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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| It was hard but I pulled the trigger and traded my 08 Vision for a BMW K1600 GTL. I loved my Vision......had it just the way I wanted it but just didn't need a third bike because I will never part with my 07 Kingpin. Just letting everybody know that what I didn't have to give to the dealer I put on Ebay. Trunk Liner, Saddle Bag Liners, Ultimate Solo Touring Bag, Full Storage Cover, Chrome 2" Forward Handle Bars, Tall Windscreen and L1 Exhaust (Level 2). |
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Tourer
Posts: 495
Carrollton, TX | Hi Rick, Sorry to hear you parted with the Vision but I am interested in what you think of the BMW 1600GTL after you get some miles on it. I have test ridden the bike about 4 times and like a lot of things about the bike but it is a sport touring bike and not a luxury touring bike. I really want a luxury touring bike. I have put a fair amount of miles on a BMW 1200 LT as well. The 1600 GTL does not have the wind and weather protection of the 1200 LT or the RT models. I have talked with several owners and the most mileage they are getting on the rear tire is about 5,000 miles which is a huge issue for me. I love the traction control and electronic suspension, the headlight technology and the power plant is awesome. The first 5 gears are to close and to low for a touring bike but fine for a sport bike. Oh, and there is no support for a CB radio and the small speakers are not very good and the plan was to use Bluetooth in the helmet all the time. There was one 1600 GTL first year owner in our area that traded his in for a Victory Vision. He had a 1200 LT before the 1600 GTL and wanted a luxury touring bike again. The rumor I hear from my BMW dealer friends is that BMW is working on a true luxury touring bike using the 1600 motor. Enjoy and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I love the fact that BMW is doing some great innovation and I welcome more innovation in the motorcycle industry. I think the 1600 GTL is the best sport touring bike on the planet. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | Craig, you feel exactly like I do. I didn't know BMW was looking to possibly make a luxury touring model. Too many negatives, for me, on the 1600GTL to make the move. I really don't want Bluetooth because I don't want to charge my helmet. I prefer a hard wire.
Rick, I would love to hear your thoughts too. It's an incredible machine. You lucky SOB. 
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| I will certainly give you guys an update in a month or so as I experience this bike. I've only been riding 8 years or so and this is the first bike with my feet under me. As said I loved my Vision but one of my favorite past times is riding the hills and mountains. The Vision was a great bike to get me there from here in Florida but like driving a school bus after I got there. Don't misunderstand.......the Vision handles very well for what it is but it is what it is.
I'm 62 this month and if I had a brain I would have bought a Goldwing and had the power, handling and a comfortable touring bike. But like an idiot I want to take the boxes off and run around like a kid on a crotch rocket. The K 1600 was the best as far as technology, comfort and power for me. It also carried the highest price tag. Oh well......probably be my last new bike.
Craig, the dealer did mention that owners who often disengage traction control are going through rear tires in 5000 miles.
Updates later......
Rick |
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Cruiser
Posts: 122
Westchester Co., NY | Good luck with the new toy. |
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Tourer
Posts: 495
Carrollton, TX | Rick, I certainly would not go with the Gold Wing, been there done that. The Vision will out handle it, has more comfort, better wind and weather protection, better gas mileage, better electronics, and a host of other things. The only thing the Gold Wing has over the Vision is a little more storage and power. But for a little more money and not much more if any more than what you will pay for a Gold Wing you can bump the Vision up to way more power than the Gold Wing. Enjoy new ride as the 1600 GTL will corner like a sport bike. Craig, |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I won't tell you what to like, but after riding the boxy, twisty frame GL1200 and GL1500, and the lack of comfortable feet position, I can never say a Gold Wing is a step up from the Vision. My feeling on the Vision, besides the outstanding comfort and feet position is the fact it feels like it is riding on a rail in the toughest and tightest of twisty's. It rides like I think and always goes where I want it to. The GW always had me fighting in the twisties, so much so that when I got the Vision, I could go anywhere to 10 to 20mph faster on the same twisties and had a confidence I never had on the GW on unknown roads. Just my opinion and I'm always curious why some folks feel that the GW is somehow superior. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 196
| ++1 
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| I have never ridden a GW but always heard with that low center of gravity they handle very well for a big cruiser. I'm pretty aggressive on the curves with the Vision (low enough to drag) and a GW ate my lunch coming off a mountain last year. Could have been driver skill.....bummer. |
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Tourer
Posts: 573
Central Illinois | Driver skill will beat bike performance every time. I am a super conservative rider so no matter how good the bike I ride, an aggressive rider will always pull away from me. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | hawkeye2633 - 2013-04-20 8:36 PM
I have never ridden a GW but always heard with that low center of gravity they handle very well for a big cruiser. I'm pretty aggressive on the curves with the Vision (low enough to drag) and a GW ate my lunch coming off a mountain last year. Could have been driver skill.....bummer.
