After a testride I think the 1250 is still better than the 1300GS

[Boxerlust]

And here is why...Yesterday I finally had the chance to ride a fully broken in R1300GS ! Disclaimer it did not have the sports suspension or the lighter forged wheels how I would have specced my bike but it was fully optioned including the Akrapovic exhaust option.It was in Triple Black and IMHO looked good enough to buy it...LOL Not a fan of the radar boxes and missing tail light though.I compare it to my 2019 R1250GS with sports-suspension , Tractive shocks ,cast wheels and BMW Akrapovic exhaust with the baffle removed.First seating position and comfort is as good as the old one.Also the stock windshield is as good as mine equipped with the slightly bigger windshield from the 1250GS Adventure.I also wanted to ride the bike with bags and topcase on to see how the high speed stability above 120mph is where my bike starts to wobble.My real only gripe for my bike.But...luggage is not available yet until they have fixed the problem that is taking off the key only if the bags are locked safely on the bike ! OK here my impressions while they are fresh...The engine of the 1300 vibrates quiet more than the 1250 as felt in the bars at certain rpms.Low down grunt of the 1300 is less as when I just fed the clutch out like on my bike it just stalled trying to pull from a light...No problem but it needs a little trhrottle.Power above 6000 rpm is more as in the first 3 gears it lifts the front accelerating WFO...But at 8000 rpm the party is already over which is kind of disappointing as another 1000 rpm pull up to 9000 rpm would have been great ! Gears 5 and 6 are definitely taller and the bike struggles and all it would do is 139mph without bags which is what BMW advertises.On the same stretch of road the S1000XR I rode reached 159 mph ! Filling up the bike later tank range was only 139 miles....As for handling around town it felt like the proverbial mountain bike but at speeds lets say 65-70 plus it steered nothing slower or quicker than my 1250 GS.Hard steering imputs where lost as much as in the trellis of the 1250 as you could feel the flex.The sound was meh despite the Akrapovic pipe.It definitely needs a full system without the huge premuffler or the device from Unit Garage to keep the flap open at least to make it sound louder/deeper.Mechanical noise coming from the engine was about the same.As also the clutch an the transmission was maybe a hair more positive.Liked the sports screen on the dash and the tank compartment is practical too when having to pay tolls...Braking was about the same But I dont like the fact that the foot brake is linked to the front which makes tight turns on the friction point between clutch and rear brake...Impossible !
So would I buy one ? I must say since I have a still nice 1250 definitely not because after 12 years I feel that BMW did not lay the benchmark higher.Less grunt down below combined with taller gearing makes the bike not more fun.Less sound neither.Handling about the same but Smaller tank...Why ? Connected to the front foot brake is not good either and why for what reason ? All the new bike has more power above 6000 rpm that makes it proper fast in the first 3 gears but around 8 its already over...Thats pretty much all the new 1300 has over the old 1250.For me its not enough as I think it needs another 1000 rpm on top and 3 mm more stroke instead of 3 mm less to give it more Torque and more power to pull the taller top gears and get the tractor pull on the bottom back ! And of course a 24 liter tank to have 200 mile range no matter how hard you ride.And please de-link the foot brake while the linked hand brake is great ! The aftermarket will take care of the sound...LOL
Looking forward to the R1400GS with all the kinks worked out...LOL

 

[Boxerlust]

Arsery...I did not ignore you but I am locked out of the 1300GS forum for whatever reason unbeknown to me.I was not rude om purpose...LOL

 

[Boxerlust]

So the bike I probably would buy now if I had to buy a new one would probably be one of the last new old R1250GS-ADV...The 1300 needs some more work to be the new benchmark...A.K.A more Low down grunt/TORQUE and 1000 rpm more Power on top to pull the taller gears and reach lets say 155 mph with ease...Of course a 24 L / 200 mile tank range and a foot brake that only works on the rear brake....IMHO Here you go BMW...We are waiting...LOL Until then the old war horse will do just fine !

 

[GSite]

Thanks for your review, seems like you ride on the edge of the limit at times.
Ride safe.

 

[Boxerlust]

Thanks for your review, seems like you ride on the edge of the limit at times.
Ride safe.

Thanks for the flowers...Motorcycling for me is a sport I still enjoy and try to get better at ! I dont ride that much anymore but when I do I try to enjoy the experience even more...Like cake that is great once in a while but when you do it too often its bad for you and will kill you early or will become bread to you...LOL Its also about time and the ugly four letter word...work.But when I am retired I plan to ride more often again and want to finally do the trip to Tierra del Fuego / Ushuaia on hopefully a grunty GS with fun top end and a big enough tank and good sounding exhaust note...LOL All the best !

