Here are my reasons:

1. It's as ugly as a bastard cat with stage 4 mange.

 

Did you see what they've done to the '26 RT? Ouch!

 

Good write up. Collision avoidance seems to be more of a potential collision starter? Don't recall if this is an option or baked into the base bike.

I'm enjoying my 1200 LC. No need to change

 

I can tell you the collision avoidance was a big surprise. I truly don't recall if it was braking or cutting throttle (or both) but I certainly don't want it on a motorcycle. Again, if you turn it off it comes right back at next start up.

 

Thanks for the perspective. I'm not a fan of all this 'new-fangled-wiz-bang' tech-no crap. Just give me a quality engine, transmission, suspension and ergonomics.

 

For better or worse, BMW is a luxury brand; as such, their bikes will most likely have new-fangled-wiz-bang' technology. Just like most other luxury brands. If you want just a quality engine, transmission, suspension and ergonomics, your best bet is most likely elsewhere.

 

The main reason I wouldn't consider it is the 5 gallon gas tank. I wanted six. If I needed to replace my 2018Gs I would look at a used 1250 or the new Honda Africa Twin Adventure.

 

I bought a 1300GSA and so far I've been very happy with it and my experience with my 1300 after about 1200 miles differs a bit from yours.

I rode in a 200+ bike charity ride a couple weeks ago and was impressed with how the ACC responded to the bike in front of me, recognized the bike and sped up/slowed down as the pace sped up and slowed down. We were riding in staggered formation and ACC did not react to the bike to my right which was OK since there was no danger of me running into the back of that rider.

I haven't experienced any issues with the accident avoidance feature when overtaking another vehicle with and without ACC engaged.

From my perspective my 1300GSA pulls noticeably harder than my 2020 GSA, not as hard as my Hayabusa pulls but I notice the difference between my 1250 and 1300.

The gear shift is clunky on my 1300GSA when I shift manually and when I'm using shift assist, the 1250 shifted way smoother. I was hoping the transmission would smooth out as I put more miles on the bike. So far I haven't missed any gears while shifting but since the OP mentioned it I'll be on the lookout.

I haven't experienced any issues with numb hands and I don't notice any significant vibration with my bike.

I'm still out on the seat, I did 260 miles yesterday and I did a fair bit of squirming but the 1300 seat was better than the stock seat on my 1250 which I had to swap out for a Corbin.

I do not ride dirt so I can't comment on how well or poor the GSA handles or performs.

 

The gear shift is clunky on my 1300GSA when I shift manually and when I'm using shift assist, the 1250 shifted way smoother. I was hoping the transmission would smooth out as I put more miles on the bike. So far I haven't missed any gears while shifting but since the OP mentioned it I'll be on the lookout.

I have not had any good experiences with the shift assist I've had on previous 3 bikes. The same with my current 1300GSA. I always try to "help" the shift assist by changing the throttle position during the shift to get the engine RPM's to better match the intended gear. WRONG. A week ago a friend said for the shift assist to work properly you do not change the throttle setting, but instead just hold it steady and upshift or downshift. HUGE difference...now Shift Assist is a joy to ride with!!

 

Just did a 1500 mile ride in the west on a brand new 1300gs trophy. Dealer prep miles on it. Combination of dirt and asphalt. This is all my opinion of what I think is everything bad about this bike.

On the asphalt:
The adaptive cruise is not good when riding with other motorcycles. Maybe among cars it would be ok. It is very abrupt to speed up or slow down when it senses the distance. If you aren't directly behind another motorcycle it has no idea it is there. Very narrow field of view. Disabled it and like every other electronic annoyance it defaults back on when you start the bike again.
Collision control. Had an "oh sh$t" moment when I went to get a run to pass a car. You know, start gaining speed before pulling out to pass. Collision control activated and cut the throttle just before I pulled out.
Seat is horrible. My opinion, thanks.
Hand constantly numb and tingling. Don't know if the thing is buzzing, throttle is stiff to turn, etc, but I tried everything to keep it from happening with no luck other than let go and shake it out.
Back to the passing. Frankly, I think my 1250 roll on power will spank the 1300. Shift cam maybe? Felt like I always needed to drop it a gear or two to get past a car.
One up/down button on left controls several features so you have to go into menu, select that feature, and then use the up or down button. Sounds good and I see what they are doing but eh.

