BMW’s new R 1300 GS. Does the extra 50 cc count for anything? PETER FROST headed into the Garden Route badlands to find out.
‘Better the best’ read the head note to the Motorrad development team back in 2016, tasked with upping the R 1250 GS ante. Gulp. What a brief. After all, the iconic bike, with sales beyond 58 000 in its 14-year run, routinely won gold and in both rider and journalist reviews was lauded for its compound usability, ability and friendliness. It was the bike that could do everything, apparently effortlessly. It rewarded professional riders with unexpected depths, charmed first-timers with the lightness of its controls. Cayenne elan met Hilux toughness. Don’t break the unbroke.
Well, the wait was over, for me at least. Here it was, and the first surprise was a small one. Parked at George Motorrad next to a raw-boned F 900 XR, the R 1300 GS Trophy looked positively compact. And it really is. In the flesh, as the pundits had promised, it’s substantially smaller and lighter than the outgoing 1250. There’s a new chassis (or two, to be precise: back and front joined by complex trickery) and the bike wraps itself tightly around that. No more run-up vaulting for the under six-footers. It’s a rhino rather than a giraffe now.
Passes, Floods and Friendly Peeps
Climb on, hit the start button, a lot of cambelt clatter. That’s because the housing is lightweight magnesium this time, all part of a diet that’s shaved 12 kg off the previous bike.
But any KTM bucket-’o-bolts overtones are soon dispensed with. Snick, snick, snick, everything is light and easy: gears, clutch, throttle. Elegantly fluid. That’s good news because the mountains and back roads of the Garden Route were calling, and easy would be ideal in those wild badlands.
The route? Head out from George past the university, down the Seven Passes Road and keep going until Knysna, 75km of twisty heaven later. From there, up to Uniondale on the R339 through the Kammanassies, then back to George via Oudtshoorn the quick way. The Outeniqua Pass would be the final test – fast, well-cambered, a road to test any bike’s blacktop handling.
Or not. Cue Robert Burns’ infuriating aphorism. Those best-laid plans hit the skids about 5km in. Aeolus and his crew of Kaos crusaders had combined to bring the full power of a Cape winter to bear on the route. Seven Passes was formally, resolutely closed, diversions everywhere.
“We’re the only ones going down there this week, sorry for you.” Friendly locals, just another reason to love cyclists in day-glo lycra. “Go home and stay warm.” Lovely people.
Advice not taken. The new GS had already impressed me and I wanted more. It was very comfortable, even if the seating and peg location has changed for a sportier posture. The new engine, that torquey boxer twin remodelled, is noticeably punchier, especially at lower speeds. So I rerouted down the N2 towards Knysna, dodging German kyk-daars in Swifts and yelling at the indiscriminate development through the lakes region. Finally through Knysna, and the R339 called. Yelled actually, a welcome dirt track after the N2 crush.
Forest Elves, Trucker Heaven
On dirt, toggle through the ride options, choose Enduro and leave the rest to the Teutons – the smart ride system adapts traction control and ABS automatically.
It translates to a firming up of things, a barely perceptible consolidation which was – as the kilometres added up, the drop-offs got scarier, the logger leviathans came ever closer – a real boon.
The R339, for those in search of a good time in a parallel universe, is the best, by the way. Open Google maps and hit the satellite view. Endless switchbacks, hogsbacks, up hill, down dale, forest creatures real and imagined, it has it all. And on a 1300 GS, all the better, that capable twin now more responsive down low, making tricky, badly cambered corners child’s play. Finally, 70km done, the R62 at Avontuur was welcome – and not. Dirt is always a challenge but worth the extra attention, the sense of achievement.
Fun, Fantastic, Tracking the Changes
Tar, as it turned out, was just as much fun. But then the GS’s raison d’être has always been about effortless cruising. In truth the GS rarely sees hectic offroad service and is aimed at the weekend market, a well-heeled group that rates road comfort over outright dirt-holding. The new bike is a boon on tar, as responsive at higher speeds as it is on the dirt. And the new aerodynamics come to the fore, making headwind work less arduous. Hunkered down, rather than playing in the clouds, sees real benefits, as the high-speed kilometres rack up.
So What’s the Verdict?
Finally, Outeniqua. It’s a pass for the ages, loved by bikers and dragsters alike who are intent on proving their skills (and stupidity, all too often). The 1300 again triumphed, superb brakes and that adaptable suspension combining to shorten braking distances and ensure easy, skilful exits from tight corners.
It was fun, lots of fun, as elegant as a road bike, building confidence with every challenge. Superb.
And then, unexpectedly, George. So soon? It served to underline a key GS trait. Time on this bike is rarely tedious, the ease of travel epic. You can spend all day on a GS and hardly notice it.
Engine pinging as it cooled, I replayed the day. Slam dunk, a better bike, this 1300? Not entirely. There’s something of the old bike’s quirky pole-vaulter-on-a-run-up bounciness that I missed. Yes, it’s probably a better bike now, especially with the optional adaptive ride height, but it also feels more generic, less individual. Character is a word seldom used describing the German marques, but the 1250 had it in spadefuls. The 1300 is almost too good. Can that be a bad thing? What a beast though, good for what ails you.
For more details see bmwmotorrad.co.za.