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K1600GT Service questions

St0mP121

New member
I am really thinking of pulling the trigger and get me a K1600GT. how bad are the service's to do you're self? how much would i need to invest to say do my own valve adjustments. (GS911 tool is already in my to get list of i buy the bike.) i know on this k bike i think i read you only need to check them 24,000 miles I ride a R1100RT currently that i maintain and service myself. I want to keep doing them myself. And thank you in advance for the reply's
 
Are you serious? You are thinking of buying one of the best and most advanced sport-touring bikes on the market, shell out north of $25,000.- and you want to save on service by doing it yourself???:scratch:scratch
I own 3 Honda CBXes (late 1979, early 80s six-cylinder) and one of the most common complaint I hear in the community is, that Honda dealers do not want to work on it anymore.
Sometimes, I have a hard time understanding my fellow BMW owners.....:dunno
 
Are you serious? You are thinking of buying one of the best and most advanced sport-touring bikes on the market, shell out north of $25,000.- and you want to save on service by doing it yourself???:scratch:scratch
I own 3 Honda CBXes (late 1979, early 80s six-cylinder) and one of the most common complaint I hear in the community is, that Honda dealers do not want to work on it anymore.
Sometimes, I have a hard time understanding my fellow BMW owners.....:dunno

I applaud the gentleman for taking the initiative to want to do it himself.
 
I don't have a K1600. I don't even have a K1600 service manual. But I would venture that the valve check and or adjustment is ridiculous, but that other than that routine service would be very straightforward. Oil and fluid changes, new brake pads, tires, shocks, etc ought to be straightforward.
 
I don't think the new GS-911 is available at this time for the K1600.

To the best of my personal knowledge, I believe Lee is correct regarding the lack of availability of the new GS-911 for the K1600!
 
I am really thinking of pulling the trigger and get me a K1600GT. how bad are the service's to do you're self? how much would i need to invest to say do my own valve adjustments. (GS911 tool is already in my to get list of i buy the bike.) i know on this k bike i think i read you only need to check them 24,000 miles I ride a R1100RT currently that i maintain and service myself. I want to keep doing them myself. And thank you in advance for the reply's

The 1600 GTL/GT is a pretty straight forward bike to work on for basic maintenance. It's when you get into the more complex issues that things can get a little testy. Valves are checked at 18,000 miles and isn't a big deal as long as you have the service manual. However if a valve is out of spec than it gets much more involved. Re the GS911, I don't think it is even in the foreseeable future. Also, you will have to visit your dealer after every service to have the service reminder re-set.

Rick
 
I am really thinking of pulling the trigger and get me a K1600GT. how bad are the service's to do you're self? how much would i need to invest to say do my own valve adjustments. (GS911 tool is already in my to get list of i buy the bike.) i know on this k bike i think i read you only need to check them 24,000 miles I ride a R1100RT currently that i maintain and service myself. I want to keep doing them myself. And thank you in advance for the reply's

I did my own work on my RT. Here is my experience so far on the K1600GTL:
I let the dealer do the 600 mile service in case they noticed any break in / set up / recall issues.
I did the 6K - basically an easy oil change. changed my own tires to PR3's.
Im letting them do the 12K tomorrow, because I want the latest software update.
I plan on letting them do the 18K which is the valve check.
 
I I did the 6K - basically an easy oil change. .


Elaborate, please. Supposedly the oil change is not as "easy" as on any other bike, e.g.: drain and refill. Is there a specific procedure that involves restarting the engine in the middle of the oil change to ensure proper filling of both oil reservoirs?
 
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Here's instructions for the oil change. http://www.k1600forum.com/forum/bmw...lf/4966-changing-your-own-oil-tools-tips.html
After filling the oil tank, you need to run the engine a short time to make room in the tank for the full quantity of oil.
I have to do the same thing on our K1300Ss.

Whether spelled out in the manual or not, you need to do the same thing on the F650 single bikes which also have an oil tank. This is not new to the K1600. It was true on my '97 Funduro and my '01 Dakar 650s.
 