On the dirt:
Suspension sucks. Dialed all the damping settings to -2 just to get it to keep the rear on the ground on washboard/rough dirt roads. Never tried +2 but I suspect it would be like riding a jackhammer or having all the traction control activated. I believe the -2 should be the 0/base setting and go from there. Dirt tires on bike. Wasn't a traction problem other than the tire not in contact with the ground.

Overall the motor is good and smooth. Shifting is not as good as my 1250 and it started missing gears as the miles added up. I'm not even trying to talk myself out of getting the 1300. I just had a very long test ride on and off road and even if the price was 15k I wouldn't buy this bike. Things are familiar on it but it is a totally different bike and won't be for me.

Those are the biggest things I recall were a daily annoyance. Nice bike and probably great for some but 30k is starting to feel a little out of control for these things and I prefer how the 1250 works so well in the same conditions.

That's a long test ride. Did you rent this bike as part of a guided trip?

 

I was on the Rawhyde Offroad migration tour moving their bikes from California to Colorado.

 

Oh.....one other thing very noticable. I had a '15 1200 with the hill stop and it took some throttle to overcome it taking off from a stop. My '19 1250 is just a slight clutch release and it's off. Same with my '21 1600. Figured it was solved. The '25 1300 was back to more throttle to overcome it. I actually stalled the bike a couple times because the hill stop was active. Totally because I've become used to my own bikes but it seemed like it took excessive throttle to get going off that hill stop. I know the brake lever will turn it off but again, used to my bikes being so seamless.

Oh.....let me continue. Disengaging the cruise is a full clutch pull and hold for a second. If you are used to the quick clutch blip that will be another "oh sh$t" moment. Of course there are other ways but again, the old muscle memory is the first thing tried and when it doesn't work it takes a second to process the cruise is still on. I've gotten to where I don't want to flash the brakes when turning off the cruise for whatever reason so the tiny little clutch movement has been my goto vs. sliding the switch off.

 

I've been using the brake lever to shut of cruise since cruise started. Recently, I was behind someone doing the same thing. I found it useful information while following. Just saying there are worse habits.

 

I just picked up a '24 1250 Trophy GSA. My lawyer won't let me say why, yet.

Looked at the 1300's and test rode one. Not impressed. Agree the speed / collision sensor is just a horrible idea. Twice on a 12 mile ride the bike decided that it was in control of the throttle. Damn near dumped me the second time. The next stop light I found the setting and turned it off. The OP says this tech is not good. My opinion is some of this tech is just dangerous and I'm looking for a bookie that will take bets on when the recalls happen to least reset the programming for the anti-collsion to normally "off", with an option to turn it on, or more likely turn it off permanently.

 

My opinion is some of this tech is just dangerous and I'm looking for a bookie that will take bets on when the recalls happen to least reset the programming for the anti-collsion to normally "off", with an option to turn it on, or more likely turn it off permanently.

Almost certainly won't happen - too many nanny states and government do-gooders these days mandating all this electronic cruft in vehicles. Every time I rent a car here in Japan I spend 10 minutes turning off the various gizmos so that I can drive without the car interfering all the time. But you won't get new vehicles without this stuff anymore, and I bet in another couple of years there won't be options to disable any of the "safety features" anymore either as the average quality of drivers goes down - distracted by their phones or whatever and more and more reliant on the vehicle taking care of them and others.

Don't get me wrong, some of the advances have been really useful. For example ABS has saved my bacon a couple of times. Conversely I probably would not ride as aggressively if the bike didn't have ABS.. (and yes I know a good rider can outperform ABS; but I'm not one of those)

----

On-topic, I'm really really happy with my 2022 R1250GSA (first GS for me) and I doubt I'll be "upgrading" anytime soon. The adaptive cruise/collision avoidance on a motorbike gives me the heeby-jeebies. Still, wouldn't mind test-riding one just to see what it's actually like. Someone I know got one and seems pretty happy with it.

 

Too much tech takes the fun out of motorcycling and leaves a constant fear of failures that I can't fix on my own.

 

Like air conditioners in cars, cd's, computers, it will all make sense someday.... I enjoy all of the features on my 2024 Triple Black, they all work as they should. If I go into a corner too hard, the ACC slows the bike down automatically, the only thing that I am not wild about, otherwise, all good for me. Now, all we need are auto wipers and seat massaging!

 

Sorry, going around corners "too hard" is what I do.

