The BMW K1300S and Why I Want One

[lonesoldier84]

1) Fits the exact role of what I want to do. I travel long distances and I usually average well over 150kph when doing so. I want sportiness for some fun in the corners, but comfort for the vast stretches of road here in Alberta. Also, as a daily commuter it is less than a million pounds, refined, and comfortable

2) It has flair, character, and makes me feel like a 6 year old kid (enough reason to buy in and of itself).

3) 175 hp. 100 lb/ft of torque.

4) heated grips, and a million other bells and whistles

5) it would look like a ninja dressed in a suit when painted gloss black with a rider in all black on top of it

6) i graduate next summer and want to buy myself something special that i will cherish for years

7) The FZ6 is dinged up and has taken a lot of aesthetic damage over the past 2 years that I have been learning. She has a place in my heart for sure, but I am starting to outgrow her. I dont mean in terms of skill, I mean that before I didnt trust myself on a larger sport-touring machine. But now I do after 2 years and 25k of riding. I am 6 foot 4 and over 250 pounds. I feel oversized for the FZ6 sometimes. Especially my legs. They cramp up after 4 hours of riding or when cornering hard for short jaunts.

8) I want a track bike, so have been toying with the idea of getting an R1 for the track and rekitting the FZ6 for proper touring with hard bags and the works. But this way I can turn the FZ6 into a track bike quite cheaply and spend the money I save on rekitting it and buying the R1 and putting it towards the BMW.

9) The other bike I am thinking about is the Triumph Sprint ST. It is smaller physically, and in my mind and heart pulls fewer strings than the Beema. Also, the K1300 is a bigger step up in terms of size/comfort/power than the FZ6 and if I were to buy a proper large sport tourer the triumph isnt a massive step up. It is 400cc bigger and is nice and torquey with its triple cylinder engine. But the BMW is making me swoon.

One problem tho....

the BMW is about 20 grand canadian after taxes and add-ons. Even with 5 grand down its a 300 dollar a month payment. Sure, Ill be working full time after graduation and not saving for another semester of classes.....but I will be making mortgage payments as well.

I have a problem with spending in that when I see something that I lust after I dont stop till I buy it.

And my friends......I am lusting after this one. Methinks I will have to take the plunge.

 

[Hellgate]

You forgot

1) Lots of expensive trips to the mechanic

2) Big insurance bills

3) Big gas bills

4) Did I mention expensive repair bills/

 

[Mexi-can't]

Nice bike but if you want ninja, the R is where it's at...

 

[clunk]

You had me at "ninja" ...

 

[Moses195]

I see several a day here in ABQ. and I always think they're a FJR!!! Why don't you buy an FJR?? Cheaper and a lot of similarities I think?

 

[Red Wazp]

BMW = Bring My Walet








No doubt it is a nice bike but a FJR is much cheaper all the way around and built just as good.

 

[DefyInertia]

That's no FJR!

Expensive....but pretty sweet. Why not buy lightly used?

 

[Dunno]

I like the S but my heart lies with the R. Just a pity my bank balance doesn't feel the same way.

No denying BMW are rolling out some trick bikes at the moment. Expensive but well worth it IMO. I have a mate who rides a 1200 R & disappears into the distance with ease in the company of current model sports bikes. No doubt the rider has a lot to do with this but after 6 hours on the bike he isnt the one walking around like he has just stepped off a horse.

Great bike.

DO IT :thumbup:

 

[n1one]

Lone,

I work with a friend who has one.....it's even better in person, pictures can't do it justice!
I couldn't blame for wanting it...if i could afford it, I would!

My wallet would most likely prefer the FJR.

 

[lonesoldier84]

but an FJR is much MUCH bulkier when you sit on it it feels like youre sitting on a small elephant. the K1300S when you sit on feels much closer to a VFR than the FJR

the K1300R is very nice....but for long trips on the highway I would want a fairing and windscreen.

as for all the monetary expenses on repairs and stuff....its got a 3 year unlimited distance warranty and i asked them what routine maintenance costs are it is 500-600 bucks on average every 10k for EVERYTHING. thats not so terrible. 240 bucks for maintenance on the shaft-drive every 10k and the rest of the money on the usual stuff.

 

[Denver_FZ6]

Get in line brother. :rockon: I passed up a used '08 with 10k miles for $11,200. Haven't seen anything close since.

I have a problem with spending in that when I see something that I lust after I dont stop till I buy it.

Heh, don't let anyone tell you marketing doesn't work!

 

[bd43]

Oh..., what's this?

Yeah, it's my buddy's K1200S getting loaded onto a flat bed tow truck that stranded him 100km from Edmonton. The key sensor coil went NFG (recall) but the Edmonton dealer did not bother to inform him. They thought they'd catch it on his next service call still 3000km away. WTF? You spend $23k for a nice bike with all the bells and whistles, you'd think BMW would at least have the courtesy to inform him. But, I guess with their 3 year roadside assistance warranty, who cares, right? BTW, you can only have the bike serviced by a qualified BMW mechanic at a certified BMW dealer. This happened on Friday afternoon, the job is simple enough to replace the coil, the dealer had it in stock, but the BMW mechanics were off till Monday, so he didn't get the bike back till Tuesday. Did you look to see how many dealers there are in Alberta, let along western Canada, because that's where it has to be towed to when you're in BFE.

So while he got to ride back to the city in a smelly tow truck cab with some stimulating conversation I'm sure, I enjoyed the rest of the ride by myself on a bike 1/3 the cost of this fine BMW. I lost a little respect for the BMW that day....

