BMW K1100LT - worth considering when riding two up?

[maineiac]

What year bikes are we talking about? I think you have three different manufacturers mentioned but no years mentioned.
The OP needs to keep that in mind. Any product you compare one has to know when someone is giving an opinion if it’s a current model or are we talking 10, 20, 25 or 30 years ago model.
Motor vechicles advance just like cell phones

My comments were not intended to be an exhaustive review but, with relatively minor differences, my comments generally seem to echo those of others across production years for these bikes which had relatively long production runs with generally modest revisions - so I'm not sure the date of manufacture is all that useful with these particular bikes - at least the LT and GW. But for your edification and reading pleasure, here you go:

The K1200LT was in production for around a decade with only minor changes. Mine was an '04 - members of an owners group I was part of had bikes that ranged in years from late 90s to 2008 and overall experiences were similar to mine, though some experienced the final drive problem that I referred to. I put over 130,000 miles on this bike and probably could have put another 130,000 on it but my riding became shorter-distance oriented and I decided I needed something smaller (physically) and traded it for a GS.

The last generation Gold wing was produced from 2001-2107 IIRC with relatively minor revisions along the way - mine is an '04. Again, owner experiences from riders across this spectrum seem to be similar based on my owner's group acquaintances. I have put 24K miles on this bike since I purchased it used. Despite its age (about 20 years) this thing is remarkably tight and problem free - well, "it's a Honda"! Gives me a smile whenever I get on it.

The Road King was an '04 which I sold after less than a year. No problems with it in that short period, but between the limited lean angle, lack of refinement, limited long distance wind protection and marginal suspension, I traded it in on the LT within a year and never looked back

The cell phone analogy is quite a bit of hyperbole, but I get your drift...

 

[alarmguy]

Not at all hyperbole.
We are now into our 6th generation of Gold Wing as of 2018 is all I went up to. Not anywhere close to a 2004.

Honda Gold Wing Timeline: 1972-2018 | Rider Magazine

Honda GL1000 Concept For more than 40 years, the Gold Wing has been Honda's flagship motorcycle. From the M1 "King of Kings" prototype to the introduction

ridermagazine.com

Im not arguing with you but you and others can see my point and I do disagree with you wholeheartedly with the thinking that motorcycles two decades ago are minor revisions from today's. I will stick to my statement they have advanced much like 20 year old cell phones.
I posted about the Gold Wing, there is so much on Harley you would have to look it up yourself because I cant get it all from one publication. But 2008 Road King was a major upgrade from previous version. 2014 Road King was another MAJOR upgrade in the entire frame and engine (Project Rushmore) that even had the lifetime critics of HD were floored over the handling and performance improvements and 2017 another major upgrade with the new M1 engine.

My point is, by now posting the age the the bikes you mention is not relevant to someone buying for instance a 2014 Road King. Not even close how much advancement took place from 2004 is boatloads more refined now, much like automobiles and yes, cell phones.
It's why when we discuss bikes people need to post the years. This is the only place, motorcycles that we dont know years but int eh automotive section we do.

 

[DuckRyder]

Road King was significantly refined to the point that a 2014 is a completely different bike form a 2004... a 2024 still different form the 2014...

 

[KrisZ]

Road King was significantly refined to the point that a 2014 is a completely different bike form a 2004... a 2024 still different form the 2014...

And yet none of them can lean.
A 20 year old BMW is still about a decade ahead of the newest Harley

 

[CCI]

Im not arguing with you but you and others can see my point and I do disagree with you wholeheartedly with the thinking that motorcycles two decades ago are minor revisions from today's. I will stick to my statement they have advanced much like 20 year old cell phones.

My point is, by now posting the age the the bikes you mention is not relevant to someone buying for instance a 2014 Road King. Not even close how much advancement took place from 2004 is boatloads more refined now, much like automobiles and yes, cell phones.

Yes. There is no way to accurately or responsibly lump all Harleys together, and if someone hasn't ridden a recent one that has been carefully set up, this might be hard to believe.

And yet none of them can lean.
A 20 year old BMW is still about a decade ahead of the newest Harley

This wasn't my experience last summer following a 2017 Road Glide Special with Legends shocks. I was on a low-miles 2006 R1200GS with good tires and TFX suspension that had been re-valved and re-sprung and I was pushing the BMW hard to keep up with the Harley.

Not looking for an argument about which bike is better, because I don't think there is any possible purpose to such a discussion. There is no such thing as a "better bike" unless we say "better for what."

Having owned an Electraglide and an R1200GS at the same time and ridden both on some fairly long trips, I would say that if there a passenger involved or heavy luggage and 95% or more of of the riding is on asphalt, it would be hard to beat the Harley. I haven't found a road yet that the Electraglide can't take as fast as the BMW and far more comfortably.

