K1300s owners, speak up!

[KodiakRS]

BMW's "other" sportbike doesn't seem to get a whole lot of press these days.  To me it seems like it may be a great ST mount.  It has a lot of the features that the big ST bikes have, shaft drive, abs, heated grips, and available luggage.  Yet it weighs 100lbs less than most of those bikes.  The ergo's are somewhere between super sport and gold wing which means that some people will love it, others hate it.  Other than the price of admission, what's wrong with this bike?  I would assume that it would sell like hotcakes, or at least have some sort of a cult following but there is very little buzz about it in the community.  Is there some sort of glaring flaw with other than it's traditional BMW price?  Are people scared away by the para/duolever suspension or something?  

[Dan K]

I am not an owner but have significant saddle time on a 2010 and 2011.  These bikes are amazing.  If not for the price of admission, I'd have one in the garage.  Even have considered dumping the Sprint and the Daytona to scrounge up the cash to buy one and give up the track (but not going to ever happen).

Smooth, lots of power, suspension is a little low on feel, but excellent once you learn to trust it.

Adjustable suspension on the fly - rocks.

Ergos like a Sprint - slightly sporty.

For the type of bike it is, I am unaware of its equal.  Yes, I want one.

- Dan

[Cablebandit]

A local girl just had the final drive on her's replaced.  

[Dan K]

Can't speak to durability, but what an awesome bike to ride.  I'd use it for a commuter/tourer in a heartbeat.

- Dan

[Cablebandit]

Can't speak to durability, but what an awesome bike to ride.  I'd use it for a commuter/tourer in a heartbeat.

- Dan

I'd ride it, but I wouldn't own it.

[Dan K]

If you could afford the bike, you could likely afford the maintenance...  I haven't been in lust with many bikes.  I've ridden Bimotas, Ducatis (pretty much all of them), Benellis, Aprilias, BMW's, Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, Triumphs, Yamahas, sure I'm missing a few.  The K1300S, for a gentleman's sportbike / tourer, hits all the marks dead center.

[Cablebandit]

I could afford the maintenance.  That's not the issue.  I always hear how easy BMW's are to work on, but in reality I'd rather spend that time riding the stupid thing.  Change the oil, add gas and tires and ride the crap out of it.  I like taking off anywhere and not really having the thought in the back of my head that it may break and if it does there may not be a dealer around for hundreds of miles.

Now for a weekend around town bike that's not as much of an issue, but since I'm down to one bike right now that sees a lot of miles I'll take reliability over character.

That said, it is an awesome machine.  

[Dan K]

Understood.  Although I've never heard that it's easy to work on a modern BMW, I've heard the opposite, another reason I don't ride one (besides the cash).

I figure in this day and age, as long as I take care of my bikes, no matter where I am, chances are help isn't too far away.  Bikes from the big manufacturers are all pretty reliable these days, and I wouldn't let that keep me from buying one.  Maybe it would keep me from buying one if I didn't have a second bike in the garage, but even if I had to sell a bike for financial reasons, I'd still buy a second beater just to have a back up.

No one else to comment on the K1300S?

- Dan

[Neub]

Well I own one and just came back from 1700 mile playing in the canyons of Colorado.  Previously had a 99 vfr and kept waiting for years for the long rumored 1000 vfr to come out.  When Honda announced the specs and price in Nov 09 for the vfr 1200 and the dealer didn't want to negotiate a price (I wasn't going to pay 15,000 +)  for a preorder I began to look at the other options....Triumph ST, good riding position, handling, power and bags included but I really didn't want another chain drive for sport touring.  FJR, st1300  too heavy and not sporty enough so decided to see what left over 2009 BMWs where sitting around the dealers in MN, IA, WI and what they were wiling to knock off the price....after all its December in MN, everyone want sleds that time of the year, not bikes.  Sent an email looking for a  left over 2009 base model with heated grips out to the dealers and one dealer 30 miles away responded that he had a loaded 1300S, tricolor, abs, stability control, computer dash, heated grips, speed shifter, etc and was willing to knock 3500 off sticker plus BMW was offering an additional 1500 incentive.  Now I am looking at a loaded 19700 1300s for less than the base vfr1200, didn't take long for me to make that decision.  In the last two years and 14,000 miles the bike has been back to the dealer once for a recall on the turn signal switches and a engine management software update all the rest of the maintenance I've done myself including 3 sets of tires.  Moving from the 99 vfr to the 1300s took a little adjustment, torque and power was scary when cranked wide open but handling in the tight corners took more effort due to the long wheelbase but the sweepers were awesome, the bike is so stable.  Once got use to the somewhat lack of feedback from the duolever front end and begin to trust it now I am a believer...it doesn't dive when you have to really lay on the brakes.  When thinking about buying it being a middle income, practical person I was somewhat concerned about the maintenance cost but heck I had to take my vfr to the dealer to have the valves adjusted and the vfr ate 5 rectifiers (which I was able to replace) in the 10 years I had it and given if I went the vfr1200 route the teething problems that are normally associated with first year production figured I couldn't do any worse with the 1300s. After two years still no buyers remorse.

