Best Sport Touring BMW K1600GT

Designating a touring motorcycle is fairly straightforward, but defining a sport-touring motorcycle always seems a more contentious task and is a debate we’ve ‘rassled with many times. But when BMW’s performance-driven K1600 machines came along, choosing a class-leading sport-tourer became much easier.

The K1600GT possess all of the K1600GTL’s engine power, handling prowess, and technological wizardry. But in the interest of appealing to riders that want all of the GTL’s performance, yet don’t want a cross-country ready rig (not that the GT isn’t capable of gobbling up hundreds of miles at a time), the GT ditches the GTL’s trunk box and employs a sportier windscreen shape (read: slightly less wind protection in some positions). Of course, the GT’s windshield is also electronically adjustable.

Just as the Touring category remains largely unchanged from last year, so, too, does Sport-Touring, thus the K1600GT easily wins this department for a second year. To repeat ourselves from 2011, the K1600GT is the Gold Wing that retiring track addicts would hope for.