K1300S First Impressions

[radlefty]

I picked up a brand new 2011 K1300S 2 weeks ago. I've put 750 miles on it with 3 trips down the Mississippi Rive Road between 150-175 miles. The rest has of the mileage has been commuting.  A quick background of my previous riding. Started riding in 1978 at the age of 17 on a Yamaha RD 400 and after almost killing myself on it proceeded to ride and own a number of standards and cruisers for many yrs before purchasing a 2007 Moto Guzzi Norge in 2008 and then a 2007 Triumph Sprint last yr. Almost all of my bikes have been twins and triples and I absolutely loved both the Norge and the Sprint for their great all around capabilities to do everything I want a bike to do.  Still not sure what drew me to the Beemer, as every inline 4 I'd ridden before has absolutely bored me,  but after a test ride I was hooked.  
On the dealer floor before my test ride.

The ergos would seem to be almost perfect for me. With a 26 degree forward lean, it's just slightly less forward then the Sprint at  a 30 degree lean and I was able to comfortably put on 700 mile days with the Sprint. The power is obviously ridiculous and even though I still prefer the more visceral feel of my twins and triples, I find myself enjoying the on demand power in any gear at any time of the Beemer.  I find the low speed handling to be excellent and actually better then the Sprint and equal to the Norge. My first ride down the river road gave me a chance to start using more of the features of the Bike. Mine came with shift assist and I assumed that I wouldn't like it and thought it was kind of a stupid feature. And while I don't like or use it in town (feels clunky and abrupt at low speed)  I have to admit that when you want to go from zero to um... something faster in a hurry it's a pretty cool feature.  
First stop on river road

After riding for awhile on hwy 35 along the river I started heading down many of the alphabet roads on the Wisconsin side of the river. For those who aren't familiar with the area, there are a number of surprisingly twisty roads between Prescott and  Lacrosse Wi.  

I also have ESA and have to say that is definitely a nice option. Going from normal to sport suspension was a noticeable difference and to be able to do it on the fly at the touch of a button is pretty cool. Even though the bike has a relatively long wheelbase I found side to side transitions to be on par with the Sprint which is shorter and lighter and better then the Norge.  Roll on acceleration is intoxicating and I can't even imagine what it's like after getting the break in mileage down pushing it even harder. I seriously doubt I will ever be able to use the bikes full potential without serious risk of losing my license!  Other impressions. The brakes are outstanding, Headlights are very good, dash is very well laid out and everything is very intuitive and easy to read and use. The faring and windshield are very good for a low profile bike and give me a pretty clean airflow with minimal buffeting.  Only complaints so far. Kickstand is a piece of crap. Already fixed it with an aftermarket "foot" that gives it a much more stable feeling when parking it. Thats it for complaints!  Overall, I'd have to say the K1300S is a very well designed and executed motor bike and I'm looking forward to putting on some long days next summer. It's going to be a long winter.

[zenduddhist]

Very nice bike!  I appreciate the detailed report.  I wish the ergonomics worked for me on that bike, I would love to have one.  But, I am of the "sit up and beg" riding style...

Congratulations!!

[Stripes]

Congrats on the new bike! I really like it in red! I've never seen one that color... Enjoy your new ride!  

[2RR2NV]

do you mind if i ask how much OTD it was?  just curious...

[chiltech500]

Awesome ride, keep us posted with reviews as you break her in.  

[Justin]

Very nice  

[Jetpilot5]

Sounds good.  You're right about the side stand being a little dicey.  Be sure to always have the bike in gear if you park on the side stand.  I know a few bikes have flopped when left in neutral.

[mellow_gold]

Thanks for the write up.  I am totally in love with my ST and when I look around the market at what I will someday replace my Sprint 1050 with, the K1300S is about the only other bike on the market that checks most of the right boxes for me.

What made you move from the ST to the BMW?  Does it feel as sporty as the ST?

[radlefty]

do you mind if i ask how much OTD it was?  just curious...

List was $18,495 which included a $450 destination charge. I got it for $15,900 plus tax & license.  They also took my 1995 Moto Guzzi Sport 1100 on trade which I wasn't looking forward to trying to sell after taking almost 2 yrs to sell my Norge. They gave me as much on the trade as I figured I'd get trying to sell it outright, so overall I thought it was a pretty good deal.

[2RR2NV]

List was $18,495 which included a $450 destination charge. I got it for $15,900 plus tax & license.  They also took my 1995 Moto Guzzi Sport 1100 on trade which I wasn't looking forward to trying to sell after taking almost 2 yrs to sell my Norge. They gave me as much on the trade as I figured I'd get trying to sell it outright, so overall I thought it was a pretty good deal.

Roger that!

thanks

[Royal Tiger]

Sweet bike!!!!  Congrats!

[MisterSmooth]

These are brilliant bikes.    Congratulations!   Great build quality, too.

Keep us all updated as you put on the miles.  

I spent a little time on Major 662's K1300S.   Power everywhere all the time, at any revs.   Golly, what a motor!  

[radlefty]

Thanks for the write up.  I am totally in love with my ST and when I look around the market at what I will someday replace my Sprint 1050 with, the K1300S is about the only other bike on the market that checks most of the right boxes for me.

What made you move from the ST to the BMW?  Does it feel as sporty as the ST?

