BMW K 1600 GT
The definitive luxury cruiser £15,000
Kissing the limiter in third, I slam on the brakes and bury it deep into a sweet 90º left without hesitation, knee dragging on the surface beneath. On any other day, this wouldn’t be an extraordinary feat, but my laughter drowning out the engine, and the fact I’m riding BMW’s K 1600 GT with KISS FM blaring from its speakers, makes it utterly astonishing.
Having never ridden a K16 before, there was a massive amount of pre-ride trepidation. I mean, just look at it. It’s the 21st century, road-going equivalent of a German warship. There’s absolutely nothing sexy about it and many of you wouldn’t be seen dead riding one but, trust me, this was a minor revelation.
I had visions of six-pot wheelies and dragging the number plate for a cover shot, although Bruce elected a sexy Italian – not an orthopaedic-looking German – as the cover star, plus you can’t turn off the anti-wheelie. Which is probably a good thing given the powerplant.
There are several K16 standout features, and the six-cylinder, 1,649cc powerplant is unsurprisingly one of them. When torque figures outshine peak power numbers, you know this is a vehicle fit for fracking purposes – packing a claimed 160bhp and 175Nm of torque, the GT does an exceptional job
of gobbling the horizon and blurring scenery. Initially, the soundtrack is a rather muted affair, sounding very much like a two-wheeled car. However, get it singing in the midrange and the K16 gets naughty.
Just riding one is an experience. The preliminary grunt on tap is as surprising as it is exciting, thrusting forward without hesitation and it caught me off guard on several occasions. And it just gets better – I was short shifting, assuming I was near the redline as power curtailed, but there was another dose of six cylinder clout and 3,000rpm left.
Gaining and maintaining speed isn’t the problem. Reducing speed can be. Considering the grunt on tap and the sheer size of the vessel, we’d like to see some stronger brakes (which also didn’t appear in the update this year), but 99.99% of current GT owners won’t be losing sleep over poor braking performance from triple-figure speeds. The gearbox is also occasionally clunky, bereft of a quickshifter that did materialise in last year’s tweaks. As you settle into the ride and realise it’s not the heifer your preconceptions had you thinking, the GT’s second standout feature soon materialises, and that’s just how easy it is to ride at speed. The most complicated aspect to riding the GT is tuning the radio, which alludes to its submissive manners. If there’s a bike to belittle its weight and stature, it’s the K16, and its mass only interferes when pushing the bike around. It’s an absolute doddle to chuck around and meets an apex whenever called upon. There’s no doubt the weight lends the GT mechanical grip but the suspension works sublimely to smoothen roads – you could run over a small child and still feel little though the ’bars. However, that’s not recommended.
If big mileage and serious comfort combined with silly amounts of torque is your thing, then you best visit Bahnstormer BMW. Now. While adventure bikes claim to be comfy, this is by far the comfiest bike I’ve ever ridden, and it’s laden with tech goodies to make life über easy. Radio aside, the integrated sat-nav and electronic controls are easy and intuitive. The whole ride is directed towards making your ride as relaxed as possible. Stay tuned, GT fans. We have something pretty crazy lined up for the K1600…
THE MOST COMPLICATED ASPECT TO RIDING THE GT IS TUNING THE RADIO