kenno

I agree with your assessment of Sirius "radio" -- it is crap, has been for the 10 or more years I have had free trials in this car or that car. I even have an xm radio in my current car, and add to the BS: No channel 100! You get Jason Ellis for your shock jock. Jock itch, more like it. I got a 12 month free trial for the K1600, I asked nicely for them to suspend it that first winter, that said "No." and I don't even count this issue amongst the reasons I hate them. Sometimes for fun I put it on channel 08 and hold my breath until they play "Come On Eileen" -- I have not passed out yet. Worst song EVER. K

I just spoke to my guy, they are using the French Fry courier (Day & Ross) to move it from Paspebiac, Quebec to Dieppe, New Brunswick I should have asked for the tracking number, just so I could say "There're goin the wrong way!" because you know, at one point or another, that is true. I included a map so you can follow along at home. That is a 500km (300miles) drive, light traffic, 6h 12m, if you believe the Win X Map App. Even though I have not "seen" my bike, I can look at it, because the dealer who has/had it had it on their web site. It is a real looker. Still haven't seen a red one. K

One and only quirk I have noticed with Bluetooth m/c headsets is there is a slight delay (analog-digital-analog) noticeable any time your ears can hear your conversation opponent (their actual voice), coming in around the speakers for lack of a better explanation. K

Still no Bike. The Dominion Day holiday can't help, but it is at least behind us. Let's see what this week brings.

just to be clear, the passenger sits on the back seat?

Thanks. I try to keep my comparison scientific rather than emotional. If I went by emotion, I might sound like I can't make up my mind. K

Has anyone installed the accessory heated passenger grips? I was thinking I would get them -- my wife has cold hands in her gloves at times, and it looks like a good option. K

