10/1/23
Since the introduction of BMW’s first adventure motorcycle, the 1980 R/80 GS, the mighty GS in all of its iterations has been the machine by which all other ADVs are measured. But in recent years other manufacturers have been taking shots at BMW in the game it basically invented. Despite the R 1250 GS and GS Adventure being the sales number king (except a short time after the introduction of Harley-Davidson’s Pan America), it was getting long in the tooth. Adventure bikes from KTM, Ducati, Triumph, and Harley have offered more power, less weight, and more tech.
For 2024, BMW’s R 1300 GS addresses those shortcomings with an onslaught of changes and newness: a 145 hp ShiftCam-equipped boxer, a gearbox housed at the bottom of the engine cases, a steel sheet-metal frame, redesigned EVO Telelever and EVO paralever suspension, and radar-based adaptive cruise control. And it’s 26 pounds lighter.
Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron met with BMW Motorrad’s design director, Edgar Heinrich, and R 1300 project manager, Jochen Beck, who said the R 1300 GS puts an end to the trend of BMW’s ADVs getting “bigger and bigger.” Check out Kevin’s technical look here to understand the design and engineering choices behind the slimmer and more powerful GS.
Meanwhile, I wrestled with a 27-page press release to condense all of the features and changes into a digestible serving in a comprehensive first look article. All the details are there: displacement, bore and stroke, compression ratio, suspension travel, weight, pricing, and availability. In less than a month from today, I will get our first chance to experience the R 1300 GS, to separate the riding wheat from the marketing chaff. After all of the significant changes made, I’m looking forward to finding out how it all comes together. Stay tuned.
As always, there’s more than we can fit into this email. Check out cycleworld.com for additional tests, reviews, and news.
Ride on,
Justin Dawes
Executive Editor
