BMW’s new range of K1300 models are the cutting-edge of production model motorcycle technology; all three versions are jam-packed with performance, safety and convenience features you won’t find elsewhere.

Australian and Kiwi bike journos were introduced to the new models the day after seeing Aussie Troy Corser and Spaniard Ruben Xaus debut the BMW S 1000 RR in the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, where both riders showed BMW’s race efforts should prove successful – Corser scored a top ten result in the first race and Xaus an impressive top speed of 312km/h down Gardner Straight.

I couldn’t get that sort of speed out of the K 1300 S the following day, buttoning off just shy of 250 before clicking down a gear and sweeping into Doohan Corner.
You read that right, folks – nearly 250km/h out of a BMW, and it had more to go, for I wasn’t even using sixth gear. Exactly what the K 1300 S will do with enough straight bitumen in front of it I can’t say, but I have no trouble believing BMW’s claim this is the most powerful and fastest production bike the company has ever built.

The other bike I rode at the track was the K 1300 R, the toughest - nay nastiest - looking BMW ever produced. This thing oozes muscle and has the gonads to back it up. Its slightly shorter final gearing and lack of fairing make it a touch slower than its brother on a racetrack, but as a machine to take on city streets it’s up there with the best of them.

Finishing off the trio is the new K 1300 GT. One of the most powerful bikes you can buy with standard panniers, cruise control and a highly protective fairing, the GT is one of the fastest machines you’ll encounter through the countryside. Add in the ability to do it all comfortably with a pillion and luggage and the bike is even more impressive.

The updates

All three bikes replace the transverse engine powered 1200 versions first introduced with the K 1200 S in 2005, and the changes are many and varied: indeed, the press information supplied to journos at the launch covering the three models runs to 29 A4 pages of information – some might say overkill, but any bike journo who ever says ‘BMW didn’t tell me’ has lost his press kit. (The first K 1200 GT (2003) had the earlier flat-four style BMW engine which was switched for the transverse motor in 2006.)

The basics are still the same: a liquid-cooled, DOHC, fuel injected, four valve per cylinder inline four. The cylinders are angled forward 55-degrees to produce a lower centre of gravity. Fuel is injected through almost straight intake ports positioned under the fake fuel tank cover (the actual fuel tank lies much further back, effectively under the seat).

The engine updates for 2009 include adding 136cc by boring (by a scant 1mm) and stroking (by a more significant 5.3mm) the pots, enlarging capacity to 1293cc.
While they were at it, the engineers modified the combustion chambers, conrods, valve timing, pistons and many other components all in an effort to improve performance, reduce fuel consumption or both.

The R and S have both scored a new, shorter, muffler, which looks a whole lot better than the Bazooka fitted to the 1200cc versions. On the GT it’s not so noticeable because it rides under the right-hand pannier.
The net result of the changes is an increase in power output to 175hp (K 1300 S), 173hp (K 1300 R) and 160hp (K 1300 GT).
Drivetrain modifications include efforts to make the machine shift gears better – the old ’box was a bit clunky – but much more exciting is the option of Gearshift Assistance, which is very similar in function to the speedshifters fitted to many racebikes, allowing clutchless upchanges without backing off the throttle. It’s bloody great.

All three machines can be fitted with ABS, ASC, ESA II and TPC. For those not familiar with BMW’s acronyms, they translate to anti-lock braking, traction control, electronically adjustable suspension and tyre pressure monitoring. And for you non-believers out there scoffing, it all works and is worth the not insubstantial extra cost.

The acronyms

BMW’s representatives at the launch were keen to emphasise to us that, despite all the wonderful technology and acronyms, the new 1300s were still motorcycles and would fall over if you really did the wrong thing. But the wrong thing doesn’t include simply stomping on the brakes in an emergency, because its latest anti-lock braking ABS system won’t let the wheels lock up at anything more than walking pace.
They even gave us a demonstration - on grass. It worked. Nailing the front brake of a heavy, high-priced sports tourer with road tyres on grass may seem like insanity, but all it did was stop… and not on its side, either.

ABS is an option on the ‘R’, standard on the S and GT. It can be switched off on the R and S, but not on the GT.

ASC - which is Automatic Stability Control, is new to BMW’s road bikes - it’s been an option on the R 1200 GS for a year or so now. ASC uses the ABS system to monitor the relative speeds of the wheels and reduce power to the rear wheel if there’s a disparity between the two. The good thing about this is too much right wrist won’t see the rear tyre losing all traction - the primary cause of the dreaded high-side - which means you’ve got a high-tech safety net driving hard out of corners. More importantly, though, it means no wheelspin on white lines when overtaking trucks in the rain… The bad news is you can’t do wheelies without turning the system off first.

The grass was also used to demonstrate the effectiveness of ASC - you can see and hear the engine being controlled by the management system, and you can feel it when riding. Getting the system to cut in on loose surfaces is easy. Combined with ABS it makes riding on poor surfaces a lot more confidence inspiring.

ESA II is the second incarnation of BMW’s Electronic Suspension Adjustment. In very basic terms this gives you a variety of suspension settings all accessible from the comfort of your seat. First choose a base setting - solo, solo with luggage or two people with luggage - then choose Comfort, Standard or Sport. The first part is spring preload and the latter damping.

