2011 BMW K 1600 GT launch South Africa – Storming GT
From effortless acceleration at as low as 1000rpm to storming acceleration above 5.000rpm the new super six from BMW is the perfect all rounder. The cheaper of the two new tourers is the GT. The GT is also the most exciting of the pair (GT and GTL) in the corners so here we go.
Words: Tor Sagen/Photography: Daniel Kraus Check out the video at the end.
It’s Monday morning and already we can see that it’s 30 degrees under the South African sun. I spent yesterday cage diving with the Great White sharks at Gansbaai and today we’ll ride along the same coast line. South Africa is a place for adventure and BMW have long traditions launching both cars and bikes here. We’re gifted with perfect roads, perfect weather and perfect scenery. Now we ask ourselves whether the new K 1600 GT is perfect, too.
First thing in the morning and the last thing in the afternoon I ride the famous Franschhoek pass a couple of hours ride north of Cape Town. Here I get to test the handling, engine response and brakes to the full. I use the ESA II (Electronic Suspension Adjustment) and change from Normal to Sport mode where the suspension hardens up a bit to allow more control at higher pace. You actually feel the suspension firming up or soften after making the change whilst on the move and the changes are on several pre-determined parameters, not just pre-load.
I keep the revs above 5.000rpm and what a noise the big BMW in-line six makes! The K 1600 GT completely changes character when the engine is on full song. There’s a Ferrari’esque roar exiting the two silencers with three stylish holes in each. This is not the kind of soundtrack we had expected from BMW’s latest luxury tourers! The GT sounds and acts like a true sports tourer when you’re really on it through the corners and short straights. The GT literally begs to be ridden hard through the corners and both I and the machine love it.
Man and machine we are indeed and whilst the seat is comfortable it is still an 810mm (adjustable to 830mm) high seat which emphasise more on the sporty side than the GTL does with its 750mm standard seat. Through the Franschhoek pass this is perfect whilst I feed the slightly aggressive but exciting engine with revs. The GT also feature the BMW DTC traction control system which along with the ABS brakes make late braking and early corner exits the safest thing in the world.
There were a couple of corners with a bit of gravel in them and the odd diesel spill here and there. No traction control in the world can save you if you enter into something slippery too hot, but exiting through it is child’s play with the DTC. In the menu the DTC is hidden quite well but I found it and turned it off just to try. The options allow you to turn it off once so that after you’ve turned the ignition off and on the DTC is active again. There’s very little benefit in turning the DTC off as you’ll only be able to spin the rear wheel through gravel and do a wheelie but that’s it really. Within the three riding modes (Rain, Normal and Dynamic) the DTC works at different parameters being at its most intrusive in the Rain mode.
The ABS brakes are very powerful and feature two radial 4-piston callipers at the front and a single 2-piston calliper on the rear (all on 320mm discs) The K 1600 GT weighs in at 319 kilos without the panniers attached but with 90% of the 24 litre fuel tank capacity. Despite the fact that this is considered light in this segment there’s still a fair few kilos to stop and the brakes perform well. At really hard braking I hear the wheels skidding under me which I think is exciting and involves those ABS brakes working as hard as they can. I got to test both low speed and high speed braking and I’m particularly impressed with how hard I can brake from high speed to cruising speed. This makes for safe overtaking when you have to use all available power to make overtakes with limited space available. The driver in front might get a wake up call when he hears the K 1600 tyres skid a bit and the big tourer is very solid in this area.
The front suspension is a Duolever with anti-dive capabilities. The system still allows for some dynamic dive at the front to give extra feel for the front tyre action under heavy braking. The three modes ranges from Comfort, Normal to Sport and between Comfort and Sport there’s a major difference in handling. I cruised along in the Comfort setting which is perfect when you ride the torque on low rpm but as soon as you want a more dynamic set-up for active riding you need a firmer set-up to prevent the GT behaving like a whale in a pool. Using the mode button on the right handlebar with the multi-controller (BMW’s scroll wheel) allows you to change the settings even whilst on the move provided you engage the clutch and shut the throttle. As soon as the system accepts this the change happens and I can feel the suspension harden up. Then add the Dynamic riding mode and voila I’m virtually sat on a sports tourer all of a sudden. Some times during the day in the saddle the system wouldn’t accept my input as immediate as I would have wished for despite being certain that the throttle was on idle and clutch engaged. The information and menu for this is on the TFT high resolution colour display and the longer it takes to make changes the longer I had to take my eyes away from the road. It is easy to navigate the menus but I must admit that I pushed that scroll wheel into position more than once quite often to make a change stick.