I have ridden Goldwings. Many of them. I still ride with them and swap bikes occasionally. The GL1800s are way better in the handling department than the GL1200s and GL1500s. No comparison really. The GL1500s are probably the most comfortable of all the Goldwings, but the GL1800s are close. The GL1800s are the best of the Goldwing breed overall, everything considered.
The center of gravity is actually pretty close when comparing the GL1800 and the Vision. The handling of the two bikes is also very similar, but the Vision has more ultimate cornering clearance. Both the Goldwing and the Vision in the hands of capable riders can surprise the heck out of less experienced sport bike riders. An experienced Goldwing rider familiar with his machine can out corner a Vision, and the inverse is also true. It does come down to rider skill. Familiarity with machine and the particular road in question will be a factor. That GW rider may have been very familiar with that road. The Vision will be faster through the twisties if the riders are of equal skill and both know the road equally. The GW may be faster if that rider is familiar with that particular road and the Vision rider isn't. The ride quality of the GL1800 is very good, but not quite as good as the Vision's. The Goldwing will bottom out on hard bumps that the Vision can soak up (the Vision has more rear suspension travel). They're both very comfortable bikes, but the Vision is the more comfortable bike if the daily mileage is high, due to the fixed foot position of the GW and the long floorboards of the Vision, and the Vision has a longer wheelbase and greater suspension travel, giving it a little better ride than the Goldwing. The GL1800 has more power at the upper end of the power band (over 4500 RPM) than the stock Vision does, but that can easily and fairly cheaply be inverted too, with the Vision ending up with more power than the Goldwing. In stock form, the bikes are about equal in 5th gear passing power up to 100 MPH (4500 RPM on the Vision in 5th) and then the GW will pull ahead. If you put Lloydz air filter, a fuel controller, and his cams in the Vision, the GW won't be able to keep up. Both are great machines and they're really not that much different in handling, power, and comfort. Personal preference for certain features and characteristics will be the determining factor in choosing one over the other and either is a great choice.
Ronnie |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| Thanks Ronnie.Good insight. I took the K 1600 out today with some buddies. I'm still in break in and taking it easy but the other bikes; Rader, custom Victory 92 stripped to only fenders and a Rocket III were no match specially in what curves we could find here in Florida. The Rocket rider had his girl so he didn't play too hard. I could hear their exhaust (since I can't hear mine) and when they would gas I would too and end up on the brakes. I did bump it up to 110 just to get around them once and it got there so quickly and effortlessly. I know the BMW is a whole different class of bike but I wouldn't even been able to play if I had been on the Vision. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 215
W'ford Tx | any direct links to your ebay auctions? |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| Goat 813
I put the items in as "Victory Vision ..........." and the factory description. Here's the link to the windscreen:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Victory-Vision-Tall-Windscreen-/25126345207... |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 20
| The others:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251263453908?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trk...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251263591466?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trk...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251263653380?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trk...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251263657512?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trk...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251263662254?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trk... |
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Emotional Day
