127 Hours With A Full Spec BMW R1300 GS Adventure

You can't possibly go on an adventure without this bike. Allegedly. Because nothing says adventure like a warm bum from a heated seat. Even on an adventure, safety should always come first with blind spot detection. And short people like me couldn't even go on adventures if it wasn't for adaptive ride height. We'd have to stay at home where we can reach the ground. Well, I get to spend the next 127 hours with the BMW R1300GS Adventure to uncover all of its quirks and equipment. It's undoubtedly an icon and insanely versatile. But should you really sell that kidney to get one? I've never actually ridden a GS Adventure, so I'm itching to find out. Oh, and then see how it stacks up on my biased scoreboard. Thank you to Chiggy for sponsoring this video. The GS name has been in existence since 1980 with the launch of the R80GS. And despite what the haters say, it has actually changed a lot since then. Obviously, the boxer twin was around from day one. But the telelever suspension, for example, only arrived 14 years later. Liquid cooling was only adopted in 2013. But don't worry, heated grips were an option right from the GS's inception. Interesting priorities, BMW. Some say this is the biggest GS update since 2004. It gets the new 1300cc engine with shift cam, a new more rigid frame, and drastic styling changes. Starting just shy of $23,000 if you don't spec any of the fun stuff. Obviously, the Adventure model is something special. And for the first time, it's almost like its own bike. Because it's so different to the standard GS. There are six distinct features that make the Adventure model different. The most famous difference is the bigger fuel tank. I mean, just look at the size of this thing. This is a 30 litre fuel tank, offering an extra 11 litres over the standard GS. The most obvious difference is its appearance. It's much broader. It has these rugged metal shoulders and now has built-in auxiliary lights. It's actually taller. The suspension has 20mm more travel, which raises the seat height as well. Wirespoke wheels are standard on this instead of alloy wheels, so that they can survive a real adventure. It also gets these aluminium pannier brackets to accept the Adventure panniers, which apparently the standard GS is not allowed to have. Interestingly though, they now have these little connectors that enable central lock-in panniers. That's really cool. And all of that comes with an extra 32kg, free of charge. But a bike this versatile and with this much history is obviously packed with equipment and has its fair share of quirks. So let's go over all the immediate quirks I noticed on my ride home from BMW Motorrad East Rand in South Africa. The perfect destination if you're local and looking for a new BMW, a used bike, a workshop or even just some apparel or accessories. If you want to feel judged, just ride with this blind spot detection. It clearly thinks that I'm a dangerous rider because this little icon in the mirror flashes furiously when I change lanes. But it's probably right. If you look down here, there's a hidden switch because even your passenger has a heated seat. It's got two levels. Now that is how you pick up chicks. But don't worry, you won't forget it on because there is an icon on the dash to remind you. Now, is it just me or does this ribbed textured plastic up here look like something you would find on a Jeep so that you can climb on it and stand here? Well, apparently you can't stand on it. And the salesman looked at me like no one else had ever asked that before. It has adaptive ride height, which basically just means that when you come to a stop, the suspension automatically lowers a bit so it's easier to reach the ground. And then once you get moving again, it raises back up. Now, I only just realized that the adaptive ride height has been in automatic mode this entire time and I hadn't even noticed. Of course, you can put it into... Not with the stand down though. Of course, you can manually switch it into its raised ride height. But in automatic mode, there's a little icon on the dash that tells you if it's raised or lowered. And it does so so stealthily that I hadn't even noticed it doing it. But even as a short guy, I really do think that it's a gimmick. This is apparently the lower seat option as well. So I can almost flat foot it at just 5 foot 7. But moving that weight around is another story. Doable, but only on level surfaces. The Adventure model now also gets these built-in auxiliary lights. So let's see how bright they are. Not bad. Honestly, the center one is brighter. So these cannot compete with the landing lights on an Airbus A380 anymore. It also has combined braking, which means that if you actuate one brake lever, it will automatically apply both front and rear brakes for you. Obviously, this isn't anything new, but it is a very weird thing to get used to. Now, I usually like to use each brake