Pretty cool bike. I still haven't gotten used to the looks of it. It's a kind of "Boy, that sucker's butt-ugly, but it's at least got a roundel on it, so it's gotta be good" thing.
Well, slowly growing on me. But the handlebars look like they're straight from Judge Dredd. Have to wonder if the prototype of this bike might have been what was used in the movie.
And it's hard to describe the shape of the bike's butt. With the trunk and fender. Kinda "tacky futuristic". Which actually describes how I feel about the look of the whole thing.
And, true to form, I'm having a problem with it on day one. The electric-adjustable windscreen quit working. Unfortunately, while in the lowest position. The fuse isn't blown and replacing the fuse didn't solve the problem. I'll take it back to the dealer soon and have them replace this windscreen with the taller one that was on the bike I almost got.
This one's charcoal gray and I got it because for $200 *less*, I got a 6-disk CD changer (in addition to the standard single-disk), anti-theft, push-button locking/unlocking of all compartments, and a really cool lighting feature that runs for about 20 seconds after you turn off the key and illuminates the ground around the bike.
It was cheaper because it was shipped before a $900 price hike.
So, looks that'll have to grow on me and the windscreen adjuster quit. Add to that the fact that any accessory is really expensive (like the $1600 GPS that'll be installed when I take it in for the 600 mile service or the windscreen repair/replacement), and I think that covers all the negatives.
It's considerably more top-heavy than the Wing, but being a former 82 CBX owner, I know that though this bike is probably about the most top-heavy thing currently available, it's a comparative lightweight in that department.
Turning radius is huge, too, and, exactly like the Wing, it's really not meant to be wrestled around in slow traffic or parking lots if you've got a 30-inch inseam like I do.
Oh, and for down-low sheer grunt, this thing is a moped compared to the Wing. Which doesn't bother me. I've said before that the amount of torque the Honda makes is obscene, totally unnecessary, and I'd gladly trade a couple buckets of it for other features.
And that's what I seem to have gotten with the K1200LT.
Where do I even start with the kudos for this machine?!?
Or, how do I adore this bike? Let me count (some of) the ways.
1. The electro-hydraulic centerstand is too cool for words! I've never had problems with centerstands. It's simply a matter of using them correctly. Put it down, rock the bike back and forth to make sure both legs of the stand are planted, then simply stand on the lever while lifting. Most people think it's all in the lifting. It's not. Not when you can put about 200 lbs down on the lever.
But this things gonna spoil me. I was showing the wife the centerstand thing and couldn't help giggling. I get that big a kick out of it. Put it in neutral, push the button, and the bike heaves itself up onto the stand. Too cool!
2. Reverse. The Wing actually has the Beemer beat on this count, discounting the times the Wing has made grinding noises rather than backing up. The Wing's reverse engages with a push-button, while the K requires turning a lever on the left side that's pretty tough to do while rocking the bike back and forth to get the cogs lined up so it'll slip into reverse. Don't want to park this thing downhill against a curb. I've used reverse 5 times so far, and it has yet to engage without rocking the bike back and forth. And the reverse gives out under far less load than the one on the Wing did. But, I'm glad to have it. 800+ lb bikes shouldn't be missing this feature.
The K automatically brings the engine revs up to about 2500 rpm when you hit the starter/reverse button. Nice touch. On the Wing, I got into the habit of giving it throttle while backing up so the alternator could give the starter more juice. Made a noticeable difference in backing speed.
3. Far fewer controls and though the handlebar ones aren't backlit (same on the Wing but at least 4 times as many controls), they're easy to find in the dark. It's going to take a while to get used to the left turn-signal paddle being on the left bar and right paddle on the right. I'm going through mental contortions reminiscent of riding old Triumphs.
As an aside, the same dealer is a Triumph dealer. The Rocket looks awesome! 2300cc 3-cylinder engine. I bet that thing makes crazy torque. And is the kind of bike on which obscene torque would seem more appropriate.
