@@airevalleyclassics Thank you . A friend has just messaged me saying he felt the same . A bit different and a nice change . Longer term tests like this are less about specs and initial views and I am naturally more relaxed and comfortable around the bikes . Good fun to make and glad you enjoyed watching 👍
Great review thank you. I've had a 2010 GS1200 and a GS1200 LC. Both fantastic bikes but my arthritic knees were beginning to suffer especially with a passenger on the back. I've now had my 1300 Trophy for a month and already had it's first service. The bike is phenomenal in all the ways you mentioned. I took the adaptive right height option which has changed my life. Pure bliss on the knees. I now flat foot when stationary. Other options I took were the comfort and dynamic packages and heated seat. No radar though. I have adhd and for me, it would have distracted me from the oure riding experience far too much and I avoid motorways anyway. The handling is superb, brakes incredible and the engine is .... just test ride one. Words won't do it justice. Dynamic mode is mind blowing. I have now done 2 long rides of over 6 hours (saddle time) and it is as comfortable as my 1200 was. I live in Normandy and the roads and twisties are awesome. It is noisier but after 10 minutes you don't even notice it. The exhaust sounds better and better with time. It is expensive but do I regret buying it. Absolutely not.
Indeed, as others have already commented, this is by far one of your best videos and thank you Michael, for including me in it in a sort of, "cameo role" 🙂. The R1300GS is growing on me particularly the Trophy version which you have as it is obviously similar to my 1250 Rallye in colour. Whether I take the plunge or not, will depend on me test riding one one day and that the maths add up. Thanks again for a great video and great to see Nigel and Dave enjoying themselves too. Keep up the great work for the next series.
Loved the video Michael and its great to see you UP NORTH. Living in Lancashire its easy to get to the Derbyshire dales, the Trough of Bowland, the Yorkshire dales and the lakes all on my BSA Gold Star . As you know it's laden with technology which includes ABS and me but as I don't cover your mileage its does me fine especially at my age. Just noticed I'm using my wife's kindle thing so it's put her name up instead of mine.... Ian.
A good buddy of mine and I both had the same reaction. We've been test riding GS's every few years and walked away sufficiently unimpressed to not get one - heavy feeling, slow revving, clunky. We both test rode the 1300 and put in orders. I was very skeptical of the dynamic CC and adaptive suspension, but the test ride convinced me both are outstanding. Mine has arrived (trophy with enduro package, forged wheels, no comfort or passenger packages) and I love it. I took a risk ordering the GS before the GSA was released, and thank goodness that was the right decision. Anything I'd change? I would like another gallon of fuel capacity, but that's it.
Ive watched both of your R1300GS videos and agree with most of your comments. I changed my R1250 GS TE Rallye for a R1300 GS TE Trophy and can only see the upside of design evolution and progression. The only real downside for me is with the rear lights (brake and side lights) being incorporated into the indicator unit. I did a tour of Ireland with 3 mates and they all complained that they struggled to see my indicators when I was braking. The bright brake lights "bleached" the indicator on the side of the turn. I have since bought a Weisser Technik fix and added a Denali 6 LED brake light. This fixes a design flaw with potential health and safety implications in my opinion. The pricing issue difference between the 1250 and 1300 is simply the cost of the Adaptive Ride Hight Control and the Rider Assist Radar which gives you Active Cruise Control (ACC) - front radar - and Blind Spot Detection - rear radar. Other than this the prices are the same. I guess if you want the new tech you pay the money. I did and it was worth it.
@@neilpatterson458 My friends also pointed out the indicator issue . Hard to see . Will think about what I want to do about that 🤔 The bikes are more expensive but you either live with or you don’t . I decided to and am happy with my decision . A good bike . 👍
@@michaelmam Thanks for the reply. BTW i am also having problems with the BMW luggage. I have the panniers but they cant give me a top box , which I paid for in March until 2025! BMW has however gifted me a Givi top box - it will do until 2025. You might want to look at the "Just the Way it is" RU-vid channel which gives details on the rear lights issue and solutions. - like you i love this bike - the more i learn about the suspension adjustment the more I can tune the ride to my requirements. Regards Neil
@@neilpatterson458 Thanks Neil . I have 2 trips to Wales planned in September and October and thought I would try a few different settings as well . Might put the handlebar risers on for one of them to understand the impact . Ride Safe 👍😊
Très bonne vidéo ! Vous avez fini de me convaincre sur cette machine et merci pour la balade …. J ai maintenant envie de visiter votre pays …. En GS bien sûr !
