Five things to hate about the 1300GS

[stickywicket]

PCP has been murder in putting up prices in bikes and cars. That, together with Ducati pricing themselves at "Ferrari" level in the market gave BMW a free ride to raise the price and perhaps even an obligation to do so in order to keep the marque in the "premium" sector

 

[stever1]

I admit I’ve always enjoyed my GS’s, quality issues aside. I don’t think I’d be paying those sort of prices for one though.
recently I’ve realised I can get 90% of the fun by spending 30 to 40% of the money.
did a European tour on an ADV350 last year. Great adventure, more so than on a big bike.
Just swapped that for a DCT NC750X , thinking about Turkey perhaps.

 

[tspivey]

Agree with all the things he said, but he didn’t comment on how much his Goldwing cost him. Plus, I bet he ends up buying one.

 

[Morety]

Many of us were "never in" in the first place because a good many people don't buy new, don't use pcp and generally buy 3 to 5 yr old bikes for a huge saving, safe in the knowledge that generally in that time most of these new bikes will still be sub 10K milers and any recalls should have been sorted. Being out of warranty doesn't bother me as I know even if I have to spend a few thousand over say 3 years, it's still cheaper motoring than buying new on pcp or outright.

If I can make more room in the garage, I'd like to add a pure touring bike for 2 up comfort. I'm already looking at the last of the twin cam RT's and at 18 yr old Pan European 1300's. A well serviced, well sorted bike should last. All marques have their issues, and BMW is no different but it's how they treat you that matters. It can be a mixed bag depending on the dealership, but with a good one nearby, it won't put me off a used bike. There are some of us out there who couldn't give a fig if the new one is half a second quicker to 60. It's meaningless in the real world. For all that, if in the market for a £24K adventure bike, and I had the sort of disposable cash to not worry about that, the 1300 would be on my radar. I'll be interested to see if the GSA, when released, offers a more attractive all round package.

 

[stever1]

Agree with all the things he said, but he didn’t comment on how much his Goldwing cost him. Plus, I bet he ends up buying one.

Agree with that sentiment, BUT a Goldwing is in a different league really.

 

[MartinK]

Agree with most of the comments above
Not for me at the price tag (in fact not for me anyway!)
Plus looking at the BMW dealsrship a couple of weeks ago when I went to view the 1300, they have a glut of GS and GSA's almost new, and really pretty cheap - they obv need to shift loads of bikes out of the showroom (maybe bikes they have taken in P/X against the 1300). As such I realised that my 5-year-old, 26000 mile GS is probably worth well under £10k, and hence a huge cost-to-change (as well as buying all the kit AGAIN like panniers, mudsling, handguard extenders etc).
They missed a trip not dumping the silly rear light setup, they missed a trick not putting a better NAV unit on that works with wonderwheel, they missed a few more tricks as TMF says...
Just had my shock serviced by Denz0, and I think I will be keeping my GS for a few years yet

 

[stick]

Well I love mine , great bike , I bought it with my eyes open as I was bored with the 1250 , in both performance and looks . For me a bike that ticks the boxes , yes it will have issues , but I had a 1250 2023 which all say is a well tested bike .. that one was 3000 miles in and needed new cams and valve gear and head !!!!! My 18 plate blew its diff all over the floor 10k . My 15 plate cam wheel sheared off , smashed engine 4000 miles.
My 13 plate diff / shaft , gear box ..... repaired and went on to do good milage . Before that my beloved TC 30k plus , great bike but would not go back there now. Best bike ever CR500 as its just hated everybody and destroyed all it touched with the wanting to kill .

 

[Deleted account 250722001]

That, Mr Stick, is what happens when you buy into the alleged concept of what some marketing boffins perceived themselves as selling a 'premium brand'
No doubt, legends in their own lunch breaks. Yet, weirdly enough, people keep buy them- go figure! Nothing querer than folk.
And what about the never ending inconvenience imposed time fter time on their Customers? nah... all part of owning a WobbleU sir...

I'm still waiting for recall work to be done- I started the request Sept. 2023 and WobbleU said 'likely' to be end of march 2024 as they are waiting for a tool from the mothership in deutchland...
A tool which drills a hole...then inserts a threaded sleeve so one can attach an 'L' shape bracket to... Surely that deserves a 'star'?
Ahem...cough, cough...never mind. I'll get my coat.

 

[Barnoe]

What gloating was that ?

I was referring to his previous video with his test ride on the 1300 which he give a glowing report on how its better.
I'm interested to see if he put his money where his mouth is, or is he just being nice because someone lent him the bike.

He has had his GS for a while now, so would be looking for an upgrade.

 

[karlp]

Agreed.
It’s stupid money.
My Tracer GT+ cost me under £13k (£15k with VAT) fully loaded.
It’s 95% of the GS for just over half the cost !!
I blame a combination of PCPs and BMW reliability.
Very few people want a modern GS out of warranty as they just know it’ll need sorting at some point.
Combine the need to change your steed every 2/3 years with the advent of PCPs which just so happen to run coincidentally with the warranty lifetime and BMW has a ready made market and have pushed the price up ridiculously.

Don’t get me wrong-I like the 1300GS, but found it too small for me.
I thought I might even be interested in the forthcoming 1400/GSA whatever.

But then I looked at the configurator and realised what TMF said-the base price of under £16k looks just about acceptable , but when you spec it up to add the niceties,its over £23k.