Even though I only had my Sprint for less then 2 yrs it was definitely the best bike I've ever owned. The one thing that made me nervous about it was lack of parts availability. Last fall I waited 6 weeks for a simple part. I still had my Norge at the time, so I was still able to ride, but it started me thinking about future parts availability on a discontinued bike. As much as I loved my Norge, the Sprint just fit me better and I really enjoyed the extra power and better handling. I have test ridden and rented a lot of Sport-Tourers the last few yrs and it has become apparent that something with ergos in the 20 to 30 degree forward lean provides me with the best comfort. Anything less eventually puts strain on my low back and anything more is too severe on my upper back and neck. So that tends to narrow the list down quite a bit. I really can  only afford one bike at a time, so I need something that I commute on, tour on and have fun in the twisty's on. As far as the K bike being as sporty as the Sprint, I don't think I will know for sure until I tour next summer and hit the mountains, but it would appear to be on par with the Sprint even though it's a bit longer and heavier. Time will also tell if I can enjoy the inline 4 motor as much as I loved the Sprint's 1050 motor. Right now, I'd say no, as I find myself missing the more visceral feel of the triple, but again, until I put several thousand miles on it, it's hard to know for sure. It's definitely a great bike, but I find myself dreaming about Triumph coming out with a bike with a similar platform that would compete with the K bike but with that wonderful triple motor. Now that would be the perfect Sport-Tourer.

[Stripes]

I know where you're coming from. I definitely loved my Sprint more than I like my GT. My Sprint was by far my favorite bike ever, but for long distance touring the GT just does touring stuff better. I wish I would've kept my Sprint & just took the bags & rails & farkles off & used it as my sporty fun bike.

[KodiakRS]

Any issues with buzzing or vibration?

I can't get the wind issue on my multistrada sorted out so it's going away and I'm looking at a k1300s as a replacement.  

[Dan K]

Funny thread for me.  I have two friends with K1300S in the garage and I love that bike to death.  Have a couple spirited rides on both.

Current main ride is an '06 Sprint 1050 ABS.  I've always said that the dream replacement for the Sprint is the K1300S.  Yes, you lose a little visceral feel from the Sprint, as the K1300S is electric smooth, but the power on that bike is intoxicating.  Plus, the ESA really is amazing when you go from smooth highway to crappy roads.

I don't think it can jazz the twisties like the Sprint can, but it's close.  Around here (northern suburbs of Chicago) you need some long distance ability to get to twisties and the K1300S can handle all but the most technical stuff with ease.  Great bike.  I can see one in my garage one day when I'm done with the Sprint.  Only complaint for me on the Sprint is the lights at night.  They don't show you anything ahead of you when leaned over. At all.  Otherwise, love it.

Enjoy the new bike!

 -Dan

[falconati]

Man, I love all the choices we have with motorcycles today (especially given how small the market is in the US).  I want to love this bike, but can't.  It's just not for me, and my main complaint is power.  I test rode a K1200R maybe 4 years ago and loved the items you spoke of (ESA, brakes, overall build quality and attention to detail), but I couldn't get over how much motor it was!  Another minor annoyance was the manual speedo - that bike is way too fast for that and the numbers are too small as a result.

Enjoy it!  As I recall, the seat is another plus - I found it very comfortable.  Do you have any modifications planned?

[mellow_gold]

Interesting.  I have the same concerns with parts/reliability as you and that causes my eyes to wander.    I really dislike my local Triumph dealer but the nearest alternative is 200km away. Sometimes it makes me wish I just rode a Honda  

I am super excited about the (slim?) possibility of a Yamaha three cylinder sport touring bike appearing on the market sometime soon.

[radlefty]

"Any issues with buzzing or vibration?"
Nope bike is smooth throughout the power band. Almost to smooth. You need to look down to make sure of your speed. On my twins & triples I always know when I'm going fast. On the K bike your going really fast way before you realize it!  
Dan, your right about the lights on the Sprint. They are crap. I've started describing the K1300 as a Sprint with shaft drive on steroids! Plus a whole lot of really cool features, ESA...  

"Do you have any modifications planned?"   Only thing I've done so far is put a touratech foot thing on the side stand so I don't have to worry about it falling over.  Only other thing I "need" is a throttle lock for touring.  Biggest decision I have to make is luggage. I really like locking luggage for touring and it's convenient for commuting also. I find the BMW panniers to be absolutely hideous, so If I go that route I'll go with Givi. But at $800 I might just stay with soft luggage for now. I used a Bags Connection tail bag on my Sprint and it worked really well. Along with a tank bag, I can carry everything I need. I do a fair amount of hiking when I travel, and it's just really nice to be able to lock everything away. Other then that, the bike seems really set up for me ergo wise and I'm fine with the look of the stock pipe, so probably won't do anything else.

[Montyburns]

FWIW, I made the same leap (Triumph Sprint 1050 to K1200S) last May for pretty much the same reasons.  I only put about 5K on the Beemer last summer but found it to be extremely comfortable for long days of riding and, of course, scary fast.  I'm sure that it should concern me more that I can cruise along at 80-90 mph on the Beemer and feel like I'm going 60 but I guess I'm too busy enjoying it to be properly concerned.  The one place I do miss the Sprint and her amazing 1050 triple is in the tighter curves.  The Sprint dived into the tight turns while I still feel like I'm pulling (I guess pushing, technically) the Beemer into them.  However, the Beemer is not too bad in the curves considering that, compared to the Sprint, it's about 50 lbs chunkier and has a wheelbase that's 5" longer.  I'll be interested in getting an update on your impressions this summer when you've had more time on your new bike.  Also,  if you figure out a good throttle lock or cruise-control that's cheaper than the $1000 one from Pirate's Lair I'd be interested in learing about that as well.