K1300S

[sapaul]

Got the opportunity to get a K1300S for the day and thought I would give my impressions.

It has been almost 2 years since I traded my K1200S and have been on the GS since. I last rode a K12 some six months back though and it felt like an old friend. I was indeed looking forward to a ride on the new and improved 13.

As is usual with this range, the colours are bland and far from fun, this one was no different, a kind of off grey, hardly inspiring. The basic shape is the same although a little thinner. I would have liked to see white lens covers on indicators and lights but no luck there. The cockpit is different and the switch layout has gone traditional with the light switches and indicators standard as opposed to BMW.

Getting the leg over felt great as I am a shorty and have to use the kung foo method of getting my leg over the GS. A quick swing and I am aboard.
Hit the starter and the engine turns over with a muted whine. I still have my helmet off at this point because I wanted to hear what the engine sounded like. Boy, it sounds rough, there is this harshness there that was also present on the 12's. It does not vibrate or feel weird, it's just, well not a japanese bike.

Helmet on, time to ride. I have a 30 km ride home with a choice of back roads or highway or a combination of both. I chose the combo.

The immediate thought that came to mind as I rode away from the dealership was an incident in 2005 from this very dealership A guy came in for a demo ride on a 12. At 1 km away from the dealership and on an on ramp to the highway, this guy had lost control and hit the Armco barrier at speed. The bike was torn in two and this guy spent 4 months in a coma. It was a sobering thought and a reminder that this bike can be a beast.

I settled into an easy rhythm with the bike for the first 5 kms and remembered how easy it is to ride this bike. As long as you fully understand the potential power on this machine and treat it with respect then it becomes your friend and teacher. This bike has got to be the best at cornering of all the hypertourers. The balance is supurb. I honestly could not tell you if there was a difference between the 2. They just corner like on rails.

As a bit of open road came up, it was time to test that famous roll on. I did both of the techniques I rode with on my own bike. Shortshifting through the gears to get to sixth and also winding it in every gear to get to speed. The power has to be experianced for you to understand. I have ridden some big CC bikes lately and some have torque for Africa, but this is different. 40 to 240 in sixth, smooth as silk. That same rough vibration is there on the overun on the 13 as there was on the 12. The pull through in any gear is strong, smooth and quick without pulling your arms off.

The old techniques also came back as I hardly touched the brakes, the throttle control and gearing are soooo precise that you can control everything with utmost confidence. The can on the back, although a different shape gives out much the same emmission controlled tree hugger sound.

I of course had to go and give The Goose a run on her favourite machine and after getting home picked her up and headed for some twisties.

This bike came equipped with the ESA option and I found it easy and quick to adjust. We had it on comfort for the short stretch of highway we did and then had it on sport for the twisty's.

I came back from that jaunt with the same opinion that I have had since 2005. This is the best tourer on the market. It can do everything you want it to do on tar and can haul with the fastest of them all. Again the quicker I went on this bike, even two up, the more stable I felt. High speed conering was a pleasure and the balance never felt wrong. I am not going to say on a public forum how fast we went and I did not go near the limit but we went plenty quick enough and I could have gone a lot further at the same speeds for a lot longer.

In short, an awsome bike, especially for a shaftie. If I was a wealthy man there would be one inthe garage.

[High_Side]

Thanks for the report Sapaul. Is it worth the extra $$ to go for the K13S over finding a well kept garage queen K12S in your opinion?

[sapaul]

Yeah I think so, Ist gen had some problems as you know and I think they have all been ironed out with the 13. I would look at a 13 as a keeper though and would expect plenty KMs out of it. Remember I did 40 000 on my 12 in 23 months.

Replaced a clutch at 23 000, under warrenty
Had clock problems, sorted under warrenty
Had light problems, they blamed my modulator, but fixed problem under warrenty.

I think all round the 13 is a better build quality.