Hot on the heels of that gorgeous R12G/S, we finally got our mitts onto the latest GS Adventure. This one is pre owned and Sean drew the straw to do the story.
Words: Séan Hendley: The 2-metre-tall, 115kg oaf, (there is a relevance to the review here).
Pics: Deon van der Linde
We got our hands on a BMW R1300GS Adventure, sadly we had to wait for a very low mileage pre-owned unit to become available as BMW Motorrad SA does not seem to have a Media fleet at the moment. Anyway, we spied the aforementioned unicorn at BMW Motorrad East Rand and asked very politely if we may borrow it for a few hours, to which they graciously agreed.
We’d like more saddle time on BMW motorcycles but there is something of a shortage of BMW’s that are available to the media as a whole.
Right, let’s get straight into it, is the 2025 BMW R1300 GS Adventure too big? Well, that depends. If you’re riding across continents or planning a 12,000km tour through the Karoo, Namibia and up into Angola, then hell NO! For that, it’s perfect. Long open roads, beautiful scenic dirt highways stretching off over the horizon, undeniably there are few more capable or better kitted out machines than the BMW R1300 GSA.
But… unless you are a seriously accomplished off-road rider, and thinking of muscling it up the side of Baboons Pass like you’re on a 300cc enduro weapon, or even over some of those badly washed out sections on Breedts Nek… maybe think twice. On any sort of steep rocky, technical, narrow trails, you’re in for a seriously sweaty time and maybe even a few tears when – not if you drop her.
Let’s unpack this thing, because there’s a lot to unpack.
I’m not exactly a jockey at 2 metres tall and weighing in at 115kg, I’m bigger and naturally stronger than the average 175/180 cm rider, and even I caught myself wondering if this machine isn’t just a little too much. I tried to imagine a shorter, lighter less accomplished oke trying to hustle this Bavarian beast through technical terrain…. Eish, eish, eish!!!
The R1300 GSA is a monster, no sugar-coating that. It’s wide, tall and makes quite the statement, and it is fully kitted from the factory with crash bars, luggage racks, tank protection, hand guards and more tech than a spaceship. The fuel tank alone is a 30 litre slab of aluminium sculpture. Add to that BMW’s usual arsenal of electronic wizardry, plus all the accessories you can bolt on, and you’re essentially sitting on an adventure spec Grand Tourer with dirt boots.
Here’s a question we are starting to consider more and more these days: Have the manufacturers lost the plot with these big adventure bikes? The original concept of an adventure bike was simple, go anywhere, take what you need, and survive off the land. The Dakar-inspired machines of old didn’t have central locking, a dozen USB-C charging ports, heated seats or Bluetooth-controlled luggage compartments. Maybe you had a jerrycan of some sort, a tool roll, and if you were lucky, a dry pair of jocks and socks.
Now, with every brand trying to outdo the next, “mine’s got more modes,” “mine has better radar cruise control,” “mine has a smoother quickshifter,” the whole big adventure ethos is starting to look like a one upmanship contest at a tech convention, and this is not limited to just bikes, go check out some of the 4×4’s and overland vehicles – creature comfort on top of creature comfort.
Do we need this much bike?
No. But, do we want it anyway?
Heck yes!
Let’s not beat around the bush, riding the 1300GSA is an event in itself. Firing it up and setting off down the road feels like you’re on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise or Battle Star Galactica for you older folks. The electronic suspension glides over all the humps, bumps and potholes ever more prevalent on SA roads these days, it lowers automatically when you come to a stop and rises again when you ride off. The screen adjusts at the press of a button, wind deflectors keep the cold off your shoulders, and everything about it just oozes long distance luxury.
Cruising down gravel highways in Enduro Pro mode with the nannies turned down is sublime, the difference from Dynamic Pro to Enduro Pro on dirt is actually unbelievably noticeable, you go from slipping and sliding with the electronics frantically trying to work out how to keep you upright, to suddenly running arrow straight and completely stable at the press of a button – flippen awesome.
The latest GS Adventure eats up the kilometres, and with that huge tank, you’re likely to be stopping for a pee before you need to fill up. Traction is good, even in loose stuff, and it’ll handle decent “twee spoor” tracks and Jeep trails with ease. BMW has nailed the off-road geometry and suspension travel to balance the weight well, and the bike feels surprisingly nimble once you’re moving.
But… there’s always a BUT!
Here’s where things start to get very interesting
Try to haul this 260 odd kg monster up a steep, rocky trail, a nasty rock garden or deep thick sand and suddenly the size starts to work against you. The analogy I keep coming back to is this: I know I am strong enough to carry a fridge, but because of its dimensions I can’t get a proper grip on it because it’s too damn bulky.
That’s exactly where I started to fumble riding the 1300GSA in extremely gnarly terrain. I am bigger and stronger than average as mentioned earlier, but I started becoming overwhelmed up one particular hectic rock and marble strewn climb.
I am a capable adventure rider to a degree and have tried my hand at the GS Trophy event once. The bike’s capable. But the bulk means that one mistake, one stall on an uphill rock slab, and suddenly I was fighting physics and it eventually overwhelmed my confidence in my own skills, which had me clawing at the mountain side with my my and the strength in my legs and shoulders draining as quickly as my stamina.
Dropping it isn’t just embarrassing, it’s an exhausting mission to pick it up again, not to mention expensive. And good luck doing it without some mates around….. I was alone, so dropping it was not going to happen if I could help it – I did save it and managed to get it turned around and facing safely back down the hill, my legs were like jelly, my shoulder muscles were burning, I was huffing like a steam engine with sweat raining off of me like a monsoon…. And this was a chilly Highveld winter morning.
If you’re not extremely confident in your off-road skills, or haven’t done a few of those hardcore adventure training days, then do yourself a favour and stick to the stuff it was built for, gravel highways, open dirt roads, and Jeep tracks. I was trying to ride it in small ADV territory, which made about as much sense as loading all my kit onto a 300 2T bike and riding it all the way to Cape Town from JoBurg – Horses for courses and all that.
In the correct application as a continent crossing dirt highway Grand Tourer that can venture down a lesser travelled track here and there it is a great machine and really fit for purpose. However, in my humble opinion, I personally prefer the standard BMW R1300 GS which is more versatile, it can go mountain goating and rally crossing as easily as it can settle down snuggly onto a long paved highway, loaded with luggage and all the same tech and features as the GSA and go chasing the sunset at the edge of the world.
This one is available, with about 2,000 odd km’s on the clock from Motorrad East Rand.
