A few weeks ago, the local BMW & Indian motorcycle dealership sent out an e-mail about "Bagger Days" where you can test drive both a BMW R18B and a BMW K1600B. I'm in the market for a bagger, and getting to test ride motorcycles is few and far between around here so I blocked out the afternoon on my calendar. I called 2 days ago just to insure the event was still on and inquire whether or not reservations were necessary.

I took a half-day vacation today and it's nearly perfect weather so I rode my Indian Scout over to the dealership and arrived about 1 PM. Apparently, I'm the first person of the day to show up for Bagger Days even though they've been open for 4 hours. There are 3x more employees than customers so there is a whole lot of employees talking or glued to their smart phone. They get me a salesman who actually knew what the event was about which was a bad sign. We chat, he asks for my DL, and is gone 10 minutes. Came back with a couple forms to fill out for test ride (not a surpise). They have several R18Bs, but sold their last new K1600B so they offered to substitute a used K1600GT which was OK with me.

The super friendly salesman heads off to get the keys and plates for the R18B, and I'm thinking "not bad, I've been here 15 minutes and I'm about to take a test ride." Wrong! It was an advertised event but nobody bothered to plate either bike, check gas in either bike, and check the air in either bike's tires. 30 minutes to get temp plate, check whether or not there is fuel, and check the tire pressure. I go on the R18B test ride and I dislike the bike as it's heavy, the horizontal motor is so rough from 0-10 mph that it makes it seem like I failed to feather the clutch, the foot position is awful, and the horizontal motor roughness repeats on downshifts. In short, it'd be a very expensive downgrade from my Scout.

I get back and the salesman wasn't phased when I said it wasn't the bike for me. The K1600 was the reason I was there anyway so getting to the ride the R18B was a bonus. Anyway, I tell him I'd like to ride the K1600 GT now, and the waiting clusterfuck resumes. While I was riding the first bike nobody bothered to plate the K1600, check the gas, or air the tires. While I'm waiting the lady in finance came up to me twice to apologize for how busy they were which was odd as my salesman and the guy who answer phones were the only two I saw do a lick of work. 30 long minutes later and I'm pulling out of the parking lot on the K1600 GT. I loved it as it's so refined, has tons of power, comfortable, and would be a nice step up from my Scout. I got back to the dealership and asked for his card and inquired about the wait time for a new K1600 B or GT (2 to 4 months).

I'm glad I was able to ride both bikes, but it's bullshit that it took 2 hours and 20 minutes to get two 5-mile test rides when I was the only one there for the test rides. By the time I leave, after school traffic is clogging up the roads and rush hour was about to start.

To end on a few positive notes:

Today was the first motorcycle ride since May as it's been too damn hot

I got in 50 miles of wind therapy on my Scout

I narrowed down my 50th birthday present to myself. Still need to test drive or rent a Goldwing and an Indian Chieftain.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Timely Post! I have been wanting to test ride a Can-Am Ryker. Called multiple dealers. When I asked for a test ride, I was told they have the bike, but wont uncrate it unless I put a deposit on it. No way I will spring for a new bike unless I can ride it first.
The local Yooper H-D dealer?
They are evidently now in the tractor business.

Dealers are notorious for being stingy with test rides because they don't want to put miles on their inventory units. Usually the best demo rides are manufacturer run at either the bigger rallies or if a dealer pays to have a factory demo event at their location. Sometimes you can find a schedule of these events on the manufacturer's website.

My father in law literally just told me it was demo day at the dealer today.
The K16B would probably be my choice for a mile muncher in that class.

I only checked out the R18 in the showroom a few months ago while getting tires at Discount, but agree that it feels quite heavy even sitting still.

quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
Dealers are notorious for being stingy with test rides because they don't want to put miles on their inventory units. Usually the best demo rides are manufacturer run at either the bigger rallies or if a dealer pays to have a factory demo event at their location. Sometimes you can find a schedule of these events on the manufacturer's website.

Based on the e-mail, I thought this was a BMW event. Zero BMW people present.

Regardless of it being a dealership event or BMW event, the bikes should've been plated, gassed up, and the tires at proper psi at the start of the day.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I only checked out the R18 in the showroom a few months ago while getting tires at Discount, but agree that it feels quite heavy even sitting still.

It looks like the center of gravity (cg) would be lower on their horizontal motor than a v-twin. Their parking lot was sloped toward the kickstand and it was obvious it was a pig when I stood it up. I took it to the nearby football stadium parking lot and did low speed maneuvers and the low cg didn't make a difference. Very sluggish low speed handling.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I only checked out the R18 in the showroom a few months ago while getting tires at Discount, but agree that it feels quite heavy even sitting still.

It looks like the center of gravity (cg) would be lower on their horizontal motor than a v-twin. Their parking lot is sloped toward the kickstand and it was obvious it was a pig when I stood it up. I took it to the nearby football stadium parking lot and did low speed maneuvers and the low cg didn't make a difference. Very sluggish low speed handling.

Yeah, just in my showroom seat time, the K seemed to wear its weight a lot better than the R18.
I'd say the R12RT compares better to the K16.

Our local dealer had this demo a week ago - I guess it is all about the preparation.

I saw several people going out with a lead rider. I know that the route they normally take is about 7 or 8 miles and includes both roads and highways.

Buy the K1600B. They are amazing. I enjoy my K1600GT.

Remember that the machine has high maintenance costs. Purchase an extended warranty. Check www.k1600forum.com to search for the optimum warranty experience.

There are many many known “foibles” that aggravate and also enjoyable “farkles” for the machine.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 4MUL8R,

There's no excuse for that dealer blasting out emails for a demo ride event only to not have their motorcycles prepared.

I'm not saying a Goldwing is a better motorcycle than a K1600GT at all, but you'll find it has a much lower COG if that's of any importance to you. The engine is low and gas is under the seat.

^^^That Goldwing is a REALLY Sharp bike!

Thank you nhracecraft. To be honest I'm not a fan of matte paint but I've gone from hating it to just not liking it.
I'd been looking for a Goldwing (not Goldwing Tour which has the trunk) for a while when I saw this one that had just arrived at the dealership. It was the only color available for 2022. It also only comes with the dual clutch transmission, which I really like.
All I've done is add a center stand and rear rack which is level with the back of the seat which makes a great platform to strap on the Drybag, tent, etc. Well the shield too, a friend gave me the stock windshield off his Goldwing Tour which was 5" taller, but even in the lowest position it was a little high for me when I wanted lots of air. After cutting it down 2 1/2" it's perfect and is on in the image.