FJR vs K1600 ?

[FJR2011]

I am on my second FJR straight (2011 & 2014) and have got the bug to change.....looking for something more comfy & long distance friendly-er. When i first bought the 2014 my wife joined me on occasion but now joins me on pretty much every ride, and actually asks to go riding. Also, we have started planning longer trips as i haul a mono-wheel trailer (Armoric Design) with camping gear, for example, we're going on a 3000Mile / 7-9day trip next month to the BRP & Dragon's tail. Last year i purchased Corbins to replace my OEM seats as i wanted that extra comfort, but can;t say the difference is remarkable......

Without considering the price difference between these 2x machines, which is significant i know, what are your thoughts ? I've been reading up on various websites & comparison reports and both appear to be at the top of their class. I am not a fan of the big HD's or Indians so want to remain with a machine that has that "sporty" look & feel.....I even considered a Concours just for the sake of change, but that doesn't feel right.

ps- i realize i'm asking this on a FJR forum so the answers might be swayed a bit, but i;m looking for honest feedback & opinions. Hopefully somebody else has had the same questions...However, if still here (on this forum) that is probably the answer to my question....

Thanks

 

[audiowize]

Buy custom seats, not generic aftermarket ones, and keep your eyes open for a trailer. Problems solved.

BMW guys will tell you that somewhere out there, there is a guy riding the bike you are looking at who hasn't had reliability issues. (sort of like the justification for the existence of life on other planets)

Do some reading on K1600 problems. They are all over the map. Look as hard as you can for somebody who has put 100,000 miles on one with no problems.

 

[El Toro]

I've owned both the K1600 and four FJRs.

Guess which one I am happier with.

I could NEVER get comfortable on the K1600. I bought factory seats for both the GT and the GTL. I bought after market seats.

I did a ride in appointment with Russell Day Long.

When I sold the K1600 back to the dealer for a new K1300S and cash back to me, it was one of the happiiest days of my motorcycle life.

 

[eflyguy]

Try a real custom seat.. It's night and day. Russell or Laam.

There's nothing that bike can do that the FJR can not..

 

[101stpathfinder]

Sorry, cost simply HAS to be considered… Get more (FJR) for less ($)

Lets see a K1600 for around $28k (?) or a FJR for around $17k (?)

For $11K, you could purchase all the farkles needed to make the FJR everything that you are looking for.

A RDL is a great start, and go from there… a Bushtec Trailer, a pair of PR2s…

Long distance doesn't get much better than that. Consider the GROWING number of FJRs in the Iron Butt Rally.

Compare that to the 1600 (Or any other cycle) Also consider the seats that are ridden on in the rally. RDL is the seat of choice.

If an FJR with an RDL does not work for you, then work on your personal gear. That would be a whole different thread topic.

Oh… a bead rider in the summer can be helpful too.

 

[Fontanaman]

Get a custom seat. Unfortunately this will not solve the luggage issue with the sucky FJR saddle bags. Let's be real the FJR is luggage challenged. I got around this by getting a Bushtec trailer.

If money was no obstacle I'd have a BMW R1200RT. Lots of storage space, the same horsepower as an FJR and about 100 lbs lighter. I road a stock 2008 RT 525 miles in one day and it was great. The FJR needed a lot of farkling to get the comfort equivalent to the RT I rented. But then you got a BMW with all the BMW issues.

K1600 - meh - not very trouble free and big $$$. If you ride in the winter where calcium chloride is used take a good look at where the radiator is. This is due to the engine being slanted forward. For those who don't know the radiator is right behind the front tire and it picks up a lot of crud, gets plugged up and causes overheating. I used to ride with the Washington State BMW club - most of them had problems.

Best wishes.

 

[Brodie]

^^^^^^^ Agreed !!!

You replaces a log of an OEM seat for a rock called a Corbin; arguably going from bad to worse.

The neat thing about the FJR platform is that it's strong, serviceable, and realitivly inexpensive. The other neat thing is that so many things in the aftermarket will fit right up, or can be easily adapted.

However, eventually you have to be satisfied with your ride. It's only money, if you want a change of pace, and have your heart set on trying a different bike - go for it! Just keep us posted with your impressions, we won't bite, at least not too hard.

Brodie

 

[Pterodactyl]

I owned a dozen BMWs and currently have three, so I'm not anti-BMW. That said, I would not buy the K1600. In addition to the purchase price you need to consider the cost of routine maintenance. I've seen some claims of huge bills for a major service; ranging from $600 to $1000. They've had some issues with the bike and although complaints on the BMW forums have lessened, reliability is still not up to the level of an FJR.

 

[user 8909]

Personally I've haven't seen anything in BMW's lineup that appeals to me, plus my past xperience with my local dealer turns me off too.

So it's a no brainer for me,the FJR wins in my book.

 

[Craigar]

Have you considered the Triumph Trophy?

Nicely appointed machine for 2up riding.

An much cheaper than the BMW.