BMW has added an Elastogran element to the top of the rear spring/damper unit - this is effectively an extra spring, giving the suspension a dual-rate action. The electronic motor in the ESA II actually moves a sleeve over the Elastogran to control of amount of spring preload.

ESA II controls on rebound damping in the front spring/damper unit which controls the front suspension. Changes to the front end are minimal, but do include a switch to alloy for the longditudinal arm in the Duolever suspension set-up. Put simply the front suspension works by a wishbone acting on a spring/damper unit via a pair of linkage arms. A ball joint gives you steering. For the rider, Duolever means less front end dive during braking, no fork stiction and rake and trail don’t change because of suspension action.

TPC, or Tyre Pressure Monitoring, simply displays your tyre pressures and warns you if they are low.

Track time

The first chance we had to ride the new models in anger was around Phillip Island’s famous racing circuit the day after the SWC event, as part of the California Superbike School’s Afterburner ride day.
Normally I’m not keen to track test 215kg-plus machines, but I was actually looking forward to trying out the R and S, and I wasn’t disappointed – these are actually very easy bikes to ride around a circuit, especially considering they are large capacity and designed for street rather than track use.
I was surprised that, in three sessions, I nearly wore out a knee scraper of my new Ixon leathers, such was the fun I was having…

The new bikes – both S and R, I didn’t ride the GT around the circuit – surprised with their composure under heavy braking, top speed and stability. Their road-going design meant the suspension – especially damping rates – steering and weight were the downsides of taking these BMW’s onto the track, but in all respects the machines coped better than I expected.

A fast lap had me driving hard through the final turns onto the straight, keeping the throttle pinned while simply prodding the gearlever up as the tacho needle approached redline.
I never did managed to get 250 on the speedo before sitting up, braking and making a single downchange to fourth for turn one.
In the long, long turn that is Southern Loop the weight of the BMWs was noticeable but not really a problem. It would drive hard out of the turn and fly through the fast left-hand kink. Sitting up for the slow right-hand hairpin would have the back-end pogoing a little - that’s the suspension not being track tuned. Braking stability is good though, so it would all be pulled nicely back in line before tipping into the turn.

Siberia, the Hayshed and Lukey Heights is one of the greatest sets of bends you’ll find anywhere, and the S, especially, was great fun through this section – although I was surprised when the left peg started dragging on the bitumen up to the peak of the hill, few sports bike will do this these days.
Braking for the slow MG corner was fine, but the damping rates again weren’t right for the flick left, but it would settle down as I lined back up for the multiple left handers onto the straight.

For bikes which aren’t racetrack refugees, which, on paper, are too heavy, too wide and too upright in the riding position for a racetrack, these machines are very capable on the track. If you only do the occasional ride-day, if you want something sporty but don’t want handlebars which feel like they’re bolted to the front axle, you will probably be more than pleased at the capabilities of the K 1300 S or K 1300 R.

On the Road

Drizzle, heat, strong winds and a photo shoot is usually a combination which will test my patience, but being able to switch between the upright, comfortable and protective GT, the sporty but still comfortable S and the aggressive, fun and rorty R throughout the road riding day of the launch made it a good day’s riding. The GT is one of the most capable touring bikes available today. Its 160hp engine combined with a stiff chassis and capable suspension means it can be punted along a winding road at a surprising pace, all the while sitting up and enjoying the scenery. The voluminous panniers, cruise control and effortlessly adjustable suspension made the ride all the easier, too.

The S was my favourite on the day and the launch. Sporty but not too aggressive, I could ride it all all day without feeling fatigued, attack the twisty bits with all the speed I wanted to and not be concerned about width when we were slipping back through the traffic as we approached Melbourne at the end of the day. The R is more the summer and urban weapon. Although the lean forward to the ’bars is there, you still notice the breeze trying to push you off the back when the wick gets wound up. The riding position is great in traffic and the presence of such an imposing, aggressive machine is almost worth the sticker price alone.

Options and pricing

The lists of prices, included items and options would pretty well fill these pages, so here I’ll just outline the major stuff; talk to your BMW dealer for more details. BMW Motorrad Australia is offering the GT and R is two variants, but the S in only one: but in every case there are a myriad of options (which must be factory-fitted) and accessories (which can be fitted at anytime). The K 1300 S is priced at $25,750: BMW Australia has specified all Australian models will receive sports wheels, heated grips, the on board computer and switchable ABS.

As tested it included Gearshift Assistant ($700), ESA II ($1300), Traction Package ($675) and a luggage grid ($200), bringing it to $28,625. The Tri colour version is $765 extra and the panniers are accessory items. The K 1300 R is $22,700, but this poverty pack model only includes heated grips and LED indicators (which are options in other countries). The K 1300 R SE ($23,400) gets the sports wheels, on board computer and tinted sports windshield. The model ridden included the Traction Pack (TPC, ABS, ASC) for $2235, Gearshift Assist ($700), ESA II ($1300) and the luggage grid ($200).

The GT starts at $29,800, including ABS, heated grips, cruise control and the on board computer. The SE model – which is specification tested – ($32,775) adds a Xenon headlight, ESA II, Traction Package (TPC, ASC) and seat heating.