Top_Speed1
Panama Canal Crosser
BMW Dealer:
Country Rode Motorwerks
286 Macedon Center Road (Rte 31F)
Fairport, NY 14450
585-421-0480
Salesperson(s) dealt with:
Ron & Art (owner)
Bikes test ridden by KJ & Stan (9/15/12):
BMW K1600GT (sport touring)
BMW K1300S (sport bike)
So this past Saturday afternoon (9/15/12) my buddy Stan "Steamer" and I ventured out to our local BMW dealer (about 40 miles away if that's still considered local anyway) to do some inquisitive German engineering missile shopping. Stanley still likes the lay down on the tank sport bikes so he had a boner for the 1300S and I was really wondering about the 1600GT and GTL.
We arrived by bikes early afternoon and were greeted by a very friendly and almost family type of atmosphere. The showroom was what I would expect from a Beemer dealer, big enough but cozy, quite stylish and best of all great people inside. Now one thing to take into account... I had a chip on my shoulder knowing these BMW machines are WAY more expensive than that of my FJR or certainly Stan's Honda CBR. So I basically wanted to be blown-away by things/options/functions and most notably ride/performance. This kind of cash has to prove it's worthiness and my initial thought was that it just wasn't going to happen! (Yes, I love the Feejer and anything better for my kind of riding style I figured it probably really wasn't going to happen).
We were offered coffee n doughnuts which we both quickly passed on (hey we wanted to start getting the skinny on these bikes and weren't here for these kind of snacks anyway lol). OK, Ron stepped up and gave me the rundown on the K1600's (GT & GTL) that were both proudly on display. After flying through all the menu's and showing me the different adjustments (and there is a lot of them!) I was like... yeah, I expected all that actually and would of popped my eyes out if I knew the bike was like 20G but I knew it was not. So impress me more cuz your not close to that price tag yet! So Ron gets a mechanic to wheel the K1600GT out to the parking lot and he (probably on purpose) parks it right next to my FJR. OK, so she looks sweet as hell and I cannot lie, it definitely over shadows my FJR in the looks dept and size but I'm being pretty cold on it as of this moment as I'm thinking it's tank-city ride wise!
So now we have Art shaking our hands (the owner) and he's getting out a traded-in Ducati to take us out on a serious test ride. We did say we wanted the full monte
but from a BMW dealer we kinda thought that might be the so called "stuff shirt, you guys aren't worthy ride"... hmmm, I was thinking this should be real interesting and before I would even think about this much cash for this bike we better get the WOW FACTORx10!
We mount up and Art led me (K1600GT) and Stan (K1300S) down and out of town, definitely very cautiously at first (he was checking out our riding skills on a few turns in his rearview. It was funny I kept seeing him stare back at us in the mirror, oh well I was thinking "ship, if I just let 50K worth of bikes go out to strangers I'm doing the exact same thing!". After about 15mins of this we pulled over to a school turnoff and parked. He asked how everything is so far... "good" and wanted to know if we wanted to step it up. Like he had to ask us 2 nimrods this twice! So we aggressively went to the back roads. Slight surprise as to how aggressive he progressed (after I'm sure he was dog trailing us in the rearview). After some twisters and some holeshot starts and such he pulls into a car wash parking lot. Now I'm thinking salesman pressure part 1. Nope! Wrong! Just as cool as could be and I think he was enjoying the ride almost as much as we were. We exchanged a few tidbits of what I felt and liked/disliked. The bike played a lot lighter than I had expected. In fact the 1600GT (hate to admit this) was cornering like an absolute dream. Center of gravity felt lower than the FJR. Wayyyy smoother. That fricken 6 cylinder is so smooth, very 160hp peppy as well and sounds great (it's got a nice nasty growl and turbine jet engine sound when all combined it is so harmonic pleasing especially when you get on it).
