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BIKES: 2012 BMW K1600GTL
SPEED's Neale Bayly hits the road on a 2012 BMW K1600GTL.
Able to pull from idle with the power of a freight train, or scream up to the 8,500 rpm red line with the ferocity of a sport bike and the sound track of an exotic race bike, the big six can also sit happily at 70 mph an hour all day. (Photo: Neale Bayly)
Captain’s log, star-date April of the year two thousand and twelve, and we are entering what appears to be a known galaxy at a cruising speed of 70mph. Colored lights are refracting through the windshield as weird, alien life forms are busily interacting with small glowing computer devices inside four-wheeled contraptions. Cage drivers, I think they call them on this planet, and they certainly aren’t paying attention to my starship, as we resist the urge to engage warp speed and leave them behind in a searing-hot dust cloud. Setting the controls to autopilot, I sit back and relax, and checking my instrument data tells me I can maintain our current velocity for some hours to come without need for fuel. It also allows me to apply my focus on avoiding the distracted alien life forms around me.
Unlike Captain Kirk though, I don’t gallivant around the solar system every week shagging all sorts of intergalactic totty, while accompanied by an eclectic assortment of interplanetary minions. But, in the saddle of the new 1649 cc, six-cylinder, mega-touring BMW K1600GTL, it really felt like I was at the helm of my own land-bound version of the Starship Enterprise especially as we made our way around the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, on a delightfully warm spring evening enjoying the stunning skyline. The unique lightly muted howl of the inline six, alluring, exotic, and intoxicating all at the same time, is not something I have ever experienced from a touring bike in my life, and especially one with so much power. The temptation to twist the throttle and engage warp speed was not easy to resist, and there were times it was impossible to exercise restraint.
While this internal war raged on occasion, there were many times I was happily able to sink back into the large, comfortable seat and just let the engine hum along on a whiff of the fly-by-wire throttle. A trip to a friend’s house in Virginia allowed a few blissful hours of deep meditation, as I delved into the internal research library to recall my initial experience with BMW’s first in-line, multi-cylinder motorcycle the K100 introduced in 1983. The year was 1985, and I had just returned to the UK from a six-month overland trip through North and Central America to find a good friend the owner of a new “Flying Brick,” as they were quickly nicknamed. It had fuel injection, a single rear shock on a very trick mono-lever swingarm, triple Brembo brakes, and a 90-horsepower, four-cylinder engine that hung out the side of the motorcycle. Weird and wonderful at the same time, with the ultra-modern-looking dashboard and whooshing sound from the quiet exhaust, a ride on the Brick was most certainly like riding into the future. For reference I was still on a late ‘70s three-cylinder Laverda at the time.
Now 27 years later, I found myself after pulling off the interstate swooping along a country road an hour or so after dark. As I made my way to my friend’s house with the new adaptive headlight directing the beam around up-coming corners, I was experiencing the future all over again in the saddle of a BMW motorcycle. Although I was flicking the bike from side to side, the road stayed perfectly lit in front of me as I negotiated the unknown corners. A servomotor turns the standard, static reflector mirror into a swivel mirror, which pivots on an axis as you lean the motorcycle. The amount of movement needed is calculated by a sensor box similar to the one found in the S1000RR that reads the motorcycle’s lean angle and adjusts accordingly. The two high-beam circular headlamps sit next to the xenon lights with fiber optic rings, and like most BMWs make for a very striking and recognizable appearance coming towards you.
Arriving at my destination, I initiated the central locking and started digging through the top box, saddlebags, and cubbyholes to retrieve my gear. Traveling with my camera equipment, an extra helmet, and a rain suit, as well as my hair dryer and ironing board, the amount of storage space available was much appreciated. The top box is easily detachable if you want to take it inside with you, and the latches are all simple and intuitive. While this might sound like an irrelevant point to make, it’s always been a big beef of mine that so many luggage systems need you to be a Rubik’s cube expert with incredible manual dexterity to open and close them, always a fun situation when unloading at night in the rain while brain -fried from a long ride.
