear.

Nothing beyond normal servicing to date.

18K service is expensive... sit down before getting the bill expensive, and there are the BMW prices of parts. Mine does 'sip' oil, which is fully synthetic 10/40, so not cheap at forecourt prices - suggest on a trip you carry some - on-line around £15 a litre garage four-court a week ago £38 for the same thing!

List of things to look at - adaptive headlight on main beam excellent, dip beam is like candle power in comparison - you'll need extra lights. BMW Satnav is.. interesting at times with the routing and makes you wonder where it is taking you; a note here is that it can cause a buzzing over the stereo. On the upside, it will audibly warn you if you go over the speed limit and even mute the music from the radio/aux/iPod to let you know - ideal for keeping your license clean and saves you checking the speedo all the time. Cruise control is reasonable and easy to operate, but only on the flat or going up mild hills - going down you may need to change gear or brake to stay at a constant speed, especially if you're in sixth. The GT version is excellent but if you're 6' plus you may need to lower the rider foot pegs or go for the GTL. The stock screen is also an issue if you are tall, which is made worse by putting the seat in the high position, but several replacements are available beyond OEM. The BMW iPod adapter(s) are hit and miss as to matching the correct model to the bike. The final gripe is the tyre valves; many forecourt garages end up letting air out and not putting air in, and a small compressor is your friend here.

Can’t fault anything having to do with the operation of the bike, it’s a first rate ride.

I always wished it had more low down torque, crazy to say, because the torque figures are so high, still, if you need grunt below 3500 rpm, you’re alway wondering why it’s less than once you wind it up. A travel bike for me has a flat torque curve.

Can’t fault the build quality, and never had any issues.

The valve service is very expensive, and so is everything else regarding owning and operating this bike, especially insurance here in the USA.

Everything to tour was well thought out. BMW understands touring from start to finish.

Comfort and power are great even when riding with a passenger. Handling superb for size and weight.

Great low end torque and revs to 8,500 rpm with power all the way. Makes the boxer engine seem agricultural.

Flawless.

Service from dealer can be expensive.

Suspension is superb. No nose diving.

The brakes haul up a big bike well. In normal mode the ESA suspension is firm while in Sport mode it is intolerable. Comfort mode improves the ride but then it handles like an old Cadillac.

By far the best bit of the bike. Uncannily smooth and revvy, endlessly powerful yet tractable and not even thirsty. The only trouble free part of the bike.

Electric issues and poor fit and finish. LED headlights stop working in the rain, the fuel filler flap jammed shut, left foot peg broke off, I could go on. It is not like it is proving especially durable either.

Requires posh oil, posh spark plugs and posh everything else. Mine usually needs something fixed on it as well.

You have to buy integrated navigation separately and slot it into the fascia which is both expensive and annoying as the basic navigation system is a 50-quid eBay item. Well equipped otherwise.

Brakes are great, suspension lacking

Sounds glorious, however there is noise from the clutch almost Ducati esque, and lash in the drive shaft, also I changed the gear linkage from single to two piece with a pivot, transformed the gear change.

The centre stand is corroding, the driveline has too much lash, which also probably contributes to the on off feel of the throttle. The panniers easily get dirt into the locking mechanism and are now hard to lock back onto the bike. a poor design, again on the RT I had it for 10 years never lubed or had to mess with the panniers, more cost cutting which on a now £20k bike is unforgivable.

Costly to service, it is a BMW, and you have to take off all the front bodywork to change plugs and air filter. Oil change is a pain, due to dry sump and second drain plug being almost as big as the initial drain hole, you have to drain the oil hot, which means burns and potential to lose the drain plug in the second sump... Should have made the initial aperture larger in diameter.

Great equipment, although I am annoyed that BMW don't allow the sound system to pair with more than one aftermarket helmet, you can only pair 2 BMW helmets.

Smooth to ride with stacks of power instantly available. Easy to ride 200 miles between breaks or 2 hours plus on twistier roads.

All the power you ever need.

Numerous mechanical faults in the first 2 years were disappointing but all dealt with efficiently from local dealer. Bike is now approaching 9 years old and has no further issues in the last 6 years.

18000 mile service is expensive.

All equipment at your finger tips and scrolling through menu wheel makes selecting heated grips, seats, suspension set up easy.

Brakes are simply fantastic and you can brake mid corner.

Since bought this bike I have had to replace the radiator £1000, both handlebar instruments, both front brake calipers, the drive shaft and had to get the gearbox rebuilt. Still, now that it is pretty much rebuilt it rides like a dream. The person who assembled my bike together must have had the mother of all hangovers.

The engine is brilliant and sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, BMW quality is not up to scratch. I have had my entire engine replaced in less than 15000 miles. My 1996 Honda VFR has 135000 miles and is still flawless.

Superb suspension, good turn in, well balanced and stable at speed.

Incredibly smooth with good low down torque for in city commuting and filtering.

Perfect. It's a new BMW after-all.

Good value for what it is, expensive though. However it's really a two wheeled up market car.

All the toys: Bluetooth, sat-nav, music via i phone and radio. essential for year round riding heated grips and seat plus good wind reduction due to excellent fairing and good screen.

All things considered, out of this world..just miss comfort mode on 2016 Splrt

No better engine ever

Cheap

Has everything....

Six cylinders drink a fair amount.

Amazing for such a big bike, I use it daily for work too

Smooth with power on tap

Had it for a year and it has not missed a beat

just had it serviced and had ACF50 included at blade in Brum

Bought mine with sat nav and everything already included

No bike has better array of safety features, brakes are amazing.

