R1300GS first test
Bike gets the first R1300GS in the country, ignores the weather warnings and heads off to Land’s End. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: the GS…
Launch reports from the planet’s sunniest corners can only tell you so much about a motorcycle like the new R1300GS. For true depth you need to ride it 800 miles down motorways, up B-roads, across towns and, in our case, through the worst of Storm Ciarán. That’s when niggles blossom into teeth-grinding frustrations, and clever touches are confirmed as pure genius. ‘Go to Land’s End and back,’ barks editor Armitage. ‘Via King’s Lynn to see an off-road expert. Oh, and dyno it. And take a pillion, too.’ Righto…
0 MILES: Sywell, Northamptonshire: problemone
Our GS is the first 1300 out the door of BMW’s pre-delivery inspection centre near the M1. In real life it looks much smaller than the old bike – the upper fairing has far less bulk and the waist appears narrower thanks to the new die-cast frame. It looks good, but given the biblical rain forecast I nervously wonder if the weather protection will be up to much. Suddenly the massive old R1250GS seems quite appealing. We’ll see.
First problem is the rear rack, which is now a sleek casting finished in the same polished speckly black as the subframe and cylinder heads (now symmetrical!), and has no holes. I end up having to strap my BMW bag to the pillion grab rails, which is all very well until you have a pillion.
75.8 MILES: Bawsey, King’s Lynn: ace new screen
My first impression is familiarity; gorgeous low-speed fuelling, cock-on riding position, same logical dash layout, thumping drive from 2000rpm, no dive under braking. If you’re worried they’ve ruined it, rest easy – it feels like a GS.
We splash on to the A14 and I fiddle with the new stuff. Firstly, the optional £280 electric screen (this bike is a TE with a few extra parts and Option 719 bits). Instead of a button solely for this on the switchgear, it’s one of five items that can be allocated to a new up/down rocker on the left. So, you press the new ‘multi’ button that, for reasons unknown, has a drawing of a hamburger on it. This brings up a new menu on the screen, and you use the control wheel to select whether you want the up/down rocker to contro
