Just changed from a great 2002 1150gsa and thought I’d give some views on the new to me 1250. Bought it on the 6th of August and headed off for a Euro tour a few days later, didn’t get to use it before the tour so wasn’t sure what it would be like. The 1150 had over 162.000km on it and I put about 50k of those on it so I knew it very well having changed or rebuilt all the main areas that the 1150 suffer from like final drive etc. I bought the 1250 with the intention of putting at least 160.000 km on it over the next number of years. I bought a standard suspension model as I figured the ESA will fail at some stage and it’s easier and cheaper to replace the standard suspension with a set of Ohlins or other aftermarket shocks when the originals finally do go off but the bike has the options that I wanted like cruse control, tpm, keyless, heated grips and full luggage. It was bought from a rental company here in Ireland with 27.000km on the clock, was mint and just over a year old, being a 2024 models I figured it should be a well sorted 1250 with plenty of development time done by BMW.
So I started a European tour 5 days after purchase. First test was getting from the ferry port in Bilbao to Bergamo airport near Milan in a day and a half, my partner was flying in as she didn’t have as much time to send on holiday as me. Unfortunately I had to do this stretch on the Motorway as time was an issue. The 1250 was excellent on the motorway cruising along at about 130 to 140 kph with great wind protection. It was actually too good as through a lot of France and Italy is was between 37 and 40 degrees so roasting. I also have a dedicated touring bike a 2013 Triumph Trophy 1215se and honestly the wind protection isn’t that far off that, so about 1500km was dispatched without any hassle and even found the standard seat fine. The only thing that I found a bit annoying was how abrupt the cruse control shut off, the Triumph is much smoother with its release as the throttle is held open when in cruse. A bit of figuring out and I realised that if I rolled the throttle on and then just touched the front brake the 1250 slowed down much smoother and wasn’t like hitting a wall
I think the throttle going to a closed position and the fantastic engine braking contributes to the 1250 shutting off so abruptly. Also French drivers just pulling straight out on you on the motorway doesn’t help, often seems safer and easier to just stay in the outside lane and gun it but this also highlights a slight issue with the 1250gsa. By god it drinks heavily when the cruising speed is high. I averaged 55mpg over the whole tour which was fantastic but was high 30’s and very low 40’s on this fast motorway run, when I slowed down a bit and kept the bike under 5000 revs it made a big difference, when it was kept at about 4500 it seemed to be the sweet spot for getting decent mpg, 30 litres pisses out at high revs. The 1250 has very reassuring handling on the motorway and is absolutely rock solid with very little steering input needed, you could literally fall asleep and this thing would just track straight and true for as long as the road lasted. Loved the TFT screen and all the info displayed was great to have. Liked having one trip set for the overall tour / trip and the other set for each day automatically resetting itself, really simple and brilliant. Found the standard exhaust perfect for touring and not too loud or tiring on the motorway but enough noise through heavy traffic etc to get drivers attention. Overall the bike was fantastic on the tour, two up most of the time and we did about 5 or 6 high mountain passes like Stelvio etc and it handled fantastic fully loaded, it amazingly feels so much lighter than the scales tell you, feels so much lighter than the 1150gsa and also the Triumph which carries it’s weight much higher up. The gearbox is a huge upgrade from the 1150, night and day difference, it really is very sweet, still requires a positive change but loving it so far. My bike doesn’t have a quick shifter and I’m not sure if I will get one as it works so well as is. It surprises me how easy it shifts when cruising along slowly or short shifting in relaxing touring mode, the only slight issue with the gearbox is sometimes finding neutral as it jumps from 1st to 2nd so easily that finding neutral can sometimes be tricky. On the 1250 gsa I found it so relaxing and easy to just bumble along slowly when in the mood, the 1150 was much harder work when just bumbling along slowly taking in the views, fuelling and gearbox weren’t nearly as good and the clutch is so light on the 1250 compared to the 1150. Loving the 1250 engine so far, didn’t use a drop of oil on tour ( unlike the 1150) and it’s so smooth, torque absolutely everywhere, it’s such an amazing engine with very few vibes anywhere in the rev range, slight rough spot or more like a pulsing through the drive train / shaft at low revs and gears, I presume that’s normal as I tested a few other 1250gs’s and they were all the same.
