[leafman60]

This weekend I made an extended test ride on the K1600GT and I was very favorably impressed. (This coming from a devout twins man.)

I liked the GT much more than I did the GTL that I had ridden when they were first introduced. I found the GTL seat waaaay too low for me at 6-2. The shifting was not as smooth as I would have expected and I noticed a slight side-to-side waver of the bike on the Interstate at a constant speed. The GT was different.

First, the seat of the GT was adjustable and, in high position, was very fine for my tastes. It was just tall enough to put me just off flat-foot status. I'd probably end up with an aftermarket seat anyway but the GT will provide a higher rider position no matter what upholstery.

Looking down from the rider's vantage point, the bike is not wide and fat.

I didn't notice the constant-speed waver on the Interstate with the GT. I've read that this attribute was blamed on the aerodynamics, perhaps the windshield, of the GTL.

The GT transmission shifted okay but, still, it's not as slick as I would expect from a techno-laden starship like this.

Power delivery is great for such a bike but roll-ons in top gear are not as spry as I would expect. No worries. Just click down a cog or two and - hold on.

As with the GTL, the GT shines on curvy roads. I had the engine set to "Dynamic" and the suspension set to the "Sport" selection. You can have serious fun with this bike and you forget that it is a big bike in those circumstances.

I spent an hour on it and returning to the dealership I was actually thinking about how to deal with my friends' shock when the learn I may get a 6-cylinder bike ! I was horned-up and wanted one of those very-nice-looking red ones I've seen.

Alas, red is no longer offered or available. Only a vanilla selection of white, gray and dark blue are offered. Whew, things are turning around now. The edge is subsiding inside me.

They have a deal going to "give' you a "free" GPS and engine guards, though. Still, I decided to think on it and headed home.

A little subsequent research revealed to me that a valve inspection service will run around $1000. Yep, a thousand dollars. The damn radiator has to be removed and the valve cover gasket itself is almost $100. This only comes up at 18k miles but, still, this sort of bike can rack-up 18k quickly.

Even if one could do-it-yourself, I wouldn't wanna attack this task. Sounds like it would be a hellacious undertaking.

A good friend who recently purchased a GTL has schooled me about the intricacies of doing an oil change on the bikes too. There's a drain plug inside a drain plug that has to be juggled.

I'm gathering that these bikes are designed and built to, as the owner's manual says so often, "See Authorized dealer For Service."

One good thing I can report is that, SO FAR, I've found no serious failure issues like final drive destructions etc that plague previous BMWs. Early versions of the 1600 had some issues with switchgear that have been corrected and there are a few reports of leaking water pumps that crop-up from time to time.

The bloom on the GT rose has lost a few petals this morning but I still admit that this is a nice machine that performs well.

These huge land-yacht bikes are not my style of ride at this point in life. I'm not attracted to the extensive electronic gadgets and features they offer. The BMW GT does, however, offer a level of performance not characteristic of such bikes.