1st thing, rest assured I know better than to look away from the road while riding, but thanks as well for the reminders. I tried both ride modes, I used the cruise control, and I had set the display to Nav just for fun, as I was unfamiliar with the route, I paid more attention to the chaps riding ahead of me than anything. I drew stares from the other riders when I took the TC for a couple "almost falling over" slow speed loops just outside the turning radius while still in the parking lot, getting a feel for the bike at that speed. I backed the bike into its space using the electric motor. I got a chance to try many configurations of air conditioning, using the smoked plastic deflectors in a few positions, and the windshield up, down, not all the way, helmet shield up, down, different combinations. I was almost done the ride, 30 minutes in or so and it occurred to me I had not shifted my bottom in the saddle. That says a lot, the seat is very comfortable. I am not used to the feet-forward seating but at my most natural "feet go here" position I doubt I would ever require highway pegs, they might be too hard to reach without sitting on my tailbone, but people come in different heights, and my 5'11" height is made up using 30" inseams. I started out in tour mode, I like the balance of v-twin shudder with the lack of overall vibration. My test rider had 18,900+ kms or about 13K miles so it is not squeaky clean, and that is helpful on a tester, the left mirror was busted probably from an incident on the trailer. I see how the sport mode is aptly named, and all things considered, I think the majority of use I would see would be in tour mode. If I want a sport bike, I can always get one. I want a tour bike. Short-shifting up through the gears on an average highway on ramp, using my intrinsic skill of knowing how fast I am going based on noise, had me going 85 MPH before I got to the merge spot, in T mode, so there's that. Easy shifts once I discovered where the shifter was. I brake almost exclusively with the front lever, on the K1600 that gives you all the front and as much rear as can be offered. I thought the TC was braking rather anemically until I realized the UBS is unified differently than I am used. On my second attempt to slow the beast I discovered very strong braking, not that "glazed pads" scare from my first attempt. I gave myself about 600 feet to stop the first time and needed most of it. The next attempt, I gave myself 200 feet and stopped 100 feet shy. Impressions? A well balanced bike, super nimble at speed, disguises its weight very well, as torque-y as they come. Forget horsepower, that is frankly not a factor to consider outside "top-speed" challengers. Torque represents a net physical change, and we experience that change as thrill. The 2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour (GL) is too fat in the seat to call comfortable standing with feet planted on the ground, they got the shape wrong. The bike feels fat while moving slowly and feels like a tractor at speed, I also find the front suspension distracting -- the bike moves odd at slow speed and you can actually see the wheel carrier bouncing up and down as you move over bumps even at highway speeds. It feels less like a bike than the GL1500 & GL1800 I have owned. The luggage is too small. The 2015 BWM K1600 GTL Exclusive (K1600) is a sport bike with enough luggage and large enough seat and windshield to use enjoyably two-up, but it is not comfortable over distance. The seating and foot placement is set up for dragging your knees in a fast sweeper. BMW has managed the same thing with bikes as they do with cars -- honey, the 330i x-drive sedan is a family far, not a sports car! The K1600 is a sport bike with luggage. BMW talks a storm about low centre of gravity, but the K1600 is seriously top-heavy. Goes like a sport bike, stops like a sport bike, hurts like a sport bike. Sport bike. The Yamaha Venture TC (TC) is most like a bike. It is large, but the engine scaled with the rest of the bike, the feel of it a slow speeds? Bike. At highway speeds? Bike. Passing other vehicles on the highway? Bike. Accelerating, braking, getting on and off? Bike. Bike bike bike. It is a good feeling to have while shopping for a bike. Its two-person capabilities make it a better Tour bike than these others. I really only had two questions, neither had anything to do with a test ride -- 1) what colour? and 2) when? Before I left the dealer I had my answers. I decided if I want one I had better help. The way I help is 2 parts persistence for 1 part of assistance. I knew a dealer in Quebec with two. I asked my salesman to call them, right now, and ask for the bike. He didn't know where they were, or their name. I introduced him to the Windows 10 Maps app and we got their number off their website, I told him the name of the dealer. Fortunately he spoke french. I listened patiently to their conversation and with what little french I understand it seemed things were going swell and for some reason they were talking about MT-10s. Once hung up, he said "we can have it, they don't want anything on trade, and he has a couple of MT-10s if we want those too." 1) Grey Meanwhile, I mentioned earlier to the Yamaha rep that I was having trouble 'getting' this bike, he went on a mission of his own. Long story short the dealership will soon have two Venture TCs in inventory with one being mine. 2) Next week. Some time in the next 7 days, I should have a Venture to call my own, it will be Gray, which is excellent, I really don't care about the colour. I can't wait! My salesman intimated they would have to have more money from me in order to go to Quebec to get the bike. I said "You should have thought about that BEFORE you got me to sign a bill of sale." K

These are all helpful remarks, I appreciate the input. I will remember to try out the modes, S for Sport and T for Tire-saver. The shorter windshield should not be too big a distraction should I have the Eluder not the Venture TC to try. With my experience riding the 2018 Goldwing I might offer some insight across the spectrum comparing the K1600 GTL to the GL1800 and the Venture TC, it will be exciting to give it it's first ride. I was able to try a K1600 out before I bought mine but my first Goldwing (1989 GL1500,) I rode it for the first time on the way home from buying it. But of a shocker, I scraped the left peg pulling on to the road leaving the dealership. Less drama is appreciated. I enjoyed reading your remarks. K

Unless it is an Eluder. The salesman said he would call me but it's a 2.5h drive to the dealer so I won't find out until I get there and see what's what. They said "One of "Venture TC or Eluder" would be available for test pilots. What I wonder is (anyone who has ridden both, please) can I get a good sense of the Venture TC while on an Eluder? I think yes, it's just a trunk missing, right? Adding a passenger would be a larger variation in riding experience than adding a trunk. Just my opinion, and I don't have to remind anyone, my opinion is worthless. I asked my salesman AGAIN yesterday "when" am I going to get my new bike, he still can't say. I have a theory someone is on a slow boat from Japan with it right now. It has been many years (15 or so) since I last owned a V-twin bike, a 2001 V-Star 1100 Classic. A few years ago I rode my friend's Suzuki M-109 but as you know, that is a tiny engine compared to a 113 ci power plant. I did not much like the riding position, it was the motorcycle equivalent to that Maxell ad, you know the one, where the guy is sitting in the chair being blown away listening to "Rio" or "Hungry Like the Wolf" for the 500th time. When we swapped bikes back after that ride, and I got back on my 2006 GL1800 Goldwing, I had a renewed sense of belonging. I am ready for tomorrow, I put my preconceived notions on a shelf, and I have the helmet, boots, jacket, gloves ready to go into the trunk of the car. I would take the K1600 but I need to bring home a 50 lb bag of pizza flour, and that's just too much for the bike trunk to haul. One pothole and I would look like Tony Montana (giant cloud of powdery white substance) say hello to my little friend. K