 

[DJ123]

By the sounds of it a GS is not for you.
Everything you want is an inline 4, or V4 with all the power and performance you bark on about. A twin cylinder Boxer can only do so much - a compromise will always be made when it comes to how they design the engine to behave. Unless you want to install a flat 4 from a Subaru or Porsche Boxster, you'll not get the Unicorn in a GS.

 

[Boxerlust]

No the GS is very much for me as I owned every iteration from the R100GS on...But the new 1300 left me cold ! Like I said it vibrated and had no sound.The Torque at the bottom is gone by a combination of less stroke and taller gearing.Replaced by more power on top between 6000 and by 8000 it is already over.Gears 5 and 6 are tall that it struggles to reach the lets say 140 mph limit...Yes I saw Bike Social with their very good in dept 1250 vs 1300 comparison but I had not the luxury of a long airport runway to reach their 147 mph limit where their R1250GS EU-5 reached 139 mph...But I checked back to their 1250 vs 1200GS comparison from 5 years ago where the EU-4 1250GS made 8 hp and 4 nm more than the EU-5 R1250 GS ! 128 vs 134 hp & 101 vs 104 nm EU-4 1250GS vs R1300GS are not that much of a difference.Also the weight and quickness of steering felt the same 1250 vs 1300 to me except for around town where the 1300 felt like a moped but above 70 where the fun starts the 1300 did not feel any lighter or quicker steering to me ! Also the Tractive shocks feel much more compliant than the 1300 suspension to me as they should for the 4 grand I paid for them...LOL Like I said to make the new GS worthy for a upgrade from a 1250 it needs the deep fruity sound of the 1250 GS.It needs more stroke to get the Torque off the bottom back and another 1000 rpm / more horsepower on top to be able to pull the taller 5th and 6th gears ! And a tank not 2 liters smaller but 4 liters bigger to have a good compromise between small physical size and close to 200 mile tank range even if you ride in a spirited manner...And the linked to the front foot brake is a absolute no go ! After 12 years I expected more from the all new generation because only accelelation in gears 1,2,3 on top at fully open throttle is better but then kind of weird that before 8000 the fun is already over with a soft limiter where it should pull hard for another 1000 rpm to make it fun and worth the effort...I know the XR has nothing below 8000 rpm but then it comes on hard all the way to 11500 rpm..! Or the M-XR probably all the way to 14000 rpm but it lacks practical bags and centerstand on top of the boxer , Telelever and driveshaft...LOL
And the new Telelever does not feel any different as the old on despite what the presstitutes say...It is just there and does its job soaking up bumps while not diving or getting hard on the brakes...Just like the old one did ! I dont know where they get the idea of more feel or less weight and quicker steering as it felt all the same to me and the high-speed stability with bags/topcase test I could not make because bags and topcase locking mechanisms have to be fixed before they can be sold...You would think they get them ready for public consumption Before they release new product...

 

[ChasF]

I can’t get my head around all the techno shit in the posts above. I’ve been riding bikes of all types for 45 years and really never analysed anything in such minute detail - I just like it or I don’t. Most of the bikes I don’t like it’s usually because I couldn’t/wouldn’t ride them very far either because they vibrate or the seat is uncomfortable. There are numerous bikes I wouldn’t own for all sorts of reasons although I thoroughly enjoy riding them. In my life I just don’t have time to split hairs on the virtues of a 1250 or 1300 GS and nor do 99% of those that buy them.

I think it’s interesting that previously hardcore big capacity BMW buyers are nowadays getting their fun from smaller group capacity Royal Enfields and the like.

 

[Boxerlust]

I tried a Royal Enfield too and must say I dont have the patience...Watching paint dry is probably as much fun as riding one...LOL As far as techno-shit as you call it if you have a foot brake that works on the front brake you instantly fall over when you do a turn at steering lock holding the bike on the friction point between clutch & rear brake...A common technique ! As far as the engine of the new GS I dont know why it vibrates more or if less go below 6000 rpm on the 1300 is caused by shorter stroke and/or taller gearing but you have a little more acceleration above 6000 but at or slightly before 8000 it is already over...I found that slightly annoying...Kind of reminded me of my R1200S from 17 years ago a bike I sold after one season...The old R1100S was better even if the data on paper did not say so...But I am sure within 7 years BMW will come up with a solution as when the R1200GS-LC came out in 2013 you had to wait 6 years until they got it right with the 2019 R1250GS...LOL

 

[Boxerlust]