I like the looks of this model more than any of the previous ones. I'm sure it must be great to ride. I prefer it to the Ducati competition. I won't be getting either any BMW or Ducati. My BMW dealer from '96 onwards - Park Lane in London; I bought an eleven-month old R1100GS - were fantastic. Excellent review. Nick
Nice video Michael. As a gentleman of similar height and inseam to yourself I had previously ruled out the big GSs as too tall for a comfortable ride. Good to know I’m wrong but maybe out of the budget for the time being 😅.
Thanks Dave . I try to make them enjoyable for those with an interest in bikes generally and helpful for those looking at the bike in particular . Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for commenting 👍
Hi and thanks for decent real world video, Is your seat the high, normal, or low varient? I will take delivery of a very similar machine early Sept which comes with a high heated job as standard. I have the usual dilema of comfort vs tippytoes .😅 Cheers a safe riding Andy
Mine has the high heated seat . As I say in the video , I have 29.5 inside leg and find the bike , with the adaptive ride height on , fine . Have fun on the new bike Andy 👍
Great video, thanks. I also have a 1300 with similar miles on and I have an annoying rattle from the left cylinder head under light(ish) load between 3-5000rpm and the dealer said BMW won’t do anything about it. Have you experienced this?
@@simonjones1204 my engine is noisy , as was the one I tried before I ordered mine, but haven’t pinpointed any particular area where it is coming from .. 👍
Mechanical sound , yes heard other say this. My KTM 1290 adv did become much quieter going from 50 grade oil up to 60 grade which is an alternative in hot country's even the gearbox feel smoother. Dont know which oil types are approved in the 1300 gs, maybe worth checking up. Thicker oils always proved a tougher oil film when centistokes are increased. For sure will bring down the mechanical sound, yes a very small increase in fuel consumption will happen.
@@JW-cq4ez Thanks . I will have a chat with the guys at the garage and see what they recommend . I am getting used to it but it is , definitely , noisier than my 1250 . Thanks for watching 👍
I rode the 1300gs twice, and I found the seat and rider triangle to be sooo much more Uncomfortable than my 1250gs! I'm amazed you say it's more comfortable than the 1250gs!! You must have an ass made of steel. Also, it's so much more difficult to lift off the side stand than the 1250gs. I think the 1300gs is crap. The 1300gs is a little more powerful but i thought the suspension was not as plush as the 1250gs. I will keep my 1250gs for a long time.
@@robb8773 we are clearly not the same dimensions . Rider position is far better for me , than the low chassis 1250 I had before . Adaptive ride height , perfect . Had an 1150 , 1200 , 1250 and now the 1300 . Each to their own ..
I agree with your statements. I really love the bike overall. But of course there are also downsides. The price is not great but as you said, you forget about it. I find the seat still not 100% comfortable. I have ridden close to 4000km now and tomorrow I will go on a 2500km tour. After that I should be certain about the seating comfort and whether or not I have to change the seat. That is a bit of a downside for me, considering what this bike is supposed to be. And of course the luggage situation. I don´t really care if Touratech screwed up or BMW, but it is disappointing. My dealer is offering me to get the money back for the cases. I might take them up on that offer and buy some aftermarket luggage. But I am still not sure what I want to do, since the original idea was to use the BMW luggage for street tours and some rackless soft luggage for gravel roads and camping. I will probably end up with the Touratech racks and some soft paniers from EMD as a middle ground solution, I guess.
@michaelmam thanks a lot. I'm really looking forward to that tour. Since I will be doing 5-7h a day for 6 days straight, I am certain to find out about the seat.