Saying this I must also say that BMW probably deserve an award for its multi-controller solution as it’s as high tech as it gets and work in an intuitive way. My only niggle with it is that it doesn’t always respond as quickly or as firmly as I like.
The ESA II electronic suspension adjustment system is the perfect solution for a touring bike and I wouldn’t get the GT or GTL without it. Preload, rebound and compression are all parameters adjusted electronically based on what I choose in the menu. The first setting is whether you are riding solo, solo with luggage or with a pillion passenger. With this parameter set I can scroll away and choose the ideal suspension setting for virtually any type of road or riding mood. I can conclude that with a very solid and balanced chassis the ESA II really works well and makes it more exciting to ride a varied route.
The tyres fitted are the Metzeler Roadtec Z8 Interact in a 120/70-ZR17 front and a 190/55-ZR17 rear. These tyres stick well to the tarmac and being made for sport touring should have some longevity as well. Tyre pressures are monitored and at the TFT display you can check that everything is as it should and there’s a warning light should pressures drop too much.
Back to that big 1649cc in-line six cylinder engine. The electronics package available in the K 1600GT/GTL is perhaps even more impressive than the engine but nowhere near as captivating. BMW launched the teaser Concept 6 at the EICMA show in Milan in 2009 which is a naked roadster featuring the in-line six and something which we might actually get to see as a road model in the future. The K 1600 GT/GTL produces a satisfying 125Nm of torque already at 1.500rpm. The max figure is 175Nm @ 5.250rpm and 160hp @ 7.750rpm. The redline has been set at 8.500rpm but BMW states that this is far from the maximum possible even from a reliability point of view. Something about this engine makes me believe that BMW have explored every possibility and that the big six is capable of powering everything from a high end muscle roadster to a high speed tourer Hayabusa or K 1300 S style if you want. BMW doesn’t build anything unless it’s financially nearly bulletproof you should know.
In touring form it’s very impressive and you can go from 1.000rpm idle in sixth gear to 7.000rpm 200km/h plus without changing gear or loosing out to traffic. The engine is extremely flexible in other words. The 55 degree tilted mounting is the same as in the K 1300 series and gives plenty of stability and minimum disturbance to the chassis. The smoothness in lower rpm gives way to a very exciting but steady building power crescendo where sound and feeling explodes. BMW have built an engine that will go into the history books as a classic much quicker than their in-line fours.
Whilst cruising in sixth gear at high speed I experimented with the electric windshield which in standard is a little bit shorter than on the GTL. As it is shorter than the GTL and as the seat height is higher I could never get completely out of the wind and this gave some helmet buffeting even when set to the highest possible position. On each fairing side there’s what I now will call an organic air-con in the shape of two flaps that can be swung out one by one to divert wind to the rider’s upper body. This works particularly well at low speed in 40 degrees like it was this day I tested the GT. At higher speed it becomes hopelessly un-aerodynamic and I tested and lost at least 20km/h top speed on a full throttle run. I love this solution however as it’s so simple on a super high tech motorbike.
The clutch/gear-box interaction wasn’t optimal in standard set-up on my bike as the clutch grabbed to far out in the levers travel. It’s adjustable but I’m pretty sure BMW will have to continue working a bit in this area to make the clutch and gear-box as smooth as the engine.
The GT has got panniers as standard but it doesn’t get the extra top-box like on the GTL. I’ll cover such practical things as the stereo and theft-proof GPS in my GTL review. The heated seats and grips remained untested as I think it would have been downright unhealthy to increase my already high temperature this day. In the evening at dinner time we got a demonstration of the directional headlight system as we did no riding in the dark. A gyroscope helps achieve this high tech automotive solution and I’ll talk more also about this in the GTL review as well as pillion comfort and whatever I may have missed in this one.
Conclusion
I stand by what I’ve said about the K 1600 GT turning into something very close to or perhaps even better than a sports tourer, so not only a Grand Tourer also a Sports Tourer. The GT works fantastic at high speed as you’d expect from most BMW’s having the Autobahn to develop products on. The high tech and also low tech solutions really take care of you the rider in the important safety and comfort areas. The engine is a belter and one of the most flexible out there. The powerband ranges from long distance quiet comfort at low revs to an immense pull at higher revs with a great sound to match. The BMW K 1600 GT isn’t a bike you’ll get bored with anytime soon.
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Engine with its abundance of torque and power
Technical solutions
Great brakes
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Windshield not as effective as on the GTL
Gear-box clutch interaction not optimal on our test bikes
