Not goodbye, more Auf Wiedersehen

[Timbox2]

I had been thinking of a new bike for a while now and had looked at Guzzi's, Hondas and all sorts, I didnt want a GS, thats for sure but when i really looked at the type of riding/mileage I do and the predominant weather etc a Biggish Sport Tourer with shaft was really the only way to go, and so it is that this morning I signed on the line for a New BM K1300GT, the dealer also has given me a pretty good price on the Tigger considering the 50k mileage.

So thanks to you all for the help over the months and general banter, Ill still have look in from time to time Im sure.

Before anybody starts with the, can I have this and that, the only thing thats coming off the bike is the Wilbers shock and I dont know whether I will be selling it on, or P/exing with Wilbers for a shock for the Beemer yet, but if I do sell, you guys will get first refusal.

Keep it safe chaps, Tim.

[Nick Calne]

Probably just the ticket for the riding you like.  Enjoy the new bike.

[Chris Canning]

I know Tim from the 1100s board he turns up here as I have a Tiger and will still see him owning a K,the word on the K boards is WARRANTY :D

[Spud]

Oh new Tiger and Trophy 1200 next year.... good luck with the new bike enjoy cheers Spud  

[Timbox2]

Cheers Guys, I may be pulling me hair out on a K forum soon, but you gotta try it havent ya, its only money, and luckily plenty of warranty to start with Chris,  :lol:

[BONANZA]

A work colleague (a confirmed BMW man) has one. 16thou in 2 years and no problems at all. Hope it goes well :)

[Timbox2]

A work colleague (a confirmed BMW man) has one. 16thou in 2 years and no problems at all. Hope it goes well :)

Cheers Mate, Yeah problem with forums for any bikes is you dont tend to get many threads where everything is OK, it highlights the problems more, but we shall see as I say.

I also work with a guy who had one of the first of the new K1200S around 2005, 40k miles without a hitch, but pretty much everyone is in agreement that the early 12 was a bitch. :lol:

[Chris Canning]

On here when he question is asked andt problems,blimey chain tension isn't as per the book,and the female fuel connectors are a liability,and thats about it.

On the K's

Early 1200s's airbox,clutch,gear box's/rear dif,fuel maps,front ball joints,and motors going bang in general

But no matter what the year clutchs/rear difs/fuelling is a problem any year any model,the fuelling you just have to adapt end of,rest is what warrantys are for.

Now any website is a place for all the complaints moans and anything else along the way,but the K sites have lists longer than your arm with trouble,yea sure there are plenty of good ones,but there are loads of bad u'n's,

But the best post I've ever seen on any K site is this one.

http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/sh ... p?t=342999 (http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=342999)

Oh yea I've got one just like that even same colour,although mines got another 3 grand spent on it  :oops:

[Timbox2]

On here when he question is asked andt problems,blimey chain tension isn't as per the book,and the female fuel connectors are a liability,and thats about it.

On the K's

Early 1200s's airbox,clutch,gear box's/rear dif,fuel maps,front ball joints,and motors going bang in general

But no matter what the year clutchs/rear difs/fuelling is a problem any year any model,the fuelling you just have to adapt end of,rest is what warrantys are for.

Now any website is a place for all the complaints moans and anything else along the way,but the K sites have lists longer than your arm with trouble,yea sure there are plenty of good ones,but there are loads of bad u'n's,

But the best post I've ever seen on any K site is this one.

http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/sh ... p?t=342999 (http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=342999)

Oh yea I've got one just like that even same colour,although mines got another 3 grand spent on it  :oops:

   

Thats awesome mate, best ad Ive ever seen, the thing Ive always found strange is the amount of BM owners who have had loads of issues, but still wont ride anything else

[KuzzinKenny]

Mind an pop in from time to time  

enjoy yer new bike !!

KK

[Advwannabe]

Couldn't agree more with KK.

Those K bikes are awesome at what they do, all the best with it!

I'm keeping my powder dry until I have the new rumoured Tigger 1200 and Trophy to compare with the 800.

And hoping against hope that they do an 1100 Daytona. Yeah it's a long shot, but a boy's gotta dream...

[Timbox2]

Well Ive had her 3 days now, still bloody running in, but there is no question, its an awesome bit of kit, albeit rather large, Ive only opened it up to 6k or so and jeez, it goes, and stops!!!!

