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First impressions of my K1600GT

CripeR1100SA

New member
Hello all you Beemer lovers. I rode a brand new 2012 K1600GT home this week. After an 80 mile test ride I was hooked. The lower 2000 rpm torque is very impressive. Even at 35 to 45 mph traffic the engine seemed very happy in 4th or even 5th gear. The power delivery is silky smooth. The exhaust tone is music too my ears, it sounds like an exotic sports car! It handles curves and twisties like a much lighter sport bike. And when I twist the throttle it instantly responds with unbelieveable acceleration. I have never experienced any engine misfire at any speed or rpm. I had it up to around 100 mph a couple of times but never had the engine above 6000 rpm as I want to try and break it in easy like. I didn't buy it for a crotch rocket or speed sled anyway!

For being such an expensive bike I was however a little disappointed in the clunky shifting of the transmission. It's never missed or jumped out of any gear selected, it just seems to be a bit more noisy than I had expected.

So far my only other dislike is the BMW Audio system. I don't think that there is anything electronically or physically wrong with the system, but the seperate riders manual for the BMW audio system is I think, very poorly written. The bike came with a free 1 year trial subscription to Sirius XM and so far I haven't had any luck figuring out how to program it. Even just finding and storing local AM/FM stations isn't very straightforward. I don't feel like it's good for the bike's electrical system just turning on the key and experimenting with the radio with the engine not running while trying to figure it out. And for sure I'm not going to experiment with it while riding! The BMW Audio riders manual is probably over half the size of the motorcycles rider manual!

Is there anyone of you out there that has a short and sweet method for the BMW audio system? But to me, it aint that big a deal not having a radio on a bike. I've ridden for around 47 years and have only had 3 or 4 bikes with a radio on it anyway. The sounds and smells of the ride itself is just as nice as listening to a radio anyway! But it would be good to know that with just a touch of a button or two that the system worked!

All in all though I am so far very pleased with my purchase! My likes of my new K1600GT FAR-FAR outweigh my dislikes!!!
 
So far my only other dislike is the BMW Audio system. I don't think that there is anything electronically or physically wrong with the system, but the seperate riders manual for the BMW audio system is I think, very poorly written. The bike came with a free 1 year trial subscription to Sirius XM and so far I haven't had any luck figuring out how to program it. Even just finding and storing local AM/FM stations isn't very straightforward. I don't feel like it's good for the bike's electrical system just turning on the key and experimenting with the radio with the engine not running while trying to figure it out. And for sure I'm not going to experiment with it while riding! The BMW Audio riders manual is probably over half the size of the motorcycles rider manual!

Is there anyone of you out there that has a short and sweet method for the BMW audio system? But to me, it aint that big a deal not having a radio on a bike. I've ridden for around 47 years and have only had 3 or 4 bikes with a radio on it anyway. The sounds and smells of the ride itself is just as nice as listening to a radio anyway! But it would be good to know that with just a touch of a button or two that the system worked!

All in all though I am so far very pleased with my purchase! My likes of my new K1600GT FAR-FAR outweigh my dislikes!!!

Be sure you have a copy of the "US" Audio Manual. It contains a specific section on activating and using Sirius. Some folks have mistakenly received a generic Audio Manual that doesn't include the Sirius info.

If needed I can scan those pages and email them to you.
 
Audio US Riders Manual

Be sure you have a copy of the "US" Audio Manual. It contains a specific section on activating and using Sirius. Some folks have mistakenly received a generic Audio Manual that doesn't include the Sirius info.

If needed I can scan those pages and email them to you.

Thank you realworld51 for your reply. I did have the US Version and I found the info about the Sirius XM and was able to program it. Also I found a small Quick manual for operating the BMW audio system and menu navigation. This was very helpful as well as it is very well written and was easy to follow. It's helpful riders like you that make the BMWMOA forum such a great help to us older school farts!
 
Interesting...

...first impression. I find it "interesting" that 3/4's of the first impression have to do with the radio and its set up.
 
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