Upgrade, ya or nay?

[J biker]

A bit late to this, and looks like the purchase is already made!

To add for others who may be thinking about a similar ‘upgrade’…
Having ridden an 1150gsa, owned two r1200gs, one r1250gs and now the r1300gs…

Yes the 1300 is way better. Willy waving horsepower? No, not at all, the 1250 took a step forward for flexibility, able to hold revs higher..and lower, much better if you like really twisty roads. The 1300 honestly feels like another strong step forwards, defo more sporty but also loads of torque, proven by the figures too. I tend to push on a bit at times and the 1300 is ‘quick’. The front wheel was up frequently towards the end of running in process.
Handling, it is definitely sharper, easier and feels even more planted. You need to be going very hard to tie the new bike in knots.

Yes, I err to the more sporty side of riding, but, the new bike also feels and is lighter/more compact. It feels actually a lot smaller.. i also find the seat more comfortable, some wont, this will be like the helmet and screen ergos, different folks..
IF you like to be able to set he suspension up (to a degree at least, it is still limited..) damping can be adjusted, additional to the dynamic, road settings. Nice.
Screen adjustment (mine is manual) so easy compared to that antiquated wind up mechanism. I didnt want electric, but think that it has ‘intermediate’ height settings, where the manual is ‘up’ or ‘down’.

I have read reviews that claim the 1250 felt more natural dropping in to tight corners, cant say I agree. The new bike just feels better everywhere in the handling department, having ridden with some sportbike riders, I would say it is the bike of choice for country roads.

Do you need to change? No. But each version has been an improvement. Will I enjoy the new model more and notice the improvements? Do bears shit in the woods? Getting older? The new one is easier to move around in the garage.
All of this relates to the GS, despite once riding one, I never did get the GSA, with its extra bulk, weight and higher c of g with a full tank! I consider that to be a different model/bike entirely tbh. And if some love it. Fine.
Tank range you shout. Well, 200 just, I can drop to 150 if using the bike harder, maybe less in hooligan mode. If going steady, which it sounds like a few do, then 200 plus would be possible.
Ah, but, but, but, my GSA will go to south of France (and back) well fine. But even the top end of Scotland (worse than Alps/Pyrenees) for fuel, the range is still adequate. Tbh most riders are of an age where they need to pee more often than the bike needs fuel. So be honest about the fuel range, it is fine.

 

[Smartbazza]

Re your last point. Having gone from a frankly brilliant 1250GSA to a 13. I concur that only the bike has a large enough ‘tank’ for all day riding.

Barry

 

[IrishGaucho]

most riders are of an age where they need to pee more often than the bike needs fuel. So be honest about the fuel range, it is fine.

Hilarious and very true.

Fuel is not an issue for me as I do like to take breaks and also ride with herself on her F900XR which would need fuel sooner than me anyways.

It's not like they are electric either, 5' stop and off you go.

Couldn't agree more with all the rest.

 

[botus]

Re your last point. Having gone from a frankly brilliant 1250GSA to a 13. I concur that only the bike has a large enough ‘tank’ for all day riding.

Barry

I don't get the drop in size, was it just to irritate owners (and I guess try and justify the hideous mess of the extra wide lorry they call a GSA) - I'd have upped it to 23 ltr - and if an owner thinks its heavy - just put 19 litres in there !

 

[Smartbazza]

Botus, suggest it was for design and competition (reasons) ie itll do 200+ miles on the 19 litre tank which is more than most standard tank competitors.

Barry

 

[J biker]

Same as others, I have had a load of bikes. Funniest thing ever is doing Euro trips, there will be someone on a gsa …moaning about all of the petrol stops. Well this is what happens if you go away with (fill in the gaps here lol…) any V4, and sportbike, lots of others…
Like I said, good time to nip in for a pee..Im ready for a leg stretch after 2-3 hours anyway.

There may be parts of the world where the bigger tank is essential. Just not the parts I go to.

 

[J biker]

As to drop in tank size, I am not noticing any significant difference in tank range.
Cant remember which road test I saw on Youtube, but they found it was negligible range difference. I think the new bike is just marginally better on fuel. At the end of the day, we are talking 1 litre on an economic bike. If it was a Multistrada V4 then thatvmay be more of an issue…drinks like father Ted.

 

[J biker]

This

So no difference in range.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Hey , I do need to stop, for coffees and a chat.
What my 1200LCGSA 33 litres permits me , is no need to waste valuable time at a pump and no need to suffer fuel anxieties , the latter of which is a constant concern to my NC riding mate … and perversely he can easily average 80-90 mpg !!!
BIG tank rules.

 

[J biker]

Like I said, some will love the gsa,

What it looks like to me is this;
The GSA is around 269kg fuelled (30 litre tank)
The GS is 237kg fuelled (19 litre tank)
So you 11 litres more fuel. Or an additional 8kg (0.74 approx kilo per litre..not the assumed 1=1)

So it is taller, considerably wider, and 32 kilos heavier, with fuel, or 24kg without, though it would be a bit useless without the extra fuel. So we will call it what it is. Plus 32kg. Let us not start talking about any attached scaffolding, crash bars and accessories.