Is it £6k better than the Tiger? Absolutely not, the Tiger was also an awesome bit of kit, and for the money an absolute steal, but hey ho, I dont drink or smoke, so why not, as Chris (Winger) said to me when I was uming and ahring over £800 for the Wilbers shock,  "The average man lives 3 score years and 10, do you want to die rich?".

So Ok, Ive stepped up the anti a bit, but F... it, life is too short.

My old Sutra  " Yesterday is History , tomorrow a mystery, today is a Gift, thats why its called The Present"

Yeah I know, Im losing it, TTFN. :lol:

[Bixxer Bob]

I test rode a 1300GT and a Kwak 1400GTR, two-up, back to back against my Blackird (12 yr old, 60k plus...)

The Kwak was nearly as powerful but not as smooth, the GT wasn't even close and just didn't feel like a £15k bike, I couldn't get it to hold a line regardless of which suspension setting I used.  

But I'm biased.  My old girl has one of the smoothest Blackbird engines Mark Brewin (you'll know him as the dyno tester for most of the bike mags) has ever mapped - his words not mine.  

I'm not knocking the GT Tim, it is a fantastic bike and I'd have been sorely tempted but I'd get naff-all for the 'Bird in part ex and the price difference will buy a hell of a lot of tyres / fuel / maybe even a fresh paint job, I dunno.  In a way I'm dreading the 1200 coming out because I'll have go round the bloody cost / gain buoy again.  Unless I part up the Girly and keep the 'Bird for nostalgic reasons (like 50 miles of A17 last week, the Girly's good at overtakes, but the 'Bird is in another dimension....)

[Timbox2]

Know what you mean John, Horses for courses really, that and the fact that even 3 weeks ago I too was in the rational mindset that told me a new bike was not needed and the Tiger was perfectly OK for what I needed.
Been a long time since the rather childish me took over and said F... It, why not, and thats it really why not.
I didnt do any real back to back testing as such, getting test rides is quite difficult late in the year as most dealers have already sold off their demo's.
I had ridden a K13S, but for me, like the blackbird, too sporty riding position, tried a VFR1200, ditto plus awful handling, tried a Pan , nice but boring and roasted my legs with engine heat.
Didnt try a Kwak GTR, and although outright power was never high on the list, all the tests I read put the Beemer in front on that issue, but more importantly that the Beemer pulled harder and smoother from low down, but if Im honest, it came down to looks, colour and the fact that although I maybe hate to admit it, for me there is something about the way BM does things which seems to suit me, maybe it even comes from working in Germany a lot and liking the way they do things, sometimes oddly, sometimes infuriatingly different, but always for a reason.

The R1100S I had was in no way a perfect bike, the Tiger was in many respects far superior, but I still remember seeing 145 on the speedo of that bike on the autobahn, with panniers and top box, and feeling totally rock solid safe, thats the feeling Ive already felt on the K, but moreso.

I may be crying in a few months who knows, still, its all about WARRANTY, eh Chris :lol:

[Chris Canning]

10 years ago I bumped into a mate from my racing days,he informs me he's keeped all his bikes because after a while their worth more to him and than giving them away in a P/X deal.

I've started doing the same bought my 1100s and Tiger 10/11 years and ago and didn't buy another bike till 08 when I bought an XT660X and in 09 when I bought my K1200r sport,what I would have spent in the previous 10 years paid for e'm and some.

Most of biking is done out of the UK,my idea of biking doesn't conform with the laws of this land so I ride midweek and never of a weekend,the question I'm always asked when getting ready for a trip 'Which Bike',if the weather is good the K,bad the 1100s,or long distance the Tiger,and in the UK the XT,I can make a good case for all of them,but the one I have to be carefull of is the K,get done for speeding in the UK and I'm going to get locked up  :roll: .

But just as a direct comparison,the bike I test rode years ago with my wife on the back was a Blackbird,after 30 miles stopped'well what do you think' I ask,'I'd catch a bus back if one was passing,this bike thing is horses for courses,to get my K right has taken BST wheels,dogbones,Wilbers and 55 rear tyre and now steers as quick as my Tiger with a 17" front wheel but I'm one of the lucky ones who a. knows what he wants b. can afford to get it done how I want.