GTL Ride Report

Rode yesterday at my dealer in Raleigh.....I was blown away and it far exceeded my expectations.

I currently have a 2008 RT and the GTL feels far more nimble and flickable. It's also much easier to ride at parking lot speeds, despite its weight due to the low center of gravity. It had the standard seat and I could sit flat-footed (5'10'', 29" inseam)

For some reason I always found my myself in 6th gear, which is no problem due to the incredible torque at low RPMs. The bike only had 225 miles on the clock, so it was in the break-in period, but I never went over 3500 rpms, even though I tried to rev it more, I didn't need to....gobs of power.

The seat is very comfortable (but an all day ride will tell the true tale - no pun intended), and the mirrors are perfectly placed.

I hit 85 on the interstate and was able to keep my shield up with only my sunglasses on....no tearing as on my RT.

I kept the radio on....not sure I would like that but if I was slabbing somewhere on a weekend it would be great to hear college and pro football games.

That's it....am #1 on my dealer's pre-sell list so hopefully it won't be too much longer

I rode a GTL yesterday as well. It had the low seat and for me (6 ft, 32" inseam) it was a little too low. The seat was comfortable for the 45 minutes that I rode it other than being a bit cramped. The engine is smooth and powerful. Since the bike was fully broken in I did get a chance to try a few higher RPM runs and also to switch the throttle response to evaluate how that affected the performance. All in all the engine is the star of this motorcycle. The transmission on this bike had a definite clunk unless you were smooth and co-ordinated with the clutch and the throttle. The clutch is very light and has a "different" feel. I think that it's just a matter of training the muscle memory to deal with the differences. There wasn't enough time in the ride to play with all the electronic gadgets so I only tried the throttle response, the ESA and the windscreen. The big screen provides lots of protection and I had it almost in the full down position. When it was set so I could just look over the edge of the screen I could ride with my visor up on my helmet without feeling any breeze as long as I kept the speed below 90 kph. With the screen in this position there was a small steady push on my back. If you went faster than about 90 the screen had to be changed to deal with the increased speed (if you wanted to leave the visor open). The handling is good (for the size) and it can be hustled around corners with no drama. Low speed handling and balance is good.
Obviously, 45 minutes is not enough time to come to the definitive conclusion about any new bike, especially when you are riding with a bunch of people that you don't know all riding bikes that they don't know, but my initial impressions were very positive. Just to add, my first choice was to ride the GT but it was fully booked so I settled for the GTL.

Gtl test ride impressions

Hey guys;

Check out my report here:

http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=534178&postcount=5

Me too, test ride GTL1600;

I entered my ride report above in the thread above about "gas usage", as I started that thread. Read mine if you wish. Some similarities to these. Good to read others. Thx., Randy

K1600GTL test ride

Had my ride today. Took me back to 1974...when my Kawi H1 easily picked up the front wheel..after years of beemer and harley riding I had forgoten that lean forward or fall back to handle an impending wheelie...whoweeee...could i ride cross country on one wheel?