Does anyone have any experience/thoughts on the above. Many thanks 
Pan european or k1200lt
- Thread starter johnnyboy
- Start date
I've never seen a K1200LT without the rear wheel drive being chewed to pieces. And such a PIG of a bike to work on.
AJJCornish
Registered user
I have owned A ST1300 Pan, and it was a superb machine, the only issue was slow speed riding with the heat from the mighty V-four and the exhausts. Other than that Great machine!
Good feedback as I tend to do my own maintenance
There were some issues on the earlier Pans with corrosion in the exhaust and swinging arm iirc? However, those which have been looked after carefully seem OK. And the later ones? Have a look here ... https://www.ukgser.com/community/threads/st1300-pan-european-feedback-please.272546/
AJJCornish
Registered user
You are correct about the exhaust...I replaced mine with a stainless one for £250. As for the swinging arm, I had no issues
I was aware of those issues as well as alternators filling with water, but thanks anyway
I had an ST1300 for 11 years and 48k miles, in that time I had a water pump replaced.
Superb bike, very stable at speed after I replaced stock suspension with Wilbers. Pretty heavy at 328kgs and the enclosed fairing could get very warm, no great problem in the UK but on our annual Greek trips it made riding pretty uncomfortable radiating heat onto my shins and feet. Nothing in the way of modern accessories like cruise control, and heated grips are an extra. Wonderful engine but pick-up from low revs can be jerky. Lights pretty good but LED bulb replacement considerably improves things. A myriad of bolt sizes and lengths making refitting panels a joy.
All that said it was a very reliable and excellent machine, particularly for touring and if I hadn’t damaged my shoulders I wouldn’t have replaced it with the (lighter) RT.
Superb bike, very stable at speed after I replaced stock suspension with Wilbers. Pretty heavy at 328kgs and the enclosed fairing could get very warm, no great problem in the UK but on our annual Greek trips it made riding pretty uncomfortable radiating heat onto my shins and feet. Nothing in the way of modern accessories like cruise control, and heated grips are an extra. Wonderful engine but pick-up from low revs can be jerky. Lights pretty good but LED bulb replacement considerably improves things. A myriad of bolt sizes and lengths making refitting panels a joy.
All that said it was a very reliable and excellent machine, particularly for touring and if I hadn’t damaged my shoulders I wouldn’t have replaced it with the (lighter) RT.
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An ST1300 with sorted suspension is one of my favourite bikes. Fast, smooth, reliable, comfy, versatile and very easy to live with.
They do miss having cruise control, you can retrofit one but it’s over £1k.
They do miss having cruise control, you can retrofit one but it’s over £1k.
K1200LT's are great bikes IMHO, had one for a while for 2-up duties. Very comfortable for both rider and pillion, to the point where the Mrs could fall fast asleep on the back. Cruising at around 80mph would give over 50mpg, fully loaded so they have a comfortable 300 mile range.
Routine servicing not a problem, very little bodywork to remove for an engine oil/filter, gearbox and final drive oil change, valve check and plug change.
However the air filter is under the tank so that is a pig of a job, loads of tupperware to remove.
Speaking to other owners at the time the consensus was that if you did lots of miles 2 up with the panniers full, then consider the FD bearings a routine service item every 30k or so. Mine went clang on the autobahn......
Unless there is something new on the market since I had mine then tyre choice is quite limited due to needing bias belted heavy duty rubber.
They handle surprisingly well for a big heavy bike. I only sold mine as the Mrs's health took a nosedive and we weren't using it.
Lots of useful info on this forum:
https://www.bmwlt.com/
and being an American forum, lots of owners reporting bikes with vast mileages.
Routine servicing not a problem, very little bodywork to remove for an engine oil/filter, gearbox and final drive oil change, valve check and plug change.
However the air filter is under the tank so that is a pig of a job, loads of tupperware to remove.
Speaking to other owners at the time the consensus was that if you did lots of miles 2 up with the panniers full, then consider the FD bearings a routine service item every 30k or so. Mine went clang on the autobahn......
Unless there is something new on the market since I had mine then tyre choice is quite limited due to needing bias belted heavy duty rubber.
They handle surprisingly well for a big heavy bike. I only sold mine as the Mrs's health took a nosedive and we weren't using it.
Lots of useful info on this forum:
https://www.bmwlt.com/
and being an American forum, lots of owners reporting bikes with vast mileages.
ST1300 for me. Hot in the heat of central europe last summer but so are most faired bikes. Handles surprisingly well as others have said. Looked after they achieve high miles and later models a definite improvement. The low mirrors take some getting used to and two up for me they limit my vision field.
For a personal high mileage A road cruiser they take some beating.
For a personal high mileage A road cruiser they take some beating.
Did lots of miles on 1100 and 1300 pans-preferred the 11, had some scary wobbles on loaded 1300, admittedly at job speeds. The 11 was great, solid and dependable, crash well (damhik!).
AJJCornish
Registered user
That's a beautiful example...lots of extras wow!
AJJCornish
Registered user
A chum of mine has a Pan,I took it for a spin and was surprised how well it handled.
From what year would you consider to be a later model?
One of the best bikes ever made, easy ST1100 Pan.
ST1300 an excellent bike too.
TD
ST1300 an excellent bike too.
TD
AJJCornish
Registered user
My ST1300 before I sold it back in Oct 24
They’re all the same after 2009.
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