BMW K1600 SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER

The K1600 range of bikes enjoys a special place in the touring segment, exchanging punches with the likes of the Honda Gold Wing and the biggest American touring machinery. But what makes this six-cylinder beast such an important player in the elite-level touring game?

- Mikko Nieminen

On the face of it, six cylinders in a motorcycle engine sounds preposterous. Too many. Too big. Too heavy. Just no. It's never going to work. Neeext...

But history disagrees. You only have to look at the likes of the Honda RC166 to see what can be achieved with six cylinders - two 250cc world titles for Mike Hailwood, that's what.

And six is the magic number of cylinders that BMW has in its touring rocket ship, the K1600. With a history of three- and four-cylinder bikes, by 2010 the K-range had grown into six cylinders, and that's where it has stayed ever since.

Meet the family

For this year BMW has updated the K1600 range, which offers four different models: the B (stripped-back bagger take on touring); the GT (the classic Grand Tourer); the GTL (adding more creature comforts to the GT); and Grand America (full-on two-up tourer based on the bagger). The differences between the models are mainly directed at creating different ride feels. The bagger, for instance, not only has the slung-back panniers and low rear, but also a shorter windscreen and foot boards in addition to the pegs for relaxed cruising. The GT offers more touring practicality with a higher a screen, more active riding position with a higher seat, better weather protection around your legs with deflectors that also double up as lockable cubby holes, and much more of a touring rather than cruising feel. The GTL and Grand America add top cases and audio systems as standard equipment and make the bikes better suited to two-up touring.

That engine