YOU’LL BE HEADING FOR THE HORIZON
Let me start by saying this is a very dangerous motorbike. But, I hear you cry, how that can be so when it has more rider protection features than a local council’s health and safety department?
Because it appeals to one of the most basic, yet potentially disastrous desires in all bikers – a desire which can cost them their jobs, their marriages, their bank balance and their slender grip on what passes for normal life.
I’m talking about the yearning when you arrive at work in the morning to just ride past the entrance to the car park and keep on going. Climb on board this machine and it’s impossible not to look at the horizon and be overcome by an unstoppable desire to ride there.
It’s the comfortable but commanding riding position. The loads of buttons and whirly wheel to control the riding modes, the suspension, the heated grips and a squillion other things, all displayed in glorious Technicolor on the 6.5in TFT instrument panel which was only previously available as an option.
Every time I ride a GS, I’m reminded of how well they do everything, and it even starts riding off in first gear in a rainswept car park. In spite of weighing a whopping 268kg, with its perfect balance and so much weight down low in those twin cylinders, handling at walking pace is a dainty delight.
But the best is yet to come. With the engine up from 1170cc to 1254cc, power up from 125bhp to 136bhp and torque up from 92 to 105 lb ft, you’ve got significantly more grunt at your disposal for effortless overtaking without even bothering to change down.
Even better, a really clever new shifting camshaft varies the valve timing for a much more linear power delivery than the previous 1200 GS.
The result is gloriously smooth oomph all the way from about 2,500rpm to the redline, and that was in Rain mode.
With the showers over, a quick toggle into Road then Dynamic mode turned it from a giant pussy cat into a snarling beast perfect for a weekend blast. Fabulous and fun. There was really only one slight complaint – I found the quickshifter a bit clunky, so just went back to using the butter-smooth clutch.
Apart from that, this king of the road retains its crown as the machine most likely to tempt you to the horizon and beyond. See you in the divorce court. ■■Test bike supplied by Charles Hurst BMW
Motorrad. BMW R 1250 GS ADVENTURE
1254cc semiliquid-cooled boxer twin 136bhp @ 7,750prm
105 lb ft @ 6,250rpm
Grey, red/white/ blue, khaki