Five things you hate and five things you love about your R1300GS.

[Clifton]

Not my experience. I was appalled when I followed my mate's late 1250GS, with the same shared brake and indicator light. I couldn't see his left indicator until he stopped braking.

Unsafe design in my opinion. I'm not going to buy one of those EZ Can systems. So what to do...

The rear lights must operate differently there because here they really grab your attention. Instead of a single tail light you have 2 bright red LED lights 14" apart. When braking they change to very bright which is quite apparent. When turning, one flashes off and on while the other remains on. Unless you're looking away there is no way to not see it nor misunderstand the signal.

I recently had test rides on both a GS and GSA 1300`s and more or less came to the same conclusion as i did when they first came out a couple of years ago. They are basically a great bike and have noticeable and worthwhile improvements over the 1250 but are completely and utterly ruined by the shocking and appalling aural characteristics; too much engine noise, too little exhaust note.
The sound a motorcycle makes is important. It`s quite often the first thing we notice about an approaching bike and an opinion is made before we even see it.

The engine in particular sounds absolutely dreadful,......

I agree these aren't pleasant sounding engines but at least it's less clattery than the 2014 GSA I had. If engine sound is important look elsewhere or invest in an aftermarket exhaust system and deal with whatever fueling problems come with it. The Stelvio I traded in on my GS sounded pretty nice, much nicer than the 1300GS. If engine sound was a top priority for me I wouldn't have traded but it wasn't, besides I wear ear plugs anyway. More important were the compliant suspension, added power and torque, less engine heat, and more relaxed upper gearing for highway travel. Engine sound is way down the list.

Along with a clunk going into 1st, in touch with its heritage and on brand then

After the Stelvio's massive CLUNK and forward lurch I barely notice the light clunk going to 1st from neutral on this bike. The V100 Stelvio was by far the worst at this with Harley's being a distant 2nd. When I first got the 2014 GSA its clutch drag and clunk was really bad, enough that BMW advised to not let oil level be above 1/2 way on the sight glass which did help somewhat.

I don`t think i`ve ever owned a bike that doesn`t do that, it`s just the nature of motorcycle gearboxes with dog-type pinion engagement, some bikes are more noticeable than others for this little quirk.

Never owned a BMW, Ducati, or Guzzi with dry clutch Hann?
One thing I appreciate about my car, Airhead, and V85TT is the use of dry clutches so zero clunk.

 

[Hann]

Never owned a BMW, Ducati, or Guzzi with dry clutch Hann?

Had an R100 back in the day but cannot remember what the gear engagement felt like, do they not do `the clunk`, then?
I suppose with 100% drive disengagement and no oil drag/sticktion in the clutch plates they would be less prone to it, but yeah, i`ve had mostly Jap bikes with wet clutches over recent years.
edit: also had a R1200 Hexhead with dry clutch. That was only ~5 years ago but still can`t remember what the gear selection was like!


Re: engine sound. It`s quite important to me, i`m not obsessed with listening but a decent sounding motor bicycle can make all the difference to the overall feel of a bike.
For instance, i`ve recently acquired a Yamaha MT01 and it sounds amazing, the engine sounds sweet, refined, smooth and gives the impression of being precision engineered. It`s got a slight whine/whistle to it when accelerating, too. Add that to the thundering bass tone of the two bazookas exiting under the seat and low engine speeds it makes for a really enjoyable, satisfying ride. Sounds like a supercharged muscle car...

 

[G&T]

D’WFR, the spectacular 1250 is in for her 12k service tomorrow. I think I’ll be getting a 1300GS loan, so I’m looking forward to it. She on the other hand won’t talk to me all the way back home - I’m sure of it!

 

[Clifton]

Had an R100 back in the day but cannot remember what the gear engagement felt like, do they not do `the clunk`, then?
I suppose with a 100% drive disengagement and no oil drag in the clutch plates they would be less prone to it, but yeah, i`ve had mostly Jap bikes with wet clutches over recent years.

Correct they don't drag therefore clunk unless not disengaging from mis-adjustment.

But then that creates another problem especially for riders used to wet clutches. Since wet clutches always slightly drag, when selecting first the rotating gear meshes right into the stopped transmission gear with a clunk as the clutch gear abruptly stops. When a dry clutch disengages, the transmission is stopped and clutch side gears come to a complete stop almost immediately so they noiselessly engage..... unless teeth happen to stop opposed to each other. Then they won't engage unless you release the clutch just a bit for an instant or move the bike slightly to move the gear as you press to first. Many riders of wet clutch bikes not realizing this often complain saying something's wrong because they often have to keep pounding down on the shifter to force engagement which of course leads to linkage damage making matters worse.

 

[paulR]

I totally agree about the engine noise, mine sounds horrible. I had a go on a GSA at a Motorrad test ride day this week and that was definitely quieter than my standard 2024 GS, maybe the wider tank suppresses some of the noise.

 

[KennyDies]

I do have one more like as I didn't find out about this until yesterday. Love the fact the bike remembers where I left off. IE if my heated seats were on and I was in a certain place in the menu, when I switch the bike off and on again it doesn't reset everything.

 

[Clifton]

I didn't realize it maintained the heated grip and seat setting for the next start. I know that after disabling radar cruise it doesn't maintain that setting, unfortunately it reverts back to radar cruise at every start up.

 

[jefformston]

I didn't realize it maintained the heated grip and seat setting for the next start. I know that after disabling radar cruise it doesn't maintain that setting, unfortunately it reverts back to radar cruise at every start up.

Embrace the radar cruise, it’s great once you get used to it.

