Hello K1600 crew,
I am planning a cross country trip in about 6 weeks (flying out to Florida to meet up with a friend and riding back to Washington), and am thinking about buying a new (to me) cycle and riding it home. The K1600 is near the top of my list as a comfortable but performance-oriented touring machine; with what I want to spend I'm probably looking at an earlier model (2012-2015) and due to the circumstances I will likely be buying sight unseen. Wondering if anyone has any advice for things to watch out for based on specific model years, upcoming maintenance items due to mileage, etc, or just generally what your ownership experience has been. Probably the next likely candidate would be a Kawasaki Concours 14 (I could probably get close to new for the same money) - but I really like the K16 and the Kawi still doesn't have cruise control as far as I know - I have some carpal tunnel type issues that cause numbness in my hands and holding on to the throttle for hours at a time is pretty uncomfortable so that might be a dealbreaker. I've also looked at the FJR and even though it's not really in the same category, I really liked the Honda F6B too.
All the best and thanks!
I am planning a cross country trip in about 6 weeks (flying out to Florida to meet up with a friend and riding back to Washington), and am thinking about buying a new (to me) cycle and riding it home. The K1600 is near the top of my list as a comfortable but performance-oriented touring machine; with what I want to spend I'm probably looking at an earlier model (2012-2015) and due to the circumstances I will likely be buying sight unseen. Wondering if anyone has any advice for things to watch out for based on specific model years, upcoming maintenance items due to mileage, etc, or just generally what your ownership experience has been. Probably the next likely candidate would be a Kawasaki Concours 14 (I could probably get close to new for the same money) - but I really like the K16 and the Kawi still doesn't have cruise control as far as I know - I have some carpal tunnel type issues that cause numbness in my hands and holding on to the throttle for hours at a time is pretty uncomfortable so that might be a dealbreaker. I've also looked at the FJR and even though it's not really in the same category, I really liked the Honda F6B too.
All the best and thanks!