The following morning I rode off to my assignment for the day, which was to ride a 1948 Vincent. As I parked the two machines next to each other, I couldn’t help but marvel at how big and complicated motorcycles have become since Philip Vincent had his vision of the ultimate motorcycle. The simple 1000cc V-Twin, that was once the largest most powerful engine produced, looked positively anemic next to the inline six-cylinder Bavarian beast, which produces 160 bhp at 8,500 rpm, and kicks out a tarmac-destroying 129 lb/ft of torque at 5,250 rpm. What is even more impressive is that the new K bike makes around 70% of this maximum torque at 1,500 rpm, so even without taking my shoes and socks off to do the math, that’s over 90 lb/ft with the engine barely off idle.
As the lightest and most compact engine of this size, the new six weighs in around 226 pounds with gearbox and alternator. It’s a tad under 22 inches wide, and this narrow width is helped by the cylinder sleeves being only 5mm apart and the triple-shaft gearbox being stacked up behind them. The four valves per cylinder have a tight angle to keep the combustion chamber flat, and the engine’s dry-sump design allows it to sit lower in the frame. Pistons use a relatively high 12.2:1 compression ratio and run in cylinders set at a 55-degree angle to assist the low center of gravity. The single-piece crankshaft is similar in weight to BMW’s previous four-cylinder machines and uses counterweights and inertia-optimized discs, as there is no balance shaft in the engine. Resulting in one of the smoothest engines on the planet, the new K1600 engine is like no other. Able to pull from idle with the power of a freight train, or scream up to the 8,500 rpm red line with the ferocity of a sport bike and the sound track of an exotic race bike, the big six can also sit happily at 70 mph an hour all day. Sipping lightly on the gas in this mode it’ll take you long distances between fill ups, thanks to a super-large seven-gallon gas tank. The word versatility just doesn’t do the new engine justice.
No matter where we turn these days, electronics are front and center in our life, and the K1600GTL is no exception, coming to market with an all-new Multi Controller on the left handlebar. Basically it’s a rotating wheel in-between the grip and the switchgear that allows you to scroll through and select all of the functions the BMW has on offer. You can push the wheel to the left or right, or just push it to select, and all of the functions are displayed on the LCD screen in the dashboard. Leave it to BMW to come up with something so new and innovative, and once you are used using it, you can change your ride settings, set your favorite radio station, or check your tire pressure on the fly. It also allows you to use the navigation system or make changes to the heated seat or the heated grips, and it might be able to read your horoscope if you can find the right setting.
Unlike Captain Kirk though, I don’t gallivant around the solar system every week shagging all sorts of intergalactic totty, while accompanied by an eclectic assortment of interplanetary minions. But, in the saddle of the new 1649 cc, six-cylinder, mega-touring BMW K1600GTL, it really felt like I was at the helm of my own land-bound version of the Starship Enterprise especially as we made our way around the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, on a delightfully warm spring evening enjoying the stunning skyline. The unique lightly muted howl of the inline six, alluring, exotic, and intoxicating all at the same time, is not something I have ever experienced from a touring bike in my life, and especially one with so much power. The temptation to twist the throttle and engage warp speed was not easy to resist, and there were times it was impossible to exercise restraint.
While this internal war raged on occasion, there were many times I was happily able to sink back into the large, comfortable seat and just let the engine hum along on a whiff of the fly-by-wire throttle. A trip to a friend’s house in Virginia allowed a few blissful hours of deep meditation, as I delved into the internal research library to recall my initial experience with BMW’s first in-line, multi-cylinder motorcycle the K100 introduced in 1983. The year was 1985, and I had just returned to the UK from a six-month overland trip through North and Central America to find a good friend the owner of a new “Flying Brick,” as they were quickly nicknamed. It had fuel injection, a single rear shock on a very trick mono-lever swingarm, triple Brembo brakes, and a 90-horsepower, four-cylinder engine that hung out the side of the motorcycle. Weird and wonderful at the same time, with the ultra-modern-looking dashboard and whooshing sound from the quiet exhaust, a ride on the Brick was most certainly like riding into the future. For reference I was still on a late ‘70s three-cylinder Laverda at the time.