4. Push-button electric-motor movement of the windscreen is very cool. Until it croaked. You can adjust windscreen height while rolling. I love this feature because when I'm going slow enough that wind isn't a huge factor, I prefer to have the top of the screen below my line of sight. It's possible to adjust the Wing's windscreen manually while riding it, but it's neither easy nor advisable.
5. Thanks to higher revs (8k vs what I think was 6k on the Wing) and a less-muted exhaust note, and a 4-cylinder engine instead of the pancake 6, the engine has more personality. The Wing's engine is a soulless overpowered behemoth with the delivery of a freight train's electric motor, and that's cool in its own right. It's nice to have a motor with a personality again though. I guess I missed the "motor" in "motorcycle".
6. Heated grips and seats (two levels of heat for all 3) standard. On the Wing, "Freeze, suckah!"
7. 8 speakers vs 2. Need I say more? The sound quality is typical of high-end OEM stuff in that it's good but not great. Really smokes the Wing in the audio department, though. Especially with 7 CD's on board. I'll try to find out tomorrow whether or not these CD players can do MP3's. The manual doesn't mention it and the dealer didn't know.
8. The Wing has a side pocket with a 1/8" stereo plug-in just right for an iPod. Nothing even close to this on the K. Score a big one for the Wing here. I really need my iPod for any long riding, and it's not going to be easy or inexpensive to make this bike work with the iPod. And then there's no compartment really handy for it, but I'm sure there's something out there to handlebar-mount it. What I'd really love to see is a system that plugs into the bottom of the iPod (so it can charge while being used) with iPod controls built into/onto the vehicle. I seem to recall hearing some car was coming out with this as an option. Doesn't help me.
If the CD players don't do MP3's (and I'm not optimistic that they do), I'll have to pony up for the iPod adaptor for the stereo and go through all the work of installing it. It looks like a royally tough job.
9. I haven't measured, but these trunks look a bit bigger than the Wing's. Especially the saddlebags.
10. Surprisingly nimble for as top-heavy as it is. It just might be the Wing's equal as a corner-carver, and the Wing (pre frame-breakage) was not only a good corner carver for its size, it was just a plain good corner carver. I'm not used to the K enough to start pushing it yet, but it feels like it can be flicked over to the pegs more quickly, and looks like it'll go over more steeply than the Wing.
11. BC. Deutsch for "Onboard Computer". Where the Wing can only only display ambient temperature for 10 seconds or until you hit a radio control, the BMW has it on display all the time. Or average fuel economy. Or miles left in the tank. Or average mph. None of which the Wing can display. And having practically a fetish about watching and increasing fuel ecomony, this is a big deal to me. BTW, well over 50 mpg so far.
Might be a problem with speedo calibration, though, and it might be artificially deflating or inflating MPG figures. I got passed by an irate driver in a 60-mph zone when I was doing an indicated 60. On a road well-known for cops that'll pull you over for 61. It's happened to me. Anyway, when this guy passed me, I kept it at 60 and reset the average mph display and it was only indicating 54. Either the speedo or the average is off by about 10%. I'll be asking the dealer to check into this.
12. The Wing uses a very flimsy sidestand. Reason: So it'll break instead of the flimsy aluminum frame. Not so the Beemer. Massive sidestand.
13. From what I can tell, the frame appears to be hydroformed. I want to check into this further. It's either hydroformed or a very nice casting. I haven't found a weld yet. I don't think I'll find any. Pretty sure this is a one-piece frame and it's a LOT beefier-looking than the Wing's.
While on the subject of frames, especially my Wing's cracked one, I got two good cracked-frame stories out of this visit to the dealership.
I overheard the salesman talking to a customer who'd taken one of these home for an overnight test-drive and was asking him the plusses and minusses of it. Pretty much the same list as mine. The customer told the salesman he likes the bike plenty but a friend of his had told him that if he wants a luxo-tourer, he needs to also check out the Wing. The salesman (who knew my Wing woes) smiled and whipped out the ace of spades "Bob, you've got a Gold Wing, right? What do you think of it?"