... gentlemen opened a door for ANYONE, male, female, pre-operative, post-operative, didn't matter. ... people could turn into a driveway without coming to a complete stop. ... you needed a dime to visit a toilet at the shopping centre. ... children could occupy themselves, typically outdoors, doing an activity. ... you offered to help people, across the street, with their groceries, odd jobs around the house. ... you made eye contact with strangers and said "hello" without provocation ... you folder the pull tab on a can of coke and put it in the can for safe keeping. ... "pardon me" meant " am in your way, not "you are in mine" as it now has come to mean. ... "so" was not used in place of very, as in " I am so sorry" (should be very) rather it was used as intended, paired with a that, such as "I am so hungry THAT I might collapse." or "You were gone so long THAT I almost considered calling the cops." ... cop was almost a derogatory remark. ... a family of five got along fine with a SINGLE bathroom. Contrast that with now, just my wife and I in the house, 3 full baths! ... a child wanted to work alongside his parent or elder. ... bread came by truck, thanks to Murray the Bread Man and he would leave a 1/2 dozen loaves of white wonder bread in the bread box, an adapted tea box (2' cube made of thin wood lined with foil filled with loose tea) outside the back door. We had a Milk man, a diaper man , several garbagemen, a mail man we new, a drycleaning man, a plain white van often came around with a dude selling candy apples and cotton candy to area children... K

It sounds like the conventional wisdom on cooling is the air cooled engines give off more heat, and liquid cooling keeps operating temperatures lower. That's just my opinion, and I should remind readers that my opinion means nothing. I like a good contradiction as much as the next guy. The "gives off heat" the most bike in my experience was my 2003 FJR1300. Was liquid cooled, I rode it 12 summers and I can make two observations: 1) it was famous for being "too hot" and 2) I never found it to be too hot. "You must hate the heat" states passerby (who are you picturing when I mention a random passerby?) just-educated-enough to be harmful. Any idea why I am wearing shorts on the bike after sunset, and enjoying it? The only time I ever burned myself while on a bike was when my bare lower left leg touched the left cylinder head on my 2006 GL1800 Gold Wing. Again with the shorts. No ATGAAT for this dude, I dress for the ride, not the crash. What would you wear to protect yourself from being trampled by an oncoming big rig? Kuryakyn highway pegs in case you are wondering "why did he have is leg where it could be burned?" I liked the remark the chap made about "it's all air cooled." That's an insightful observation. Seems the reason to choose remote air cooling as opposed to local air cooling, is availability of air. Passive cooling, or active cooling. Inevitably active cooling will become known as proactive cooling. Passive will be renamed in-situ, you know how people are.... "Pardon me kind sir, was the Moto Cycle you offered for sale being of a variety of those cooled in-situ, or mayhap it possess that fancy, new-fangled proactive cooling?" Must be in the distant past, for in the future, people will come to claim to know everything and questions will become obsolete, and a direct-charge model will be enforced. Car salesman: That's three questions sir, I am afraid you own me 90 dollars! Customer: Do you take Visa? Nuts! I wish my new bike would show up so I can finally learn the colour, and get in some riding. I have been passing the time by reading the owner's manual. It has been over a week since I signed the bill of sale, still no confirmation on delivery. To amuse myself I have been looking at autotrader.ca and kijiji.ca to see which Yamaha dealers have bikes, in case an in-transit swap is executed. I also have been trying to find the "Star Motorcycles" cap I got in 2001 when I got my V-Star 1000 Classic. It was the red and white one, if I can call that 'white.' The bike was, not the hat, it was a few shades of grey. So far I have examined at least 3 caches of baseball caps and no sign of it yet. Still places to look, my optimism is mid-range. K