Smooth as silk. Inline 6 nothing like it.

Excellent build quality, no issues what so ever, rode my 2014 from Atlanta, GA to San Francisco few years ago not a hiccup, the bike can handle anything you throw at it and tell you give me more.

First year service 600 miles then every 6000 miles biggest one is 18,000 mile service just plan for it.

Full list of options, even standard bike is equipped with what you need.

linked brakes so has adjusted balance. ride electricly selected and adjusted between road (comfortable) and dynamic (sporty)

injector clatter only

only covered 3k miles in summer use no faults found to date.

the bike is slightly front heavy and front tyre replaced at 3k miles.4yrs free servicing and two years warranty included.only pay for tyres and fuel.

no favourite feature. everything fitted has a function. would recommend engine crash bars just in case,

Ride quality when touring is outstanding, I live in London and it is a little heavy round town.

Best engine out there, main reason I'm on my second K1600

Reliability was an issue with the first bike, but BMW have sorted all the issues. No problems with current bike with 4000miles and 8 months old. Quality is top notch.

Do servicing myself, ensure you have a GS911wifi to reset the servicing light and read any fault codes. If job is to big then it goes to BMW

Does everything, keyless, audio, traction control, ABS project etc etc

This is an all around performance machine, so singling out one piece of what I like is difficult. Probably the acceleration and handling are so much improved over the bikes I have rode over the past years. The ride position was certainly an adjustment, especially for my wife on the pillon, but all for positive reasons. I sit much more upright which is way better on the back on long hauls and my wife has a drastically improved line of sight.

This is the part of the bike that can only be described as a piece of art! The sound (which I enjoy much more than what I was use to with the aftermarket pipes on the Harley) as well as the pull throughout the power band are truly awesome. The best (when able to safely do this and not get busted) is to drop from 6th to 5th gear at 85 mph and wind her out.

Like a few other commenters here, I had some initial issues covered under warranty (Gearbox replaced, water pump replaced) Has been running like a champ for the past year.

I purchased an extended warranty as well as a service package. I'm certainly not claiming to be a true long distance rider as of yet because I am still working for a living, but I do ride year round to work as well as trips when I can. I put on an average of 15,000 miles a year.

I absolutely enjoy the standard heated seats/grips. I did change out the windscreen early-on and intend to get an aftermarket seat as the OEM seat sucks! I'm hooked on the Michelin Pilot Road 4 tires as they have acceptable grip and I currently have 8.5 K on a set and I believe that I should be able to get a full 10K out of them.

ESA suspension is superb offering quick responses to suit the mood. Same with power modes. Dynamic is fierce but fun. Otherwise it simply goes and goes and goes, makes a great sound too. Easy 250 plus miles in a day great ergonomics for rider & pillion.

What can you say about a 6 cylinder masterpiece - it's magnificent. Pulls like a train from 1500rpm and howls with delight all the way to the red line.

Apart from a ball joint failure on the duo lever, fixed under warranty, it's been trouble free.

Interim service costs are reasonable but 18K service is £500 - valve checks & 6 plugs to replace push the bill up.

Full options give you everything a bike could need and some it doesn't. The only must change feature is the sport screen. It's is quite the worst screen ever, replace with the stand screen or an aftermarket option for a comfortable ride.

ride for hours only stop when we get board, a little bit heavy for around town but loaded up for a trip she's perfect ride quality 10 out of 10 same for the brakes.

loads and loads of grunt even when fully loaded up for touring and plenty fast enough for us ..We cruised at 125 mph for nearly 40 mins on one tour and it felt like we were only doing 80 mph

The only fault I have had was a faulty sump seal fixed straight away by the shop the bike is now 5 years old and looks like it has just come out of the shop unlike my mate who's bike is same age as mine but looks like it has lived in a bath of salt water with the engine paint peeling off and rust on bolts and body parts all over his bike

quoted £180 to change the oil an filter is a rip off ! and paid £230 just to change the spark plugs

fav feature on the bike is the exhaust note followed by the suspension being able to change the setup depending how we using the bike really makes a difference to the ride, and the seat are bike has the seat off the GL fitted to it and it TOTALLY changes the way the bike feels and handles its the one thing any one getting the GT version should do! I wouldn't of bought the bike with the standard seat as is to tall for me I now sit in the bike instead of on top

I have ridden for hours and not felt the need to stop. Unfortunately I have to because of fuel and my disgusting habit. This is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden.

It's smooth, it's powerful yet frugal considering its size.

It's a BMW!

It's not cheap and the insurance premiums will reflect that but residual values are high.

It has everything you'd ever want on a bike and things you will never use such as the fog lights that cannot be used when the main beam is on!

No problems

EXCELLENT, baby smooth with so much torque and power....

As above

£150 to service it yourself, including brake pads annually. The only problem is the service reminder light which can be sorted with a GS-911 wifi. The six cylinder is a little thirsty, but the cost is worth it!

Have all the bells and whistles... costs but again it worth it, make sure you get the audio package

Good all rounder...of five bike I own , its the one I'm most often on

Silky Smooth & Porsche sounds

It's top quality but (on my way to the dealer to get a service would you believe) the gearbox stuck in 6th when about a mile away!....it needed a whole new gearbox cassette which BMW did under warranty ...no other problems at all.

500 euro would cover tyres ,oil etc.... I service it myself now its out of warranty

Pirelli GT Angels are my favourite tyres...Metzler Z8 a close second. Expect 5k miles