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How well are K1600's selling?

He looks like a happy camper, Papa Chuy!


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That mi Amigo is the greatest and most wonderful thing about belonging to BMW Motorcycle Owners of America organization and in particular BMW MOA Chartered Club #89: I've met and become friends with the greatest and truest motorcycling Compadres through MOA and AZ Beemers, Verdad!
 
Thanks for the photo. Fwiw the bmw tech who replaced mine said that they had a similar problem with I believe the F800gs (if I'm remembering correctly) and that BMW issued a bulletin saying that the weeping was "normal". I wasn't happy when mine started doing it, but knock on wood the replacement has been fine. (Of course I've probably jinxed myself before my 4 day adventure starting tomorrow. :) )

Take care and keep the shiny side up! :)
 
I'm going to agree with Beemerdons on this one. I think there is a glut of K1600's because the word is getting out that they have a lot more in the way of problems than they should. Now some of these sitting K1600's could be extra-ordered bikes in anticipation of greater sales, but I don't think so. There have been a number of K1600 owners that have switched to another model BMW or have just flat given up and moved to a different manufacturer. There are also any number of potential K1600 buyers who have decided not to take the chance of getting a good one and have gone elsewhere. No one wants to drop $27,000.00 on a motorcycle that has the track record of the K1600. If customer complaints don't get the attention of the Mothership, perhaps a bunch of their unsold top tier motorcycles will. The whole mess is a disgrace to supporters of BMW it should be an equal disgrace to Corporate BMW.

Rick
 
I'm going to agree with Beemerdons on this one. I think there is a glut of K1600's because the word is getting out that they have a lot more in the way of problems than they should. Now some of these sitting K1600's could be extra-ordered bikes in anticipation of greater sales, but I don't think so. There have been a number of K1600 owners that have switched to another model BMW or have just flat given up and moved to a different manufacturer. There are also any number of potential K1600 buyers who have decided not to take the chance of getting a good one and have gone elsewhere. No one wants to drop $27,000.00 on a motorcycle that has the track record of the K1600. If customer complaints don't get the attention of the Mothership, perhaps a bunch of their unsold top tier motorcycles will. The whole mess is a disgrace to supporters of BMW it should be an equal disgrace to Corporate BMW.

Rick

Your comments contain nothing about facts; it does use wording such as "I think there is", "could be" and "but I don't think so". Other than SWAG's do you possess proof of any type or is this all about conjecture?
 
Your comments contain nothing about facts; it does use wording such as "I think there is", "could be" and "but I don't think so". Other than SWAG's do you possess proof of any type or is this all about conjecture?

Since you have experience with repairing BMWs, what is your experience?
 
Since you have experience with repairing BMWs, what is your experience?

The K16's were released a few months before my departure. Due to the size of the bike it's really not a model I have any interest in and I have not kept up with it at all. The only reason I commented is guesses were being stated pretty much as facts. If you're going to report on something why not do it with facts? Too many people, and yes they would be at fault, end up believing this kind of stuff with zero facts to support anything. Pretty poor reporting as the entire paragraph has no real value so what's the purpose?
 
Your comments contain nothing about facts; it does use wording such as "I think there is", "could be" and "but I don't think so". Other than SWAG's do you possess proof of any type or is this all about conjecture?

Well Billy, since I am not a BMW sales rep nor am I at all connected to the Mothership, no I don't have any direct proof. Do you have anything to counter my comments? Have you AT ALL researched the K1600 to see what owners are saying about the bike and more importantly what potential owners have to say? I have owned two GTL's to this point and both have had similar issues. In other words I have put my money where my mouth is. Doesn't it at all strike you as somewhat odd that a year or so ago you couldn't find an unsold K1600 sitting in a dealership and now they are all over the place? Doesn't it strike you as somewhat odd that we are now in the middle of June which should be prime time for motorcycle sales and there are a sizable number of K1600's still unsold? Doesn't it strike you as somewhat odd that BMW came out with a sales incentive on the K1600 IN MAY to help sell that bike? So I take back what I said, yes I do have facts to support my claim.....those facts are all the unsold K1600's sitting on dealership floors in the middle of June. Your comments remind me of a friend of my Dad who really liked the Ford Edsel and he used to get all bent out of shape when people would tell him it was a piece of junk. I remember him slapping the back of his hands saying"give me facts"!