individually to help level the bike out. But on this, for example, if you push the rear brake harder, you can actually feel the front brake lever get closer to the handlebar because they share brake pressure more or less. The option 719 brake lever here is actually really cool. It's sort of spring loaded, but then it can also rotate to get two different positions. This is the higher one so that it's a bit more comfortable to brake while you're standing up. And then like this, it's a bit lower for braking while seated. The electric windshield might sound like a gimmick, but after using it, I actually really like it. It's really convenient, even though I hate to say so. But anyway, now I've raised it so that when I clean the bike, I can wash under here and behind the windshield. So I'm going to turn it off to get ready to wash the bike and it automatically lowers. So now you can't get there to wash it. That makes no sense. Why can't we just leave it up? The adaptive ride height also tries to help out when you go to put the bike on the center stand. So if you activate it by lowering the stand here, you'll see that the back end starts to rise and a few moments later, the front end will follow. And it does actually help to lift the whopping 269 kilos. So easy. And that is just scratching the surface. But it also means that there is a bit of a learning curve to riding it and living with it. But we'll get to that in a minute. First, let's just look at it because that is almost as controversial as all of its technology. Personally, I think the regular 1300 GS looks soft and anorexic. But the Adventure model fixes that. It looks exactly how it wants to be perceived. Utilitarian, rugged, ready for adventure. I love the brutal aluminium panels on its shoulders. I love the big motor sticking out the side like it means business. I love all the hardware that allows you to strap infinite luggage to it. Those welds on the tank that just suit it. Almost as much as this green and gold color scheme. Although, despite having the gold handlebars, it's missing the gold rims. I'm also glad they kept the single-sided swingarm. But my favorite part is these exposed fans that you can watch pull air through the radiators. I'm less sold on the turn signals in the handguards. That wouldn't last very long on a real adventure in the bush. I also really don't like this Acra. It's got this sort of splitting two design that I think is ugly and sounds exactly like it would stock. So I would not pay extra for it. The radars for the adaptive cruise control kind of look like warts. But eventually, technology will advance beyond this. This one also has the option 719 package. So it has billet accessories sprinkled all over it that I would happily live without. Out on the road, it's unmistakably a GS. It has that signature tug to the side when you fire it up. That signature low center of gravity makes it nimble at low speeds. But it now feels substantial rather than fat. The visibility of the ground right in front of you is much better with its new front end shape. And although it has got wind deflectors in your view, they're at least transparent. Nothing commands the road quite like a big adventure bike. And that instills a sense of confidence. The adaptive cruise control didn't even freak out this time. It even comes with BMW's cradle for a satnav or smart dash. So I just swapped the quick release plate of my chiggy AI06 over to the BMW plate and it slotted in right away. Giving me Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to instill even more confidence on long rides along routes I've never done before. After all, that is what a GS encourages. Now technically, I could plug in this dongle and then I would even be able to control the chiggy through BMW's wheel on the left grip. But since it's not my bike, I'm not going to. But even without plugging this in, the chiggy is already receiving tire pressure data and RPM data from the bike. How cool is that? If it were my bike, I could also install the front and rear dash cams which double as a rear view mirror and enable blind spot detection on any bike. But obviously the GS already has that. But if you fancy bringing modern technology like this GS has to your bike, whatever bike it is, you can get 10% off the chiggy AI06 with code CHAOS. I'll link it down below. These gorgeous four piston calipers, not so secretly made by Brembo, do have good power to bring it to a stop if you give that brake lever a good strong pull. Some people say that it's really time that BMW update their TFT displays and switch gear. But there's a certain orange company that update their displays every five minutes and keep going bankrupt. So I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The new key fob, however, looks very pretty in my handbag. I really like the compartments that BMW are integrating into their fuel tanks. And this one even has a USB-C port hidden in it here. The truth is that