• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

K1600GT and GTL Official Announcement

I don't always agree with Deilenberger, but this time he's right, (i.e. I agree with him) about the BMW demographic. A couple of buddies and I went to the WSBK races at Miller, and bought the BMW swag/meal package. All three of us remarked on the advanced age of the tent full of riders (I'm 61, so chronologically I fit the advanced part; mentally I'm still 27; one of the guys is 56, the other 50), noting the BMW-logo windbreaker swag "gift" was unfortunately the same gray color as most of the heads on the riders wearing them. In contrast, the Ducatisti were mostly much younger-looking, as were the folks poking around the Yamaha and Kawasaki displays. Honda's poor location meant no one was even over there.... And the BMW bike display was more deserted than the Honda display, despite pride of place in the vendor area.

All these new models are exactly as Don says: for conquest sales of people who'd never before considered a BMW.

On another note, I guarantee you my wife will say "Buy that!! Right now!!" the minute she sees armrests. Such a good wife. My knees are praying the new GTL doesn't weigh as much as my old Goldwing.
 
As long they do not have inherent problems in the initial offering (FD) things are looking up for BMW. The faithful have forgiven them for their sins but I'm not so sure the converts will be as forgiving. Would be a shame to read about failures of whatever nature on different boards.

May these new bikes develop a strong and loyal following.

PS: I'm already saving for the day my FD goest south. Yup I'm a follower.
 
.......They'll have to keep the base price near the Goldwing's base of $22,899.00 to seriously compete.

.....

I think it will be more towards a fully loaded Wing 29-30K

I hate all the teaser videos - cant wait to see this in person or actual not rendered shots.
 
K1600GT and Larger Displacement Bikes

I think the trend toward larger displacement motorcycles is mirroring what happened in the auto industry with SUV's. These things grew progressively until folks were convinced that an Explorer, Blazer or Cherokee were not enough. They had to have the Expedition, Surburban and Denali XL. I wondered, much like another poster has said about motorcycles, "At what point do people start asking for School Busses?"

The $4 per gallon gasoline prices sort of cooled that ardor for giant SUV's.

I don't drive one of these vehicles, but there are many people who just can't live without one. If they want these gas guzziling behemoths, more power to them.
 
The "School Bus" question has already been answered. Take a look at the RV's on the road today. We have an exceptional number of them in our neighboring province Quebec. When passing 5-10 of them it's like the circus and elephants.

Have a great weekend!
 
I have a CLC and HD Softtail. The boxer is top heavy compared to the HD and I find this to be a common complaint about BMW cruisers. Power and smoothness aside I wonder how the 6 cylinder will feel compared to the R & K series bikes. Previous posters have commented on the steady progression towards larger displacement/more powerful cruisers. The Triumph 2300cc triple, Kawasaki Concours, Victory, Honda Goldwing, etc are just some examples of this trend. As I compare bikes that fit my needs the RT seems to be the best blend of handling, power, brakes, comfort, and fuel economy. We are very fortunate to have so many excellant choices at this time compared to when I started riding in the late 60's. Ride Safe :usa :usa
 
I wonder how much weight and wheelbase and $ cost would be added if they eventually mated 2 of the sixes into a V-12 configuration. I'd bet the whole thing could be lighter and smaller than some of the HD's and Goldwings on the road now. And the exhaust note could be pretty good too.
 
Honda is going after the BMW K1300S with the VFR1200, BMW is going after the Honda Goldwing with the 6 banger. I wonder which will be the most successful.

I don't know why but Honda has stomped on Goldwing competitors. Yamaha Venture, Suzuki Calvacade, Kawasaki Voyager, history. KLTs didn't dent the market to bad.

With the 6 cylinder GT, is the 4 cylinder GT history?

Ralph Sims
 
Random thoughts:

BMW cars have a long and successful history of inline 6 cylinder engines so this is almost a return to their roots. they've been trying to connect the car and bike sides for sometime, remember when the twin "kidney bean" radiator covers first showed up on the K series?

The most potent bike in my garage is a 1991 K100RS, and I find it has more than enough performance to get me in trouble, 1600cc's and the accompanying horsepower increase just boggles my mind. I just don't get it, but then my favorite ride is a R100GSPD....

BMW has made some bold moves recently, I wish them well and fervently hope they don't suffer any more final drive-like issues pop up.
 
I think I can add this to the list of cool-bikes-that-I-admire-but-cannot-ever-dream-of-owning. But it's worth a dream.
 
The Goldwings have sold at a substantial discount for several years now. A good deal on an airbag equipped wing is 21K and the bike lists for 27K. My prediction is that BMW will find a slim market for the new 1600 GTL at 30K. This is especially true since the home equity loan is a thing of the past.
 
I think BMW is right on if they're going after 2 markets (LT and GT) with essentially one motorcycle. This should save cost in the long run, others have successfully used this approach.
The RT owners may not care for it because it's so complex and heavy, but the LT or GW owners may flock to it because its so light. I just hope BMW can bring this bike to the market w/o too many small glitches and no major issues. They really need to get this bike right.
 
Gowldwing under list

What has it been 10 years since any updates? The new GT or GTL should sell for more, ti is another technological step or maybe leap over the Goldwing. BMW has to keep innovating, why else pay more for the brand?
 
The angel eyes look great - just like on the cars.

As for adaptive lighting - I have it on the car and it works great - very impressive to put that technology on a bike.

Looks like a winner - we'll see how it comes of the box

:thumb

<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/711883929" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=107096045001&playerId=711883929&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="510" height="550" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>
 
Back
Top