Price: NIS 179,500-185,500
Pros: Character, tradition, quality, cutting-edge technology, engine, improvement from the previous model
Cons: Still heavy even after the diet. Not necessarily suitable for off-road riding.
Rating: 9/10
A remote road in Australia - two weeks earlier:
The road seems endless. It’s been around 200 kilometers without any cars or signs of life, just me and the rented BMW GS1250R on an endless forest road, in a dream of green nature. Suddenly, I saw something standing tall on the white center line of the road, about two meters high, looking confident. It looked at me, and I looked at it, unsure if I was more amazed, excited, or just terrified.
I began to slow down to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating from too many kilometers of swerving, and as the distance between us decreased, we kept staring at each other because something like this had never happened to me before—
Standing in front of me was a large, muscular male kangaroo.
It gave me one last amazed look as if to say, “What are you doing in my home?” and then suddenly jumped and disappeared into the forest. All I could do was lower my astonished gaze and save this memory as a moment I’ll remember all my life.
Hostages, Gaza, an endless war, and the dreadful words “publication allowed.” How much more can one take? The heart can’t handle it anymore. We need something for the soul, for sanity, so the mind can deal with less harsh matters, and what could be better than experiencing the most talked-about motorcycle of 2023, which has just arrived—the benchmark of the adventure category.
This motorcycle practically invented the category and now finds itself in a crowded field, with young and bold competitors nipping at the exhaust of what was once the king of the tribe, shamelessly challenging it on dirt roads. So now, one of the best-selling motorcycles in the world, the Bavarian crown jewel that had fallen slightly behind, has decided to pound its chest and roar that it’s still the greatest of all—with an entirely new bike, the first in the series boasting a 1,300cc engine. Is it enough? Does it even matter?
So, inspired by Menachem Horowitz’s words, we set out—or rather, rode out to find out.
This has to start with a brief history lesson, reminding us how over 40 years ago, BMW invented the Gelände / Straße, which in Yiddish means G for terrain and S for road—two letters that entered the two-wheeled mythology in the tough and adventurous Paris-Dakar rally of the 1980s. Back when the race really crossed between those two cities, from Europe to Africa, where it won for four consecutive years (!) with an enormous 800cc boxer engine, a displacement that today is considered medium, even smaller than what the little brother in the family uses.
Years passed, the displacement increased, air cooling became water cooling, but two things always remained: the transverse boxer engine and the drive shaft that moves the rear wheel instead of a chain.
And now—after a year of rumors whose source was as transparent as who leaks details from government meetings, after an annoying and somewhat embarrassing recall that momentarily delayed the first ride celebrations, it’s finally here, and we are the first to test it on holy ground.
This is an entirely new bike with a different engine, frame, electronics, and suspension—a sort of revolutionary motorcycle unveiled precisely on the day BMW celebrated the hundredth anniversary of their first motorcycle, a birthday gift with a new chapter in the GS tradition.
A first look reveals a significant design change. No more asymmetrical, squinting headlights that became part of the GS’s unique (sometimes weird) identity, but an LED light in an X shape and a more athletic connection of the tank to the windshield, making it somehow look narrower and smaller than the outgoing 1250. The tubular frame was replaced by a steel monocoque combined with an aluminum rear frame, with the engine being load-bearing. The Telelever front suspension and Paralever rear suspension were upgraded, including the addition of the word EVO, both electrified and responding to the load and riding style.
"Entirely new bike" screamed the headlines, but getting on the saddle immediately clarifies that it's a GS. The seating position, the large efficient digital clock in front of you, the left-hand wheel for control, and especially the steel balls that are the two cylinders sticking out to the sides, which on starting will give you that familiar push to the right. By the way, the gearbox is now installed under the engine, allowing it to move slightly forward and avoid the inevitable blow and blue mark on the shin. The fuel tank is now aluminum and has decreased by a liter to 19 liters in total, with an official consumption of 21 km/l.
