I have ridden the K 1600 a fair few times in its different avatars: the GTL in the US and Europe, B in Europe, and even the Exclusive Edition. I already gave you a fairly detailed explanation about my decision to get a BMW K 1600 B. And in that very piece, I also promised that you would not have to wait long for our adventures with it to begin.
One of the first things I did was an unnecessary celebratory thing. As you might already know, apart from the K 1600 B, I have another straight-6 in the xBhp Garage, and from the same brand as well- the BMW M340i. And you also know that I have more than gotten my feet wet when it comes to drifting. So, I brought the two machines together, taking one six-cylinder BMW and drifting it around another six-cylinder BMW just after taking delivery.
After that rather pompous but fun outing, it was time to do something serious with my latest motorcycle. You see, the BMW K 1600 B is fairly self-explanatory. It is an intercontinental ballistic missile of a mile-muncher. It demands unending tarmac. It demands dawns, sunsets and hundreds of kilometres between them. I have done Iron Butt rides four times, but never on something this comfortable. But what I had in mind was something completely different.
Forever our engine oil of choice, we went with Castrol POWER1 for our new BMW K 1600 B. Our faith in its Full Synthetic formula comes from testing it in some of the most extreme engines, run hard under the harshest conditions.
I wanted to see if the K 1600 B could survive the Delhi heat. 6 cylinders, 1,649cc of pristine smoothness, and a huge fairing; put into an environment that a motorcycle like this might like the least- Delhi traffic and that too in sweltering heat. When I was gunning it across the US or travelling in serenity through Europe, I never once thought that I’d get the opportunity to listen to that sweet 6-cylinder hum while crawling through the Delhi traffic. But… for science, we march, and so, accompanied by our trusty M340i, off we went.
Before we talk about how it went, I want to talk about the preparation. You see, with a motorcycle like this in a situation like that, you really do not want to get the engine oil wrong. An unhappy inline-six could burn a hole in your pocket so deep that you might as well become a Hobbit. As you can guess, I only trust Castrol POWER1 in such matters. The H2 is a pretty extreme motorcycle, and so is the Rocket. I have ridden the H2 in the desert in the summer and the Rocket at NATRAX. Extreme engines, extreme conditions, and yet, Castrol POWER1 prevailed as it always does. So for this one too, I went with Castrol POWER1.
I rarely second-guess my decisions, especially when it comes to buying a rather hefty motorcycle, both in terms of dimensions and money. The same was true of the K 1600 B. No second-guessing. Especially because of that engine. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but please, if ever possible, just get on a K 1600 and start the engine up. No matter how much you spent or what you had to sell, you are going to forget all about it.
This engine is like molten silk. The refinement is off the charts, and the pit of torque seems bottomless. It is such a big and heavy motorcycle, and yet, it gets going like it weighs no more than a feather. The same thing can be said about the dynamics. The CoG is nice and low, and the motorcycle has a very balanced feel to it. Then the seat and the ergonomics: it is like you are in the embrace of a motorcycle God or something. But it did not take long to get what I asked for.
I could tell that this was going to be rough as soon as the proceedings began. With temperatures hovering around 40 degrees Celsius, it was going to be a task. In addition to the heat, there’s traffic. There are enough starts, stops and low-speed running to put the entire thermal-management system to work. I was sweating bullets minutes into encountering serious traffic, and all I could think of was: if it is like this outside the engine, what was going on inside?
After using them on our daily rides, long rides, most of our pan-India rides, and even international expeditions, we now trust Rynox almost exclusively for all our riding gear and luggage needs.
Thankfully, the riding gear from Rynox is designed taking the Indian heat into account. The vents were a massive help, but even with that, at a standstill there is no air. And the heavens also wanted to punish me for such an experiment, so there was not a hint of breeze. The K 1600 B, on the other hand, had its challenges.
That is why the engine oil becomes one of the hardest-working members of this equation. Its job is not to magically make the Delhi heat disappear; the K 1600 B has its own sophisticated cooling and thermal-management systems. But lubrication and protection become especially important when an engine is being asked to keep working through sustained heat, traffic and repeated starts and stops.
That is why Castrol POWER1 Full Synthetic engine oil is almost always a natural part of how I prepare my motorcycles for extremities. That is not to say that engine oil alone is what allows a motorcycle to deal with Indian heat. What I am saying is that lubrication and protection matter enormously when a sophisticated engine is being asked to operate for hours in demanding conditions.
That makes the choice of engine oil relevant to the way I use the motorcycle. As a side note, with an oil-filter change, this engine takes approximately 4.5 litres of oil, which gives you some sense of the scale of the lubrication job inside this six-cylinder that the Castrol POWER1 Full Synthetic oil has to undertake.
Seen here are the Rynox Stealth Evo 4S Jacket, Stealth Evo 4 Pants, Flux Motorcycle Touring Boots, and Urban Pro 2 gloves. A fantastic combination for daily runs and long rides alike… and they go really well with our K 1600 B!
After crawling through traffic for what seemed like ages, I finally found some open roads. As one does, I asked the motorcycle for some much-needed respite, and it was delivered. As soon as you open the throttle, this behemoth of a machine goes from calm and orderly to quick and thrilling. And despite how much you thrash it, that silken refinement never goes away. The sound from the engine is the only thing that makes you realise that you have nearly 160 horses gathering an unnerving amount of speed.
For the most part, that is what I wanted to test. I know it was challenging for the motorcycle as it was miles away from where it’s most comfortable. I knew it was not going to go up in flames. The idea was to test if the bike, its engineering, its cooling, and the engine oil, Castrol POWER1, can keep delivering the smooth, effortless and thrilling ride I bought it for. After what came to pass, I’d say the answer is a resounding yes.
Whether it is the screaming inline-4 or massive inline-3, and even if it is a marvel of a straight-6, we only trust Castrol POWER1.
To top off a sweltering ride through the city, we also officially welcomed the BMW K 1600 B in the xBhp Garage with a customary photoshoot at the MotoVilla. As you can see, this futuristic behemoth of a cruiser feels right at home at the popculture/motorcycling hotspot that the MotoVilla is. We have found the right engine oil for our K 1600 B in Castrol POWER1. Now, all it needs is an iconic superhero that embodies what this motorcycle does… or perhaps a supervillain! It shouldn’t be too long before you get to read about that as well. Till then, Ride Hard, Ride Safe.