Almost exactly a year ago I took two lengthy test rides, an hour or more each, on a couple bikes I am interested in, the Yamaha MT-10 and BMW S1000R. These bikes were both an absolute riot to ride. The truth is it is hard to imagine which you might want, because they are so similar. Great torque, rush of acceleration, stopping power, enticing exhaust sound. Both so ugly they're cute. And then I think about the service on the BMW, them plugging in their computer and calling Munich to see what's up, the "hundred dollars for oil + filter" thing, the ability to address one issue and create another. Makes it an easier decision, but part of me likes the idea of something a bit exotic. Wait up, Japanese is exotic too! July 22nd I am going on a BMW test ride event I am trying something I have been curious about for years -- the R1200GS Adventure. Apparently it is a bike you can ride all day every day and never get sore, or so I hear. I am also going to ride an R Nine T. BMW charges $20 per ride, so I try to limit the number of bikes I try out. I can share what I learn about the GS as well. K

Most of the pictures I have seen online are studio shots, it really makes a difference in the sunlight. I am sort of hoping for Red now, but I do not feel as though Gray will be any disappointment. If I get the Gray one I will get the wheels powder coated bright white. That would look sharp. Or not. The dealer nearest my home has a Gray one but they are in no mood to send it off so I can buy it. They are also THOUSANDS of dollars off on the deal I have inked to get the thing. I gave them the first shot at it and they were unable to make a legitimate offer. And now the bike sits and waits and gathers dust. Like me. K

Thanks for that -- if I am honest, the K1600 is the least fun of my last 10 bikes. They look sooooo good in print. Another oddity I forgot to mention, b/c I am so used to the peculiarity of it, don't ever release the bars and think you are going to roll with no hands for a few seconds -- the bike seriously can't roll straight. Even one-handed you notice you have to constantly put a little input into it to go straight. Push the left side, or pull on the right, just a bit, to keep straight. Some K1600 owners shared a similar experience, and some may have been too embarrassed to admit it. Glad I can help.

I know I said I did not care about colour, but I like the Red. I have only seen the grey in person, it is also nice. K

http://i63.tinypic.com/2zgewdy.jpg http://i66.tinypic.com/hvse46.jpg I believe these are pictures of my bike. K

I tried to upload a picture, site says I am not logged in, that's no fun. Oddly enough, my userid is displayed at the top of this page, seems logged in to me. I will describe the picture I am trying to upload. It is a 3/4 oblique (right rear) slight elevation, showing a motorcycle, mineral white metallic in colour, leaning away on its side stand. It is evident that the vehicle has not been cleaned since last season, and as well, the colours hide dirt meh well. I grow weary...

