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Today (Saturday) Barbara and I got the chance for a pretty good ride on the K1200LT. It was the first time I had an opportunity to ride the bike two up and the first time to get a good long ride on the highway, back roads, and even a little time on the interstate.

It was windy on Saturday. We had a front come through a day before so we had a pretty stiff breeze from the northwest, probably 10-15 mph in the gusts. This bike, and the ’08 I test drove seemed to be very stable, very aerodynamic, and just easy to drive. However, from the start of this ride the bike had some directional stability issues. I had put the “top case” back on the bike Friday night and rode it for a few minutes and it was fine. Now, riding two up, it seemed very different. It seemed like the bike wanted to drift from side to side in the lane, and when we got out on the highway in the wind, the wind was moving this big bike all over the road.

We rode up to Ellijay, Georgia, about an hour from home. I fought the bike all the way up there. It was not only the wind, but even getting behind a large car or a truck the turbulence whipped the bike around in the lane. It was a handful. I couldn’t believe that BMW would build a bike that had this kind of problem with handling.

We stopped for a drink and I had a thought. There is an adjustment for rear spring preload under the driver’s seat. I flipped up the seat and noticed that the preload was set all the way down to it’s lowest setting. I cranked it to almost its highest setting. On the way back it was like a different bike. It tracked straight, the wind affected the bike, but it was totally normal, and manageable as it should have been from the start. We got on one of my favorite roads coming home, East Cherokee Drive, that has a number of nice curves. This is where this big honker excels. It handles curves very well. It has high ground clearance and great cornering clearance.

You sit high on the BMW, several inches higher than the Electra Glide, or at least it feels that way. But the ride is comfortable. The seats on the Bimmer are very soft, but after an hour or so I start to get a bit of “butt burn.” Because the seats are soft, it is harder to move around on them, and makes it difficult to get a new position after several hours of riding. Also, the bike has the BMW “highway pegs” installed on it. I tried them out, they are worthless. They are installed under the “bumpers” on the side of the faring. They are so far apart, that you feel like you are doing a split when you get your feet out there. Very uncomfortable for more than just a few seconds. They look great, and folded away you can’t even tell they are there. But, functionally, they’re worthless!

To get a quick contrast between the BMW and the Harley, when we got home we got out on the Harley and did a short ride. Getting on the Harley was very familiar, like sitting down to the dinner table and your Mama’s house! It felt good, but then after riding these bikes for 12 years now, I would expect it to feel familiar! On the Harley you almost feel like you are sitting down “in” the in bike, not on the bike. The seating position is very different between the two bikes. On the Harley the rider has large floorboards that are out in front of you, like you are sitting in a chair. Also, the large floorboards allow the rider to move his feet around. On the Bimmer the rider has pegs and they are positioned back, behind the engine, and almost directly under the riders backside. Doesn’t leave much room to move your position as the hours pass.  It also leaves your knees bent past 90 degrees and slightly folded back under you.

The windshield on the Harley is much closer to you than on the Bimmer where the rider is sitting fully 2 and a half feet behind the windshield, the passenger is even farther behind the “bubble” behind the windsheild. This is particularly noticeable at highway speeds, where the wind protection was not very good. We got on Interstate 575 heading to Ellijay and I found that the wind was hitting me from behind. I asked Barb if she was getting a lot of wind and said “YES!!” I already had the windshield up to its highest position (this bike has the small windshield, there is a taller one that is available.) I found to small wind deflectors down below the faring and I pushed them out to their outer most position and that helped a lot. But, still, the wind protection on the Electra Glide is better.

To be continued…..