80/20 tyre = standard road tyre for UK’s terrible roads 😂 Shad have for many years made parts for BMW bikes, including most of the non-alu luggage and seats. Those in the know tend to buy the far cheaper Shad luggage, which is often better, albeit with pannier rails. Funnily enough after it being out for a year I like the look even less. It may be easier to clean but that means water getting behind those pressed steel panels you can’t access so only time will tell as to whether they start to rust inside out. Paint finish is however far better - a real weak spot on previous GSes. In the end not for me as I’m past the point of paying £20K for a hobby. Nice video, thanks!
I have ridden the bike with the Nitron system fitted . It was , of course , a big improvement and significantly firmer . Sadly with quite a low number of views , I suspect there isn’t enough interest in the upgrade to make a video . I am sure others would have upgraded as the standard unit isn’t great for a bike as potentially fast as this . Maybe one of the riders in the numerous groups can give you more ..?
It looks great, except that light, snd I’m sure it is great. There is just absolutely nothing that I see that motivates me to pick one up over my 2 year old R1250 GSA after spending a little over a year modding it for long distance touring, heavy off-road use, and a stage 2 kit for the twisties. The thought of doing all that again, if I even could as there are still missing accessories, for such a small incremental gain just doesn’t make sense. Plus, the new GSA forces me to look at something else or the GS because the GSA is so fugly now.
@@maxflight777 I’ve gotten some odd looks from dual sport guys, but usually because they can’t believe I made it out on the big pig. It takes finesse my man, but it can be done.
Hi most bikes today are great to ride they have more gadgets than they need .Most are there because they can.My concerns are that long term we are being tunnelled into the dealers service at a cost that we altermately kill the high end bikes. Just look at the popularity of the simple Royal enfield bikes. A lot of very good bikes are now worthless because of spares and their availability.
@@garyyoung9956 I understand your point and certainly agree that low volume , complex , niche bikes can be difficult to keep on the road in later years . Top sellers tend to be better supported by specialists and after market parts manufacturers as there is a big enough market to make it viable. Bikes like Kawasaki’s Z1 in 1973 were considered by some as too technical and unnecessarily complex . They sold well and are today, better supported by specialists than many of the simpler twins they replaced 🤔 The overall point is fair though . Like computers , washing machines and televisions , most vehicles will end up scrap long before most of their components have actually worn out ..
13500 kms on a 23 model Kawasaki Versys 650 , probably less than half the price of this so called German Engineering Marvel , yet cruises easily at 75 mph , gets great mileage , is super comfy , and super reliable . Ok it doesn’t look as nice as this blue GS version ,I would like to know if people who shell out big money on these bikes have actually ridden Japanese bikes such as the Versys 650 ?
I came to the comments though and imagine my surprise…. *Lots of boring types explains to us why they are staying with their 1250’s.* We don’t care ! The 1300 is significantly better ! Keep your old bike , that’s your choice. But don’t try and kid us that it’s better!! 😂
Great video thanks, but the travel bits were spoilt a bit for me as we couldn't see down the road because your phone, or sat nav blocked out that bit. 🥴 I'm glad you like the bike more than before and I'm looking forward to getting one next year. 😃👍
@@gillianbrodie6807 Glad you enjoyed the video and have fun on your 1300 next year . Sorry about the footage . Neither the chin mount nor helmet top mounts work well with the GS style sat nav . I am an amateur RU-vidr .. so making the videos costs me money and probably more significantly , a lot of time . Buying a 360 camera , and learning how to use it , isn’t high on my list of priorities as it is only these high sat nav bikes , I struggle with . Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 👍
@@michaelmam Totally understood, and I'm very grateful for the time, effort and money you must put in to making the videos which are really enjoyable. Thank you. 🤗😃👍
@@frankmlchaelglasscock6539 if we all liked the same bike it would be a boring world. The GS isn't immune from issues,but then neither are KTM and other brands. Sure,my ZRX is more fun, but my GSA is the best bike for racking up miles in comfort, regardless of the roads or load.