Rick
 
One, it shouldn't weep at all, two, I'd bet that some down here in hell had a different experience than you in terms of going 3K miles. Just saying. I think it's been pretty much a show stopper. Don can elaborate, but the failure rate of water pumps on K1600s sold in AZ was quite high.

I have had one pump replaced and my second one has been seeping now for over 10k miles. I just returned from a 5k mile trip knowing my pump was seeping. I took a few ounces of coolant to top off the reservoir as required. I needed it once...a 5 minute job. I don't like it and it shouldn't be happening but it just isn't a big deal to me. I haven't heard of a total pump failure yet but I could just have my head in the sand...


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I have had one pump replaced and my second one has been seeping now for over 10k miles. I just returned from a 5k mile trip knowing my pump was seeping. I took a few ounces of coolant to top off the reservoir as required. I needed it once...a 5 minute job. I don't like it and it shouldn't be happening but it just isn't a big deal to me. I haven't heard of a total pump failure yet but I could just have my head in the sand...


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Like I said, Don can elaborate. Thing is, is it normal to have 2 water pump failures on a new bike? I don't think it's normal to have to add coolant to a relatively new bike, especially one that cost over 25K and that is another failure. Modern engines are tight for both oil and antifreeze. It baffles me why a BMW would have this problem considering what the buy in is. I'd expect this from a 1955 Bel Air.
 
Like I said, Don can elaborate. Thing is, is it normal to have 2 water pump failures on a new bike? I don't think it's normal to have to add coolant to a relatively new bike, especially one that cost over 25K and that is another failure. Modern engines are tight for both oil and antifreeze. It baffles me why a BMW would have this problem considering what the buy in is. I'd expect this from a 1955 Bel Air.

I agree with you but at the end of the day it is about the total package to me. Everything else about the bike makes this a blip on the radar of love. I consider myself lucky because, after 25k miles, I haven't had most of the other issues plaguing owners (clunking, left pull, bad switches, etc...).


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I agree with you but at the end of the day it is about the total package to me. Everything else about the bike makes this a blip on the radar of love. I consider myself lucky because, after 25k miles, I haven't had most of the other issues plaguing owners (clunking, left pull, bad switches, etc...).


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Until you are stuck on 89, 150 miles from the closest dealer and it's over 100 degrees out. Just saying. I am not a true believer. Not enough to accept that. Just saying.
 
Until you are stuck on 89, 150 miles from the closest dealer and it's over 100 degrees out. Just saying. I am not a true believer. Not enough to accept that. Just saying.

+1, Gunny; I do love my K1600GT with 20K miles on her, but I do not trust her electrically and mechanically any farther than I can throw her big butt!

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Until you are stuck on 89, 150 miles from the closest dealer and it's over 100 degrees out. Just saying. I am not a true believer. Not enough to accept that. Just saying.

I'm not a true believer with anything that I drive, ride, or fly. These are mechanical things built by people. I have been stranded 2 times on a mototcycle while on the road. 1 time was by a Ford 150 and the other was a Yamaha V Star. I have also been stranded on a boat with a Honda 90hp 4-stroke outboard and too many helicopters and airplanes over a 27 year military career to count. I don't mean to sound like I'm arguing with you because fundamentaly I agree with you. Visit any service center and you'll find cars, bikes, boats, etc..., broke. Nothing is infalible to breaking. Based on my personal experience I don't trust my K1600 any more or less than anything else I drive or fly. I get that others feel differently. If it does break down tomorrow at 26k or next year at 36k then I'll get it fixed. Personally if I lost trust in the bike I would sell it. Life is too short...
 
Well Billy, since I am not a BMW sales rep nor am I at all connected to the Mothership, no I don't have any direct proof. Do you have anything to counter my comments? Have you AT ALL researched the K1600 to see what owners are saying about the bike and more importantly what potential owners have to say?

I'm not as confident as you that potential owners actually have a grasp on the issue. So I prefer not to comment. Wouldn't know if I'm right or wrong.

I have owned two GTL's to this point and both have had similar issues. In other words I have put my money where my mouth is. Doesn't it at all strike you as somewhat odd that a year or so ago you couldn't find an unsold K1600 sitting in a dealership and now they are all over the place?

Not odd at all. New volume releases are typically small. Never having been employed by an OEM I can only guess as to the reason(s) why. Guessing would have no meaning. As time goes on it is normal for the factory to gear up production. That involves an unknown level of risk as you begin to assume market acceptance in whatever number you deem appropriate and/or unknown unit issues. But this is not odd at all.