After watching the Bennets video I have to ride the 1300GS one more time as their EU5 1250 made 120 hp while their EU4 1250 made 128 hp…But even so despite the 134 hp the 1300GS made 0-100 where 6.6 vs 6.9 , top speed on TFT 147 vs 143 while roll-on in 6th even a few 10th slower…Less tractor pull on bottom and midrange has been replaced by a little more push above 6000 rpm which would have been good if the party was already over at 8000 rpm…Same braking power despite the new stylish stylemas from Brembo…Got 4.4 gal in a dry tank on the 1300 while the 1250 takes roughly 2 liters more…Factor in real 3 kilos of weight savings that are maybe 7 kilos with the optional forged wheels , the stupidly linked to the front foot brake , the added vibrations in the bar and less fruity sound from the Akra of the 1300 and I must say where are the supposed 11 years of progress the new generation should have briught !? As even the lighter feel or quicker handling I could not feel above 70 mph as they both 1250 and 1300 felt the Same to me…Suspension is better than a stock 1250 though and maybe a 1300 with forged wheels and sports suspension makes a slight difference…Have to try one as also have to make the highspeed wobble with bags test as soon as the bags and topcase are ready for public consumption…But so far I really cant see what the fuss is all about…Definitely a good bike but really not better or more fun than the old one unless you have short legs…BMW definitely left room for improvement and have their work cut out…More power to make up for the taller gearing , as in more Torque down below and more hp on top , bigger tank and better sound and de-link the footbrake , Please

 

[Pale Rider]

Why on earth would you want to “de link” the foot brake? The system works incredibly well.

 

[casbar]

I tried a Royal Enfield too and must say I dont have the patience...Watching paint dry is probably as much fun as riding one...LOL As far as techno-shit as you call it if you have a foot brake that works on the front brake you instantly fall over when you do a turn at steering lock holding the bike on the friction point between clutch & rear brake...A common technique ! As far as the engine of the new GS I dont know why it vibrates more or if less go below 6000 rpm on the 1300 is caused by shorter stroke and/or taller gearing but you have a little more acceleration above 6000 but at or slightly before 8000 it is already over...I found that slightly annoying...Kind of reminded me of my R1200S from 17 years ago a bike I sold after one season...The old R1100S was better even if the data on paper did not say so...But I am sure within 7 years BMW will come up with a solution as when the R1200GS-LC came out in 2013 you had to wait 6 years until they got it right with the 2019 R1250GS...LOL

You really need to understand how linked brakes work. Or learn to slow ride. Using the rear brake on the 1300, will not cause you to fall over, well it might if you can't slow ride. There have been linked brakes on bikes for years my 2014 Harley had linked brakes, but I never fell off slow riding using the rear brake.

On your test ride, did you try slow riding using the rear brake? Do you believe BMW would build a function in, that doesn't allow you to balance the bike with the rear brake when slow riding - its not like its a revolutionary skill.

 

[TechnoGSA]

As far as I'm aware, on the 1250 and the 1300. Operating the rear only applies the rear brake, only the front is linked to the rear, apply the front a percentage of rear is applied. I don't understand de-link the foot brake, de- link the front, yes but why?

 

[Boxerlust]

As far as I'm aware, on the 1250 and the 1300. Operating the rear only applies the rear brake, only the front is linked to the rear, apply the front a percentage of rear is applied. I don't understand de-link the foot brake, de- link the front, yes but why?

The brake lever works front and rear brake which is great but the foot brake works also on both which is a bad idea Do a turn with the bar all the way pushed to the stops where as a good rider you could balance the bike without moving the bars between the rear brake and the clutch what is called on the friction point…No problem on the 1200/1250 but the moment you tap the rear brake / foot brake on the 1300 it applies also the front brake and your bike falls over…Not good !

 

[leadfarmer]

The brake lever works front and rear brake which is great but the foot brake works also on both which is a bad idea Do a turn with the bar all the way pushed to the stops where as a good rider you could balance the bike without moving the bars between the rear brake and the clutch what is called on the friction point…No problem on the 1200/1250 but the moment you tap the rear brake / foot brake on the 1300 it applies also the front brake and your bike falls over…Not good !

Oddly this is not my experience, I must be Dougie Lampkin

 

[casbar]

The brake lever works front and rear brake which is great but the foot brake works also on both which is a bad idea Do a turn with the bar all the way pushed to the stops where as a good rider you could balance the bike without moving the bars between the rear brake and the clutch what is called on the friction point…No problem on the 1200/1250 but the moment you tap the rear brake / foot brake on the 1300 it applies also the front brake and your bike falls over…Not good !