 

I wonder if you can set some modes to work differently for avoidance.
lane splitting comes to mind especially for location where it is legal.
being a developer i can understand the complexity of trying to make it work while not hurting someone. assuming they put thought into it over just stealing the code for a car

 

I wonder if you can set some modes to work differently for avoidance.
lane splitting comes to mind especially for location where it is legal.
being a developer i can understand the complexity of trying to make it work while not hurting someone. assuming they put thought into it over just stealing the code for a car

I'm sure it's "pretty good". I'd rather not have it....to the point I'm not going to buy a 1300 with it. I'd rather have a little less power and none of this **** to work around.

 

What to say? Haven't been on one for now but let's not spit on the new bike. Sooner or later we all going to get on them. I can tell you that if the bike hits 15K new, there won't be enough bikes on the market. Engine and transmissions are good. This bike. It's also not really for off-road especially for heavy off-road for this job. Get yourself a KTM or a Honda.
Electronics nowadays are annoying not only on the bike but also in new cars and we got to figure a way to get him disabled either permanently or get rid of him. Adaptive cruise control. It's not for riding in group buddy. It's for the empty road in Canada. For example. Where you set and forget and if anything ever cross your path, the bike will slow down.

 

I didn't say any of that but that's a lot of expertise for not ever being on one. Guess they need to quit calling them adventure bikes since they "also not really for off-road..." You're right about the adaptive cruise. That's why you have to shut it all off every time you start the bike. Totally sucks if you don't live in Canada.

 

Sorry man, don't mean to be rude. URR- haven't been on the new 1300, and a lot of expertise -30K on GSA alone, I do about 12K a season when going out to Alaska and back(alone). All GS/GSA are indeed adventure bikes. Well, there are different types of adventure roads. This is a 550/-600lb bike, really not suitable vor jumping, very rough terrain, inclinations, etc. - this territory can be conquered partially by pro riders. For example, this bike goes where tourers, sport tourers turn around and go home.
You brought a good point, have to see how we disable these supportive features... If the engine and transmission are good, that's all great. Price will come down as well.
Thanks and safe ride.

....
I connected to the Bike via OBD port with a free, not even licensed SW to read out the bike and set new service date and miles. Switching safety features isn't that straight forward usually, and I have zero experience with the new generation codes to be helpful. The tune shops should be able to do it if BMW refuses. If I connect with with my inpa, I get lot more tools to try on.
Anyone figured it out, please share...

 

BMW won't do it. I doubt even GS911 guys will be helpful because it's legally "disabling a safety feature", which would open them up for lawsuits. Someone might get hurt and blame it on the bike not slowing down automatically...because they were asleep on the bike?

Sorry, but this is exactly why I ride motorcycles. They force you to PAY ATTENTION. That stops you from worrying about whatever stupid thing you were worrying about before you went riding. That's why I ride!

 

I demoed a 1300 GSA this weekend and I liked it. Now, let me preface this by saying, it was only the second water cooled boxer I'd ever ridden, the other was a 1250 R. The thing that I didn't like was the height adjustment. I'm 6'5". Just raise it and leave it. But you can't do that, because the bike will lean too far over on the side stand. So when you stop, the bike lowers. Then you want to put it on the center stand and it has to raise.

Since I was at the MOA rally, I found a few GS 1300 owners and it didn't take long to find one that had already had the hydraulic motor that operates the raising/lowering system replaced. UGH! I can see this becoming the new "whizzy brake" controller that one dude in the world rebuilds and it takes 6 months and costs a gazillion dollars to get repaired.

Unlike many BMW owners, I can't afford new BMW motorcycles. I find well cared for used models with a few miles on them, but that means no warranty. I also can't afford expensive BMW service, so I work on them myself. I won't be buying my GS for a few more years. But when I buy, I'll know what to watch out for. Right now, I'll be avoiding the 1300. I think the 1250 will be in my future. After 3 or 4 years, you can buy them for half what they cost new, and many have very low miles, only a few thousand a year put on and they are ofter kitted out with bags, lights, etc.

I bought my current bike a 2013 R 1200 R two years ago. I paid $5600 and the bike only had 24,000 miles on it. It still looks and runs like brand new. I had to repair a few things and do all the maintenance, but it's a great bike and a joy to ride. I look forward to owning her for years to come.

The other thing I noticed that I thought was odd was the off idle throttle response. At first I thought the bike might be in rain mode, but it was in Road mode. I also tried Dynamic with no difference. I felt like I had to give the bike a lot more throttle to move off that I should. My old 1200 will easily pull away with very little throttle. It's a torque monster. The 1300 was substantially more torque, so you'd figure it would be a stump puller down low, but it really doesn't seem so. Once moving, it's glorious. Very fast and smooth. I guess it's just something I'd need to get used to.

