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[porthole]

Been looking forward to test riding one of these since i saw jay Leno demo it about a year ago.
Also have followed some of the forums, good marks on this model so far.

BTW, when this bike was mentioned to one of the reps at MV, he apparently was very well versed in the bike.

Good luck Rob - keep us posted.

[Robmay]

Been looking forward to test riding one of these since i saw jay Leno demo it about a year ago.
Also have followed some of the forums, good marks on this model so far.

BTW, when this bike was mentioned to one of the reps at MV, he apparently was very well versed in the bike.

Good luck Rob - keep us posted.

Thanks PH, I will. I saw that Leno video as well.

Here's another BLUE pic.... Mmmmm Silver, Black and Blue....Silver, Black and Blue...why does that ring a bell?    

[porthole]

I'd like to see the red in the GTL version.

[JCZ]

Been looking forward to test riding one of these since i saw jay Leno demo it about a year ago.
Also have followed some of the forums, good marks on this model so far.

BTW, when this bike was mentioned to one of the reps at MV, he apparently was very well versed in the bike.

Good luck Rob - keep us posted.

Probably has one in his garage.

They are a very nice bike (I confess, I looked one over at the local BMW dealership).......if they only made some place to put the legs of a rider 6'4".    They only fold in one place and behind me isn't a very comfortable position for an all day ride

[HUBBARD]

Everyone is going crazy about this bike. Neil better hurry up and start "BMWGTL.com".

 

[SBB]

Here's another BLUE pic.... Mmmmm Silver, Black and Blue....Silver, Black and Blue...why does that ring a bell?    

Rut Roh!

SBB

[SBB]

Probably has one in his garage.

Nope.
His personal bike is a CVO-FXR.

 

SBB

[Big G in Okieland]

Peg lowering kit from suburban machinery, I had the "high seat" only about 3/4" higher. The seat did not work for me, felt like it was made of wood! But I'm an old fat guy with a bad back so I need all the help I can get. FYI this might help with negotiations I paid $25,200.00 + T&L, had it on order since 10-2010. Purchased from Bentonville BMW in AR.

[hogasm]

Thanks PH, I will. I saw that Leno video as well.

Here's another BLUE pic.... Mmmmm Silver, Black and Blue....Silver, Black and Blue...why does that ring a bell?    

don't ruin a beautiful bike

[miker]

When I get mine, I am going with the D&D 3-1 double dualies exhaust, cometic .3 gaskets, abliminal cams, supervox tuner box, pixie lights, veal saddle, chuck norris windscreen, beemah wired amps and then chrome dip the whole thing. Thats what Im gunna do...

[JCZ]

Nope.
His personal bike is a CVO-FXR.

 

SBB

That's the one that he told you about.  You don't expect him to volunteer that he has a BMW out in the back shed, do you?        

[bigdave110]

I like them, just do not seem like they would be conducive to a big guy on long rides.
Shame, cause I'm sure the reliability is second to none.
 Big dave

[Buy early]

I've been lurking on the BMW 1600 site for a while and it's interesting to hear the folks there complain about their bikes too. Here's one post from the 22 page "List of Problems" thread (red text).

http://www.k1600forum.com/forum/bmw-k1600-general-discussions/1411-heres-list-my-problems-k1600gtl-list-yours-here-too.html

Interestingly enough, most of their problems seem to be with the advanced technology on the bike. This thing is a rolling set of computers so I can see how that could be. Oh, they have problems with their chorme as well.

I was seriously in love with the 1300 GT and was ready to pull the trigger until I did some research and read about all the problems. Now I fall in love with the GTL and was going to go take a test ride this weekend but after reading these 17 pages representing a wide variety of problems experienced by more than one person I'm not so sure.

- Windshield doesn't do its job well
- Ipod / USB problems
- Starter problems
- Cooked body parts
- High beam switch problems
- Bike wants to pull left
- Chrome badges falling off
- Gaps in the side boxes
- Water pump leaks
- Menu switches malfunctioning
- Starting issues
- Stereo sucks at speed.
- Replacement parts unavailable

And I only listed the ones that had multiple people experiencing the same problems !! Why in the world do so many people on this forum write this kind of stuff off as "minor" or "all new bikes have these problems"?!?! That is simply NOT the case in my many years (30+) of experience buying bikes. It sounds like the same old thing you see from BMW on every new model, and its been going on for years, yet the kool-aid drinkers continue to defend BMW. I just don't get it.....

If I am going to shell out $27K on a bike I expect it to function properly in every aspect....right away, not after numerous trips to the shop for repairs of defective components or software.

I am still infatuated with this bike but I think I may wait a year or so and see what shakes out with this ride.

Let the flaming begin......


Kinda hilarious... if you did a global search & replace of BMW with Harley Davidson on that site, you'd be hard pressed tell our sites apart (except for ours is better and Harley's rule )

[Robmay]

Don't forget these

I spoke to my dealer today, and again mentioned my issues, which are:


When I first started we replaced complete circuit boards, then it became E-PROMs. Now it is software or firmware updates.

Only issue I have is the left pull and I sure hope they fix it soon; the bike will be so much better over long rides when that is fixed.

