2012 BMW K1600GTL

[Bone Stockman]

Now y'all didn't think we went all the way to the BMW dealer and didn't test ride one of these suckers, did'ja?

This bike is a beast, and deserves every bit of fawning that it's gotten in all the reviews. Sure, it sounds like a blender having an argument with a vacuum, but so what? Wanna be going 130 at the end of the on-ramp? No problem. Feel like pulling the front wheel up going into 3rd? Piece of cake. This bike has so much torque it's just unreal. Whack the throttle at 2500rpm, the bike pulls smoothly to about 4000, then it just fracking explodes on its way to the redline.

The only real gripe I have with it is with the ESA. "Normal" is too floaty, "Sport" is to harsh. The GSA's settings are spot-on perfect, so it surprises me that the GTL's aren't. Don't get me wrong, the ride is superior to the Limited's, as is the handling, but the calibrations just aren't quite right. "Comfort" is really soft, and only useful for highway riding. For a big bike, it transitions really well from right to left, though the throttle was a little jerky. There are 5 other throttle settings that I could have tried, but I was too busy trying not to wad up someone else's $30,000 bike. With that said, if I had the opportunity to really get used to this bike's dynamics, y'all would never catch me on a winding road.

The brakes are similarly heroic. I jumped on them hard more than once, and never had any issues with fade or ABS pulsing.

The riding position is typical BMW upright, though the GTL has a more "American" idiom, with more pullback to the bars, and lower pegs. I liked it, but I could see there being a need to stop more often to stretch my legs since there's no way to mount highway pegs. Dana hated the seat and the pegs, and didn't like the fact that the top box moves around as much as it does. She also said there was substantially more turbulence & buffeting than the GSA. She said, and I'm not making this up, that she could see riding all day on the GSA, not on the GTL.

Had this bike been available when I bought my Ultra, there would have been a heated argument in the Train household over which one to get. The Harley is going to be more comfortable on the long hauls, but the GTL is by far the better rider's bike.

The GTL is 95% of the way there. Fix the top box, sort out the ESA settings, and it'd be perfect. I won't be trading in the BSL just yet, but I think I've found my next touring bike.