Seems the future of motorcycling is road legal golf buggies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWknVN4XcT0

WTF 

Which part of motorcycling does the Motor Cycle Industry Association not understand?

I have never been in a dedicated Suzuki dealership but have never seen a car in a Honda bike showroom. For sure, BMW are the exception but they go way out of their corporate way to keep lots of clear water between their cars and bikes. Of all the marques, BM could sneak a couple of small 1 Series cars in among the many GS's and the odd RnineT in among the big upmarket XM's and I'm sure there would be some crossover interest. But no. Bikes is for bikers and cars is for the rest. And bikers of course.

So, quite which motorcycle dealers are the MCIA representing?

Seems the future of motorcycling is road legal golf buggies...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWknVN4XcT0

Good stuff Andy.

The switchgear is different and some of the pin outs for the dash will be different as there are functional differences between the 12 and 13 displays too but nothing a competent multimeter user couldn't cope with. Especially if they sprich deutsch.

Although it's universally known as the valve check, that's actually a minor part of the 'big' service. It also includes changing the spark plugs, coolant and cleaning the radiator. The valve clearances almost certainly won't need adjustment, but if you're keeping the bike long term then doing the other stuff will avoid or delay some future problems. If it hasn't been done at 12k, it would be worth changing the final drive oil too.

I'd still get a price from a BMW dealer; some offer a discount for bikes over 4 years old and it's sometimes less than you'd expect. The last service on my K13 was £249 including the MOT. Oddly, they never seem to change the air filters unless you specifically ask them to, or grease the lower suspension linkage.

If you're going to use an independent, make sure they know about the k13s quirks... The semi-dry sump, vacuum filling the cooling system, mineral oil rather than DOT4 clutch fluid, battery where the fuel tank should be, etc, etc.