We went to Malaga for the presentation of one of the most anticipated motorcycles of the year. BMW chose the south of Spain to present its new queen to the world. The brand is known for making evolutions rather than revolutions, but this time it made a safe revolution. A completely new GS was born. More powerful, narrower, lighter, smaller and easier to ride.
The first impression is visual and causes a range of feelings. It’s impossible to remain indifferent to the new design of the R 1300 GS. Whether you’re used to the previous version or seeing it for the first time. From what we’ve seen, it’s a polarizing design for two main reasons. The front headlight, which for the first time in the model’s history is symmetrical and X-shaped, and because the bike has very different overall dimensions. It’s a smaller bike in terms of volume. Which, in our opinion, is a good thing at all levels, except for those who just like to show off. Those who valued the bike for its size clearly won’t like this new bike.
This is a completely new bike, but the GS acronym has been retained because it’s sure to be a best seller. The chances of it being a new champion bike in a category created by itself are almost 100%. I say this based not only on my own opinion, but also on the opinion of all the journalists present.
ENGINE
Source:BMW Motorrad
This is a completely new engine to begin with, it’s 3.9 kg lighter than the previous one, despite having more displacement, and it’s a more compact engine with optimized design solutions at various levels, such as the fact that the gearbox is now located under the crankshaft, or the quickshifter which has been completely redesigned (and works perfectly). As a curiosity, BMW told us that they invested 1.5 million euros in the development of the new engine alone. In practice, what I felt about its behavior was that it’s an engine that delivers the same power as the previous one at low revs, but at medium and high revs, there’s a significant increase in power. Ideal for getting the blood rushing through your veins, or making that daring overtake.
The whole bike is stiffer, not that the previous one wasn’t, but the rigidity of the whole assembly is something you feel right from the start. The main reasons are the new frame and subframe, 100% new. This time they’ve abandoned the trellis frame and opted for a more up-to-date design with more modern and efficient lines in terms of rigidity. The famous EVO telelever is completely new too and here too you can see that everything is stiffer and with more solid components, and even the diameter of the front suspension is clearly larger. In practice, the terrain reading is incredible. In the previous model, this was something I always referred to, not as a defect, but as a feature. For me, in terms of off-road driving, it was like a brand image, and it never got in the way of going fast and safely. What struck me most about this model was precisely this improvement, as the bike now gives very good terrain feedback. The front end in particular is always informing you about the type of terrain you’re riding over.
IN PROGRESS
As soon as I got on the bike, I realized that it’s not just on paper that everything is new. In practice too. The riding position isn’t radically different, but it is quite different. For a start, the fact that the whole assembly is narrower makes it less intimidating for novices, and more exciting for those who are more experienced and want to go fast. After all, what’s the point of having a bulky bike? In terms of performance, nothing… it’s just there to impress your friends, basically… For this reason alone, they’ve made the bike easier to ride and less intimidating. Perhaps it’s a very personal opinion, but the previous version took a lot of getting used to and this one was as if you already knew the bike.
Everything happens very intuitively. Whether it’s weight distribution, acceleration or braking. Speaking of braking, the front brake has been improved in terms of power, and I felt the same kind of tactile braking that I liked so much on the previous version. As for the rear brake, it has been greatly improved. It’s more powerful and what I felt was that the braking combined with the front brake is less interventionist. I couldn’t tell if braking with the rear brake activates the front brake less than the previous version (which was a bit scary at times) or if it’s just become more efficient.
The quickshifter, as I said, has been completely redesigned and works perfectly. It now has a more mechanical feel and is slightly harder to shift, which in practice means it works perfectly without you ever not knowing if the gear has gone in. And the efficiency of putting the bike into neutral works 100% of the time.
IN SUMMARY
Source:BMW Motorrad
This is an impressive bike on every level. The main thing is that they managed to win a competition where they were already kings. In fact, it’s a segment they created themselves. As it’s a completely new bike, anyone who didn’t like the previous version for various reasons will have no arguments with this one because it’s almost 100% new. And I predict that dealers who have stock of the previous version are going to have a big challenge to sell the 1250.