And now, the left turn signal switch is mostly toast, but it does appear to be temperature sensitive. When cool out, the switch will not work. As the temp rises closer to 60 degrees, the switch will work, but has to be forced to the left then jiggled up or down. After the temp gets into the upper 60s, the switch works just fine. The right side and the hazzard flashers work normally. So, a new switch is on order, as is a new iPod adapter cable, a new swing arm and final drive. Pretty soon, I'll have one of Johnny Cash's "one piece at a time" models. But, it is still a GREAT bike. We all knew we would have some teething pains with a first year production, and although some call us "lab rats" or "test dummies", it's still the best bike I've ever ridden and a kick in the teeth every time I thumb the starter button. Just finished a ride to my brother's house in northern Ohio and I made the trip up in two days and never hit a four lane highway. Did some gravel roads, poorly paved roads, and even a dead end into a moonshiner's hide-away (), but I had a blast the entire time. On the way home, I slabbed most of the way then some backroads closer to home. Either way, the bike shines in any environment you put it in. I don't think I'd had near as much fun on a GW or HD.

I do not like the speedometer. The numbers are two small and positioned such that I need valuable seconds to determine my exact speed. I searched through the posts and I don't see any major words against the speedometer. Maybe I'm the only one with the problem. However the market for this expensive bike is very likely my age group, although I may be on the high side.

I will admit that I did not use my clear glasses to evaluate the K16 and my sunglasses are also polarized. My problem is basically that I spend too much time trying to identify what speed I am at currently. IMHO that translates into a safety issue while playing in the twisties...

I currently use a Zumo 550 on a copilot shelf as my primary speed indication. I also rely on the map display to determine the road beyond the current view from the cockpit. The Nav IV, in it's allocated space is, IMHO too far away and below the primary field of view for my purposes. I probably could use it with a little practice except for the significantly smaller fonts. The smaller fonts and head movement and unpredictable feature of the display being washed out at any given moment leaves me wanting something better. With my LT, if the Zumo gets washed out, I can immediately go to the speedometer and I can instantly read it. With the K16 speedo, I can read it but it takes seconds to find the needle and then to focus and read the number. I need to completely turn my head and position my glasses. My vision problems dictate that I need glasses for distance, not reading. Without my glasses the process goes relatively quickly and the major delay is just finding the needle.

The bottom line is the only thing I can read quickly is the gear indication and as you know, is not needed with this drivetrain.

Is anyone having this problem? If so, how are you correcting for this?

GT/GTL runs straight as a arrow.       52    41.94%
GT/GTL pulls to the left.       72    58.06%
GT/GTL pulls to the right.       0    0%

hey everyone my GTL seat is way to low for me but when I sit on a GT it feels ok to me. does anyone know the part numbers and items I would need to put the GT seat on the GTL. I have read from other posts that this is possible. thanks for any help you can give me.

BMW has still not come up with a fix for the no usb connection issue and so as a result of the continual delay, I have moved to now rejecting the bike formally under the sale of goods act and have requested my dealer provide me with a full refund. Best of luck all of you on this forum in obtaining a resolution, meanwhile, I am going off to buy a goldwing .

Adios

Picked up my GTL on Friday, its now got almost 300 miles. Went to check the oil this morning and there was NO oil on the stick (with the bike on the center stand). Also noticed small splatters on the drive side of the rear wheel. the splatters are small in size but they are all around that side of the rim. The dealer is close today, and I dont want to drive it until I know better whats going on. Any thoughts? thanks

Engine must be warm when checking oil level.


On the oil, the following is not intended to be a jerk comment: Read the manual -- you can't check oil after the bike has been sitting for many hours and is cold.

Several posts on this can be found via a search on "oil level" (and/or variations thereof) if you want independent confirmation of what I'm saying.

Thanks to all for the info, the oil checked out fine when I followed the manual (my bad), and I'll have the splatters looked into but it seems that that too may be a non issue, Once again thanks to all.

A lot of problems with ANY bike can be attributed to "user error" or personal preference.

As we agreed upon earlier, there is no perfect bike. I am keeping my Harley. There is no way I could get this bike as my one and only bike. At least not right now. My Harley is in mu soul. That (IMO) is the ONLY reason we keep coming back like pigs to the slaughter.....
Here's the link to check them out....

http://www.k1600forum.com/forum/bmw-k1600-general-discussions/1411-heres-list-my-problems-k1600gtl-list-yours-here-too.html

[djkak]

I've been lurking on the BMW 1600 site for a while and it's interesting to hear the folks there complain about their bikes too. Here's one post from the 22 page "List of Problems" thread (red text)...

...Kinda hilarious... if you did a global search & replace of BMW with Harley Davidson on that site, you'd be hard pressed tell our sites apart (except for ours is better and Harley's rule )

In ‘75 I trained at Butler & Smith in Compton, CA. as a BMW mcy tech, and I serviced them for 6 years; although I don’t have any experience with their machinery built after 1980. As Mark has pointed out, these things are machines, and as such they will breakdown.

One of the more common issues from that era was the failure of the spline coupling between the ring gear and rear wheel; often at around 30k miles. The OEM fix was to replace the ring and pinion. There was an aftermarket vendor that would machine out the worn spline from the center of the ring gear and weld in a new replacement; this guy did a remarkable job reconditioning this piece, and as I remember it he was very reasonable.

There were other issues of course, but I was always amused whenever I had to take care of a drive coupling, because in that era the BMW folks were the authority on shaft driven motorcycles, and that assembly wasn’t particularly reliable.

The BMW Z8 would be an example of machines gone wild if this was about 4 wheels.