 

[Clifton]

I'm quite familiar with radar cruise and dislike it for 95% of my riding. I prefer cruise to hold the speed I set w/o braking or slowing to follow other vehicles, otherwise I have to keep watching the speedometer. On every vehicle I've had with following cruise (2 trucks and 2 cars, Honda and Toyota) that feature can be turned off with a button and it remains off. All except this BMW, not only does it revert back at every start there's no button to turn it off, instead one must toggle through the menu. I am getting faster at scrolling through to settings though.

 

[Tyzer]

Embrace the radar cruise, it’s great once you get used to it.

Wears ya break pads down quicker

 

[jefformston]

Wears ya break pads down quicker

Over 30,000 on the front pads and still ok, the rears changed at 25,000, with some life left. So doesn’t make that much difference. KTM 1290 SAS.

 

[Tyzer]

Over 30,000 on the front pads and still ok, the rears changed at 25,000, with some life left. So doesn’t make that much difference. KTM 1290 SAS.

Try doing them mileages on a 1300 GS !

 

[Asturcon]

Wears ya break pads down quicker

Why?

You can turn off the braking feature.

One of the first things I did because it's all very well on a straight, but I feared the potential to destabilise if it braked on a bend and I wasn't expecting it.

 

[Asturcon]

GSA

LOVE:

Radar CC - Much safer than normal CC
Front cubby with USB - So much better than cables everywhere
Electric screen - Fitted a Motogeeks one to my 1200 and would have found it hard to live without now
Stability - Absorbs almost anything the present state of the roads will throw at you
linear power - Much improved compared to the 1200

HATE:

The weight - @ 280Kgs you have to eat a lot of Shredded Wheat to move it around the garage and be very careful how and where you stop
Agility. - My 1200 was much easier to throw about. I had removed the engine bars on it, and it had alloy rims as opposed to the heavy wire rims I have on this one, which I really hate. The difference in gyroscopic effect is noticeable when flicking it about. I tried to buy the forged rims, but they told me that a mere week before BMW had stopped selling them! The engine bars on this GSA must weigh 10-12Kgs and I would love to replace them with Machine Art X-heads like I had on my 1200, but they are attached by a single screw (as opposed to using the headbolts on the 1200) and I just don't trust them to absorb an impact on the head covers. I know I will drop the bike.
Menu - Could be easier. It's beginning to resemble a NOKIA 8310 cascade menu.
Wire rims - Apart from the above I HATE cleaning wire wheels, they need more maintenance, heavier. Just shit!
Linked Brakes - Don't mind linking front to back, but not the other way around TBH. I guess it's about what you're used to, and I daresay I will get to used to this.

 

[Martin GSA UK]

This thread illustrates how difficult it must be design motorbikes. Take the last post. Two of his loves are pet hates of mine, one I deliberately specc'd without (ACC), having had on my RT. One of the hates (rims) I was keen to go back to and I find the GSA easier to wheel around my drive and garage than previous 1250GS and 1250RT. Go figure.

Maybe location, riding mostly in northern Spain vs. UK, will bear significantly on what you use/like on a bike. Age / body dimension, rider strength... Must be a nightmare designing the perfect compromise. They don't do bad really!

 

[Fiddlesticks]

Front cubby with USB - So much better than cables everywhere

I don't use mine much an I generally use a tank bag. It's a bit tight for the phone to fit in (had to buy a 90 degree usb-c cable otherwise it wouldn't fit).

Linked Brakes - Don't mind linking front to back, but not the other way around TBH. I guess it's about what you're used to, and I daresay I will get to used to this.

100%

 

[grantmac]

I don't use mine much an I generally use a tank bag. It's a bit tight for the phone to fit in (had to buy a 90 degree usb-c cable otherwise it wouldn't fit).

100%

Same. Too tight. I stuff the phone in the top box on charge. To me the little cubby hole is a design failure as it’s simply too tight for a phone.

 

[Tyzer]

Why?

You can turn off the braking feature.

One of the first things I did because it's all very well on a straight, but I feared the potential to destabilise if it braked on a bend and I wasn't expecting it.

Wouldn't that mean it's no longer adaptive,defeats the the purpose surely ?
You use cruise on twisty roads

 

[gateway77]

In my experience the linked brakes work seamlessly on bends; it's always been one of the most attractive features of a GS is doing all 'the wrong things' mid bend if necessary without consequence.

The only time I notice them linking at all is at very low speed going downhill - sub 10mph. Where occasionally I can feel that a slight reaction can be felt as one catches up with the other. But I don't know what or why.

On fast roads the brakes have been fantastic.

 

[Asturcon]

Same. Too tight. I stuff the phone in the top box on charge. To me the little cubby hole is a design failure as it’s simply too tight for a phone.

It is a bit tight, I agree, and I too had to buy a rt angle adapter & short lead, but not having it on the bars is a plus and I don't like loose flapping wires. It's maybe a stretch to say I "love" it, but I do find it useful.

Wouldn't that mean it's no longer adaptive,defeats the the purpose surely ?
You use cruise on twisty roads

No, what it does is cut the throttle only and adjusts the speed that way. Being a twin that is enough and gets your attention pretty swiftly if you are distracted. If it isn't enough, your attention has been got and you can brake as you would normally.

Goodness no!, I don't use it on the twisties, but some of the dual carriageways here in Spain are quite twisty in parts. I'd probably not use it on the AP-8 between San Sebastian and Bilbao over a certain speed, but I might on the A-3 and A-23 into or out of Valencia @ 140km/h, both of which have their moments.