1250 to 1300-Is it worth the upgrade ?

[stick]

This discussion happens every time a new model gs/a comes out , would I buy a newly released BMW bike in the first 12 months of introduction ?

No , I've been bitten in the a*se and ended up a BMW Beta tester once before and never again

Think I got mauled twice as well as a beta tester , but time is time and again I’m happy to try again as why not , I was unlucky but still had a great time on a new bike . Maybe this time I won’t , let’s see but recent losses have made me even less worried about trying new things before the clock stops . It’s a journey after all .

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

I brought the new R1200RT and it was delivered in early March 2005 one of the first out there, it was a great trouble free bike,
Talk is the earliest R1200RT's were entirely factory built for about the first 6 months , then smaller outside manufacturers started producing various auxiliary components like the fuel strip for instance and problems started

Later I brought new the first of the 1250RT's (June 2019) and have had no problems with that either, later models started to have issues as well

 

[landmarkjohn]

Pretty nice production values on this one. Might help some make the decision.

 

[Mr Bean]

Think I got mauled twice as well as a beta tester , but time is time and again I’m happy to try again as why not

My 1250 was built in Sept. 2018, first registered Feb. 2019.

Only done 20k on it, but so far but no issues.

 

[Troppo]

Both my GS1200s and my RT were perfect.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

I tried the 1300 today for an hour or so and also a 1250 GSA.

It was the first GS where I've said 'fuckinghell' when winding on the power. One seriously quick bike it doesn't take much to get you into silly speeds. Nice gearshift and quick shifter, great wind protection, bars nice width for me, typical GS handling, leg room quite poor (6'1 34" leg/inseam). TFT Dash appears same old same old. It was incredibly (too) easy for me to flat foot and I felt sat in the bike which felt strange for a GS.

I don't doubt it is a great all round bike, its sort of more of the same, but I felt a bit underwhelmed overall especially knowing it would cost £20k plus, and the lack of seat height and legroom felt a bit odd on a GS.

Roads were busy/greasy so I didn't get chance to thrash it round some back roads when I suspect it could really come alive. The sound it made lacked personality. I will try the competition over winter which im sure will have their own pros and cons , and see how they stack up against it.

 

[pbbanks]

I tried the 1300 today for an hour or so and also a 1250 GSA.

It was the first GS where I've said 'fuckinghell' when winding on the power. One seriously quick bike it doesn't take much to get you into silly speeds. Nice gearshift and quick shifter, great wind protection, bars nice width for me, typical GS handling, leg room quite poor (6'1 34" leg/inseam). TFT Dash appears same old same old. It was incredibly (too) easy for me to flat foot and I felt sat in the bike which felt strange for a GS.

I don't doubt it is a great all round bike, its sort of more of the same, but I felt a bit underwhelmed overall especially knowing it would cost £20k plus, and the lack of seat height and legroom felt a bit odd on a GS.

Roads were busy/greasy so I didn't get chance to thrash it round some back roads when I suspect it could really come alive. The sound it made lacked personality. I will try the competition over winter which im sure will have their own pros and cons , and see how they stack up against it.






View attachment 296559View attachment 296560

Do you know if it had adaptive ride height?. May have been set low??
Seat looks as though it could be the "low" option ??. That would have made it feel low too.

 

[Troppo]

Do you know if it had adaptive ride height?. May have been set low??
Seat looks as though it could be the "low" option ??. That would have made it feel low too.

It does look pretty low...

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Do you know if it had adaptive ride height?. May have been set low??
Seat looks as though it could be the "low" option ??. That would have made it feel low too.

I dont know no. First thing i asked was could you put seat on high setting and they said there
Is no high setting but you can get a high seat. There were two sales people and nothing was said about anything being set low even after the test ride.

 

[pbbanks]

I dont know no. First thing i asked was could you put seat on high setting and they said there
Is no high setting but you can get a high seat. There were two sales people and nothing was said about anything being set low even after the test ride.

Not very good of the sales guys to not know anything. There are 3 x seat height options to buy - high, standard & low. The adaptive suspension would lower below 30mph but chances are it didn't have that.

 

[Big-G]

The seat has a weird adjustment bar in the seat itself that raises the padding 10mm and feels not quite right. I’m also told the higher seat is the rallye seat.

 

[stick]

Not very good of the sales guys to not know anything. There are 3 x seat height options to buy - high, standard & low. The adaptive suspension would lower below 30mph but chances are it didn't have

I have ordered the high comfort seat , but not yet arrived and no confirmed date along with the crash bars , aux lights and tracker loom oh and the luggage . Got the rad guards tho lol....

 

[Baked Bean]

I have high comfort seat which is bob on for me. 32 inside leg and bike has uppy downy thing. I got a cool covers for it which didn't fit quite right so they're getting a high seat from a dealer to get it sorted.