Doesn't it strike you as somewhat odd that we are now in the middle of June which should be prime time for motorcycle sales and there are a sizable number of K1600's still unsold?

I don't have enough information to know if what you are saying is factually correct or not. Apparently you do so please fill us in with the facts on this unit. Perhaps BMW over estimated unit demand. Perhaps they were over produced. Perhaps there are well known issues to potential buyers. Maybe there is a relative balance within the market place as compared to total units sold. I don't know. Sorry.

Doesn't it strike you as somewhat odd that BMW came out with a sales incentive on the K1600 IN MAY to help sell that bike?

I NEVER like to see sales incentives in May as that usually indicates a problem. But the vehicle world has become so incentivized I sometimes wonder if I know what I'm talking about. I am not familiar with factory requirements and what can help the production line become more profitable so I may have no clue as to what I am about to say. But I do agree with you for what it's worth.

So I take back what I said, yes I do have facts to support my claim.....those facts are all the unsold K1600's sitting on dealership floors in the middle of June.

Sorry, other than the incentive comments you have really supplied us with no facts.

Your comments remind me of a friend of my Dad who really liked the Ford Edsel and he used to get all bent out of shape when people would tell him it was a piece of junk. I remember him slapping the back of his hands saying"give me facts"!

Rick

Yea, but the difference here is I don't like K1600's and would never think of buying one. But my like or dislike has nothing to do with your guesses. There are many within this very forum that love their K16.

Please don't take this to be rude as that is not my intent. But you have spoken as someone who has never worked in a dealership. None of what you discuss strikes me as odd. I too have seen some of the complaints on this very forum but complainers will typically post prior to happy owners so I don't see that as odd whatsoever.

I know pretty much zero about K16 issues or lack thereof. I do get a feeling by the number of complaints I have seen that the model intro has been pretty successful from a lack of failure point of view due to the relatively small number of complaints. Am I right? No clue. Just a gut feeling. My gut is right far more often than it is wrong. But that means a big fat zero. The question comes down to are these things selling in anticipated numbers or not. And, the answer to that is I don't know.
 
So far, every dealership I've been in has what to me look like "extra" 6 cyl bikes in stock and if I wanted one (don't, has no solid reliability record yet) I'd be bargaining for a good deal..
I wouldn't be surprised if the 6 cyl exists simply because the bean counters figured out it could be built for little more than wedge bikes and offered a higher margin product.
If its sales stall or don't meet targets I wouldn't be surprised to see it join the wedge on the (mostly) discontinued list in a few years. Despite margins, reviews and whatever, its not the brand core and never will be..

Despite BMWs enthusiastic wording of their current bike sales, the reality is it has finally returned to a little bit over the level of 8 (!!!) years ago and there has been a lot of inflation since then.

The new R GS has a number of what could be very nice design improvements if well executed so I'm looking forward to seeing the motor appear in other models- but I still won't think about buying one until we get to about the 4th model year..Getting too old to want to do roadside repairs even though I've done my share since starting riding in the 1960s and expecting help from distant dealers closed on two of the days you're most likely to need help (Harley dealers here are open every day) doesn't make it any better.
 
It's not just the motor that is the change to the GS. It's also the trans, the clutch, the alternator, the electronics and other items that give me pause and I may be in the minority and not want BMW to reinvent the RT. But I'm sure it's inevitible.

It is a fact that each of those components I mentioned is now more expensive to repair or replace, and less friendly for the do it yourself-er to work on. Just how high in maintenance and repair costs is too much?
 
I would bet the new wc bike requires less maintenance. That is the good part.


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Exactly.
The changes on the GS signifcantly reduce maintenance and the cost of inevitable long term R&R like clutch jobs etc and eliminate a few sources of seal failures and worn parts. IF the changes are well executed, there will be plenty of benefits but the track record on new models in their first years isn't thrilling, lately. It is in fact a lot like Detroit used to do but with better warranty..

Don't pine for airheads, don't miss carbs, points or other ancient stuff but do like reliable. The current R bikes are extremely easy to service and there is promise of even better with the new one. Current Rs take less work than oilheads by a good margin...The 6 is designed for those who live near a dealer or don't mind carrying their bike to one.
 
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