 

I demoed a 1300 GSA this weekend and I liked it. Now, let me preface this by saying, it was only the second water cooled boxer I'd ever ridden, the other was a 1250 R. The thing that I didn't like was the height adjustment. I'm 6'5". Just raise it and leave it. But you can't do that, because the bike will lean too far over on the side stand. So when you stop, the bike lowers. Then you want to put it on the center stand and it has to raise.

Since I was at the MOA rally, I found a few GS 1300 owners and it didn't take long to find one that had already had the hydraulic motor that operates the raising/lowering system replaced. UGH! I can see this becoming the new "whizzy brake" controller that one dude in the world rebuilds and it takes 6 months and costs a gazillion dollars to get repaired.

Unlike many BMW owners, I can't afford new BMW motorcycles. I find well cared for used models with a few miles on them, but that means no warranty. I also can't afford expensive BMW service, so I work on them myself. I won't be buying my GS for a few more years. But when I buy, I'll know what to watch out for. Right now, I'll be avoiding the 1300. I think the 1250 will be in my future. After 3 or 4 years, you can buy them for half what they cost new, and many have very low miles, only a few thousand a year put on and they are ofter kitted out with bags, lights, etc.

I bought my current bike a 2013 R 1200 R two years ago. I paid $5600 and the bike only had 24,000 miles on it. It still looks and runs like brand new. I had to repair a few things and do all the maintenance, but it's a great bike and a joy to ride. I look forward to owning her for years to come.

The other thing I noticed that I thought was odd was the off idle throttle response. At first I thought the bike might be in rain mode, but it was in Road mode. I also tried Dynamic with no difference. I felt like I had to give the bike a lot more throttle to move off that I should. My old 1200 will easily pull away with very little throttle. It's a torque monster. The 1300 was substantially more torque, so you'd figure it would be a stump puller down low, but it really doesn't seem so. Once moving, it's glorious. Very fast and smooth. I guess it's just something I'd need to get used to.

I have a '22 1250 GSA with low suspension and about 55k miles. It's perfect for me. 45mm lower than a standard GSA. It's about the height of an RT. I chose this bike because I didn't want active cruise and collision avoidance on my bike and I couldn't buy an RT without that stuff....now they're putting it all on the GSA too. You can buy a stripper 1300 GSA without ACC but not without collision avoidance (I don't think?). If you don't get ACC, you also don't get shift-assist, which I love, and a lot of the other goodies i really do like from BMW.

While I'm a little wary about the lowering suspension thing, I'd need it if they're not going to offer low suspension bikes anymore....I thought that was a great idea. It sold a lot of GS's and GSAs to many riders who just aren't comfortable on such a tall bike. I'm one of them.

I actually had my options all picked out on a new 1300 GSA with estimates printed out but I didn't pull the trigger. I'm loving my 1250 and see a lot of reasons to like it more than a 1300.

Repairability is going to become a big deal in the automotive world as well as the bike world very soon. The world is starting to realize that consumers aren't going to spend double and triple for new gizmos and cameras. Is the 1300 really better than a 1250? I'm not seeing that so far. Electronic cameras require perfect alignment and such. They don't like it when you drop your bike etc. More and higher repair bills make a bike a lot less fun.

Even Hyundais have ACC and collision avoidance these days, plus many airbags and gobs of other things that make cars expensive to fix and maintain. This is a very bad trend. People are not going to put up with it. Now motorcycles too? Do they really think they're saving lives with this complication?

 

I'm waiting to hear about a law suit that someone rents a car or borrowed one and gets in s big crash because you know the car didn't do X like mine at home in shop getting repaired. I dislike most of these systems as they just don't work

 

I'm reminded of the person who (if memory serves correctly) said during the accident investigation that the reason they changed lanes into a motorcycle was that the little light in the mirror wasn't on so that meant nobody was there . That's not the way it works! One of the things I learned early on was that your mirror can say "no" but only your eyes can say "yes"

 

There is another type of risk for motorcycles when it comes to car driving assistance systems, that is largely overseen. How many times did your emergency brake equipped vehicle slam on the brake for no apparent reason? How many times did the lane assist system interfere and pushed the car to the side for no good reason? How many times the matrix LED headlight didn't dim when it approached an oncoming motorcycle? How many times did your speed assist system hit the brakes because it picked up a false speed limit? As a rider the only option you have to survive these roads, is to trust passenger vehicles even less .

