You are correct about the attractions of the bike. The compelling sound track especially!

Test video and extra detailed video are excellent. Thanks. In terms of the K1600, it is without doubt a truly amazing bike. I'm already on my second K1600 GTLE and I'm waiting for the next iteration which will, hopefully, have a properly integrated dashboard and Adaptive Cruise Control. 👍

I have ridden my GTL for a long while and am awaiting my new 2022 that I have on order. I so agree with everything you say. I couldn't agree more about how capable and how it feels like a much smaller bike.

My 2012 GT version is just incredible! I’ve been on two wheels on the road and track since 1967, still have it with my 2006 Blackhawk 240 with 103B screaming eagle, and my 2020 Panigale V4s which also absolutely incredible ! It’s so darn difficult to decide which flavor I feel for the day.

Another pro assessment.Thanks.

I love the styling, the way they frame the engine- "check this out...". BMW has come a long way since my Airhead days when guys told me it was an old man's bike.

Fantastic review!

Awesome review. You know that when you laugh like that you are having fun!

Love your review. Always wanted a K1600, but still can't justify the move away from my 2010 K1300GT. Maybe one day!

what a great review thank you

Had a 2016 k1600gtl exclusive, sold it last year.Yep, getting ready to welcome into my life this 2022 model by end of this year

Ah, Mat, I do love your reviews, presentation style and wit. This has to be one of your best reviews imo and you have left me seriously wondering how I could fit this monster into my garage. Well done, sir!

Great review Mat, as always! 👏🏻 Super smooth indeed, really a LOT of bike for the money, it's a work of art 👊🏻👍🏻

That's some quality production.

A 140 mph is fast enough especially fully loaded. Nice and smooth.

A fine review. I have a 2019 and I absolutely love it. The engine sings a Siren song, once it passes 5500 rpm. I love twisting the throttle back to the stop and climbing through the gears without the clutch...works every time for me.

U have a way with words my friend. What a gift

But, this bike can be such a money pit if it's out of warranty. Even the 600 mile service is close to $1000 dollars. and when it's time to adjust those 24 valves, the service will well be over $1000. This bike also has a History of electrical Gremlins where just the removal of the body works to get to parts will just up the cost of service. A brilliant Bike yes, but a Pain in the Ass Money pit.And that TFT is just asking to be ripped out and stolen the second you walk into the pub for a stout.

What a great review, you make me want to run out a buy one..

Side note what is the model of the alpinestar jacket your wearing?, great review again as always Cheers to you.

Great stuff Mat! I've always wished BMW would create some sort of hyper naked bike with that engine! Would still be heavy but without the fairings could be lots of fun! Can you have a word with the beemer brass please Mat 😃

Awesome bike. Good review! Tks

A big scooter is a pretty accurate description, I ride a 2016 GT and it is amazing

1250gsa going back to shop for a swap for the gt. Great video

Great review Matt

The bike is stupid fast. Test ride one for yourself and you will see. Problem is finding good roads for it. It was built for the Autobahn.

Yah, as a bonus, you'll surely give everyone riding a gold wing a never ending case of envy! First thing I'd do is to have that motor bren tuned and then install a titanium aftermarket exhaust

Top heavy....... great motor and tech...

Used one in Tasmania borrowed from a mate, was brilliant to be honest

love your motorcycle

I like how you talk about this motorcycle. I don't know if you are the same person witch make the Fast Bike Show. I liked thos movies also. My compliments for your posts.

Cool bike…but the video is more impressive, well done 👍🏻

I went through the build-me-one menu and with a lot of extras it comes to R377 000.00. Now all I need is... R377 000.00. Great video. Probably the best one I've seen on the 2022 GTL..

That’s a great bike

I have been an ardent motorcyclist and sailor for decades. Riding one of these bikes is like buying a sailboat with a 7 1/2 foot draft when you live on the Chesapeake Bay. You cannot ride it everywhere. And I’m not talking about off track. I’m talking about just pulling into some gas stations. I’m talking about driveways. I’m talking about gravel parking lots. The other thing I think about is the cost of just dropping it at 0 miles Per hour. That’s when most bikes hit the ground anyway. I imagine it could cost many hundreds of dollars it’s not up to $1000 just if it falls over if you want to replace everything that gets scratched because everything does get scratched because it’s all plastic. So I just admire sailboats with deep keels and high bikes like this at shows

TFT looks like a last minute thought then you need the BMW app for the GPS to work and it isn't free then it takes ages to connect

Hi, please could you tell me, if you don’t mind, how tall you are? I’m concerned with the low seat height and pegs. I’m 6ft (183cm) and I’m afraid it’ll be sore riding with my legs cramped up. I know they do a 780mm “high seat” but I still think that may be too low. I know the GT is 810/830mm, but are the only differences the top box? I’m recovering from major surgery right now, so test riding isn’t an option until the end of September. Thanks in anticipation.

Wow good

Thanks for a great test report. Don't think I will not upgrade my 2013 Gtl. Regarding your review I have 2 comments.The seating position for me 1,92m is fine and apart from shifting my feet around on the pegs I quite comfortably ride Plettenberg to Cape Town ( 550km).Yes it's tough living with this bike in the Garden route. Then I don't need a quickshifter, once moving and in 6th gear the flat torgue curve turns it into an "automatic" even 2 up plus luggage.

One doesent feel warm and fuzzy when the price becomes clear to you.

I rode for a week with one these beast in our group and was impressed with the bike rider, especially in the curvy bits. Too big for me to push around the garage nowadays. Perhaps too much bike for most uses for the general public.

No CarPlay is a bummer. I saw a K1600 for sale at a really low price used; Turns out the front ends lower ball joint had gone bad, and needed replacing. Very, very expensive.

Wow !!!

