Forget The BMW R 1250 RT Or Honda Gold Wing
Think of touring, and only a few brands will pop up in the conversation. There are the obvious ones like Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle, but if you plan on doing some serious miles and prefer to be a little different, then you have to go either European or Japanese. Here, too, there is so much choice. Do you want to be sporty, or prefer a more laid-back style? Two models will fit either of those styles of touring extremely well. If you prefer to make the landscape blur as you tour, the BMW R 1250 RT will do really well. However, if you prefer to waft around in a cocoon of luxury, the Gold Wing is the gold standard, there’s no doubt about that.
What if you want to do both, though? You’d need a motorcycle with a Jekyll and Hyde personality. One that can sense your mood and lean into it. And that motorcycle is the BMW K 1600 B. It might not be as well-known as the other two, but dig deeper, and you’ll see why exactly it is worth a closer look at the very least.
Why The R 1250 RT And Gold Wing Can Be The Wrong Choice
One Word: Flexibility
Let us open by saying that we aren’t saying that either the Gold Wing or R 1250 RT are bad motorcycle; they’re quite the opposite, in fact. The only negative we can come up with is the fact that they have evolved into the kind of motorcycles that they are, and that makes them a little unsuited to any demands outside of their specialization. Sure, you can hustle a Gold Wing around a corner, and you can ride an R 1250 RT in a relaxed manner, but they won’t feel truly like they’re the right motorcycle for it.
The reasons aren’t complicated for this. BMW has other models in its range, like the R 18 series that occupy the cruiser-type tourer space, so the R 1250 RT needs to be a sport tourer, with the emphasis on ‘sport’. Honda hasn’t occupied the sport touring space since it discontinued the VFR1200F in 2015, although it seems likely to re-enter it with the upcoming CB1000GT. They have managed to cultivate a loyal following as well because they are so good, so there is no need for them to reinvent themselves.
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What The BMW K 1600 B Is Actually All About
BMW’s Do-It-All Tourer
The K 1600 B is a bagger that is based on BMW’s inline six-cylinder motorcycle platform. This is a mature platform; it has been around for well over a decade, and was supposed to be a very German take on a large sport tourer in the vein of older large sport tourers like the Yamaha FJR1300 and Kawasaki Concours. However, it is designed to also be a truly long-distance tourer with its features and comfort. This is the only range with an inline six-cylinder engine in the two-wheeled world, and it seems highly unlikely that we’ll see another one in the future.
Where It Sits In Today’s Touring Motorcycle Market
‘Somewhere between the R 1250 RT and Gold Wing’ would be the easy, short answer. As always, though, it’s a little more complicated than that. The 1,649 cc engine generates a massive 160 horsepower, which is a really high figure for a full-size tourer even today. The K 1600 B then doesn’t have any direct competition, despite the names in the headline. It appeals to those who want a single touring bike that will do as the rider wishes, whether that is cruise languidly on an open road or attack corners with the joy of a terrier.
Performance That Belies Its Looks
The K 1600 B has a chassis that BMW calls a ‘bridge type’ frame made of aluminum – this is a kind of perimeter frame that we would otherwise see in a sport bike. The engine is a stressed member, and despite its inline configuration, it is canted over at 55 degrees to the vertical to lower the center of gravity. Since the K 1600 B is such a large motorcycle, the added length because of the engine tilt isn’t a problem.
BMW has also given it a bolt-on rear subframe, and a magnesium front stay to save weight. A double wishbone front suspension system and a single-sided swingarm that houses the driveshaft are present at the rear. The result is a curb weight of 758 pounds, but it is all placed low to the ground.
Its Six-Cylinder Engine Is Unique
The K 1600 B is available with the 1,643 cc engine that puts out 160 horsepower and 132.7 pound-feet of torque. This is a transverse engine, and it uses a driveshaft, which means there will be some power losses, but it remains a sprightly motorcycle despite its weight and size. The six-speed gearbox is a manual, and a two-way quickshifter is an optional extra. For what it is, it is an enjoyable motorcycle, with the long legs required for highway cruising coupled with the soulful howl of the engine at high revs to egg you on through corners on a twisty road.
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The K 1600 B Can Be A Daily Motorcycle
The K 1600 B is a big, heavy motorcycle, and with the saddlebags on, it is a wide motorcycle as well. The instrument cluster consists of a really large 10.25-inch TFT screen, which shows you all the needed information from speed to the map. There is a storage space for your phone above it as well. If you ride at night, the adaptive cornering headlamps will be a blessing. In addition, the TPMS, reverse assist, dynamic electronic suspension, and optional quickshifter will make it one of the more usable full-size tourers on a day-to-day basis.
Ride Quality And Road Manners
You probably wouldn’t want to use it on the commute if it is stop-go traffic, but once on the move, the K 1600 B is a very well-balanced bike. The electronic suspension adjusts itself automatically to the situation, and the setup is BMW’s acclaimed Duolever and Paralever setup. This is a comfortable yet responsive motorcycle.
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Why The K 1600 B Is The Touring Bike You Need
The K 1600 B is a strange but wonderful product that bridges the gap between truly sporty touring motorcycles and laid-back ones. With the prices of touring bikes being what they are today, it isn’t practical to own more than one, especially if you’re an occasional tourer. So it makes sense to hedge your bets and get one bike that can do it all, and the K 1600 B is hardly a compromise.
Emotional Quotient
With emissions regulations getting stricter each year, it is only a matter of time before large-capacity motorcycle engines with multiple cylinders ride off into the sunset themselves. The K 1600 B is one of the last remaining tourers that put a massive engine into a capable chassis. Forced induction seems to be the way forward, and the high-revving scream of many cylinders will be firmly in the past. With this in mind, getting a K 1600 B might be a decision that you’ll look back on fondly when you’re surrounded by the hiss and whoosh of motorcycles with forced induction.
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You Won’t See Anything Quite Like The K 1600 B Again
There’s a right time for everything. The ‘70s were a decade of experimentation, while the ‘90s saw the world push the boundaries of what we thought was possible with only a casual glance at health and safety. The K 1600 B belongs to a time when bigger was better, and more cylinders and displacement solved a lot of problems.
We don’t doubt that the future will hold many exciting sport tourers that will be quicker yet more efficient than this BMW. However, the joy of hearing that mournful howl of a high-revving inline six while getting the line through a corner just right – that’s something that no future motorcycle will be able to match quite as well.
Sources: BMW USA, Honda Powersports
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