So over all we did about 6500km through Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro and had a fantastic time on the 1250gsa, hopefully the first of many tours and we already have the ferry booked for next April and off to Morocco for two weeks. I’m delighted with the 1250 and how it tours. I still can’t carry the corner entry speed that I had on the 1150gsa, it had Ohlins suspension and the front end feel on that bike was amazing, it was a fantastic handling bike, I’m sure I’ll get there with the 1250. Why change, it didn’t have ABS, TC, cruise etc so decided it was time to move on up in years, I just hope the 1250 will be as solid and long lasting as the 1150. Doubt it will, but looking forward to putting at least 100.000 miles on this bike and creating some lasting memories over the next number of years. Anyone thinking of making the jump from 1150 to 1250 just do it, it’s a serious upgrade. Emmet.
So I started a European tour 5 days after purchase. First test was getting from the ferry port in Bilbao to Bergamo airport near Milan in a day and a half, my partner was flying in as she didn’t have as much time to send on holiday as me. Unfortunately I had to do this stretch on the Motorway as time was an issue. The 1250 was excellent on the motorway cruising along at about 130 to 140 kph with great wind protection. It was actually too good as through a lot of France and Italy is was between 37 and 40 degrees so roasting. I also have a dedicated touring bike a 2013 Triumph Trophy 1215se and honestly the wind protection isn’t that far off that, so about 1500km was dispatched without any hassle and even found the standard seat fine. The only thing that I found a bit annoying was how abrupt the cruse control shut off, the Triumph is much smoother with its release as the throttle is held open when in cruse. A bit of figuring out and I realised that if I rolled the throttle on and then just touched the front brake the 1250 slowed down much smoother and wasn’t like hitting a wall
I think the throttle going to a closed position and the fantastic engine braking contributes to the 1250 shutting off so abruptly. Also French drivers just pulling straight out on you on the motorway doesn’t help, often seems safer and easier to just stay in the outside lane and gun it but this also highlights a slight issue with the 1250gsa. By god it drinks heavily when the cruising speed is high. I averaged 55mpg over the whole tour which was fantastic but was high 30’s and very low 40’s on this fast motorway run, when I slowed down a bit and kept the bike under 5000 revs it made a big difference, when it was kept at about 4500 it seemed to be the sweet spot for getting decent mpg, 30 litres pisses out at high revs. The 1250 has very reassuring handling on the motorway and is absolutely rock solid with very little steering input needed, you could literally fall asleep and this thing would just track straight and true for as long as the road lasted. Loved the TFT screen and all the info displayed was great to have. Liked having one trip set for the overall tour / trip and the other set for each day automatically resetting itself, really simple and brilliant. Found the standard exhaust perfect for touring and not too loud or tiring on the motorway but enough noise through heavy traffic etc to get drivers attention. Overall the bike was fantastic on the tour, two up most of the time and we did about 5 or 6 high mountain passes like Stelvio etc and it handled fantastic fully loaded, it amazingly feels so much lighter than the scales tell you, feels so much lighter than the 1150gsa and also the Triumph which carries it’s weight much higher up. The gearbox is a huge upgrade from the 1150, night and day difference, it really is very sweet, still requires a positive change but loving it so far. My bike doesn’t have a quick shifter and I’m not sure if I will get one as it works so well as is. It surprises me how easy it shifts when cruising along slowly or short shifting in relaxing touring mode, the only slight issue with the gearbox is sometimes finding neutral as it jumps from 1st to 2nd so easily that finding neutral can sometimes be tricky. On the 1250 gsa I found it so relaxing and easy to just bumble along slowly when in the mood, the 1150 was much harder work when just bumbling along slowly taking in the views, fuelling and gearbox weren’t nearly as good and the clutch is so light on the 1250 compared to the 1150. Loving the 1250 engine so far, didn’t use a drop of oil on tour ( unlike the 1150) and it’s so smooth, torque absolutely everywhere, it’s such an amazing engine with very few vibes anywhere in the rev range, slight rough spot or more like a pulsing through the drive train / shaft at low revs and gears, I presume that’s normal as I tested a few other 1250gs’s and they were all the same.So over all we did about 6500km through Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro and had a fantastic time on the 1250gsa, hopefully the first of many tours and we already have the ferry booked for next April and off to Morocco for two weeks. I’m delighted with the 1250 and how it tours. I still can’t carry the corner entry speed that I had on the 1150gsa, it had Ohlins suspension and the front end feel on that bike was amazing, it was a fantastic handling bike, I’m sure I’ll get there with the 1250. Why change, it didn’t have ABS, TC, cruise etc so decided it was time to move on up in years, I just hope the 1250 will be as solid and long lasting as the 1150. Doubt it will, but looking forward to putting at least 100.000 miles on this bike and creating some lasting memories over the next number of years. Anyone thinking of making the jump from 1150 to 1250 just do it, it’s a serious upgrade. Emmet.
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