The customer may or may not have become a Wing owner on his own. He was at least a potential buyer. Until I finished my story. He ended up buying the one he test-drove. Chalk up one potential sale Honda lost courtesy of yours truly. And the more, the merrier.
Second side story: I was outside having a smoke with a rider who was on his way to Vancouver from North Carolina (small world, Matt?) and mentioned I was buying the K to replace an 03 Wing that's been in the shop for 2 months. His reply "Frame crack, eh?"
Turned out a friend of his had rented one in Colorado and had ridden it two-up up and down Pikes Peak at a spirited pace, then when he was in town and hit a railroad crossing at 35 mph, the bike because two unicycles. Fortunately, it just dragged on the ground to a stop and nobody was hurt.
Where was I? Oh. Counting the ways.
14. In what I've learned is typical BMW fashion from riding some high-mileage boxers long ago that felt like new bikes, when you throw your leg over this thing, it seems to say "You and I are gonna be riding together for many years." Oops. What it actually says is "Wir solte viele Jahre zusammen fahren." :) It's just got a certain "feel" to it. Of robustness and reliability.
15. Also in typical BMW fashion, everything is beautifully crafted when looked upon with the eye of one who appreciates mechanical simplicity and elegance. Even the hidden pieces as crafted as carefully as if they were going to be displayed in a museum.
16. Tool kits. BMW: "Wow! Even a lug wrench?!? What's this? A tire repair kit with CO2 inflators?". Honda: "That's a tool kit? LOL!!! All this motorcycle for all this money and I get loose pot-metal pliers? Joke's on me!"
17. The Beemer costs about the same as the Wing. They're both in the "If you gotta ask...." area for motorcycles. With the Honda, you get a LOT more motor. With the BMW, you get a lot more motorcycle.
18. Mixed feelings on the close-ratio BMW tranny. Seems a little out of place for a luxo-tourer. There's barely a 1k rpm drop between gears except for 5th. But without the Wing's stump-pulling grunt, close ratios can't be too bad a thing. The Wing's motor is such a brute, it could've easily gotten away with 3 or maybe even 2 gears.
19. Servo-assisted brakes. An answer to a question nobody asked, but pretty cool nonetheless. I think this thing has bigger rotors than the Wing, but I never felt the Wing was lacking in whoa power. I'm waiting until these are bedded in before really trying out the binders. On this subject, the BMW has ABS. It was an option I purposely avoided on the Wing. I despise ABS. Good idea for most people. I resent a machine trying to do any of my driving for me and have yet to meet the ABS system I couldn't outbrake on my own. Maybe BMW has it together, though. If anyone would, they would.
20. I've never owned a vehicle, including the Super-Duty trucks I get, that have horns as loud as this bike's.
21. Radio controls a bit on the cumbersome side, but it might just be a matter of getting used to them. You can't change volume or stations with your hand wrapped around the grip like you can on the Wing. On the plus side, the passenger has a dupe set of controls.
22. The Wing's instruments look gaudy and outdated in comparison.
23. I think the Wing is definitely the prettier of the two bikes. Especially my blue one and Matt's yellow one.
Huge list and post, but it's really only scratching the surface of how after only about 30 miles, I already like this bike a lot more than I ever liked the Wing.
And now I'll have to figure out what to do about the Wing. I don't need two luxo-tourers. But all signs seem to indicate it could be quite a while before I have to see it again. And I'm sure I'm going to end up selling it for less than what I owe on it.
I think I should ride the BMW to the Honda dealership tomorrow to get paperwork out of the Wing's bags while the bike's in pieces all over the shop. And to personally have a look at the frame. If I do, I'll make sure to wait until a prospective Honda customer is nearby before deploying the centerstand. <g>
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