This machine is wonderful, as long as they run right! I had 2 k’s, 16 GTLE and Grand America. Be worn, at least in the USA, these engines are so complicated and so sensitive to problems as you rack miles on them that it can cost heavy. Very hard to work on, as well. Dealers in the USA are winding down. You have to have one close by. Never buy one without BMW coverage!!!!! I am 6’4” and I had a hard time riding for a long trips. Knees and lower back was getting sores. The recall on the reverse clutch and 6th gear got me so mad. I honestly, had enough!!!! It is not for me. I just want to ride and ride and not worry about dealers and down time. BMW lost me!!!!!

We love seeing speedos in mph here in the states. Amazing that guys can get 200mph with about $10k thrown into their modern litre sport bikes. The bmw s or m1000 seem to be the flavor of the week.

Hi handsome . What a emotional video . Great job BMW

Nice review Mat….just wondering if you need a second mortgage on your home to keep this bike properly maintained? I hear too many horror stories…can’t help but think that ownership of this bike can be a recipe for disaster.

Mat. This bike or the Gold Wing?

This guy had a BMW car, 5 series. He said he was told to sell it before 60,000 miles 'Or it will break your heart.' And that sums up BMW these days. Had a R60/5 for 45 years and I spent more time fixing it than riding it. Gonna get a Goldwing next.

I am fortunate enough to own a 2016 model, I concur.

Was wondering how old are you? Definitely encouraging!

Great review have always liked this bike but one thing really annoys me why don't manufacturers fit a electric centre stand on bikes of this size, I have a K 1200 LT with the electric centre stand and will never sell it because of this one feature I'm quite small and pushing 70 but it makes my ride so much better one touch of the button and she is up.

Scratch that question, Matt, I found part 2!

Nice video, also a nice bike but too top heavy, too windy for a passanger and no nav without a smartphone. Therfore is the goldwing my prefered bike

:) Got a K1300S from 2012, top speed is a lot more than that.

Bike show, This vs the RT?? I'm 6'2 250..

Something like this followed me through the twisty narrow up and downy ,wonderful roads of the Shropshire in the UK. Left it for dead on a Guzzi V7 . Not for me.

pros and cons vs goldwing?

Great review, good bye Harley, hello BMW

Could it be that the 1600 is slower than the 1250 ? If I remember correctly, I had the 1250 RT at 240 quite quickly on a test drive. Must be some artificial limitation, with that power it should be more like 260 ... Doesn't matter anyway, as I crave for a Goldwing, which is limited at 180 - which even when it is allowed is not that much fun for a longer time.

This is a beautiful beast but it's too heavy and two inches too tall for me. I'm a 5'10 82kg male. I had to go for the R1250GSA because the K is made for 6-footers.

Can you switch the speedometer to MPH? I would think that would be easy.

For me the contradiction is this: the engine is far too inviting to not trash it (as do, for me, all 2+ cylinders engines), and that is the hallmark of a fun, B-road, Sunday or commuting bike. Touring doesn't mean slow, but you can't spend 10 hours per day either thrashing a crime-inducing motor or getting frustrated you're restraining yourself. That's why I went for the RT: still very fast when I want to, but it doesn't egg me on constantly when I am in a chill mood.

Maybe good for Interstates and Autobahns.....it was smooth but a bump in a corner, actually a corner was anathema to this "long distance" cruiser ! Totally unsettled me so that I was not interested in a further ride on this truck !

GT is way faster. 🥶🤣👌

👍

No radar cruise. What a shame!

I know what I like...

How does it compare to a Goldwing ?

The KTM screens are not comparable. “ *KTM my ride” app and phone software is utter shite* BMW Dominate.

I still love my Yamaha FJR1300 but the 2022 BMW K1600B has convinced me... Note that the FJR1300 has a much sportier engine than the K1600, which makes the K1600 the better option to avoid speeding tickets 😏. But that is to be expected as the FJR1300 is a SPORTS TOURER while the K1600 is just a TOURER.

This BMW 1600 vs THE GOLD WING who wins??

Lots of transmition problems, and revers 1600B,, and serves are super, super expensive

I've had a K1600 GTLE since inception, the bike has covered 40,000 miles. The engine is wonderful BUT it's had 3 new engines in its life, never did findout why

Same speed than 1250rt, but more expensive.

I find those tft ipad esque screens, awful to look at. The weakest link of the bike for me… thus my rush to get last years proper dashboard version. Also, many don’t know, the screens are a lot cheaper to make than analogue clocks…

For me, at that price, its a miata everytime

Overly complex German engineering which will require a much better dealer network than I have access to ,not to mention the cost of that service....no thanks.

The K 1600 would not be any good to me. Just too big & heavy.

....and please don't get me onto the portmanteau word action stuff. No place in bike reviews IMO, unlike abbreviations, (sic) like BMW & KTM = Expensive, but not necessarily reliable.

Extra mile bullshit. Where is the adaptive cruise control?

Guesstimate is a tortology, of dubious US derivation (maybe Canada). Please, as a professional journo don't use such words. At least cremains has some additional info.

P

Yea how comfortable is it riding with your feet behind your knees on pegs, I don’t think so.

The bike has had very little changes over the past 10 years except for the electronic gimmicks…..still has the same God awful wind wobble at higher speeds , clunky gearbox…and inadequate cooling system….What was Momma BMWs answer to the near death wobble at speed???? Let’s cheap out and install a speed limiter instead of redesigning the fairings or rear top box.. all that for $30k US

141mph. Not that impressive really. My FZ750 from 1988 could do that. I'd expect a modern bike with an engine twice the size would be a touch faster.

The maintenance costs of this bike are totally ridiculous that's why I will never buy one such a shame its a stunning bike and seen lots of great reviews

Ride a bike in jeans??????