Bikeless in Moncton!!! (No more)

[Acadian Rider]

After six years and many happy kms (94,000), I decided to sell the ST1300.   I got tired of waiting after Honda for an update on this fine machine.    

I wish I could have kept the VStrom as a second bike but it made a lot more sense financially to sell it, and I did.  

So, I am now bikeless in Moncton but you didn’t think that would last did you?  

After trying a 09 K1300GT last year I couldn’t get it out of my mind.    I now have a 2010 unit on order and I should be getting it late-April early-May.    Hopefully the boat won’t sink and it will be late April.  

My first big ride with it will be going down to the ST.N National in West Virginia in June.  Can’t wait.  

In the meantime, I was able to ride an F800GS from Atlantic Motoplex this past weekend.  Loved the bike but I can’t afford two new bikes and the divorce lawyers.  

Oh, BTW, the new bike is the faster colour, Red.  

I’ll post some pictures when I get it.  

[propeller]

I was worry about you been bikeless on the first nice weekend of the season...glad to hear you were still able to enjoy it

Congratulations and looking forward to see a red bullet flying by.

[Jetpilot5]

Looking forward to seeing your new ride at the National.  Congrats!

[CDN]

U + GT = Me^{UBER JEALOUS}

Congrats!!!  Looking forward to the pics and review/ride comparison between the ole ST and your new Teutonic offering.

Now start the planning on getting that GT down to Monument Valley for your next profile pic photoshoot...  



Signed,
Bikeless in Victoria

[Flyer]

Cheers to you, Leon!

[Acadian Rider]

Now start the planning on getting that GT down to Monument Valley for your next profile pic photoshoot...  

The wheels are turning in my head for another Western Canada-USA trip.  If I average 100MPH   8 hours per day for two weeks, how far can I get?  

Congrats!!!  Looking forward to the pics and review/ride comparison between the ole ST and your new Teutonic offering.

It just so happens that I wrote something last year when I tried one.  Here's what I wrote.  

Saturday morning (June 27) I finally got the chance to try the new K1300GT courtesy of Troy at Atlantic Motoplex in Dieppe New Brunswick. Sorry folks, no pictures.  

You will quickly realize that I am not a professional writer but I will make an attempt to describe how the test went and how the bike felt without Sue first and then with Sue and I’ll have some comments from her.    

My point of reference is my trusty Honda ST1300 on which I’ve put 90K kms (55 k miles).  This is a fine machine albeit on the heavy side and I was anxious to see how the K1300GT compared to it riding solo and two up.    

Troy gave me a quick run through of all the bells and whistles on this bike and asked that I keep it under 7K RPM as the bike only had 450 kms on it.  Being the gentleman that I am I obliged.  

SOLO RODING

Ergonomics

I am 5’10” with a 32” inseam.    

The first thing I noticed when I sat on it and took off was the position of my feet. On the GT they are farther back than on the ST and my knees were bent slightly more.  I found that I had to try a little bit harder to find the shifter with my toes but it wasn’t a problem once I got the hang of it and no gears were missed because of it.  I first thought that my old knees would feel the extra bending after a while but such was not the case during the two hours I spent on it.      

My upper body was slightly more upright than on my ST that has the stock handlebars with no risers.  The adjustable ones on the GT were set at the highest and I didn’t touch them.      

Wind Protection

I didn’t ask Troy but I suspect that the GT had the standard screen.  At the lowest setting I had about the same amount of wind as on my ST with about the same amount of buffeting that really only starts after about 120 km per/hr. The difference was when I played with the electric screen.  On the GT, when you raise it, the buffeting stops. On the ST the same scenario happens but I get a back pressure.  The wind goes around and puts pressure on my back.  This didn’t happen on the GT.  On the other hand, the screen on the GT does not go as high as on the ST’s that puts you in a silent bubble at its highest position.  This is great in the rain. Perhaps the optional windscreen on the GT would put you in a bubble also but who knows what would happen at other settings.    