Now 27 years later, I found myself after pulling off the interstate swooping along a country road an hour or so after dark. As I made my way to my friend’s house with the new adaptive headlight directing the beam around up-coming corners, I was experiencing the future all over again in the saddle of a BMW motorcycle. Although I was flicking the bike from side to side, the road stayed perfectly lit in front of me as I negotiated the unknown corners. A servomotor turns the standard, static reflector mirror into a swivel mirror, which pivots on an axis as you lean the motorcycle. The amount of movement needed is calculated by a sensor box similar to the one found in the S1000RR that reads the motorcycle’s lean angle and adjusts accordingly. The two high-beam circular headlamps sit next to the xenon lights with fiber optic rings, and like most BMWs make for a very striking and recognizable appearance coming towards you.
Arriving at my destination, I initiated the central locking and started digging through the top box, saddlebags, and cubbyholes to retrieve my gear. Traveling with my camera equipment, an extra helmet, and a rain suit, as well as my hair dryer and ironing board, the amount of storage space available was much appreciated. The top box is easily detachable if you want to take it inside with you, and the latches are all simple and intuitive. While this might sound like an irrelevant point to make, it’s always been a big beef of mine that so many luggage systems need you to be a Rubik’s cube expert with incredible manual dexterity to open and close them, always a fun situation when unloading at night in the rain while brain -fried from a long ride.
The following morning I rode off to my assignment for the day, which was to ride a 1948 Vincent. As I parked the two machines next to each other, I couldn’t help but marvel at how big and complicated motorcycles have become since Philip Vincent had his vision of the ultimate motorcycle. The simple 1000cc V-Twin, that was once the largest most powerful engine produced, looked positively anemic next to the inline six-cylinder Bavarian beast, which produces 160 bhp at 8,500 rpm, and kicks out a tarmac-destroying 129 lb/ft of torque at 5,250 rpm. What is even more impressive is that the new K bike makes around 70% of this maximum torque at 1,500 rpm, so even without taking my shoes and socks off to do the math, that’s over 90 lb/ft with the engine barely off idle.
As the lightest and most compact engine of this size, the new six weighs in around 226 pounds with gearbox and alternator. It’s a tad under 22 inches wide, and this narrow width is helped by the cylinder sleeves being only 5mm apart and the triple-shaft gearbox being stacked up behind them. The four valves per cylinder have a tight angle to keep the combustion chamber flat, and the engine’s dry-sump design allows it to sit lower in the frame. Pistons use a relatively high 12.2:1 compression ratio and run in cylinders set at a 55-degree angle to assist the low center of gravity. The single-piece crankshaft is similar in weight to BMW’s previous four-cylinder machines and uses counterweights and inertia-optimized discs, as there is no balance shaft in the engine. Resulting in one of the smoothest engines on the planet, the new K1600 engine is like no other. Able to pull from idle with the power of a freight train, or scream up to the 8,500 rpm red line with the ferocity of a sport bike and the sound track of an exotic race bike, the big six can also sit happily at 70 mph an hour all day. Sipping lightly on the gas in this mode it’ll take you long distances between fill ups, thanks to a super-large seven-gallon gas tank. The word versatility just doesn’t do the new engine justice.
No matter where we turn these days, electronics are front and center in our life, and the K1600GTL is no exception, coming to market with an all-new Multi Controller on the left handlebar. Basically it’s a rotating wheel in-between the grip and the switchgear that allows you to scroll through and select all of the functions the BMW has on offer. You can push the wheel to the left or right, or just push it to select, and all of the functions are displayed on the LCD screen in the dashboard. Leave it to BMW to come up with something so new and innovative, and once you are used using it, you can change your ride settings, set your favorite radio station, or check your tire pressure on the fly. It also allows you to use the navigation system or make changes to the heated seat or the heated grips, and it might be able to read your horoscope if you can find the right setting.
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