First Look: 2018 BMW K1600 Grand America
Make America Grand Again!
BMW presented a new model in its K1600 lineup, this time a full-dressed version of the K1600B. And just like the bagger, BMW clearly has the U.S. heavyweight touring market in its sights with this bike. Just look its name, the “2018 BMW K1600 Grand America.”
The Grand America is essentially a K1600B with a topcase with integrated passenger backrest and a taller windscreen. There’s a badge on the tank that labels it as the “K1600 Grand America,” but even the side fairings still say “K1600B.”
The K1600B already had brake lights integrated into the hard cases, but the Grand America extends this motif upward with the LED brake lights on the topcase. Like the bagger, the Grand America adopts a feet-forward riding position with footboards with integrated engine protection bars banked at a similar angle to the 1649cc engine’s cylinders.
The six-cylinder engine claims a peak output of 158 hp at 7750 rpm and peak torque of 129.1 lb-ft at 5250 rpm. The engine runs in three modes, Rain, Road and Dynamic, which works along with a traction control system. The engine is paired with a six-speed transmission, and the K1600 Grand America comes standard with a reverse mode activated by a button on the left handlebar.
The K1600 Grand America is equipped with BMW’s Dynamic ESA, with electronically preset “Road” and “Cruise” damping settings. Like the K1600B, the front wheel is on a duolever while the rear uses a paralever suspension system. Twin 320mm discs with four-piston radial-mount pistons stop the front wheel while the rear uses a single 320mm disc with two-piston caliper. ABS is standard.
With a full 7-gallon fuel tank, the BMW K1600 Grand America claims an unladen weight of 802.4 pounds, compared to the K1600B’s claimed 741 pound weight.
The 2018 BMW K1600 Grand America will be offered in a Blackstorm metallic paint or a two-tone Austin Yellow metallic. Pricing will be announced at a later date.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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"Does this top case make my ass look big?"
Great. Now go the other way, lop off about 150lbs of excess, and give me a 600-lb K1600R naked bike. I'd buy that bike.