I used to think that the fairing on the GT looked like it was an after thought.  I still think it is but the little thingees they put on each side makes it look better in my opinion.  Having said that, the fairing seems to be doing fine managing the wind and it probably works great in the rain also.  

One area where the ST has a distinct advantage is with the side pockets on the fairing.  It has two with one of them being lockable with a key.  On the GT there is a small one on the right side that locks with a key but you can leave it unlocked and then you don’t need a key to open it unlike the lockable one on the ST.    

Engine & Drivetrain

As expected, I found the I4 engine had more power than the ST’s V4.  It pulls very smoothly at very low RPMs.  In top gear it pulls better and smoother than the ST even at low RPMs which was a surprise to me.  The ST pulls like a tractor from very low even in top gear.  

The GT appears to be pulling harder at all RPMs.  The fact that it has a lot more HP and less weight must have something to do with it.  Yes, I know, I’m a smart Alec.    

In 1st and 2nd  gear my ST has a lot of drivetrain lash and the power comes in abruptly when you twist the throttle.  This can be quite annoying at low speeds in tight twisties.  This was not the case with the GT.  I found that the power delivery at low speed and gears to be a lot smoother without the drivetrain lash of the ST.    

Handling & Braking

I really didn’t get a chance to push it in the twisties as I wanted Sue to spend some time on it.  The little that I did in the twisties showed that it is very nimble compared to the heavier ST.  The laws of physics at work I suppose.  

On the ST in the twisties I often have to push fairly hard on the handle bars to keep the lean on it and the faster I go the more I have to push.  This is especially true on the long sweepers.  Again, I didn’t get a real good chance with the GT but it was easier to throw around with the little that I did.  

I did get a chance to try out the brakes at highway speeds.  Under hard braking I felt very much in control even when engaging the ABS system in the rear.  There is very little diving probably due to the linked bakes.  My ST does have linked brakes also but dives a lot more.  

Suspension & Seat

This bike had the electronic suspension adjustment option where you can adjust it on the fly from comfort, normal and sport settings at the push of a button. This all sounds great on the surface but I really had a hard time feeling the difference between the adjustments.  The same thing happened when I tried a R1200GS Adventure recently that had the same option.   Maybe I just didn’t push it hard enough to feel the difference but a friend of mine who tried one last year with the same option had the same comments.  

Having said that, the suspension worked great and was a lot smoother than on the ST even when the ST was new as I recall.  The seat on the GT was comfortable and after about two hours on it still felt that way.

Range

The ST has a distinct advantage in this category.  The 29 liter tank will give me an easy 500 kms (300 miles) and I have stretched it to 600 kms once ( 370 miles).  I doubt that the 24 liter tank on the GT can match this.  

TWO UP RIDING

A major reason I wanted to try the GT was to see how it felt two up riding and how Sue felt about it.  She is about 5’6” with a slim built.  

She is used to riding with a top box as a backrest and I was a little nervous at the start with her on the GT without a back rest at all.  Because of that, I was extra careful.  

With her on the back the bike did not feel the added weight at all.  The power delivery was the same and it did pull smoothly and easily from 2,000 RPM in top gear.  

Under braking there was less of a dive than with the ST and this is a major advantage in my view.  Often on the ST if I have to brake and if I catch her being inattentive she will move forward and we both don’t like it.  

Another difference and this one was a surprise was that the wind management changed drastically on the GT with Sue on the back.  Remember that I said that there was no wind buffeting when the wind screen was at the high position.  Well, with two up riding the buffeting increased for me as the wind screen went up and the bike felt a little less stable at the higher positions.  On the other hand, Sue felt that she was getting less wind in the back no matter the height of the wind screen. I did try it at different heights to test it.  On the ST she never lets me keep it at a low position and often complains of wind buffeting.  This was not the case with the GT for her.  

SUE’s COMMENTS

Being a fairly tall women, she finds the pegs on the ST to be too high. The pegs on the GT were no different to her.  

She felt that the bike was smoother over the bumps and I did go on a rough road on purpose to see what would happen.  Not hard to find such roads in New Brunswick.  

She did say that there was less wind on the back of the GT than on the back of the ST.  