[Jetpilot5]

I had my K1200S for 5 years and 49,850 miles.  My first BMW and I loved it.  Unfortunately I lost my local dealer (60 miles away) a year ago February and while the brand was picked up by another Big 4 dealer in the same town this spring, it isn't the same.  

I will admit as the three year warranty expires and the miles pile up, reliability started to worry me.  I know you can read horror stories on almost any bike made, but there sure have been some high dollar failures on the K1200S.  What had me worried the most was a problem they have with cam chains jumping teeth.  Several new cam chain tensioners have been introduced since the bike came out and now a cam chain jump guard is "recommended" by BMW.  I'm sure it's rare but if it happens and you lunch the top end, the bike is almost totalled.  Add that to the occasional transmission issue (second gear has been updated on the K1300S), clutch problems that seem hit or miss and the occasional final drive failure, it's just made me too nervous to keep it.

BTW, normal maintenance wasn't bad for a do it yourselfer.  Oil changes, air filters, brake pads, final drive fluid changes etc are all pretty basic.  You will need a dealer to read fault codes during a major service and there are also some special tools required for some service items.  There have been some guys that have developed work arounds but I like the proper tool for the proper job.

Still a fabulous machine to ride.  I love the way the K1300S looks (the blue is ) and oh, the power, Power, POWER, POWER!!!!!.

Got to the point while I loved to ride it, I didn't love to own it.

[Bigpoodle]

I'm winding up my second year (I ride 4 seasons, but in Central PA there are extended stretches when it's pretty miserable) on a 2010 K 1300 S, and I am a satisfied customer.  The bike has no peers, really.  There is nothing you can buy whose performance will put this big a grin on your face which is also as civilized for long-distance touring.  Oh, and gets about 50 mpg on mid-grade once it's broken in if you keep to the speed limit (not easy, given the mindblowing acceleration and almost eerie composure deep into triple digits).  The high-tech goodies aren't just BMW showing off, they really do improve the riding experience.  Shift Assist on the loaded models is a total hoot.

As a touring machine, it may be better suited to taller people (I'm 6-2) because long arms make for a more upright riding position.  Low-speed handling is not very good because of the long wheelbase and a turning radius measured in furlongs, something to consider if a lot of your riding is in congested urban areas.  I find the handling at speed extremely responsive.  Maybe it's because I've been riding BMW's Paralever/Duolever bikes for the last 14 years, but I am a little mystified by the complaints about "lack of feel."   For me, I just think where I want to go and the bike goes there, with no drama and all the road feedback I would want.  With the expandable BMW sport bags and a top case (you can save major bucks with an aftermarket Shad or Givi instead of the BMW top case, which I believe is a rebadged Shad anyway) you'll have plenty of luggage capacity with not too much a a handling penalty.  Strap on full camping gear too and the front end gets noticeably light, but that's true of every sport-tourer I know of.

Routine maintenance is quite easy, but as with most fully faired bikes getting the bodywork off to do anything major is a pain in the butt and there's a lot of sophisticated electronics I wouldn't dream of messing with.  I've had one minor recall, for the rear torque linkage, but otherwise have enjoyed appliance-like reliability.

Bottom line IMHO is, if you want the maximum sport in your sport-tourer, the K 1300 S has to be on your short list.

[Dan K]

Nicely put.  Try riding a sport bike with modern day inverted forks and high end compression and rebound damping components, push it a little bit, and you will then understand the feel that you're missing with the duo lever.  Only is an issue when pushing the bike hard, towards the limits of traction, where you need precise feedback. If you don't do that on the K1300S, it's lack of feel is immaterial, and outweighed by the benefits of no nose dive on hard braking.

- Dan

[ConPilot1]

Is that the same powerplant/drivetrain as the K1300GT?? If so I could see it being an amazing bike. I test drove a GT and I tell you it was the finest feeling and smoothly powerful motorcycle I've ever been.

I don't understand why BMW discontinued the K1300GT.

