Just found this video on the future direction BMW bikes are heading...

YouTube - 2011 BMW Motorcycle Overview w/ Pieter de Waal

Thank for the great british motor machine info ...

Yeah, for the past several years the Ultimate Riding Machine from Germany is being designed by British designers.

Hey thanks a lot for the information, i always knew BMW had these extra features since i saw gps/ bmw custom made equips for the bike.... but after i read this thread i came to know i just knew 1% of the full information

Yes BMW offers a really good package.. best for ppl who want some speed as well as comforts wow this bike is going to make me lazy for sure lol !

Can u pls post some info about various BMW bikes and their prices in india.. i tried googling .. but not getting correct information. . and yes their top speed? does R1 hayabusa etc have a lot of good features like bmw?

Oh man !! hell lot of features on BMW !! Too good,awesome

Hi Haroon...

This is Almas Here....

Was just going through your fanatastic thread. Loadz of good info for guys who are new to BMW. I'm sure it would come in use to all future BMW owners since BMW will soon be getting into India again.

Great work & safe riding.

Regards,

Almas Baig

Thanks shrikky & stark23. My pleasure sharing it with all of you.

Thanks Almas. Nice to hear from Canada again and welcome to xbhp.
Saw your white 990 Adventure in your profile and it is gorgeous...

Bmw k1600gt & k1600gtl

YouTube - BMW K 1600 GT and GTL




The new BMW K1600GT & GTL grand touring bikes seem to be carving a separate niche for itself. Seeing good initial reviews from auto journalists around the world, it could even be voted the bike of the year 2011. Although they are way advanced technology wise with the adaptive zenon headlights and a lighter & compact 6 cylinder engine with sporty handling & explosive power etc, we have to see how they fair in the real world taking on the tried & tested Honda Goldwing, which has been the industry standard for Luxury touring bikes for many years now.


Adaptive & self leveling Headlight
YouTube - 2011 BMW K 1600 GT and GTL six-cylinder technology


Coin vibration test
YouTube - MR - Sex Kolben Vibrationstest BMW K 1600 GTL

Thanks for sharing Haroon. Have you have ridden a BMW K1300R? I wanted to know your opinion of it.

I have ridden a friend's earlier model 2006 K1200R and in simple words- (prior to the S1000RR), this K bike is the closest BMW comes to the Japanese in terms of general feel, control switches etc. But beyond that its an absolute brute in terms of raw power, while handling & braking were way ahead of the japanese bikes. Also the ergonomics for my 6ft frame were more comfortable than my own 2007 Kawasaki Z1000 and perhaps the K1200R's longer wheelbase & weight made me more comfortable on the highway and twisty roads but at slow speeds my Z was easier to handle. Also the front suspension does not have the dive effect like my Z, so you really dont feel the bumps on the roads transferring fully onto your handlebars. Ofcourse, wind protection like any of the nakeds is not great and hence I was hating the wind blast to my chest and also felt the handgrips were a bit on the thinner side (just my opinion), but the seat was more comfortable than my Z. Overall, a great all-round bike with a host of features like maintenance free shaft drive, ABS, heated grips, electronic suspension adjustments and the revolutionary Hossack front suspension which is something to be experienced.

i simply love K1600 GTL ( sir you know how much )..
The technology, the comfort, the overall feel is quite impressive about this bike... One of the best touring machine money can buy..

Thanks Haroon! I am contemplating to get myself a bigger bike sometime soon - but would the high compression ratio of the K1300R be compatible with Indian fuels?

Very valid point you have put across on fuel. This is where I am also concerned after riding my R1200GS in India, I was not too happy with the 'premium' fuel (I understand it is 93 octane) as I was having engine knocking on it. Whereas the 97 grade petrol I filled once from banaglore city was fine, but it is only available in very very limited bunks and hence it is simply not practical to carry an extra tank or extra fuel elsewhere on long trips. Beside, if you see my trip log from Kanyakumari to Pondicherry, I was having difficulty to find even the premium petrol on the highway! I personally think with all the newer cars & bikes, the govt should come out with 91 & 95 grade petrol & scrap the 97. After I brought the bike back to Saudi Arabia, I first flushed out the Indian petrol and then filled in 95 grade here and the engine was running absolutely smooth & fine.

Whereas the Suzuki Bandit, the Harleys etc have lower compression and will do fine with 91 grade octane.

Thanks.. but this being a populist regime, I doubt if the govt will even upgrade to 91 Octane considering the high fuel prices.

I am tempted by a lot of motorcycles, but the Harley XR1200X is making more sense to me day by day. I like the Bandit, but that bike lacks character from an aesthetics standpoint. And I am looking at the Intruder as well - something which I can tour on and put in low grade fuel to run it.

But the perfect motorcycle for me would be the F800GS - I would buy it today if it came out and was under 10 L.

Honestly, I am disappointed the way BMW-India has so far gone about doing things for selling their bikes in India. Unless I missed something, I never saw a proper press launch or road show or other promos. Here full marks to harley, Ducati, Aprillia etc for actually gone that extra mile to appeal to real bikers & bike enthusiasts. So it looks like rather than BMW-India selling the bikes, the bikes are being bought! Firstly the S1000RR should have been priced close to the R1 & CBR1000R etc since thats where BMW-Germany had originally positioned that bike & its pricing, so a 1-1.5 lac higher price tag over the R1 or CBR should have been perfect, whereas they have gone way over mark. Similarly the R1200GS should also have been priced max 16-18 lacs on road, whereas 22.5 lacs is way above what most serious touring enthusiasts would have hoped for a piece of german engineering.

Ofcourse, if I were to invest 10-20 lacs on any Harley today, atleast there is one additional factor I can be happy about - 20 years later, I still dont have an outdated machine!!! Jokes apart the Harleys are much simpler to work on as well and the new ones are really reliable.