• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

K1600GTL Hot Feet!

W

wredick

Guest
First off, I love the bike. I have about 2500 miles on it and I can't stop grinning. There is a down side however, my feet are hot. The left foot seems to get hotter than the right foot. The left foot/leg is warm from the knee down. I built some baffles but that didn't work. Do other GTL riders get hot feet? Maybe it's just my bike. I didn't notice it on the dealer demo bike, and I didn't notice it before the 600 mile inspection, which was in early June. Help me out here guys, does anyone have this trouble? Does anyone have a fix?
Thanks,
Bill Redick
 
I talked with a new owner at the MOA Rally who said his left foot and leg got very hot on the way to the rally. He said he didn't notice it when he rode it to the RA Rally. He wondered if it might be related to the 100 degree temperatures.
 
I was at my friend's house on Saturday to meet for lunch and he had just taken delivery of his new 1600GT the day before.

While marveling at the bike in his garage he insisted I take it out for a spin. I told him I'd ride it another day since I had no riding gear with me plus I was wearing shorts. It finally came down to putting on his new Schuberth C3 helmet and taking it out for a spin in the residential neighborhood. ( Yes I know . . No atgatt lectures please)

First time I've ever ridden a motorcycle wearing sandals and it was immediatly apparent there was a lot of heat at my feet. At first I attributed it to the 104?? temperature outside, but every time I tried to use my right foot for braking it felt like I was putting my right foot in a fire. So much so I was using the front hand brake for the duration of the ride while my brake foot was pointed outward from the bike. The left side was hot as well though I could position my left foot out as long as I wasn't shifting.

My friend said he had experienced the heat on the left side while riding it home from the dealer, but again he thought it might have been the Texas heat. The bike probably has less than 50 miles on it so we'll have to see.

I'm sure it will be great for winter riding, and it may turn out high temperature above 95?? summer riding might be a draw back for the k1600's. We love the cockpit outside venting fins, though it may need something like these near the feet. ???

I will say the ride quality of this bike makes up for any pain. All I can say is wow!!
 
My brother in-law is awaiting delivery of his GT for September and since he lives in Edmonton Alberta I think the warmth will be appreciated in the crisp fall mornings. I know there have been many Times riding to the Rockies in fall/spring that I wished for heat from my RT - but never wanted that while in OK/NM/TX/AZ/UT this spring.

I really think a long distance touring machine should not boil any body parts - especially the premier machine out there. Not looking to flame; JMO. :dunno
 
My brother in-law is awaiting delivery of his GT for September and since he lives in Edmonton Alberta I think the warmth will be appreciated in the crisp fall mornings. I know there have been many Times riding to the Rockies in fall/spring that I wished for heat from my RT - but never wanted that while in OK/NM/TX/AZ/UT this spring.

I really think a long distance touring machine should not boil any body parts - especially the premier machine out there. Not looking to flame; JMO. :dunno

It will be interesting if this is a common problem, and I view it as a problem, because I believe (too) that body parts should not be cooked while riding. Hmmmmmm, think I'll wait for awhile to see what the threads say, and the experiences are, before I shell out some newly earned dough to buy one of these puppies. They do make me drool though.
 
It will be interesting if this is a common problem, and I view it as a problem, because I believe (too) that body parts should not be cooked while riding. Hmmmmmm, think I'll wait for awhile to see what the threads say, and the experiences are, before I shell out some newly earned dough to buy one of these puppies. They do make me drool though.

The bike arrived early! I went over to have a look at it today. It does have some nice flip- out wings (like the previous LTs) that should spill a fair amount of cool air onto a riders midsection and thighs tho. This guy is a MOA member but seems allergic to forums but I will ask him how his feet are going heat wise after his test runs this weekend, (it is supposed to get to +27C this weekend in Edmonton where he is) and report back. :dance:ca:bikes
 
Met a K1600GTL rider yesterday. He said there is heat on the left foot. He showed me the exposed exhaust pipe there as the source. He doesn't feel it when riding in full gear.
 
K1600 heat issues.....AGAIN!!!!!

Just recently I traded my K1200RS for a GS because of this heat issue. I was at Bloomsburg and rode the new six and the same heat issues surfaced. Long story short, the Germans need to test their products in weather such as experienced in the United States. Seems that they just don't get it. Perhaps the temp never climbs much above 80 there but here in the states (as we all know) it gets HOT, ergo the Germans need to understand that by engineering a bike for their climate does not necessarily make for a bike which is appropriate for perhaps their largest market. Honda got it right from the first Gold Wing in 1975 and those bikes were never a problem as relates to cooking their riders. I decided that i'm done buying K bikes unless and until BMW gets serious about heat control. Finally, at Bloomsburg, I spoke to a dealer who rode his GTL to the rally and he told me that indeed his bike was cooking his legs for the entire trip.

Regards,

Will
 
looks like people are dissatisfied with te GTL....if anyone has a dark blue one they want to unload.....let me know. I have a 2000 LT and a 2008 GSA I will trade.
 
In my experience, the heat issue is largely a non event but is present sometimes. Having done an 8,000 mile trip on my GT there was probably 2 days that I felt slightly warm on the left foot and shin.. Temps ranged from 60 to 95. No big deal.
 
In my experience, the heat issue is largely a non event but is present sometimes. Having done an 8,000 mile trip on my GT there was probably 2 days that I felt slightly warm on the left foot and shin.. Temps ranged from 60 to 95. No big deal.

Same experience here, only feels slightly warm to me. About 2500 on my bike now under similar riding conditions.

Nonfactor as far as I'm concerned.
 
I've got about 4,000 on my GT now. When the temps get above 90 or 95, my left foot cooks and the right foot can get uncomfortably warm. On the highway it is not a problem as I can point the toes out, but in stop-and-go or careening through the twisties, I like to keep my toes where they can be useful. I don't notice the heat at cooler temps.

- Kate
 
Heat on the 1600

One of the first things noticed was the heat on the left side during the demo ride. Was wearing BMW kevlar/mix semi vent pants. It is an issue.
 
Long story short, the Germans need to test their products in weather such as experienced in the United States. ... I decided that i'm done buying K bikes

Deja vu all over again.

I decided that in 1985 as regards the FYK (that's first, not finest) although it wasn't "done" it was "never."

But to be fair, haven't ridden the new model, just mildly enjoying the irony and feeling bad for BMW. My nikasil Airheads were pretty hot, too. Also being fair, the vibration of the FYK got to me long before the superheated gas tank did. That, too, was a real issue, and there were even vapor lock problems at high altitude and one guy I knew even devised a fuel cooler. Plastic gas tanks the solution, of course.

Seems somebody should "wrap" the pipes and report results.
 
When I started seeing these threads about high temps near riders feet I was waiting for someone to talk about where the heat is coming from. I have taken several test rides on a 1600GTL but a test ride is not the same as actual ownership. I did not notice any heat issues on the test rides but then again I ride with lace up boots and jeans. It has been mentioned there is an open area leading to the exhaust pipe. This could be the source of the heat but, as suggested before, it would be interesting to wrap the pipe(s) with heat resistant tape to see if that reduces the heat levels. The only issue I see is if the tape would make things too toasty for the cylinder head at the junction of the exhaust pipe. I had a Buell Ulysses for a while that gave off an incredible amount of heat on my right leg. It was so darn hot that it melted my rain suit leg and it NEVER actually touched the pipe. Anyway I wrapped the pipe with heat resistant tape and it sure seemed to help keep heat off my leg in all but the warmest temps. I would like to see someone try this and see if temps go down.

Rick
 
Back
Top