bikes like these are annoying to make entertaining videos about because they just do exactly what you expect. It's perfectly fast enough. It's perfectly fun enough in the corners. It's perfectly comfortable enough on long rides. It's perfectly economical enough. And usually that would result in me saying something like, it's so perfect it loses all character. But that cannot be said about a GS. The gearbox is clunky, reminding you that it's built different. Built to last. And to achieve a smooth shift with the quick shifter when pulling off slowly requires the shortest short shifting you've ever seen. The complete opposite to pretty much every other gearbox. It has that wafting sensation while riding along that only BMW telelever suspension can deliver. It has electronic active damping and even variable spring rates that are altered simultaneously with the ride modes to make life easy. The engine is massive and tugs weirdly, which is practically a BMW trademark by this point. Personally, I don't like the clunky gearbox. I don't like telelever suspension. And I don't like a boxer engine. But that's what makes a GS a GS. My hot take is that I genuinely believe that BMW could make a better motorcycle. But they can't make a better GS. This is what people love. I don't entirely get it, but I respect it. It's one of the best bikes to have a passenger tag along on. So I got my wife to join me on my longer ride to test out that rear seat warmer. And as always, here is her expert feedback on the passenger amenities. Once I got her to stop talking about how amazing the seat warmer is, she finally admitted that the seat itself is comfortable and that there is plenty of space, plenty of legroom, just like you would expect. The grab rail is apparently good because there are a lot of different ways to grip it. But it did lose a lot of points because the grab rail isn't heated, unlike on the RT. She doesn't like the clunky gearbox, but you could probably blame the rider. And despite having very good wind protection, the rain protection isn't as good. We both got soaked. Her main complaint is that the footpegs don't feel wide enough. But after looking at them, I think they're plenty wide enough. There's just this weird little heel guard that sticks out. Ultimately, it's unmistakably a GS at heart, which is important. It has a whole host of new features to make your life easier. It looks spectacular and encourages epic adventures or a plush ride to Starbucks. Honestly, I always loved the idea of owning a GS. I really want to be the type of guy who goes on long adventures and tours the globe. I often think if I just had a GS, I would ride more because I'd be more comfortable. I would take my wife with me more often and make more memories. But in reality, if I had one, it would just sit in the garage and I'd spend all my time riding smaller, faster bikes. But maybe one day I'll grow up and grow into a GS. Until then, I'll keep watching other people's adventures on YouTube. Nevertheless, 127 hours later, the 1300 GSA is back with BMW Motorrad East Rand. Now we need to give it a score out of 60 to see where the third GS lands on my sport bike biased scoreboard. Historically, the 900 and 1200 LC haven't scored all that well. I don't know what the problem is. Am I the problem? I can't be the problem. It must be BMW. They're just a little company. Styling. I know the styling of this bike has been controversial, but personally, I think it's one of the bravest updates in recent years and I think it looks awesome. I kept finding myself looking back at it and I would be proud to see it in my garage. 8 out of 10. Practicality. The thing that held the 1200 back the most, and the reason the 900 is beating it, is actually its weight. And the GSA is even heavier. For someone of my height and weight, it can be incredibly tricky to maneuver it in sticky situations. But in every other sense, it's an incredibly practical bike. 6 out of 10. Fun. It's fun because of what it allows you to do. It's not super fast or super playful, but I love the idea that you could take any dirt road you find or ride across the continent. You can take a ton of luggage or a passenger. 7 out of 10. Price. They're obviously expensive. You can get a bike that'll do 90% of what the GSA does for a lot less money. But they're also expensive for a reason. They have pedigree and a ton of features. 5 out of 10. Speed. It's a big displacement motorcycle that gets up and goes, and can corner with the best of them if you have the right rider. But it's not known for speed. 7 out of 10. Sound. I don't mind the boxer's sound, but even with the Acura, it was still too quiet. 4 out of 10. Giving the BMW R1300 GS Adventure 37 out of 60. Proving that the GS is indeed improving over time. But anyway, there is a whole playlist of videos like this if you enjoyed this one. Let me know if you would have the GS Adventure in your collection, and I'll see you on the next ride.