I've had several bikes now with ABS. Most are not intrusive, and it's a definite useable safety feature.
BMWs are the only ones I've heard of that have ABS unit failures, but it's definitely a thing.
I've had several bikes now with ABS. Most are not intrusive, and it's a definite useable safety feature.
BMWs are the only ones I've heard of that have ABS unit failures, but it's definitely a thing.
I'm going to look at the 2006 this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.
Good luck, the seller of that 2006 sounds like the kind of person you want to buy something like this bike from.
I'm not a huge fan of ABS deletes, however I've not owned a K series with the later ABSs that had the ABS deleted. On the older bikes like K100/K75 it is indeed a pretty simple operation, but especially on a bike that's equipped with servo brakes I suspect to get well working brakes, you might need to make additional changes on top of bypassing the ABS unit itself.
The ABS on my various BMWs saved my behind a couple of times in the UK (think rainy British evening, a street that's mostly but not completely made of cobblestone and has some tram tracks, and a driver of the SMIDSY[1] variety). So as a result I simply prefer my bikes with working ABS.
[1] "Sorry mate I didn't see you", usually uttered shortly after something or something went bang-crunch.
Update:
I went down this afternoon to see the guy with the 2006. His two car garaage had been converted into a BMW repair shop and he services bikes. He had an RT fully stripped on the lift, so he was able to show me the guts of what it looks like under my K tupperware. He showed me all the buttons, the receipt for new tires last month, and it really is as nice as it looks. He was a super honest guy and several times he asked me to keep in touch - good or bad. I felt very confident.
We went to the notary, and I'm now married to a 2006 K1200LT with 27k. It has every bell and whistle including passenger floorboards (but not driver), heated seat back for the passenger, heck... heated everything, pillion post, armrests, a sweet tune that really bumps up the low end, and some other goodies. What a ride.
Look for a future thread on clothing. I have a good jacket, but I'll need pants, shoes, and a proper helmet with intercom.
Looking forward to ICCBM (intercontinental Curtis ballistic motorcycle) reports! Looks like a great purchase!
I'm picking it up tomorrow morning. Dad is coming with me. He's a fellow bike nut.
Thank you all for the help and enabling
If you find yourself in Saskatchewan on a tour. There's camping, a fully equipped shop and frosty beverage waiting for you.
Thanks, Shawn.
So I gave it a good 3-hour shakedown today. Keep in mind that I just got rid of a Vulcan Nomad cruiser that I had for 15 years.
Slow maneuvering: This Bimmer is the same weight as my Nomad, but way taller. I expected low speed maneuvers to be a nightmare, but they aren't. They're easier. I have a feeling it's rake angle related, but I felt super confident. On the Nomad, anything below 10 mph was a fight on the handlebars and you kept your feet ready. Even at 10 mph, small changes caused big corrections. On the K, pretty much as long as you have forward motion, you can maneuver it. I expected a long learning curve, but I was confident immediately.
Power: BMW has more. On its current tune, we guess about 125hp. Vulcan was about 87hp with a broad torque curve and wide ratio box. The K likes to rev, so it has a closer ratio box.
Ride: I have never ridden another bike this smooth. I was afraid of some reviews that said the controls were not intuitive, but 30 miles into the ride, I was on cruise, adjusting windshields, had muscle memory for the turn signals, and was in heaven.
Aero: With the windscreen up and side flaps out, my t-shirt didn't even fluff in the wind except when passed by a semi. Drop the windscreen and pull in the flaps and you get enough breeze to keep you cool.
Handling: In my 15 years with the Nomad, I never got comfy in the twisties... not that it's a bike made for handling, but you usually find the limits early and play with them for the next ten years. The Nomad never gave the feedback needed to know when the rear tire was going to exit the chat. The BMW felt like a Miata on my first turn. It just went where you pointed it. Granted, this is an apples/oranges comparison, but I was impressed how the telelever makes a 900 lb bike feel like a 600 lb bike
Storage: Enough for a dead hooker... if she's small and you cut her into three chunks. A nice touch is a little glove box on the dash in front of your hootus for a phone, gloves, or paperwork.
The one thing I will have to get used to is the powered kickstand. You can't deploy it unless you're in neutral, engine running, and not holding the brake. That means you can't park facing up or down hill. I stopped at my sister's place for lunch and to let the nephews drool on it. They have a steep driveway. I pulled down to a relatively flat spot sideways across the drive. I deployed the center stand, and it was ok, but easy to rock downhill. So I decided to turn 90 degrees and point it up hill toward the road. When I bounced down off the center stand, a bit too much top weight got away from me, and it went down. Fortunately, it has an ample rubber side bumper and didn't do any damage at all, but it took three of us to get it up. I pointed it up/down hill and that's when I realized that the center stand doesn't deploy with the brakes on, so I just used the kickstand. The family was all shocked and worried, but I've laid plenty of bikes over, so it's no skin off my back. No damage other than ego.
It is easily the finest bike I've ridden, including a 2023 Goldwing and a Transcontinental.
Congrats, sounds like you did find a good bike from a good seller.
Didn't realize they had a powered kick stand, that's definitely got potential for shenanigans.
Remember, it's German.
It's not a design flaw, you're just using it incorrectly.
In reply to ShawnG :
And MAN, does it remind you. Flashing lights and warnings when you do something wrong.
So, after 500 miles, I have one gripe. The speedo is only numbered in increments of 20mph, and the marks between them are every 4mph. Finding 35 or 55 be like:
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