Have you actually tried this, have you spoken to BMW tech to confirm this. I think you are talking rubbish, there hasn't been 1000s of reports of bikes falling over when bods are slow riding. If this was the case, it would be the biggest cock up by BMW ever

 

[TechnoGSA]

The brake lever works front and rear brake which is great but the foot brake works also on both which is a bad idea Do a turn with the bar all the way pushed to the stops where as a good rider you could balance the bike without moving the bars between the rear brake and the clutch what is called on the friction point…No problem on the 1200/1250 but the moment you tap the rear brake / foot brake on the 1300 it applies also the front brake and your bike falls over…Not good !

Wrong! Read this all of it

https://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/en/engineering/detail/Safety/abs-partially-integral.html

 

[leadfarmer]

What the manual says………

Either way, feet up u-turns are no problem

 

[ChasF]

What the manual says………

Either way, feet up u-turns are no problem

View attachment 319182View attachment 319183View attachment 319184View attachment 319185View attachment 319186

Lots of warnings in that extract making the rider aware of the limitations of ABS which perhaps Boxerlust should be aware of before he wacks the brakes on whilst making a feet up U turn. Surely braking with either brake on any bike whilst doing a full lock low speed manoeuvre would lead to losing your balance.

 

[Leasouth]

And here is why...Yesterday I finally had the chance to ride a fully broken in R1300GS ! Disclaimer it did not have the sports suspension or the lighter forged wheels how I would have specced my bike but it was fully optioned including the Akrapovic exhaust option.It was in Triple Black and IMHO looked good enough to buy it...LOL Not a fan of the radar boxes and missing tail light though.I compare it to my 2019 R1250GS with sports-suspension , Tractive shocks ,cast wheels and BMW Akrapovic exhaust with the baffle removed.First seating position and comfort is as good as the old one.Also the stock windshield is as good as mine equipped with the slightly bigger windshield from the 1250GS Adventure.I also wanted to ride the bike with bags and topcase on to see how the high speed stability above 120mph is where my bike starts to wobble.My real only gripe for my bike.But...luggage is not available yet until they have fixed the problem that is taking off the key only if the bags are locked safely on the bike ! OK here my impressions while they are fresh...The engine of the 1300 vibrates quiet more than the 1250 as felt in the bars at certain rpms.Low down grunt of the 1300 is less as when I just fed the clutch out like on my bike it just stalled trying to pull from a light...No problem but it needs a little trhrottle.Power above 6000 rpm is more as in the first 3 gears it lifts the front accelerating WFO...But at 8000 rpm the party is already over which is kind of disappointing as another 1000 rpm pull up to 9000 rpm would have been great ! Gears 5 and 6 are definitely taller and the bike struggles and all it would do is 139mph without bags which is what BMW advertises.On the same stretch of road the S1000XR I rode reached 159 mph ! Filling up the bike later tank range was only 139 miles....As for handling around town it felt like the proverbial mountain bike but at speeds lets say 65-70 plus it steered nothing slower or quicker than my 1250 GS.Hard steering imputs where lost as much as in the trellis of the 1250 as you could feel the flex.The sound was meh despite the Akrapovic pipe.It definitely needs a full system without the huge premuffler or the device from Unit Garage to keep the flap open at least to make it sound louder/deeper.Mechanical noise coming from the engine was about the same.As also the clutch an the transmission was maybe a hair more positive.Liked the sports screen on the dash and the tank compartment is practical too when having to pay tolls...Braking was about the same But I dont like the fact that the foot brake is linked to the front which makes tight turns on the friction point between clutch and rear brake...Impossible !
So would I buy one ? I must say since I have a still nice 1250 definitely not because after 12 years I feel that BMW did not lay the benchmark higher.Less grunt down below combined with taller gearing makes the bike not more fun.Less sound neither.Handling about the same but Smaller tank...Why ? Connected to the front foot brake is not good either and why for what reason ? All the new bike has more power above 6000 rpm that makes it proper fast in the first 3 gears but around 8 its already over...Thats pretty much all the new 1300 has over the old 1250.For me its not enough as I think it needs another 1000 rpm on top and 3 mm more stroke instead of 3 mm less to give it more Torque and more power to pull the taller top gears and get the tractor pull on the bottom back ! And of course a 24 liter tank to have 200 mile range no matter how hard you ride.And please de-link the foot brake while the linked hand brake is great ! The aftermarket will take care of the sound...LOL
Looking forward to the R1400GS with all the kinks worked out...LOL

What 1400 ???? The Boss of BMW Motorrad when interviewed and asked about the 1400 said their is NO 1400 coming now or in this 1300 generation of bikes!
Sorry but as for your review I guess that you're another who's so in love and blinded by there 1250 that you're fooling yourself! Completely at odds with the majority and experienced test rider's! Not sure why you would bother posting it!