The GSA will probably top £25k !!

But the thing that really put me off is the fact that BMW spend millions on designing clever stuff like auto-lowering suspension then cut corners by re-configuring the heated grip button into becoming the on/off switch and causing a worldwide recall/hold on all bikes.

I’d be really pissed off if I’d spent £23k+ only to be told my bike was unrideable even before collecting it.

Yet others will simply pass this off as teething issues and ‘the BMW warranty is the best in the business”, blah,blah,blah.

There’s a reason for that-it fucking needs to be !!!

I’m out.


Sent from my N65

Have you ever been in though - when it comes to BMW bikes

 

[Sneldog]

Very few people want a modern GS out of warranty as they just know it’ll need sorting at some point.

This is absolutely the case for me. My warranty runs out in March and I definitely want to replace it as a direct consequence of this. I never buy on PCP though.

 

[leadfarmer]

5) Rear lights - yes I agree, not sure they’re a great idea, a normal stop & tail with separate indicators would be better

4) Quick shifter/gearbox - I find it great, works perfectly on mine

3) Buttons/menus - a little complex when new but there’s a lot of functionality these days. He still hasn’t realized that the hamburger button has a second function with a long push, mine is set at present to do the screen on short push and seat/grip heating on the long push

2) Looks - subjective isn’t it, the headlight is not a thing of beauty but overall I think the bike looks great, but that’s just my opinion, if you find it hideous then you probably don’t want one

1) Price - yes it’s silly money, but cheaper than a Multistrada and equivalent to a Tiger 1200, so called premium brands are never cheap, price up an Audi/BMW/Mercedes and you’ll find it costs more than a Fiat or a Renault
I’m a cash buyer, I can afford a BMW, a Lamborghini would be problematic for me yet pocket money for others, it’s all relative

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

The switchgear one is fair. I’m sure people will memorise it over time, but trying to turn on the heated seat in the dark whole riding was an arse ache.

You probably had the seat heating set too high then

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Price, looks, rear lights, menus to access functions, gearbox/quickshifter.

To be fair the title is 'click-bait' as all YT things are - the video is better his wording/justification of these is much more a dislike, than a hatred.

Exactly this

Plus ... Being an unsympathetic mechanical imbecile, he is never going to understand the workings of the Gear Shift Assist Pro system

 

[stever1]

Well I love mine , great bike , I bought it with my eyes open as I was bored with the 1250 , in both performance and looks . For me a bike that ticks the boxes , yes it will have issues , but I had a 1250 2023 which all say is a well tested bike .. that one was 3000 miles in and needed new cams and valve gear and head !!!!! My 18 plate blew its diff all over the floor 10k . My 15 plate cam wheel sheared off , smashed engine 4000 miles.
My 13 plate diff / shaft , gear box ..... repaired and went on to do good milage . Before that my beloved TC 30k plus , great bike but would not go back there now. Best bike ever CR500 as its just hated everybody and destroyed all it touched with the wanting to kill .

So, IIUC you’ve had big problems with all your previous GS’s ?
yet you still go back to them !

 

[Arsey]

Have you ever been in though - when it comes to BMW bikes

We’ll I’ve owned
R1200GSA
R1100GS
R1150GSA
R1100RT
R1150RT
R1200RT
K1300S
F800GS
RNineT
R80G/S

and probably a few more


Sent from my N65

 

[Arsey]

1) Price - yes it’s silly money, but cheaper than a Multistrada and equivalent to a Tiger 1200, so called premium brands are never cheap, price up an Audi/BMW/Mercedes and you’ll find it costs more than a Fiat or a Renault

The latest GS is a smidge cheaper than a top of the range Multi. But that’s like saying a BMW car is cheaper than a Ferrari !
And the 1200 Tiger is about £4k cheaper !

Charging premium prices does not make a brand ‘premium’.
Just look at a typical owner :

Well I love mine , great bike , I bought it with my eyes open as I was bored with the 1250 , in both performance and looks . For me a bike that ticks the boxes , yes it will have issues , but I had a 1250 2023 which all say is a well tested bike .. that one was 3000 miles in and needed new cams and valve gear and head !!!!! My 18 plate blew its diff all over the floor 10k . My 15 plate cam wheel sheared off , smashed engine 4000 miles.
My 13 plate diff / shaft , gear box ..... repaired and went on to do good milage . Before that my beloved TC 30k plus , great bike but would not go back there now. Best bike ever CR500 as its just hated everybody and destroyed all it touched with the wanting to kill .

Not aimed at Stick, but why oh why would someone keep buying another BMW bike when they’ve had so many issues with previous models ?

I just don’t get it.


Sent from my N65[/QUOTE]

 

[GSian]

Have I ever been in ? In what ?


Sent from my N65

Think he means, as opposed to "I'm out"

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Not aimed at Stick, but why oh why would someone keep buying another BMW bike when they’ve had so many issues with previous models ?

I just don’t get it.

If you are happy with the brand and the aftersales service you receive then why not?

I've witnessed many customers who have had serious problems with Land Rovers over the years yet continue to buy the product regardless of the issues they've had !

 

[retroman]

I think I paid £9k cash for my new R1150GS in 2002, with lots of extras including luggage, alarm etc.

Allowing for inflation, that translates as £18.5k (or thereabouts) today.

£23k is indeed taking the piss.