Sorry to say but i can't pull the trigger on one as of yet. Took one out for test ride Saturday. I fell in love with it. But in search for the tools/diag equ. etc. and reading on so many people seem to miss the bike once it leaves their position, My R1100RT I have. When it is replaced even by another bmw. So i'm no longer willing to trade mine in. Maybe down the road ill get one and keep my RT as well. Starting to see how BMW motorcycles multiply :) and good to know on that oil change as well i could see little differences like that really screwing me over. makes me kinda want to get a older K bike first.
 
I purchased the official repair CD and most normal maintenance looks pretty straightforward. Not much worse than other BMW's I have had. Just a lot of bodywork to disassemble to get to filters and drain bolts. The only thing I will think twice about is the valve adjustment. The CD has many pages on it, and it looks do-able if one has an entire day or two to do it slowly and therefore properly. At least that is how I would do it. I saw a K1600 with its valve cover off at the dealer, the valves look like metallic jewels and also very intimidating (look at all those dozens of tiny parts!).

I have done a valve check on my F800 and it wasn't too bad. But correcting an out of adjustment valve is much more involved. I might get some practice on my F800 before I think about the K1600.

I expect maintenance cost to be high on the K1600, just a part of ownership and its fantastic performance. But I hate to be saddled with a $600 valve adjustment and an entire day gone while the bike is at the dealer. I actually enjoy being my own mechanic. I know it is done right and I get satisfaction from my work.
 
Elaborate, please. Supposedly the oil change is not as "easy" as on any other bike, e.g.: drain and refill. Is there a specific procedure that involves restarting the engine in the middle of the oil change to ensure proper filling of both oil reservoirs?

Only thing is there is 2 drain bolts one up inside the other. Not hard, just different.
As easy as the RT was...
 
Sorry to say but i can't pull the trigger on one as of yet. Took one out for test ride Saturday. I fell in love with it. But in search for the tools/diag equ. etc. and reading on so many people seem to miss the bike once it leaves their position, My R1100RT I have. When it is replaced even by another bmw. So i'm no longer willing to trade mine in. Maybe down the road ill get one and keep my RT as well. Starting to see how BMW motorcycles multiply :) and good to know on that oil change as well i could see little differences like that really screwing me over. makes me kinda want to get a older K bike first.

Hmmmmm: I am a wee bit confused. You took a K1600 out for a ride and loved it yet you don't want to buy one because you can't come up with tools, or equipment for it? For the most part all of the basic maintenance procedures are on line and quite easy to understand. Even getting to the air filter is easy day compared to other Beemers I have owned. Engine oil changes are very easy once you understand the upper and lower pans. Pull the lower plug and let the oil drain. When the oil is done coming out reach up into the lower pan with the proper tool and pull out the upper drain plug. Very easy albeit messy at first until you get the hang of it. FD is super simple too. Trans oil is engine oil, how easy is that. Barring any unforeseen event or an actual valve adjustment basic maintenance is a piece of cake on this bike. Now my 1200LT....that was not an easy bike to work on, but a whole different animal.
Rick
 
I am looking forward to what the major reason for complaints about the K16 will be, down the road, once all the shade-tree mechanics had a chance to screw theirs up. For the Oilheads it was "Surging"......:scratch
 
I am looking forward to what the major reason for complaints about the K16 will be, down the road, once all the shade-tree mechanics had a chance to screw theirs up. For the Oilheads it was "Surging"......:scratch

Well if current practice is any indicator, it will be water pumps and switches. And perhaps replacing the front shock to eliminate a very annoying squeak. I don't have a crystal ball but my guess after owning two GTL's is that this bike will be pretty solid down the road save for what I have already mentioned. Beemer really needs to get a good electronics manufacturer for their switches. And I would love to see an after market company make a replacement non-slipper clutch.

Rick
 
Are you serious? You are thinking of buying one of the best and most advanced sport-touring bikes on the market, shell out north of $25,000.- and you want to save on service by doing it yourself???:scratch:scratch
I own 3 Honda CBXes (late 1979, early 80s six-cylinder) and one of the most common complaint I hear in the community is, that Honda dealers do not want to work on it anymore.
Sometimes, I have a hard time understanding my fellow BMW owners.....:dunno

Odd comment, I've done ALL my own maintenance on all my bikes, cars, etc for a long time, if you got the skills and tools it dosen't matter what you paid for the machine.
 
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