[expatbrit]

I ride regularly with the owner of a K1300S. He's a fast rider anyway (and I'm not) so between the bike and the rider I tend to be left in the dust. He's also a big guy at 6'4, and fits on it fine.

I've ridden it, and the engine is smooth -- incredibly so -- and I found the subjective ergos less aggressive than the Sprint ST I had at the time. He gets pretty incredible gas mileage when loping it along, and it seems fine on both backroads and slab (and he's tracked it a few times -- on a tight track here in Abq, no less). Great wind/weather protection, too.

Pretty incredible machine, all around, and I seriously thought about an orange one instead of the MTS1200, but was eventually swayed by 'upright'.

[Bigpoodle]

Is that the same powerplant/drivetrain as the K1300GT?? If so I could see it being an amazing bike. I test drove a GT and I tell you it was the finest feeling and smoothly powerful motorcycle I've ever been.

I don't understand why BMW discontinued the K1300GT.

Same basic powerplant as the GT,  but tuned for an extra 15 horsepower and 4 ft-lb of torque.  At 50 pounds or so lighter, the S's performance is even more face-melting without giving up the smoothness.  The GT has better ergos and a few more amenities for straight-up touring.

I'm guessing the BMW folks discontinued the GT model of the K 1300 line because it was too similar to the new K 1600 GT at virtually the same price point and they didn't expect an incremental sales benefit to offset the cost of fielding both.

[ConPilot1]

I've seen the K1600 and the 1300GT up close and they are NOTHING alike in class.

The 1600 is like a Wing-pig. The 1300 was a nice compromise of amenities/size, like the Connie or FJR.

[Bigpoodle]

Nicely put.  Try riding a sport bike with modern day inverted forks and high end compression and rebound damping components, push it a little bit, and you will then understand the feel that you're missing with the duo lever.  Only is an issue when pushing the bike hard, towards the limits of traction, where you need precise feedback. If you don't do that on the K1300S, it's lack of feel is immaterial, and outweighed by the benefits of no nose dive on hard braking.

- Dan

I get to switch bikes with some of my riding buds, as well as taking brutal advantage of dealer demo days to thrash whatever sportbikes and tourers they're featuring.  So I understand what you're saying about high-end conventional suspensions vs. the duolever.  All I'm saying is that with experience you can get all the feedback an ordinary rider needs, once you figure out how to read the signals.  On the track, would the difference cost you a few hundredths of a second here and there?  Probably, I guess, given the outlandish sums the folks at Ohlins get away with charging.  On the street, it's more about how well you understand what the bike is telling you, regardless of the suspension configuration.  100% of the loss-of-control crashes among riders of my acquaintance (quite a few, since I've been riding for 45 years) have been aboard those allegedly superior inverted-fork mounts.

[Dan K]

I've seen the K1600 and the 1300GT up close and they are NOTHING alike in class.

The 1600 is like a Wing-pig. The 1300 was a nice compromise of amenities/size, like the Connie or FJR.

There's 2 K1600's - a GT and an LT (I think).  One is less tour-bling.

 - Dan

[Dan K]

I get to switch bikes with some of my riding buds, as well as taking brutal advantage of dealer demo days to thrash whatever sportbikes and tourers they're featuring.  So I understand what you're saying about high-end conventional suspensions vs. the duolever.  All I'm saying is that with experience you can get all the feedback an ordinary rider needs, once you figure out how to read the signals.  On the track, would the difference cost you a few hundredths of a second here and there?  Probably, I guess, given the outlandish sums the folks at Ohlins get away with charging.  On the street, it's more about how well you understand what the bike is telling you, regardless of the suspension configuration.  100% of the loss-of-control crashes among riders of my acquaintance (quite a few, since I've been riding for 45 years) have been aboard those allegedly superior inverted-fork mounts.

I hear ya - the few times I've thrashed a BMW with duolever (rental GS and friend's K1200S) I didn't feel much, and just trusted it without going anywhere near traction limits.  Heck, even at the track I don't come close to those limits unless I'm really in the groove. (And in reality, I'm probably nowhere near those limits even though it feels like it...)

For me it was learning to trust it, and once I did I had great fun.  I do plan to own a K1300S one day.  If not, a Busa or ZX14 if I can handle the insurance...this one guy on ST-N has a beautiful silver ZX14 with a top case decked out for touring that makes me drool every time I see it...I imagine that would be the inexpensive way of getting to what I love about the BMW without the ESA.

- Dan

[ConPilot1]

Was the K1300GT a duolever suspension?? I really know jack squat about it. All I know is I could do no wrong on the bike.

The handling and suspension were two of the things that really impressed me.