In the car wash parking lot we relaxed and got down to what I was really looking for. Not wanting to show my cards (and give him the upper hand in case I did want to deal on this expensive creature)... I said my biggest concern is the bike and it's size and how it handles especially in the twisties. Well he says, lets ride back and hit a route with some technique and ability turns to see if it matches up. He also goes on to say "don't be afraid to lay that bike over in these turns, it will take it no problem". OK?, off we go and I got to be totally honest it handled them better than the FJR even with my brand new PR2's (kinda disappointed in that!!). Here's the GTL with the top-case and lower seat. I preferred the GT however with a higher seat and more sportier ride...
From start to finish
It took me a whole 5 mins to get use to the bike (some peeps saying.. BMW bikes are an acquired taste!" hmmm, yeah right, within 1 mile I could see how much better it was from just a ride quality point. That suspension on "Road" mode was so smooth, I didn't feel any of the road bumps or noise at all. It felt and played lighter than the FJR. I have never rode a bike with not ANY type of vibration... kinda made me speechless but I kept saying to my self "this bad puppy is also $10K more than the Feejer, keep that in mind KJ!" Upon arrival back to the dealer and my mind now wandering helpless with the BMW vision it was time to come back to reality (at least that is what I was tyring to tell myself). I really had the most fun on a bike ever (WOW!). I also boasted the biggest smile to which I was trying to hide (Stan too) when we arrived back as to not give the saleman that upper advantage.
A couple of other (lower on the totem pole) salespeeps came out and were all saying "man I didn't think you guys were coming back!" You've been gone an hour and a half! ...I was like that was the best and quickest 1-1/2hrs I have ever spent. I not only had my 'needed WOW Factor for a big $$$Bike' met but it far surpassed it. I cannot really tell you how bad I have the BMW itch now, and it sucks cuz I love the FJR (and it's paid for!) but this BMW bike is definitely worthy of me shelling out some major cash for. Hey, besides I haven't slept well since I had this test ride, totally have the itch. I woke up last nite thinking.. I should see what the adaptive xenon headlight is like in the corners, so I pulled up youtube at 3am and watched videos till 7am when I had to go to work.
I hate to spend that kind of cash but I now want it. Life is short as we all know, I want what I want and will just have to pinch a few other things to make it work. To justify this I can clearly see a few of my friends with HD's and a couple even have trikes that they spent way more than 30K on them, and to me this bike is way more advanced and better in all categories (at least for me and what I want in a ride at my now 40's age). This was the 1300 Steamer rode and fell in love with... (it's super sweetness!)
So speaking of younger (haha) Stan is so hooked also on the above pictured BMW K1300S sport bike. We spent that Sat nite drinking and eating at a local pub and all we could think or talk about was those 2 bikes. Heck even 2 hot chix came in with lil mini skirts dressed to kill, sat right next to us and our attention just went back to the bikes. Holy Ship Batman! Now with us horn-dogs that speaks volume. As I'm writing this (I type fast so excuse the typos!) Stan just texted me "Dude, wadda we goona do? I can't get this bike outta my mind!" This was (is) Monday morning, I hope the fever subsides or off we go to sign... BTW- I'll have to order in a 2013 if I want one in a dark color "Metallic Dk Gray". I will want to see that live before I place my order however, I said I have the fever not the plague!
My positives: Everything incl ride n suspension, heck the front doesn't have forks anymore and are a twin lever calabrated system that impressed the crap out of me. Overall it's Luxury and Sport combined to it's highest level. The bike feels so tight and well built and doesn't play or feel big. I wanna drive it right now and yes, I truly have the itch.
My negatives: Speedometer is hard to read especially compared to my Gen2. Windshield is better (and taller) on the GTL but dealer says we can swap to that (I'm sure it's for more $). Too many menu's to flip through, this is awesome and eye-popping but I'm thinking navigation thru would take some getting use to it before you could get to where u want quickly (the selection wheel looks like a great idea). BIGGEST neg of course has to be the Price! (but if it were cheap, everyone would have one and then some of the specialness would not be there.. weird one I guess, just go with it!
Bottom Line: I'm still FJR proud and always will be (don't call me a traitor! lol) My advice to anyone that is K1600 inquisitive, leave it at just that. Don't go and test drive one ...at least extensively cuz you will fall in love with it and then you'll have that empty gut feeling "I want it, I gotta have it!"... and the brain saying... "No!, It's too freeqn expensive!" Ugh!!!!!