 

[scottsst]

Oh..., what's this?

Yeah, it's my buddy's K1200S getting loaded onto a flat bed tow truck that stranded him 100km from Edmonton. The key sensor coil went NFG (recall) but the Edmonton dealer did not bother to inform him. They thought they'd catch it on his next service call still 3000km away. WTF? You spend $23k for a nice bike with all the bells and whistles, you'd think BMW would at least have the courtesy to inform him. But, I guess with their 3 year roadside assistance warranty, who cares, right? BTW, you can only have the bike serviced by a qualified BMW mechanic at a certified BMW dealer. This happened on Friday afternoon, the job is simple enough to replace the coil, the dealer had it in stock, but the BMW mechanics were off till Monday, so he didn't get the bike back till Tuesday. Did you look to see how many dealers there are in Alberta, let along western Canada, because that's where it has to be towed to when you're in BFE.

So while he got to ride back to the city in a smelly tow truck cab with some stimulating conversation I'm sure, I enjoyed the rest of the ride by myself on a bike 1/3 the cost of this fine BMW. I lost a little respect for the BMW that day....

A friend of mine had the very same thing happen to him a couple years back in Death Valley it took BMW almost 8 hours to send a tow truck out to him . he got very lucky that it was early may and it was only in the mid 90s for temps

 

[Red Wazp]

How about the final drive? Has BMW figured out what's been causing those to fail? Oh, I guess they would have to admit there is a problem first.

 

[zigzagg321]

BMW sucks, as a car, as a bike, as a company.... I have my reasons. they are personal.

 

[smokenu]

sometimes I think we all need to act like that "6 year old kid" whom would'nt know the value of a $.. it's only money! there is more to be maid. if your family is taken care of and you can afford it,
you only live once, so I say GO FOR IT:rockon:

 

[lonesoldier84]

sometimes i think we all need to act like that "6 year old kid" whom would'nt know the value of a $.. It's only money! There is more to be maid. If your family is taken care of and you can afford it,
you only live once, so i say go for it:rockon:

vroom!! Vroom!!

 

[lonesoldier84]

P.S.

a weaker K1200S......

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqvkNDx6JwM]YouTube - bmw k1200s acceleration from 0-280[/ame]

 

[Denver_FZ6]

Oh..., what's this?

Yeah, it's my buddy's K1200S getting loaded onto a flat bed tow truck that stranded him 100km from Edmonton. The key sensor coil went NFG (recall) but the Edmonton dealer did not bother to inform him. They thought they'd catch it on his next service call still 3000km away. WTF? You spend $23k for a nice bike with all the bells and whistles, you'd think BMW would at least have the courtesy to inform him.

Even sitting on flatbed, doesn't it look awesome? Seriously, considering the price, you would expect to have superior reliability and based on some responses here, there's at least a perception BMW has not delivered it.

 

[Fred]

BMW's are nice to ride, but ever since they started building for power, they have lost their legendary reliability.

In other words, about the time that they got rid of the air cooled boxer twin.

Let's go back over some of the significant models and discuss how BMW screwed the pooch.

First, there was BMW's first excursion into fuel injected water cooled engines, the K75 and K100.

These were lovely engines that last forever and can take a beating, but thanks to the design, if you parked on the sidestand oil would get past the rings, leading to a very smoky startup. Going down the highway, the bike would constantly pull to the right. And the splines between the driveshaft and final drive would chew themselves to pieces.

Along comes the oilhead R1100 and R1150 engines. They surged. Badly. BMW spent the better part of a decade pretending that their customers were imagining this. Also, they pulled to the right. And the final drive had a habit of self destructing because the guys at the factory didn't preload the bearings correctly.

Now there's the R and K1200 machines, the latest and greatest in over engineering. Other than the occasional problem with the RFID keys leaving some poor bastard stranded. the only problem I'm aware of is an occasional case of the final drive failing and catching on fire.

I don't want to appear biased. I have owned three beemers in the last ten years and I'll list the good things about them along with the bad.

Robust design. For the most part, BMW components are better made than their Japanese equivalents. Parts fit together better and tighter.

Better metalurgy and fasteners. I don't know what sort of coating is on the steel fasteners that BMW uses, but those things just do not rust or seize, ever. The recent failure that I had with a seized caliper bolt would not have happened on a BMW. And the fasteners are just stronger metal. I've never stripped one or damaged one in any way.

The FZ6 has a steel bottom tripleclamp, which is just waiting to rust onto the fork tubes. BMW? That tripleclamp would be aluminum. And while on the subject of the front end, BMW would never ever put ball bearings in a steering head. You get German made tapered roller bearings installed at the factory.

The toolkit that comes with the bike is excellent. After two years, my FZ6 toolkit is turning to rust. My 17 year old BMW toolkit still looks brand new, and it provides enough tools to remove the engine, transmission, rear end, front end, and all bodywork from the bike's frame. By comparison, the FZ6 toolkit can't even remove the front wheel without breaking.

And the BMW toolkit isn't all that big either. It's so effective because the bike was designed to be worked on with a limited number of tools, and then those tools were put into the toolkit.

BMW's wiring is also quite robust. With alternators which can throw anywhere from 460 to 700 watts, you'll never be short of electricity on a BMW. The switches are better made than anything I've seen on Japanese machines. They're almost all wiper style switches, so they tend to keep themselves cleaned. And the hand controls are great. You'll spend a week getting used to them, and then you'll love how the turn signal and horn switches are located, especially when you're wearing thick gloves and find that you can still operate these switches.

Anyway, I've rambled on for too long.