Lacking the Japanese reliability.....fact.

 

I really want to come back into the K16 fold, it's a beautiful bike - but man, all this BS on quality control has me re-thinking a Concours 14... It maybe old tech but at least the psychological trauma of a machine that is A) unreliable and B) likely going to burry you in maintenance/ repair costs would not be a factor. I'm starting to think the K16 is more like that supermodel....starts off super hot then takes you for all of your money vs. the average girl who is hot in her own way, but super trustworthy and reliable, there for the long run.

 

I rode a Connie 14 once. For an hour.

Bought a GTL.

 

I had similar feelings about my 2005 K1200LT. Loved it, but it was all kinds of unreliable. My 2016 GTL has been very reliable other than one coil needing replaced. If you don't stay with BMW, I hear great things about Yamaha fjr 1300s as well.

 

Mine is a '14 GTLE, picked up used in '20 with 13k miles, about 36k now. Rock solid reliable, zero failures. Only issue of any kind has been an occasional "squeak" in the front suspension. A shot of CLP to clean the bushing in the suspension shut it up. Best bike I've ever owned.

 

With BMW’s (especially K16s) it’s a roll of the dice. Some have almost no issues — others can be nightmares. Having owned an RT, LT and now a GTL, I’ve experienced the whole range.

It comes down to how much the extra exhilaration of a GTL over a Concours (or any other same class big bike) means to you. For me, the extra cost of ownership (whatever it could be) is worth it. Only you can make that decision for yourself.

 

Man ain't this the truth. First R bike used was beaten to death and just kept running. New 98 RT went 114,000 miles and never hiccupped. K12GT blew chunks at 36,000 miles and cost me big bucks. GSA...keeps rolling. GTL...haven't owned long enough yet and well ...I'm about to hop on it and spend 10 days or so touring the west. If it blows chunks somewhere in the middle of BFU...this time I may just buy 50 pounds of Tannerite.

 

I think buying second hand performance vehicles can be a roll of the dice. They're not normally bought by people who don't want to see what they can do, don't want to modify, upgrade, downgrade to sell etc. etc.

 

I bought my '12GT in June 2021 with 40k miles on it. I now have 70K miles. Compared to my previous '05 FLHTI and '13 FLHTK this has been a lot more reliable over 40K miles! The HD's had 90k miles and 105k miles respectively. I had to replace soooo many parts with these two bikes and always tinkering with them.

On the K, I have replaced the suspension with Wilber's, changed ignition coil, replaced the low beam bulb, and replaced the fuel fitting with the metal one. The fuel fitting was done as a precaution based on the recommendations here. I completed all of the work. All of the recalls and one (or two, I can't remember) ignition coil (s) was performed by the dealer I bought it from for the previous owner. I had all of the records when I bought this.

My intention on buying this older bike was to see if we would like the BMW K bike without investing a lot. If we did we were going to buy a newer one or move on to something else. It turns out that we like it a lot and will be keeping it awhile longer

I have done a lot of other farkle upgrades which have nothing to do with reliability.

 

It sounds like you have already replaced most of the trouble parts on the bike.

 

I had a great K1200LT and with the help of this forum, was able to do minor service and modifications from 2002 through 2012 and about 50K miles. Same with my 2012 K1600GTL that now has more than 50K miles. I must be lucky.

 

I owned a 2014 GT and 2016 GTLE and neither had any issues. The 2014 might have had an oil consumption issue but I ended up trading it for the 2016 so I'll never know for sure. There's just nothing like the K16 on the market and 8f you visit other motorcycle forums you discover riders with issues because people who have problems are complaining and seeking solutions while people who don't have issues are out riding. So it gives a false narrative that the K16 is unreliable.

 

to be honest, I've ridden both japanese and european bikes,
I cannot agree with you. I've had, and seen, japanese with worse flaws than a bmw.
And id does'nt get any better.
For example when my FJR reached 100.000 kms. Clutch damper was to be replaced ( costs around 1000$ )
It drank oil like my grandma did whiskey because of the famouse 3rd cylinder crack...
2013- models tend to break gearboxes.
I could go on forever.
Don't even get me started on Hondas, they are a pain in the A** to work on, and have very oddly specific parts where it's not needed.

Frankly, on the K1600, besides the famous ignition coils, fuel pump, and the wheel sensors .... nothing wrong and if they are serviced correctly, seems pretty reliable to me.

For example, mine has yet 75,000 kms and drinks no oil, no water, and runs like a charm.

 

I have had a concours 14 and an LT but the GTL is the best of the three. But, when my 2018 GTL quit on my going 80 on I 10 in New Mexico in 110 degrees summer I said screw this I'm going back to a reliable Gold Wing.
Rented the automatic model for a weekend and decided to stay with the GTL. The power and handling can't be beat for such an obese bike. My wife rides my old 2012, since 2013 and has had little trouble with 45000 miles now.
"You never know"!

 

2016 GTLE. Bought new. Currently 21k miles.

Engine mapping issues early on requiring a trip to the dealership. 12,735 miles bike put itself in limp mode. Fortunately I was a mile from home and could get back to switch to car to make it to work. Next day started and ran without issue. To dealership. Engine update done.

15187 miles:

Engine module cleaned
Rear tire replaced with Michelin.
Updated GPS.
All factory updates done
Bike verified road worthy.