The BMW doesn't even come close to the stability of the Harley when you get into dirty air or heavy crosswinds on the interstate, especially in bad weather.

If there is no passenger, and the luggage is fairly light, and there are unimproved roads, or no roads in the plan, then the BMW is going to be the better bike.

It just depends upon what you're planning to do.

 

[KrisZ]

Yes. There is no way to accurately or responsibly lump all Harleys together, and if someone hasn't ridden a recent one that has been carefully set up, this might be hard to believe.



This wasn't my experience last summer following a 2017 Road Glide Special with Legends shocks. I was on a low-miles 2006 R1200GS with good tires and TFX suspension that had been re-valved and re-sprung and I was pushing the BMW hard to keep up with the Harley.

Not looking for an argument about which bike is better, because I don't think there is any possible purpose to such a discussion. There is no such thing as a "better bike" unless we say "better for what."

Having owned an Electraglide and an R1200GS at the same time and ridden both on some fairly long trips, I would say that if there a passenger involved or heavy luggage and 95% or more of of the riding is on asphalt, it would be hard to beat the Harley. I haven't found a road yet that the Electraglide can't take as fast as the BMW and far more comfortably.

The BMW doesn't even come close to the stability of the Harley when you get into dirty air or heavy crosswinds on the interstate, especially in bad weather.

If there is no passenger, and the luggage is fairly light, and there are unimproved roads, or no roads in the plan, then the BMW is going to be the better bike.

It just depends upon what you're planning to do.

For sure, different strokes for different folks, but a 1200GS is not a fair representation of a typical road going BMW handling characteristics. This bike is made for off road or rough roads.

In general when it comes to the basics like brakes, suspension, engine power, harley has been far, far behind. So while comparing a 2004 harley to a 2014 one is silly, it is not so silly when you take a tourer from another make.

My 2000 Honda Valkyrie will eat pretty much any Harley on the road because that flat six engine was so ahead of it's time. Now, there rest of the bike doesn't really hold a candle to the modern Harley tourers, except maybe the lean angles, but it's just an example.

 

[KrisZ]

A BMW 1200LT was mentioned, which is by now an over 20 year old bike.

let's see what it had at the time:
- roughly 100HP on tap, do even the newest harleys break that?
- very advanced, even by today's standards telelever and paralever suspension
- single sided swing arm
- full front and rear electronic braking assist and ABS
- electrically adjustable windscreen
- heated seats, heated grips, cruise control
- on-board computer
- I think it had a reverse as well

Harley was busy adding more chrome at the time

The strides they've made since about 2015 are quite large, but when you start from basically a tractor on two wheels, the bar isn't that high.

It's a two edged sward though, so on the other hand the new BMWs don't feel as improved because it's much harder to do on an already advanced design.

 

[alarmguy]

A BMW 1200LT was mentioned, which is by now an over 20 year old bike.

let's see what it had at the time:
- roughly 100HP on tap, do even the newest harleys break that?
- very advanced, even by today's standards telelever and paralever suspension
- single sided swing arm
- full front and rear electronic braking assist and ABS
- electrically adjustable windscreen
- heated seats, heated grips, cruise control
- on-board computer
- I think it had a reverse as well

Harley was busy adding more chrome at the time

The strides they've made since about 2015 are quite large, but when you start from basically a tractor on two wheels, the bar isn't that high.

It's a two edged sward though, so on the other hand the new BMWs don't feel as improved because it's much harder to do on an already advanced design.

Largest manufacturer of heavy cruisers in the USA and outsells all other cruisers from every manufacturer combined. IN fact the metrics couldn't cut it and they slashed their offerings in the USA over the last decade. Even stop production on other models for a year before ramping up again.

Rev the BMW R 1250 SPORT bike up to 7,700 RPM for a peak HP of 117 and Peak Torque of 98 at 6500 RPM maybe great for a sport bike just replace those rear tires every 7 to 8000 miles if you are lucky.

Harley Street Glide, a true cruiser peak HP of 83 at 4890 RPM and PEAK TORQUE of 113 at 2500
It's what is useful for the intended purpose. So lets see, 80 MPH all day long, mountains included, 2 up, luggage and barely ever need a reason to downshift because with 113 lbs of torque it pulls like an ape.

Two different bikes, two purposes. Being the Harleys outsell all the others combined, like any popular product (iPhone) the leader will always have its detractors even though those people are the minority.

 

[KrisZ]

Nice try, comparing a sport tourer to a full out tourer. Why didn’t you compare to the 1600gt?

Oh, I’m so misinformed

 

[CCI]

For sure, different strokes for different folks, but a 1200GS is not a fair representation of a typical road going BMW handling characteristics. This bike is made for off road or rough roads.

Fair enough.

 

[CCI]

Two different bikes, two purposes.

We agree.