RIDING THE BMW R1300GS: THE WRAP

It’s the Monday of a three-day weekend so that’s a good excuse for a Labor Day edition of The Wrap. We like cool stuff. And, there’s nothing cooler than this: the new BMW R1300GS. It’s amazing that the guys at BMW would even lend us a bike like this. They know who we are and what we do. First thing I did was call Paul Krause and head straight into the dirt.

This version of the R1300GS is totally new. It arrived early in 2024 to replace the R1250GS. In broad terms, the 1300 retains most of the iconic features that have become its hallmarks. It’s still a horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder motor, it still has Telelever front suspension and a driveshaft with Paralever rear suspension. Every one of those components is new for the 1300, starting with the motor. It has more displacement with a large bore and a comparatively short stroke. The six-speed gearbox has been relocated under the longitudinal crankshaft. That allows for a longer single-sided swingarm. The changes go on and on, but the bottom line is that the R1300Gs is a smaller, lighter bike than the one it replaces. The engine alone lost 8 pounds, the chassis is narrower and more compact. Total curb weight is said to be 522 pounds, which is around 27 pounds less than the 1250, depending on the option package.

There are options, packages and configurations galore with all BMW motorcycles. The base price of the bike alone is $18,895, but virtually none are sold like that in the U.S. The one we have has enough stuff to bring the MSRP up to $26,705. The two items worth noting are “Ride Modes Pro” and “Dynamic Suspension Adjustment.” Ride Modes can be selected through a dedicated button on the right and they include basic Eco, Rain and Road, plus (if you upgrade) Dynamic, Dynamic Pro, Enduro and Enduro Pro. Each of those has its own pre-settings for throttle response, traction control, anti lock braking and suspension. Our test bike did not have proper off-road tires. We had Michelin Anakee Adventures, which are considerably less aggressive than the Anakee Wild models. We also would have preferred the flip-down rear brake platform and wider footpegs that come on the Trophy package.

One of the great appeals of the big GS-series bikes might be a little hard to understand from the outside. They are great, big, enormous motorcycles that handle misleadingly well in the dirt. There’s something very satisfying about riding along with your dual-sport buddies and then following them on dirt roads and two-trackers without making them wait. The new 1300 takes that concept to a whole new level. You can still follow your dual-sport bike friends on dirt roads, but then, when the road straightens out and traction is good, you can unleash 145 horsepower and warp the earth’s crust. That’s right; the R1300GS is insanely fast. Weirdly, it doesn’t seem insane when you ride it. It goes fast when you open the throttle but it’s not frightening at all. Exhilarating, yes. Thrilling, certainly. Scary, no. That’s probably because of the way that the boxer twin makes power. It’s done with torque rather than rpm. 

The new R1300GS is narrow, has a very low center of gravity and the wheelbase is only an inch longer than that of a 450 motocross bike. That gives you more confidence than ever before. That said, it’s much more fun to go up the mountain than down. When you get into sand or really technical riding, there’s no denying the 1300’s sheer mass. Regardless of how much smaller it is this year, it’s still big. Expecting anything else would be silly. The seat height is reasonably low, which is helpful for those situations when you just give up and use your feet like a caterpillar to get through a section. We all do it, and if we’re lucky, no one shoots any video.

This is a bike designed to spend the overwhelming majority of its time on pavement, where it’s wonderful. The 1300 is comfortable, powerful and emotionally satisfying on long, interstate highway trips. With all that street cred, it’s fascinating that BMW has devoted so much engineering and technology to improving its off-road performance, where the bike will spend about 1% of its life. That tells us that BMW takes its role as the father of adventure seriously and wants to maintain a technical edge. There’s more to unwrap here and the full test of the new 1300 will appear in the November 2024 print edition of Dirt Bike.

MARTY AND MICKY

There are treasures in the file cabinets at the Dirt Bike office. One example is this: it’s a photo of Micky Dymond on his 1996 championship CR125 riding with Marty Smith on his 1975 RC125 championship bike. It was shot by Fran Kuhn when he was on staff at Dirt Bike in the ‘80s. Eric Crippa brought both bikes out to a vacant lot for a compare/contrast story in the October 1986 issue. “I can’t believe I rode this thing!” said Marty Smith. Back in 1975 it was the most advanced 125 motocross bike in the world. It was around 167 pounds, which meant it was too light for AMA rules. The solution was to cast a head made of solid copper. 

Micky’s bike seemed like a spaceship at the time, although it was a production based bike. Today, it would probably seem just as primitive as the RC125 did then. Why is Marty dressed in Kawasaki gear? That’s what he rode at the time.

BARRY HIGGINS & MAICO SEQUEL #3

Here’s another hero from the past. Barry Higgins was one of the early American motocross greats. He was a member of America’s first Motocross des Nations team in 1971 (with John Barclay, Gunnar Lindstrom and  Bryan Kenney) and would have been a player in those early ‘70s National Championships if he had ridden a whole series. In 1992 I did a photo shoot with him on a Maico. This was the rebirth of Maico as a brand after the M-Star years, and Ronnie Smith in Georgia was the U.S. importer. I rode the bike in the Alligator enduro and Barry was my test rider beforehand. Guess what? It was pretty good! The biggest issue was that it was hard to start. The fork was a Muller, the shock was a White Power (before changing the name to WP) and the motor was a liquid-cooled 440. I was awestruck by Barry Higgins. He was no young kid at the time and had no trouble riding circles around me.

 

See you next time!