Tires were crap. Back to back rear flats. Swapped to Dunlop Roadsmart III at 3810 miles after first rear flat. Another flat. No issue since changing to Michelins - third set. Rear tire replaced at dealer cost due to rubbing swing arm. Known issue. 18,726 miles.

Multiple failures to start first few thousand miles beginning at 3910 miles. Occasionally had to press start multiple times before engine would crank. Another trip to dealership. Nothing found. Engine control module wipe recommended by BMW. No issues afterwards.
Rear tire sensor failed at 10,440 miles. Covered under warranty.

Water pump replaced at 11,600 miles due to leak. Warranty.

Original battery developed internal fault resulting in being stranded. After a few hours of sitting and trying the bike finally cranked and started. That was several months back. Again original battery so can't complain.

Switches feel flimsy. Especially the high beam.

Nav VI unit data base near useless. Can't find some well known places even when using street address. Unit is up to date. Why Google maps aren't loaded on every GPS is beyond me.

This is what I have. So basically I've had about 3000 problem free miles since the last issue. What does that tell you? For me it means keep the maintenance account well funded if you want to own one of these motorcycles.

 

Nav VI unit data base near useless. Can't find some well known places even when using street address. Unit is up to date. Why Google maps aren't loaded on every GPS is beyond me.

Because Google and Garmin are two separate companies. Garmin Nav's are designed to do more than A+B navigation. Google maps is based on that. Garmin GPS' do not have the ability to connect to the internet to update their database live like Google Maps do. But you can look up a POI and send it to your Garmin if it's not in the database. I have been using Garmin GPS' since the Nuvi was released in 2004 and have always found where I needed to go. You can do so much more with a Garmin GPS than you can with Google Maps and Waze.

I wish that Garmin would add voice commands to the Zumo like their Car Navigators have. This would be helpful!

What does that tell you?

That you, unfortunately, have had more problems than most.

BTW, tires going flat, updating a GPS, and a seven year old battery failing have nothing to do with a vehicles reliability.

 

Stop Sale, US and Canada

I've seen some chatter about the mothership implementing a stop sale on ALL BMW bikes, new and used in the US and Canada. Anyone know anything? All I know is it isn't April 1st, so there's that. Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

www.k1600forum.com

 

If it is an emissions issue as some are saying I am sure that would be a worldwide issue. Time will tell I am sure.

 

I have a 2015 Gtle that I bought new and have treated her like nothing but love! 60k and only a few tpms and coil issues. The bike is rock solid! I could not imagine a better bike! I did buy a 21 gsa that I also love! I feel like I have the best two motorcycles ever made! The quality and luxury have been so good that I think it would be hard to find anything better! The 2012 bikes did have some piston ring issues.

 

I see many Japanese bikes going 100,000km + before needing any of this stuff.

I have almost 110K MILES on mine and according to the 46 pages of dealer service records that came with the bike none of the stuff you described have been replaced on it. Front shock has been replaced with a Wilber by the dealer at 60K+ miles and the rear is waiting for the recall replacement to be done. Still no leaks from the rear shock. Probably not performing to its best ability anymore, though.

Yeah, it drinks 1qt of oil every 1K miles which is a bit excessive, but it has done that since 50K miles and hasn't gotten any worse. Not a biggie for me since I knew that going in. Just came back from a 2076 mile trip on Monday and added 1qt at 1100 miles and probably could use another one now.

Then again, I guess I'm a gambler and willing to take chance on an extraordinary deal when one presents itself.

My 2012 had the switchgear and fuel pump replaced under warranty and recall, respectively. Nothing else outside of normal maintenance items. Had 60K+ when it burned together with my house last Christmas Eve. If it didn't, I'd still be riding it.

 

 

probably a lemon, i have a 2013 and only thing that left me stranded on a trip from Dallas to Key West was stupit starter push button assembly .. rented a car and bought part from Miami BMW, installed myself and rode back home...other than that, other than brakes/tires/fluid changes,, i only had fuel pump recall done.. albeit, i just passed 53K miles.. my 99 K1200LTC has over 155K miles and NEVER has it left me stranded.. n i pull a trailer with both of them 85% of the time i travel

 

I have a 2014 K1600 GTLE the only problem I have had is fuel pump which was replaced under warranty. Overall I have been happy with this bike

 

Is this just a lemon (2012) or are these kinds of repairs and break downs simply par for the course with this bike/ manufacturer?

My 1st Beemer was a 2018 GTL and I put 100k miles on it in 2 years before it got totalled
Took that insurance $$ and bought a 2020 GSA and after 3 years it's now got 159K miles

The wife hates the GSA... soooo we went looking and picked up a 2015 GTL-E for the 2-up touring. Bought it with 45K miles on it almost 2 years ago... and just recently turned over 100k miles.

I've bought extended warranties for every bike I've ever bought and they've all paid for themselves, and then some. Was on 2 different HDs before these and I can easily say I've had similar yet no more issues with the Beemers as compared to the HDs.

Yes I've had issues... covered by warranties. My bikes get ridden more than most and I also understand machines are going to eventually wear out and shits gonna break.

Show me another bike that'll beat the K16 GTL in the "luxury sport touring" category... and I'll probably go buy one. I've yet to find something even close.