BMW’s Newest Motorcycle Is Also Its Most Important in Years
The BMW R 1300 GS is known as the grandfather of the maxi-adventure-bike space—which now sports players from most major brands—and is consistently the yard stick by which all others are measured. Now, BMW Motorrad has just revealed the first all-new R 1300 GS in a decade. In the biggest overhaul since the debut of the water-boxer version in 2013, it seems that the machine has been given a top-to-bottom revision.
The adventure category has become seriously competitive in recent years with motorcycles like those in the exceptional Ducati Multistrada V4 range and the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, so BMW needed to pull out all the stops if it wished to remain at the top of the class tree. And it seems to have done just that by the looks of it. The 2024 BMW R 1300 GS is completely new and runs a ShiftCam-assisted, liquid-cooled motor with 145 hp and 110 ft lbs of torque—the most powerful boxer engine to ever come from BMW. Driven through a six-speed gearbox that is now mounted under the motor (instead of behind it), the new power plant is dramatically shorter than before and saves a total of 14.3 pounds from the drivetrain alone.
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Four engine modes are standard—Rain, Road, Enduro, and Eco (the latter of which maximizes fuel range). And the optional, high-performance Riding Modes Pro suite returns to offer more customization for traction control, throttle response, wheelie control, and ABS intervention via the Dynamic, Dynamic Pro, and Enduro Pro levels.
The all-new chassis sports a stiffer steel-sheet-metal construction, with the rear subframe now made from cast aluminum—a first for the model, as previously it was made of tubular steel. BMW still employs its regular Telelever design, although it has been optimized for greater stiffness and steering feedback, as has the rear suspension. The suspension also gains BMW’s Adaptive Vehicle Height Control algorithm, which reduces the seat height from 33.5 inches to 32.3 inches at standstill and during slow travel, while Sport Suspension allows for 0.8 inches more spring travel and a firmer setup.
As you’d expect, the bike retains all the usual traction control, Cornering ABS, wheelie control, and many more systems familiar to the category, but the 2024 iteration will be the first of the model to come with new radar-assisted Active Cruise Control, Front Collision Warning, and Lane Change Warning systems. Ducati and KTM have two of the aforementioned three features, but the BMW is the first to offer Front Collision Warning on a production motorcycle. And while it won’t save you from a front-end crash, it will apply the brakes slowly to at least minimize the impending impact. Again, we stress, it won’t save you from a crash.
The aesthetic changes, though, may be what gets the most attention. Gone is the asymmetrical headlight design that’s been a GS staple. Instead, BMW has developed an X-shaped LED light system that houses both high and low beams in one unit and significantly reduces the bike’s frontal area. In total, the new 1300 has lost 26 pounds over the outgoing 1250 model.
Delving further into the looks, purists may lament the shorter screen and flat seat, but these can be altered with BMW’s extensive parts catalog that includes four available seat variants, three different footrests, Comfort handlebars (taller by 1.2 inches), and different hand and foot levers.
Starting at $18,895 and available in the first quarter of 2024, this BMW R 1300 GS is, by far, the most important new bike launch for BMW in a number of years. Next month, we’ll be in Spain to see if the ride lives up to the hype.
Click here for more photos of the 2024 BMW R 1300 GS.
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