Sure! I have had mine since new April 2015. I put 30000 kms on it in the three seasons since. In the first year alone, it consumed 5 tires, 2 fronts, 3 rears. I ride as conservative as I can to save tires, but 130 ft-lbs of torque and the tires are just gone in no time. It is a real head turner, I am well aware of all the stares I get riding around. I have done the majority of miles with my wife on the back, so no hooliganism. She does not like it as much as either GL1500 or GL1800 we have owned, she complains the seat is too slippery. I have her sit on a drawer liner and that helps. It is 750lbs some such it is lighter than a GL and the wind profile is very different from a GL, you notice air blasts from other vehicles more and in a very strong gusting cross breeze the bike subconsciously leans into the wind. You never feel sheltered from the wind, it is more like you can control the air that hits you, and as a result, both rider and passenger are more comfortable on a hot day, anything in the 70's or higher. I got the regular height seat because I have regular height (5'11" with 31" inseam) but in hindsight, I should have got the tall seat option. The regular seat puts just a bit too much bend in your legs, and aching knees is what spells "time to get off and walk around a bit". It is not as bad as my FJR1300 but in the same ilk. The GTL Exclusive has all the whistles, the electronic adjusting suspension is very nice. in comfort mode, you barely realize you are in contact with the ground. I was told I would find the Hossack front end a bit unsettling at low speeds, but as far as I can say, it handles like a motorcycle. (I test rode a 2018 Gold Wing a week ago, that thing steers ODD and low speeds. It is as if it has a rudder, anyway, I ruled it out after trying to put my helmet in its trunk.) I like the "wonder wheel" that controls all the settings, some hate it, I found with a bit of practice I could perform setting say, turn the heated grips on, without looking away from the road. The peeves? It is a 13-hour job to check and adjust the valve clearances. Yikes. Twice I had to ride 5h round trip so the dealer could recalibrate my windshield, which would take to forgetting from time to time that it was supposed to go up and down. 40+ years of riding and with the K1600, I never once got the impression I was shifting the transmission smoothly. It just goes CLUNK. The horn is a bit anemic. The procedure to check the oil is nuts. See if I remember... place the bike on the centre stand and start the engine, let it idle until the fan comes on (20 minutes is some weather). Let the fan run for 60 seconds and shut off the engine. Wait exactly 60 seconds and remove the dipstick, wipe it off, swiftly return it, then remove it again and see if the oil is between the two marks. You can also go into settings and check it electronically, but I enjoy dirtying rags when I check oil. Changing the oil is nits too. Remove drain plug, drain oil. So far, so good, right? Nope, find a long allen key in the exact size metric, and reach up inside the drain hole and carefully remove the inner drain plug, slowly lowering the allen key with the plug balanced on top down through the drain hole, all the while getting hot oil on your hands, drain that oil too. Normal otherwise. The high points? I added a cup holder. Central locking is nice, as is keyless 'entry' -- more like a car -- BMW makes cars now too, by the way. The rear wheel is very auto like, 5 lug bolts hold it in place, easy to get off and on, and you are going to do it too. EVERYONE sees you coming. if you turn on all the lights, there are 7 forward-facing white lights to announce you at intersections. I never came close to being unnoticed. The adaptive headlight is a bit eerie at first, it points around corners like a Tucker when you lean. Remember the Tucker? When the dealership did my 1st oil change I arrived for my appointment before noon, and left around 9 the following morning. They leant me a vehicle, put me up in a hotel, and all night long they downloaded trillions of bits from a Website in Munich, slowly I might add. I have mixed emotions about this bike for this exact reason: there is no such thing as a strange thing happening, everything that might happen is normal as far as BMW is concerned. The day after I picked up the bike the starter motor failed. A less-than-1-day-old bike had to be towed back to the dealer: Normal. I want to see tire pressures in PSI and temperatures in F and consumption in MPG buy can I? No, this is not permitted. For Kanada all pressures are in Bar. Bar huh? When a biker I knew asked me later "I waved, you ignored me" I say "I was multiplying 2.9x14.6 in my head to see if my tire pressure is right, or I was multiplying 18.5x9/5+32 to see what the temperature is. All very normal. That first $800 service? Free to me. I did all the oil changes after that fiasco. I won't miss the K1600 but it has been interesting owning it. State Farm charges a $100 surcharge for BMW, nice to see that go. I hope you found this review informative. K

Hi. I will do my best to describe it. I am waiting to hear from my dealer about my new bike. It is going to be a 2018 Yamaha Star Venture TC. I can't tell you if it is red or gray (I am OK with either, honestly) because it presently is neither in the possession of, or indeed, inbound to, my dealer. Only when YMCA calls my dealer and lets them know the VIN and location will they be able to tell me. Now I have that song in my head.... Anticipa-yay-tion. It's making me wait. Different song, now that's in my head.... This will be bike #14 and Yamaha #4 . I owned a 1982 Seca 650 Turbo, a 2001 V-Star 1100 Classic, and a 2003 FJR1300. I am a big fan of Yamaha dating back before 1989 when I got the Seca. Worst thing about waiting, I am keeping my trade-in bike (#13 is a 2015 BMW K1600 GTL Exclusive) in the garage where it is safe. Knowing my luck, now is the time for something bad to happen. I am used to popping into a dealer and spotting a bike and thinking, sure, why not? This "wait until the dealer gets one" is a crazy way to buy your stuff. Bill of sale: signed, financing: in place, trade: evaluated, I can even tell you my monthly payment, alas, no actual motorcycle. Maybe I will hear something today. K