 

[Davey B]

Roads were busy/greasy so I didn't get chance to thrash it round some back roads when I suspect it could really come alive.

A park-up in Gargrave perchance ?

 

[MartinK]

Popped over to Glasgow to take a look on Thursday.

It was better than I expected!

They have HUGE discounts on 1250's now, and all the stock of 2nd hand GS's seems to be priced really cheaply

On that basis (mine is 5 years and 27k miles) it could cost me way over £10k to change! Ouch! By the time I had bought into all the other "necessities" (luggage, fender extender, handguard extenders, centre stand, Weisertechnik system, valve cover guards, etc) it would be a huge cost! At least (it would appear) they have installed a notional rear shock mudguard, so the cost of a Mudsling may not be needed.

There were 3 of us there (2 x GS owners, 1 x RS owner - we went in the car together), and our consensus was that we would be no happier getting off the ferry at Igoumenitsa (or St Malo in April 2024) on a 1300 than our current bikes, so our wallets are safe for now! IMO the seat looked/felt less comfy than the outgoing model, so maybe not so good for several hours in the saddle, day-in-day-out on a touring trip.

BMW definitely missed the opportunity to get rid of the silly tail lights, better NAV option, and backlit switchgear.

I'm keen to see how the new engine paint (looks like a teflon frying pan) survives winter salt... Have BMW ended the engine corrosion issues?

 

[Boxerlust]

Considering how the economic situation is in the west due to crazy politics as far as wars and making energy expensive for whatever crazy reasons people want more for their ever slimming wallets…To make the upgrade really worth it I think BMW should have done more and make the upgrade more appealing and give a good reason to spend all this money…Bigger tank , more power as in 24 liters/6gallons without having to go to the Huge ADV and 20hp/nm more to really feel a difference would have made the new GS irresistable to not to upgrade…Really less weight than playing tricks would have been good too as also better sounding exhaust and a real taillight instead if the stupid looking Harley blinkers and a nicer headlight without the stupid looking radar box…The bike must ride real good to convince me because so far what I have seen I am not too impressed…And if the new chassis means no wobble at high speeds without bags which would be a real improvement the stupidly small tank still kills it which makes me wonder who makes these stupid decisions !?

 

[RT_slippers]

A park-up in Gargrave perchance ?

Looks like Gargeave - well spotted

 

[Hann]

I tried the 1300 today for an hour or so and also a 1250 GSA.

What did you think of the GSA?

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

What did you think of the GSA?

I've owned a couple of the 1200 GSA water cooled but not tried a 1250 before.

It was easy to feel at home on, hopping on straight after the 1300, and the screen offered great wind protection (both quite similar wind protection which shows how good the 1300 screen is) and riding position was a more on, not in, the bike riding position, controls etc all very similar, any difference in weight moving not really noticeable, still a rapid bike and more than enough poke but the 1300 is on another level performance wise, you cannot gun the 1300 through a few gears coming off a roundabout like you can with the 1250 without being in banned territory (I tried it with both bikes on the local bypass), I have had a replacement left shoulder earlier this year and found the gsa bar position not as comfortable (previously never had an issue) I think they might have been slightly wider on GSA, so that sort of ruled it out for me.

There were about 20 used GSAs in the dealers at tempting prices given there's a two year warranty, it seems like a good time to buy a GSA. Still a great bike and a brilliant tourer (heated seat was fitted too would be something id consider speccing) but having owned a couple before and although finding nothing to dislike about the GSA I didn't really fancy another.

Having slept on it, the 1300 could be a bit of a grower with that X-factor, didn't like the low seating position and slightly cramped knees but maybe that is sorted with a high seat, I do think its become overpriced (or I need to recalibrate what I am prepared to spend) by the time all the must have packs are on it, maybe some discounts will be on the cards next year.

 

[Troppo]

Considering how the economic situation is in the west due to crazy politics as far as wars and making energy expensive for whatever crazy reasons people want more for their ever slimming wallets…To make the upgrade really worth it I think BMW should have done more and make the upgrade more appealing and give a good reason to spend all this money…Bigger tank , more power as in 24 liters/6gallons without having to go to the Huge ADV and 20hp/nm more to really feel a difference would have made the new GS irresistable to not to upgrade…Really less weight than playing tricks would have been good too as also better sounding exhaust and a real taillight instead if the stupid looking Harley blinkers and a nicer headlight without the stupid looking radar box…The bike must ride real good to convince me because so far what I have seen I am not too impressed…And if the new chassis means no wobble at high speeds without bags which would be a real improvement the stupidly small tank still kills it which makes me wonder who makes these stupid decisions !?

Give BMW a call. I'm sure they would be pleased to hear your suggestions.

BTW - carriage return/line feed (the ENTER key) is your friend.