Rick's K-Bike

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JeffStrom
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Rick's K-Bike

Post by JeffStrom » Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:49 am

Rick,

Now that you have had your K-1600 for a little while, I'm curious what you think about the performance and handling vs. the GSA. I would have to assume that the extra power is noticeable, especially at highway speeds, and it probably doesn't give much up, if any, on the bottom end. How is the handling? Does it have the what-do-you-call-it-lever suspension on the front like the GSA or is it different? How does it handle on pavement overall? Do you notice the slightly wider 17" front vs. the 19" on the GSA? Probably also has better wind protection, so it would not surprise me if it is a better highway bike. How are the backroads, like you probably did yesterday, vs. on a GSA with street oriented tires?
Jeff - Street Triple 675R / GSX-R600 / F850GSA

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fixxervi6
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Re: Rick's K-Bike

Post by fixxervi6 » Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:12 pm

Kind of a tough one to answer in a way, but I'll try, part of my problem is I've yet to go out solo and two up ruins any raw "feel" for a bike for me.

Power wise the GS and K1600 feel similar in that they are both very flat on power delivery, no surprises anywhere in the rev range. By comparison the GS has more down low grunt at the very very bottom, I think the K1600 only pulls good at the bottom due to massive displacement but you could be crawling in the GS yank the throttle open at near idle and it'll stand on it's nose, the K1600 being so heavy doesn't do that, it pulls but not the same. In terms of usable power delivery the boxer will always have a special place in my heart, that and the V4 remain my favorite engines. In terms of raw power delivery and just putting it down the road, the k1600 feels like rocket ship compared to the GS, it pulls very hard at 100+ mph two up. I put it in dynamic for the first time on the last ride and it would pull the front under mid rpm in second - on a bike that heavy that says something for the power. Of course the electronics keep the front down, it may have come up like 1/4" and you feel the power just cut out. Overall the K1600 engine delvers what I was looking for - with a ton of weight on the bike it'll still pull hard into the triple digits.

Handling, slow turns and in a parking lot is is like driving a bus - it sucks worse than any bike I've ever been on including the gold wing. It doesn't have traditional forks so the front doesn't dive under heavy braking, this makes it feel funny to me because my sport bike habit is to transfer weight to the front when turning - I know this is a performance move for track and all but it's just something that stuck and it throws me off a bit when I turn because the bike doesn't "move" like I expect it to in regards of transferring weigh to he front. Once your moving it handles very well and the weight isn't as noticeable - but don't believe the reviews it's no sport bike, it's a big bitch and you can tell - it's just not that bad or as bad as you expect it to be after fighting it in a parking lot. The gold wing felt "bigger" to me when moving, K1600 feels better, but to dip it into a turn does take more input than any bike I've been on including the GS - GS was incredibly nimble.

It's the most comfortable bike I've been on by far, even out of practice I can log hours in the seat without discomfort, even 2 up, and the engine is butter smooth. For street riding the K1600 smokes the GS in comfort and power - cruising 100mph on the GS - you knew it and the engine lost that "hard pull" - the K1600 is butter smooth at 100 and still pulls like a train. If someone was looking to buy a GS to tour on, I think they would be better served by a K1600 - the GS will do it, but the K1600 was built for it.

The wind protection on the K1600 is amazing and push button windshield adjust, with the windscreen all the way up I can hear the radio at 80mph, with it down you get some wind, but there are adjustable "side scoops" for when your hot to get extra air.

Foot room tight, shockingly tight for a touring bike, with a passenger on your constantly playing footsy, just not a lot of room behind that big engine.

For one up touring I think it's a bit much bike, it's just so damn big and heavy that it's just unnecessary - it'll do it but unless you NEED all that room and power a 1250 would probably be the way to go - I was looking at the 1250's but research showed if your two up, the K1600 is the winner. For two up, the K1600 works great, and that's the only reason I bought it. If I was going to so solo touring I'd go with something smaller, maybe even an older VFR or 1250 but I can solo on this, or two up easily and comfortably. I was thinking it would have been nice to take Beck with me on the multi-state ride a few of us did a while back - but two up on a GS would have kicked my ass on that trip, this bike it would have been no problem.

At some point I'll drop the top box and go out solo and get a feel for it's performance but from what I've done, but in general this thing is capable of laying down a pretty stupid pace if you wanted to put it down the road.

The bad
The damn transmission reminds me of the GS, it's like driving an old tractor, very clunky and not refined, it could be I'm just spoiled by sport bike transmissions. The slipper clutch works pretty good for what it is - no where near as slick as the ape and it chatters sometimes like it's doing partial slips.

The linked brakes work odd, with the GS I got in the habit of pressing the back brake, then the front, then letting off the back to unlink them, since I can't transfer the weight on this bike I can't tell if it's unlinking them like the GS does - this is a user habit thing I just need to quit using the back brake and let the linking do it's job so user problem not really a bike problem

The clutch/shift/gas timing is way different than any bike I've been on, when I go to close the throttle and pull the clutch in "automatic brain mode" the revs don't drop as fast as my brain thinks they are so I get a little "clunk" on shift. It's a combination of throttle position (it's still getting some gas and spins up when I clutch) and rev spin down time on an inline 6 - this is just a timing adjustment that will come with time so also more of a user issue than a bike issue. I can shift it without the clutch and it feels fine doing clutchless but with a passenger on I try to "smooth it all out" so I haven't been doing many clutchless shifts.

Overall I give it a thumbs up, it was the right purchase for the mission I bought it for, sporty enough to put a smile on my face but a great machine for 2 up touring. I would not recommend the machine for solo riders, I think there are other options out there that would better serve them for less bulk.
K1600