 

[jammess]

Got to agree. I've been riding nothing but beemers since 1977 and only recently saw the light and bought my pristine 2010 FJR. BMW's have issues and BMW Motorrad isn't much help. Look at how they handled the final drive imploding issues, pathetic! BMW and Yamaha are not apples and oranges simple as that. Yamaha flat stands 100% behind their product unlike Bring More Wallet. Now it does seem like the new R1200RT is proving to not have the issues of its predecessors but I would wait a few more years before considering one as in quite a few years and only if Yamaha stopped producing the FJR. For a sport touring motorcycle I think Yamaha wrote or should I say rewrote the book.

I'm done.

 

[RossKean]

Another who has had both is "Top_Speed1". Hopefully he will chime in here with his experience. As far as I know, Beemerdons (RIP) was happy with his K-1600.

 

[Queensland Ken]

If you are on Face Book could pay to check out https://www.facebook.com/BMW-K1600-Faults-Failures-and-Recalls-1410210559197155/?fref=ts

Also an article within the page "457 BMW K1600's returned under the Lemon Law in the US."

 

[FreakyFastFreddie]

Agree with the already suggestions in trying a custom seat. I had a Russell on my 06 and it was absolutely amazing. It won't be the best looking seat but you're looking for comfort and it definitely fits that bill.

If you're set on a BMW touring bike, try the 1200RT before the K1600. I think you'll like it better. Then there's the Goldwing which is like buying a Buick if you ask me. Nothing wrong with going that route either.

 

[deagle]

BMW R1200RT really gets a lot of love for comfort. If you're going to spend BMW money, at least check both models out.

 

[Madmudder]

Don't forget the Honda F6B for a sportier Gold Wing.

 

[roger dodger]

A friend has the GTL and has had a good year.... no warranty work for 12 months!

Prior year (his first year of ownership) he had 3 fuel pumps replaced, and 4 switch clusters (on the bars) replaced under warranty.

No cost , just lots of down time.

Now he is looking at ST1300 again because 'it never made me worry'. YMMV

 

[ionbeam]

Over the course of a couple of weeks we put 3k miles on a K1600GT in California and Oregon which gave us a pretty good road test.

For scale, look at the bottom right corner of the picture.

We did extremely twisty coastal and mountainous roads, we did flat valley 'get there' speeds and a lot of non-pavement roads. Overall, just on riding performance we would give the K1600 a grade of C. We have put 115,000 miles on FJRs and would give them a grade of B+.

The saddlebag space was essentially the same as the FJR, we used our FJR bag liners in the BMW bags and they were a perfect fit. The passenger seat didn't feel like it had the same room as the FJR. The stock seats sucked. Really sucked. I didn't prefer the spacing of the lower transmission gears but huge torque made up for a lot of that. After a few hours of whipping that tank around extreme corners with a lot of vertical grade change the weight and size of the bike became a liability, it started to become tiring work in the hot weather. I did lot of shifting of the 6 speed transmission. The K1300 we rode earlier had the clutch 100% engaged when the lever was 0.100" off the handlebar, the K1600 didn't have the clutch engage until the last 0.100" of lever travel, though this may be unique to these bikes and some maintenance would fix the issue. I ground up the right peg feeler. I ground up the left peg feeler. We went for a ride through the mountains with Bugnatr and ground both peg feelers and the center stand too. Similar speeds through the corners on the FJR would not have had as much metal removal but to be fair, my FJR had an aftermarket suspension. Gas mileage wasn't inspired but the roads, gradient changes and my sport oriented riding didn't help.

Pillion gave the electronic suspension two thumbs up, so much that we now own a '15 FJR ES. The TPMS was nice to have, especially since we made almost the entire trip with a big nail in the rear tire. The engine made huge torque but didn't seem to hustle the bike much quicker than my '04 FJR. I got used to the pages of selectable dash menus pretty quickly. I learned to like the selectable modes like Tour and Sport. Then there were those silly little plastic pop-out air flow wings to divert air. Once the temps got over 100° I figured what the heck and popped 'em out. Boy howdy! The wind whistled up my crotch, under my coat inflating it like a balloon and shot the air into the chin opening of my helmet causing it to try to lift the helmet off. If I could find a way to make them work on my FJR they would have already been there. There isn't much else positive that stood out or was significantly better than our FJR for half the bucks. BTW the K1600 only had about 40k miles and we were comparing it to a 100k mile FJR.

I tried to love the K1600 but never managed much more than a neutral view. Pillion just said NO to both the K1300 and the K1600. If someone were to offer to just give me either a FJR or a K1600, in the end I'd probably would choose the FJR and without hesitation I'd choose a Gen III and higher FJR over the Beemer.

 

[gixxerjasen]

You replaces a log of an OEM seat for a rock called a Corbin; arguably going from bad to worse.

This.

With the terrible seats (I've had several, all came on the used bike I bought) and their terrible customer service, I have no idea why they are in business. Good marketing I presume.

My custom for someone else seat is still better than stock or Corbin for sure, one day I'll get custom ones made just for my own behind.

That said, I can understand the wanderlust of wanting something different. I might consider something else when the time comes for me. I probably won't consider BMW or Ducati though. In the end it's hard to argue with the FJR for it's ability to darn near do it all and reliability. So, while I'd consider other options, I am pretty sure I know where I'll end up.