But the real drama is in the engine. An addition of just 50cc made it more powerful by 9 hp to 145, with a meatier torque of 15.2 kgm, which is very noticeable in mid-range pull but also at the top end. The engine has become much happier, liking higher revs, pushing you forward with less vibration, and amazingly, despite growing to 1,300cc, it’s smaller in dimensions compared to the previous engine, and the overall weight has dropped (!) by 12 kg to 237 kg. Add to this power the very efficient electric wind protection, which was one of the downsides of the previous model, and you get a machine that pushes you to be much faster, sometimes too fast, at least in the eyes of the law.
Together with the new suspensions, the bike feels much stiffer and more precise on winding roads, making you forget it’s a large adventure beast, a machine that seems to say, “Forget the story they sell you about wandering dirt roads, take me to the track.”
The attention to detail is endless. From a small waterproof phone compartment with wireless charging to a foldable center stand that doesn’t interfere with the boot, and an endless amount of electronics, the most notable being the radar giving rear blind-spot alerts in the mirrors and assisting the adaptive cruise control, accelerating and braking according to traffic ahead.
Additionally, there are heated grips and seat, electrified luggage cases with internal lighting and central locking, self-canceling turn signals, keyless ignition, tire pressure monitoring, rain, road, economy, off-road, and sport riding modes, traction control, engine braking control, and ABS that can all be customized to the rider’s preference, a hill start assist system, and also, besides the 7 seat heights between 80 to 89 cm, for the first time in BMW, there is a system that electronically lowers the bike’s height at every stop (excluding the Enduro model that gets Akrapovic exhaust, raised handlebars, and engine guards).
The big advantage of the GS was always that it didn’t have one standout feature; its overall package is unique, offering everything. Its boxer engine never aimed to be a hardcore motorcycle but one that provides a versatile, more relaxed experience for long distances. However, it seems this model can offer both with a worthy response to competitors from Ducati, Triumph, and KTM. This is a motorcycle with an advantage that will always be over the others, a glorious history of a machine that for 43 years, they haven't stopped refining, improving— making it even better.
Australia, two weeks earlier:
After that kangaroo leapt into its peaceful life in the forest, I was left with thoughts about that somewhat hard-to-explain thing of "motorcycling" and its unique enjoyment, especially in the adventure segment, because that ride in the Australian outback was the essence of the experience this category offers—traveling far with your temporary home in the panniers, living, breathing, and truly smelling nature, the grass, even the river water that crosses the bridge under you. A machine that creates a connection with the place, making you want to veer off onto a dirt path, forgetting you have about a quarter ton under your feet.
That ride was an escape from the hard news back home and, in retrospect, also a kind of farewell journey from the outgoing model, in the purest implementation of the story they sell us in advertisements that among all the monotonous commutes in traffic to work, there’s a chance that one day you’ll go on a real adventure, the true big adventure where there’s a real chance you’ll find yourself on a remote road with the motorcycle— staring at a kangaroo.
BMW GS1300R: Technical Specifications
- Engine: 1,300cc, 2-cylinder boxer, 8 valves, 145 hp at 7,750 rpm, 15.2 kgm torque at 6,500 rpm
- Transmission: Manual, 6 gears
Performance (manufacturer)
- Top speed (km/h): +200
- Fuel consumption (km/l): 20.8
Dimensions
- Length (m): 2.21
- Width (m): 1.00
- Height (m): 1.41
- Wheelbase (m): 1.52
- Seat height (cm): 85
- Fuel tank (liters): 19
- Weight (kg): 237
- Tires: Front 120/70R19, Rear 170/60R17
Systems and Equipment
- Steering damper, front dual disc brakes 310 mm, rear single 285 mm disc, slipper clutch, quick shifter, adaptive cruise control, electric windshield, keyless ignition, heated grips and seats
Safety: ABS, DTC (traction control)