This is not meant as take down. People love their GSAs, it is not required to justify them. They are just considerably different bikes. I think aimed at different riders to me.

All referencing the 1300.

I think some people never even enter a BMW showroom, as their perception of the GS is based on the GSA. Which would intimidate many a rider.

 

[botus]

of course if you max out the range it will bite anyone… but in my experience 25 litres ends up its never an issue, 20 litres is dodgy unless you have another 2 litres spare and 18 litres is a nightmare as the Muppets all think they can only do 100 mile before panicking and you end up stopping twice as often as you needed

a few examples

I was biking in germany on my 20 ltr tank old GS this year - usually I take 2 ltr additional fuel just in-case (but didn't have it this year)... one mate on a 2019 tiger explorer, and another mate on 900 Yamaha tracer (allegedly 18.17 ltr (4.80 gallons)) knew he was low, but the road we wanted was 5km earlier off the motorway before a services sign that showed fuel as he turned off...

we all wondered what fun he wanted making that choice... but we were only 25km from where we were going - and there used to be a fuel station 4km from where we were staying. And yet another one somewhere in between that we'd needed as few years previously. So on he went and ran out 10km in middle of nowhere... We left him and went to the station we knew about - it had been knocked down ! - yet my BM Nav (just updated) and his tomtom (just updated) said it was there. We tried another that didn't exist either, by now been all over the place and couldn’t remember where we'd left him. Our fuel needs came first. I got 20.5 ltrs in my 20 ltr tank bike and his triumph has been even emptier

years before that, the guy now with triumph, had stopped 15km short of this very same destination on his K1300S – I offered my 2 ltr but they saw some station 15km away and went for that que, 15 bikers doing 25km extra getting lost looking for a top up – and that place only took cash !

the idea that 20 ltrs is enough is a joke... once on my Todd I was in Luxembourg, heading for Annecy.... halfway through a tankful, I wasn't worried joining a motorway until I later discovered there wasn't a single fuel stop showing up after doing more than 120 km down this almost deserted motorway... with 17 miles range left finally saw a sign fuel in 35km or a junction in 7km to nowhereville. Came off, stopped for 30 mins fighting sat nav trying to get it to display fuel stops and gave up … as about to ride off two Dutch guys in car said WTF where can I get fuel we have 7km left… Luckily they managed to get their car system to show a fuel place 6 km away… Mapping for both of us was wrong, I’d already been in and out of the village ahead three times… then it looked like it went back into countryside, yet 1km further was a town with two fuel stations…

 

[Baked Bean]

Pardon

 

[Spook1969]

I think the concise version is 20L is ok

 

[karlakGS]

Considering a change from the 1250RS to a 1300GS - See how a test ride goes. Just looking for more comfort for going a bit further afield really.

 

[botus]

I think the concise version is 20L is ok

it isn't, and you only get 19 ltr on the 1300

 

[leadfarmer]

All these years I’ve needed a bigger tank and I didn’t even know it

 

[Spook1969]

it isn't, and you only get 19 ltr on the 1300

I have a 20l tank and have never run out

 

[IrishGaucho]

Considering a change from the 1250RS to a 1300GS - See how a test ride goes. Just looking for more comfort for going a bit further afield really.

I'm not sure if you're going to get more comfort out of the 1300. If anything it's more sporty and less touring... Seat is definitely a step backwards (even the comfort one) and hope you get bar risers on your demo bike, otherwise you might not like it, also the seat pivots at the back, make sure you test both positions as one would tilt the seat forward for even more sporty feel.

Suspension in road mode is definitely superior.

Comfort is very subjective, so definitely give it a try and see how you get on. It's different from previous bikes for sure.

 

[Tyzer]

Considering a change from the 1250RS to a 1300GS - See how a test ride goes. Just looking for more comfort for going a bit further afield really.

Take some earplugs

 

[RichardD]

I'm not sure if you're going to get more comfort out of the 1300. If anything it's more sporty and less touring... Seat is definitely a step backwards (even the comfort one) and hope you get bar risers on your demo bike, otherwise you might not like it, also the seat pivots at the back, make sure you test both positions as one would tilt the seat forward for even more sporty feel.

Suspension in road mode is definitely superior.

Comfort is very subjective, so definitely give it a try and see how you get on. It's different from previous bikes for sure.

As you say, comfort is very subjective. Initially I thought my R1300GS was less comfortable than my R1250GS, but with a couple of tweaks (the Wunderlich seat raising/levelling kit, and rolling the bars up a bit), the 1300 is now (for me) equally good. In comparison, I have had an RS and an R, and also ride an RT for blood bikes. For comfort, I'd choose the GS every day.