2017 BMW K 1600 GT Sport: first Australian ride

Former talk show host Jay Leno once described riding his exotic Y2K turbine bike as "being pushed along by the hand of god". And while I'm not about to liken an internal-combustion-engined motorcycle to one powered by a helicopter jet engine, the parallel did spring to mind when I recently became the first journalist in Australia to ride BMW Motorrad's updated K 1600 Sport.

The bike was one of a handful on show at BMW's recent 'Range' day at Mount Macedon, to Melbourne's north. The premise of the event? Spend some time with BMW's top brass and its cars and motorcycles – and the new K 1600 GT Sport was topping my test-ride wish list.

THE RANGE
The K 1600 family arrived in 2011 but for 2017 it comprises three siblings: the K 1600 GT, the K 1600 GT Sport, and the K 1600 GTL. Sporting the same engine, chassis and technology, the differences largely concern the riding position, the list of standard inclusions, and the addition of a topbox on the touring-focused GTL.

However, it was a K 1600 GT Sport in Lupine Blue Metallic/Blackstorm Metallic gracing the fleet in Mount Macedon, so that was the bike I made a beeline for. The bike is due to go on sale here in March 2017 and, like its two siblings, it sports several refinements.

The updated model now sports a reverse gear and a quickshifter, while the electronic suspension adjustment (ESA) settings have been enhanced. The engine now meets Euro4 emissions compliance while new side trim parts improve aerodynamics and airflow. Finally, the instruments have been updated and the bike is available in a choice of three new colours.

THE RIDE
My test ride aboard the K 1600 GT Sport may have been relatively brief, but the roads over and around Mount Macedon still gave me a reasonable taste of the bike's broad spread of abilities. Yes, I was on the Sport model, but the ride position is far from extreme.

The height-adjustable saddle is broad and compliant, and reasonably low at 830/810mm (a lower seat is also available). There's good legroom and the easy stretch to the handlebars provides just a slightly forward-inclined stance.

It takes a few moments to acclimatise to the weight of the thing (334kg wet) at slow speeds, but once you have it's evident it's actually a very easy machine to manage. The forward-inclined six-cylinder donk contributes to a low centre of gravity while the clutch is light, its take-up progressive.

That engine… what a remarkable piece of engineering it is. Although it's now a clean-running Euro4 jobbie, it hasn't lost any of its bite. Power and torque remain unaffected, at 160hp (118kW) and 175Nm, and on the road those figure can add up to a near-religious experience, if desired.

Ride the bike sedately and it's a picture of civility. Super-smooth fuelling, very little vibration, effortless overtaking – it's a rapid point-to-point machine that can still be ridden within legal limits (thankfully it has electronic cruise control) with the tacho needle safely buried within the lower half of its range.

At 100km/h in sixth gear the bike is ticking over at a paltry 2900rpm – a super-relaxed figure that, if anything, hints at its autobahn heritage.

However, poke the beast and the K 1600 GT Sport transforms into a tower of mind-bending fury – with the throttle pinned the tacho need streaks around the dial in most of the bike's gears, and the new Shift Assistant Pro – a quickshifter that works for changes both up and down through the gearbox – only adds to the fun.

If this bike is on your shopping list, factor plenty of tyres and regular track days into your budget – hopefully the latter will head off a speeding fine that's likely to also come with a court appearance…

Despite all this mechanical might, the K 1600's chassis and suspension does a great job of keeping everything in check. The ground clearance is healthy and the ESA offers effective suspension tuning at the press of a button.

TECHNOLOGY WIZARD
In fact, the technology on offer here is just as impressive as the K 1600's performance. The ESA is backed by a ride-by-wire throttle with a choice of engine modes to suit the prevailing conditions. There's traction control and ABS, complementing a superb set of four-piston, twin-disc Brembo stoppers up front.

Then there are all the little niceties like keyless starting, hill start control, adaptive xenon headlights (that look 'through' a corner – a great safety feature), a brilliant stereo system, the heated grips, the heated seats, the electric screen and the satellite navigation, among others.

A reverse gear is a godsend for any bike weighing north of 300kg. It works in a similar manner to that on the old K 1200 LT – select 'R' on the handlebar and then press the starter for the starter motor to start cranking the bike backwards.

I can't wait to take a closer look at the new K 1600 models – including the addition of the new K 1600 B and K 1600 GTL Elegance later this year – and sample their wares over a few more miles. This K 1600 GT Sport really is an engineering marvel; if you want to put the 'sport' into 'sportouring', getting a test ride on one of these missiles is a must!