 

I absolutely love mine and have been following anything critical on this bike. It seems to me it is only criticized b.y people that don't own one. I would probably be in the same group if I didn't step up and actually buy one.

 

I absolutely love mine and have been following anything critical on this bike. It seems to me it is only criticized b.y people that don't own one. I would probably be in the same group if I didn't step up and actually buy one.

did you get the automatic?

 

Correct, I don't own one. I had a loaner from my dealer for an afternoon and I could not get used to the tank-like look of the bike and the enormous width of the tank. It is an in your face design that I do not like one bit, Ducati's version of a long range adventure bike is a lot more appealing to me.

 

Hi @mhcolumbus

I read your expirience and I have to say and also to had my expirience too. I was searching for a used option and went to BMW dealership near me to see if they had any 2nd use GS's. and talking to the dealer guy, of course he presented me the new 1300 and talked wonders about it, but I was not interested to spend that kind of amount. but, he inseted to take a drive, and I did. first, I just laughtwith that all automatisms.
the motocycle automaticly goes down for you to enter the bike and when you stop (for your legs to reach the ground), and all that you discribe, the distance sensors that brakes alone, and When I enter a roundabout, I felt the motorcycle, by it self, equilibrate like a giroscope inside.
when I return to the guy, he talked wonders and wonders and I talked about all this auto"things" that I felt. and the guy says: "this is the bike for dummies" and well, in a wayI had to give him some reason. A motorcycle like this, taking out the "spirit" of the real deal,its not the samething. I try to explain this to the guy but, and what I see here in Portugal and Europe, 90% of GS is to go to work and some weekend rides. so, BMW devolope this kind os"Auto" GS for office riders...
i dont know if I am making sense. The Search and offer was so demaning that I guess, BMW "offers" this option and for people o loves to have the control of the motorcycle and especially, the ride, its not the same thing.

 

I'm reminded of the person who (if memory serves correctly) said during the accident investigation that the reason they changed lanes into a motorcycle was that the little light in the mirror wasn't on so that meant nobody was there . That's not the way it works! One of the things I learned early on was that your mirror can say "no" but only your eyes can say "yes"

semi driver I knew got in a bad accident and killed the passenger. in court the other driver said we'll he has 18 tires i only have 4 he should be able to stop faster then me.... this was 20+years ago now but yeah stupid cager killed her husband by pulling out in front of a 80k lb truck and expected it to slow down.
Friend did ok in court but he will killed someone due to the wife being an idiot.

I absolutely love mine and have been following anything critical on this bike. It seems to me it is only criticized b.y people that don't own one. I would probably be in the same group if I didn't step up and actually buy one.

I don't have issue with 1300 past the deal was to good to pass up on the 1250. and the visual look and design

 

"A clean GS is a dirty shame!" That saying was shared with me a number of years ago and I find it to be true for me. My biggest smile is when we're hitting the water, mud, rocks, and dust then then jumping on the highway to find the next play area (of course if things are really coated, I clean off my lights, signals and license plate first). I wonder if the 1300 display will light up like Christmas tree with warnings of inoperable systems or if the BMW engineers figured their way through this issue to keep things humming along smoothly. Does anyone have any first-hand experience on how the 1300 handles having dirty sensors?

 

By the time my ride was over the bike was PACKED full of dirt and dust. Didn't seem to affect much as far as the electronics. No mud covering anything so don't know about that. I even augered it into some sand and broke off the windshield along the way. Even though I'm not a fan of the bike it sure was fun to thrash a brand new one for several days.

 

If jeep Wrangler or Toyota Tacoma changed there trucks from the bottom up, it would cause the same reaction. Yes the previous trucks were fine. But having to sell and buy a new one would suck! So instead talk your self out of it a name it every bad name in the book call it a fugly etc. And just dog it in every way!

 

"Ground control to Major Tom..."

 

I sold my 1250GSA and bought a 1300GSA. It is a better bike.

 

Love it!
Time to put this thread to rest!
1200 and 1250 are great bikes!!! I had 2 and I feel it's getting old to trash on the new one. I feel it's just a bunch of jealous cry babies!

 

Love it!
Time to put this thread to rest!
1200 and 1250 are great bikes!!! I had 2 and I feel it's getting old to trash on the new one. I feel it's just a bunch of jealous cry babies!

Pretty sure that few if any, are jealous of the 1300 owners,