OVERALL

The K1300GT has to be one of the most refined sophisticated sport-tourer around.  Would I buy one?  Perhaps, but there are a lot of fine sport-tourers around and before I did I would definitely want to test the R1200RT to compare.  

I do have a weakness for Honda products and my ST has been trouble free ever since I bought it five years ago.  I’m not sure that the advantages of the GT outweighs the reliability risks inherent with BMW motorcycles.  There is also the issue of the limited number of BMW dealers in Canada which is not an issue with Japanese makes.  


Back to 2010.  

I have yet to try the R1200RT but just sitting on it with Sue at the recent bike show in Moncton it felt like it had less room for two up riding and I know I'll enjoy the extra power of the K engine.   The only advantage I could see with the R1200RT was the weight.  

On the reliability issue, hopefully the second year model will be all out of bugs but if it still has any, the 3 year warranty should take care of them.  

[Rigger]

Congrats on the new ride!

[CDN]

It just so happens that I wrote something last year when I tried one.  Here's what I wrote.

Great.  Thanks Leon  

I'm coming off of 9 great years of riding Red as well.  I was very happy with the Viffer, a couple R/R moments aside, and esctatic with the XX as it was bombproof and everything I wanted in a bike...aside from 2 up comfort.  Because of my track record with Honda (and a very close relationship with a local dealer) I've been eyeing up used ST's for a little while now....BUT...BMWs have always been in the back of my mind.  Its partly a childhood thing (I was in awe of our neighbours as they had 3 of 'em and toured all over NA)....plus its a teutonic thing my 1/2 Euro heart longs for      I took out an '04 K1200GT on a demo a few years back and could easily envision me and my SO logging some good miles on one.  Haven't had a chance (yet) to demo a K1300GT but I imagine its one pretty sweet thang.

Realistically with the new house we're still a couple of years away from getting back on the horse again anyhow so it'll give me some time to kick tires and keep an eye on the reliability of the new K bike.  At that point if we have some extra dough maybe we'll splurge for one; if not I'm sure a a used ST will suit us just fine.

[Huron52]

Congrats Leon!

[Acadian Rider]

Well, picked up the new toy today and went for a ride.  Here's 3 pictures of the new K1300GT in my backyard.  



Notice the neighbor's dog (Phoenix) checking it out?

 

 

[stromgal]

Lovely, congrats! Sorry I won't see you and it at the National.

[Acadian Rider]

Lovely, congrats! Sorry I won't see you and it at the National.

It would have been nice to see you again but there's always next year.    

Keeping my fingers crossed that I can go in 2011 also.    

If my memory serves me right you haven't missed too many of them.  

[R Doug]

 

Congrats Leon!  Now, go put on some gear.  This is STN for goodness sakes.

[propeller]

What is such a beautiful bike...on a beautiful weekend...near beautiful roads...doing parked in a backyard!!!

You're slipping Leon.

We've become accustomed to higher standards. Even your avatar evoked the open road.

PLEASE don't make us and that poor bike suffer any longer and come back with a decent picture (wearing ATTGAT) from the open field...That should take no time on such a fast red bike!

[Tuxracer]

Cool I met Troy from Atlantic Motoplex a few weeks ago in Halifax at Exhibition Park. They had a small Ducati tent setup. We got to chatting a bit, I always lusted after Ducati's but have never owned one. I mentioned that I'd be interested in an ST3 or ST4 if he knew of any around, and sure enough, they have an ST3 in stock right now. Hmmmmmm  

My wife and I are heading to Moncton/Fredericton for the weekend so I might just drop in and have a closer look, and see what else they have.

[Acadian Rider]

PLEASE don't make us and that poor bike suffer any longer and come back with a decent picture (wearing ATTGAT) from the open field...That should take no time on such a fast red bike!

How's this?  





The bike is going in for its first service tomorrow (1,ooo km), the top box is getting painted to match it and I'm waiting for a GPS from GPS City (Garmin 660).  I'll still need a proper mount for it and then I'll be ready for the ST.N National.