New to the modern K's, but not BMW

[TheCadman]

Morning / afternoon / evening

A quick introduction; I've been riding (legally!) since the morning of my 16th birthday almost 40 years ago; on road, track and off-road. I've had a variety of bikes, BMW and others, for all of these activities, and am now seriously thinking of adding a K1300s to the garage.

Clearly I've chosen the worst possible time to physically look at any bikes, so in the meantime I'm sitting here with a cup of tea / a beer ploughing through the forum,learning a lot.

Graham
R80 RS
HPN Replica
Several orange dirtbikes

[black-k1]

Welcome Graham

It is hard to find a bike that "does it all" better than the K1300S. It's fast (very fast!!!) yet completely usable, comfortable, economical (for a 1300), well mannered and has pretty decent handling. I've always described it as a bike yo can happily ride to the Alps with pillion and luggage in a day then enjoy the passes with the sports bikes the next.

When buying, the newer the better. Get one with a full BMW service history and buy the extended warranty. Check out the various posts on hear about the radiator and check it's not getting close to replacement. While some may disagree, I'd recommend getting one with ESA. The shocks are pretty decent but the ability to switch from comfort to normal to sport while on the move, as the road conditions/mood dictates, is something to cherish.

I hope you have fun shopping, even if the current situation makes it a tad difficult, and look forward to seeing pictures of the bike you eventually buy.

[Phmode]

Hi Graham and welcome to the madhouse that is EuroKClub!

Glad to hear that you are one of the younger guys and will take our demographic down the age range by a year or two 

There are lots of posts about buying but you have negated a lot of the advice by looking for a K13 rather than a 12.

Here...

https://eurokclub.bike/index.php?topic=3984.0

...is a link to the sticky on FAQ's but you've probably already been there and done that.

Good luck, Brian

[chriscanning]

As we all have plenty of time on our hands..... just looked on eBay and Bike Trader not much of choice my front runner would be the 2012 at NOG,could only see 2 others that stood up too the front wheel test and even then what’s the rad like never mind the paint on the engine and shaft.

[Matt]

Welcome! Good luck, it saddens me that the newest K300S will now be... around 4 years old .

Incidentally, when I was buying the GS the guy insisted that the black painted shaft drive units weren't corroding. The GS is a bit busy around that area to be sure though. Then again, when the F800 engine changed to black paint that apparently stopped developing piston slap! Maybe black paint fixes everything .

[TheCadman]

Thanks all for the responses - one side effect of the fact that there's not much riding going on at the moment

I'm looking for a relatively recent one; I've already got too many other projects that need work.  I'm not in a huge hurry, so will see what comes up as and when we get back to normal

And it's a while since I've joined anything where I have lowered the average age; the last was probably the IAM when I was 17!

Graham

[Phmode]

Welcome! Good luck, it saddens me that the newest K300S will now be... around 4 years old .

Incidentally, when I was buying the GS the guy insisted that the black painted shaft drive units weren't corroding. The GS is a bit busy around that area to be sure though. Then again, when the F800 engine changed to black paint that apparently stopped developing piston slap! Maybe black paint fixes everything .

My K12 was black shaft/engine/forks and that corroded...

My K13 is silver/grey/whatever and that didn't corrode...until last weekend when I cleaned it and spotted the first blisters on the top of the hub. Bugger, maybe its not a keeper after all 

[chriscanning]

Graham

I see their are a couple of late ones,a very tidy looking bike at Bahnstormer but all the late bikes come at a price and I wouldn’t pay that kind of money or even close the game has moved on in quantum leaps and that’s a quantum leap on my K which isn’t remotely stock.

Best of luck.

[raesewell]

And don't forget the "modern" Ks are not modern any more.

[Matt]

When was it the 1200 started? 05? So that's easily 04 tech if we say development happens before production. Then the 1300 got bits and bobs only as regards technology.  Sheesh! It's aged well though!

[richtea]

Sheesh! It's aged well though!

I'd rather run a sub-'bleeding edge' bike than one with all the wrinkles still there. Think 1200 v 1300.

And anyway, how fast do you need? Lighter would be nice, I guess, but LCD tech, cornering lights? Not sure they improve any bike enough to pay extra for.
Fully dynamic suspension - possibly, but then that's yet another decision removed from me.

The one time I've bought a bang up to date model it cost me a fortune when I came to sell.

[Phmode]

Sheesh! It's aged well though!

I'd rather run a sub-'bleeding edge' bike than one with all the wrinkles still there. Think 1200 v 1300.

The one time I've bought a bang up to date model it cost me a fortune when I came to sell.

It always does! It used to be 30% off the value of a car as soon as you drove it out of the showroom.

[black-k1]

Sheesh! It's aged well though!

I'd rather run a sub-'bleeding edge' bike than one with all the wrinkles still there. Think 1200 v 1300.

And anyway, how fast do you need? Lighter would be nice, I guess, but LCD tech, cornering lights? Not sure they improve any bike enough to pay extra for.
Fully dynamic suspension - possibly, but then that's yet another decision removed from me.

The one time I've bought a bang up to date model it cost me a fortune when I came to sell.

"How fast  do you need?" asks the man with a K1300S rather than a Honda CB500 that will break every speed limit in Europe!

I agree that progress doesn't always deliver things that fully enhance the bike (BMWs K1200 powered brakes being a perfect example!) but there is also a certain pleasure in owning something that is new.

Likewise, anyone buying a new or newish "mainstream" production vehicle should be fully aware that depreciation is going to be significant. I certainly am which is why I only ever buy secondhand cars.

[chriscanning]

Still laughing about ‘Old Boys’ talking about money  bit late for that now....

Re Graham and his proposed K they are fast even by today’s standards and if what you are after is a fast(in a straight line) work horse like Martin has done with his 100,000 miler then the K is still a serious bike,15 years ago it was sold as a Sports Tourer but as I found out when I bumped into a 1290 Adventurer(both of us 2 up) it came as a mighty wake up call,the K it is just too big and heavy to move around at any kind of speed over anything more than a couple of miles and that is mine with all the money and hard work I’ve Put in into mine never mind a stocker.

Re prices it’s all relative as they say but when you have a dealer selling a 4000 mile KTMGT for £9500 before an offer with all the thrills that they come with riding one,I certainly wouldn’t want to go anywhere near that kind of money for a K,but of course that’s assuming you don’t need a fast cart horse 

[richtea]

"How fast  do you need?" asks the man with a K1300S rather than a Honda CB500 that will break every speed limit in Europe!

Or in my case: 'How large did you want your fast bike?'
My criteria: Large enough that my knees don't touch the fairing.

Honestly, I make a K look like a 125.

But you're right, you can have some serious fun on slower bikes. But one of us would be crippled at the end of the day.