Country Rode Motorwerks
286 Macedon Center Road (Rte 31F)
Fairport, NY 14450
585-421-0480
Salesperson(s) dealt with:
Ron & Art (owner)
Bikes test ridden by KJ & Stan (9/15/12):
BMW K1600GT (sport touring)
BMW K1300S (sport bike)
So this past Saturday afternoon (9/15/12) my buddy Stan "Steamer" and I ventured out to our local BMW dealer (about 40 miles away if that's still considered local anyway) to do some inquisitive German engineering missile shopping. Stanley still likes the lay down on the tank sport bikes so he had a boner for the 1300S and I was really wondering about the 1600GT and GTL.
We arrived by bikes early afternoon and were greeted by a very friendly and almost family type of atmosphere. The showroom was what I would expect from a Beemer dealer, big enough but cozy, quite stylish and best of all great people inside. Now one thing to take into account... I had a chip on my shoulder knowing these BMW machines are WAY more expensive than that of my FJR or certainly Stan's Honda CBR. So I basically wanted to be blown-away by things/options/functions and most notably ride/performance. This kind of cash has to prove it's worthiness and my initial thought was that it just wasn't going to happen! (Yes, I love the Feejer and anything better for my kind of riding style I figured it probably really wasn't going to happen).
We were offered coffee n doughnuts which we both quickly passed on (hey we wanted to start getting the skinny on these bikes and weren't here for these kind of snacks anyway lol). OK, Ron stepped up and gave me the rundown on the K1600's (GT & GTL) that were both proudly on display. After flying through all the menu's and showing me the different adjustments (and there is a lot of them!) I was like... yeah, I expected all that actually and would of popped my eyes out if I knew the bike was like 20G but I knew it was not. So impress me more cuz your not close to that price tag yet! So Ron gets a mechanic to wheel the K1600GT out to the parking lot and he (probably on purpose) parks it right next to my FJR. OK, so she looks sweet as hell and I cannot lie, it definitely over shadows my FJR in the looks dept and size but I'm being pretty cold on it as of this moment as I'm thinking it's tank-city ride wise!
So now we have Art shaking our hands (the owner) and he's getting out a traded-in Ducati to take us out on a serious test ride. We did say we wanted the full monte
but from a BMW dealer we kinda thought that might be the so called "stuff shirt, you guys aren't worthy ride"... hmmm, I was thinking this should be real interesting and before I would even think about this much cash for this bike we better get the WOW FACTORx10!We mount up and Art led me (K1600GT) and Stan (K1300S) down and out of town, definitely very cautiously at first (he was checking out our riding skills on a few turns in his rearview. It was funny I kept seeing him stare back at us in the mirror, oh well I was thinking "ship, if I just let 50K worth of bikes go out to strangers I'm doing the exact same thing!". After about 15mins of this we pulled over to a school turnoff and parked. He asked how everything is so far... "good" and wanted to know if we wanted to step it up. Like he had to ask us 2 nimrods this twice! So we aggressively went to the back roads. Slight surprise as to how aggressive he progressed (after I'm sure he was dog trailing us in the rearview). After some twisters and some holeshot starts and such he pulls into a car wash parking lot. Now I'm thinking salesman pressure part 1. Nope! Wrong! Just as cool as could be and I think he was enjoying the ride almost as much as we were. We exchanged a few tidbits of what I felt and liked/disliked. The bike played a lot lighter than I had expected. In fact the 1600GT (hate to admit this) was cornering like an absolute dream. Center of gravity felt lower than the FJR. Wayyyy smoother. That fricken 6 cylinder is so smooth, very 160hp peppy as well and sounds great (it's got a nice nasty growl and turbine jet engine sound when all combined it is so harmonic pleasing especially when you get on it).
In the car wash parking lot we relaxed and got down to what I was really looking for. Not wanting to show my cards (and give him the upper hand in case I did want to deal on this expensive creature)... I said my biggest concern is the bike and it's size and how it handles especially in the twisties. Well he says, lets ride back and hit a route with some technique and ability turns to see if it matches up. He also goes on to say "don't be afraid to lay that bike over in these turns, it will take it no problem". OK?, off we go and I got to be totally honest it handled them better than the FJR even with my brand new PR2's (kinda disappointed in that!!). Here's the GTL with the top-case and lower seat. I preferred the GT however with a higher seat and more sportier ride...
