The Machine

The BMW K1600 GT & GTL.

Every BIGBLUE K1600 tour is ridden on the BMW K1600, BMW’s six-cylinder grand tourer, and the machine the rest of the touring world measures itself against. One motorcycle, built for long days two-up, carrying you from the Karoo koppies to the edge of the Indian Ocean without ever asking you to work for it.

A black BMW K1600 grand tourer parked on a quiet road in the Great Karoo, with flat-topped koppies and a windmill on the horizon.
From the mountains The Great Karoo Heated seats and grips for the cold high-veld mornings; effortless torque for the long, straight kilometres between koppies.
The same black BMW K1600 grand tourer parked above the Garden Route coastline, with green cliffs, breaking surf and a lighthouse beyond.
… to the sea The Garden Route coast Adaptive cornering light and a planted, confident chassis for the coastal sweepers into Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.

The same motorcycle, the same tour, ten nights apart.

Why we ride nothing else.

The six-cylinder engine

1 649 cc of BMW inline-six, uncannily smooth, and with enough low-down torque that the mountain passes never call for a fistful of gearchanges. It simply pulls.

A pillion seat for all day

The K1600 GTL was designed around the passenger: a wide, supported seat, proper back-rest, floorboards and heat. It is the seat couples actually want to be in from breakfast to sundowners.

Warmth on demand

Heated seats and grips, an electrically adjustable screen and generous weather protection, the difference between enduring a 6 a.m. Karoo start and enjoying it.

Confidence built in

Adaptive cornering light that fills in the bend ahead, stable cruise control and modern electronics, so the last hour into the lodge, in fading light, stays relaxed.

  • ModelK1600 GT / GTL
  • Engine1 649 cc inline-6
  • CharacterSmooth · torque-rich
  • SeatingRider + pillion
  • ComfortHeated seats · e-screen
  • LightAdaptive cornering
  • LuggageFitted panniers + top box
  • ConditionProvided fuelled & insured

Provided, and fully supported.

You arrive with a helmet and a riding jacket, the motorcycle is waiting for you in Gqeberha, fully fuelled, insured and road-ready, fitted with panniers and a top box. Prefer not to ride? Take the pillion seat behind one of the tour captains and the tour is exactly the same.

  • Dedicated support vehicle and trailer travelling with the group every riding day, carrying spares, tools and a hand if the weather turns.
  • Main luggage transferred lodge to lodge, so you ride light and your bags are in the room when you arrive.
  • Lead ride captain and crew throughout, route, pace, fuel stops and photographs all handled, so you can just ride.
  • All fuel included for the full 1 453 km of the route.
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