Quick Ride BMW K1600GTL
What do we buy motorcycles for? That was the question I was left asking myself after a test ride of the new BMW K1600GTL courtesy of Gateway BMW. It is not a psychological - I think therefore I am, freedom, open-road, lifestyle question - but rather a question about which physical aspects of a motorcycle make us choose one machine over the other. In that case it really comes down to two things: the motor and the looks.
While styling does sell bikes, the real answer, it seems to me, is the we buy bikes for the motor. Whether it is a Harley Davidson with its distinctive vee-twin rumble or a Yamaha R-1 four that screams to its 12,000+ RPM redline, bikes are purchased for their motors and the inherent thrill a motor provides when the throttle is twisted to its limit. If they weren't, wouldn't we all be riding bicycles? They are, after all, called motorcycles.
Which brings me to the new BMW. The motor is heaven sent, created by gods of all things mechanical and delivered on the wings of teutonic angels. Amazing, incredibly smooth, powerful and with a sound that only a perfectly balanced straight six can make, even when running in semi-hushed touring garb. In my short time with the bike I could not escape the grasp that engine put on my soul. All the horsepower and torque you could ask for (but of course you should always want more, again, they are called motorcycles for a reason).
That brings me to my issue with this bike. Sure it handles wonderfully for such a large machine and it has every accessory needed to take a trip from here to somewhere far, far, away: Sirrus radio, adaptive suspension, traction control, ABS, lights that follow curves; the list goes on and on and it is all controlled from a relatively simple interface. But to me, it doesn't even matter. I just want more of that motor. Put that motor in a honest chassis with a comfortable riding position and this would still be one of the best bikes on the road. The motor is so overwhelmingly spectacular as to make everything else fade into the background. Nice, but...
Now let me give a counterpoint. After the test ride, which included a trip by my house so my wife could give the bike the once over, I explained the position expressed above. She said no: sure it has a great motor but as a motorcycle, it needs those accessories to make it a joy to take from here to somewhere far, far away.
Photo from BMW
Which brings me to the new BMW. The motor is heaven sent, created by gods of all things mechanical and delivered on the wings of teutonic angels. Amazing, incredibly smooth, powerful and with a sound that only a perfectly balanced straight six can make, even when running in semi-hushed touring garb. In my short time with the bike I could not escape the grasp that engine put on my soul. All the horsepower and torque you could ask for (but of course you should always want more, again, they are called motorcycles for a reason).
That brings me to my issue with this bike. Sure it handles wonderfully for such a large machine and it has every accessory needed to take a trip from here to somewhere far, far, away: Sirrus radio, adaptive suspension, traction control, ABS, lights that follow curves; the list goes on and on and it is all controlled from a relatively simple interface. But to me, it doesn't even matter. I just want more of that motor. Put that motor in a honest chassis with a comfortable riding position and this would still be one of the best bikes on the road. The motor is so overwhelmingly spectacular as to make everything else fade into the background. Nice, but...
Now let me give a counterpoint. After the test ride, which included a trip by my house so my wife could give the bike the once over, I explained the position expressed above. She said no: sure it has a great motor but as a motorcycle, it needs those accessories to make it a joy to take from here to somewhere far, far away.
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7:06 PM
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