From start to finish
It took me a whole 5 mins to get use to the bike (some peeps saying.. BMW bikes are an acquired taste!" hmmm, yeah right, within 1 mile I could see how much better it was from just a ride quality point. That suspension on "Road" mode was so smooth, I didn't feel any of the road bumps or noise at all. It felt and played lighter than the FJR. I have never rode a bike with not ANY type of vibration... kinda made me speechless but I kept saying to my self "this bad puppy is also $10K more than the Feejer, keep that in mind KJ!" Upon arrival back to the dealer and my mind now wandering helpless with the BMW vision it was time to come back to reality (at least that is what I was tyring to tell myself). I really had the most fun on a bike ever (WOW!). I also boasted the biggest smile to which I was trying to hide (Stan too) when we arrived back as to not give the saleman that upper advantage.
A couple of other (lower on the totem pole) salespeeps came out and were all saying "man I didn't think you guys were coming back!" You've been gone an hour and a half! ...I was like that was the best and quickest 1-1/2hrs I have ever spent. I not only had my 'needed WOW Factor for a big $$$Bike' met but it far surpassed it. I cannot really tell you how bad I have the BMW itch now, and it sucks cuz I love the FJR (and it's paid for!) but this BMW bike is definitely worthy of me shelling out some major cash for. Hey, besides I haven't slept well since I had this test ride, totally have the itch. I woke up last nite thinking.. I should see what the adaptive xenon headlight is like in the corners, so I pulled up youtube at 3am and watched videos till 7am when I had to go to work.
I hate to spend that kind of cash but I now want it. Life is short as we all know, I want what I want and will just have to pinch a few other things to make it work. To justify this I can clearly see a few of my friends with HD's and a couple even have trikes that they spent way more than 30K on them, and to me this bike is way more advanced and better in all categories (at least for me and what I want in a ride at my now 40's age). This was the 1300 Steamer rode and fell in love with... (it's super sweetness!)
So speaking of younger (haha) Stan is so hooked also on the above pictured BMW K1300S sport bike. We spent that Sat nite drinking and eating at a local pub and all we could think or talk about was those 2 bikes. Heck even 2 hot chix came in with lil mini skirts dressed to kill, sat right next to us and our attention just went back to the bikes. Holy Ship Batman! Now with us horn-dogs that speaks volume. As I'm writing this (I type fast so excuse the typos!) Stan just texted me "Dude, wadda we goona do? I can't get this bike outta my mind!" This was (is) Monday morning, I hope the fever subsides or off we go to sign... BTW- I'll have to order in a 2013 if I want one in a dark color "Metallic Dk Gray". I will want to see that live before I place my order however, I said I have the fever not the plague!
My positives: Everything incl ride n suspension, heck the front doesn't have forks anymore and are a twin lever calabrated system that impressed the crap out of me. Overall it's Luxury and Sport combined to it's highest level. The bike feels so tight and well built and doesn't play or feel big. I wanna drive it right now and yes, I truly have the itch.
My negatives: Speedometer is hard to read especially compared to my Gen2. Windshield is better (and taller) on the GTL but dealer says we can swap to that (I'm sure it's for more $). Too many menu's to flip through, this is awesome and eye-popping but I'm thinking navigation thru would take some getting use to it before you could get to where u want quickly (the selection wheel looks like a great idea). BIGGEST neg of course has to be the Price! (but if it were cheap, everyone would have one and then some of the specialness would not be there.. weird one I guess, just go with it!
Bottom Line: I'm still FJR proud and always will be (don't call me a traitor! lol) My advice to anyone that is K1600 inquisitive, leave it at just that. Don't go and test drive one ...at least extensively cuz you will fall in love with it and then you'll have that empty gut feeling "I want it, I gotta have it!"... and the brain saying... "No!, It's too freeqn expensive!" Ugh!!!!!
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