First ride: BMW R1250GS Adventure
As BMW’S new boxer twin engine makes its way into the R1250GS Adventure, RIDE sees how it copes with a 30-litre tank ‘The additional weight blunts performance’
SAY WHAT YOU like about a seat height teetering almost a metre off the ground but, when it comes to spotting a green, camouflaged John Deere tractor roof over the top of a hedge two bends ahead at dusk on a warm winter’s afternoon, I’ll take the R1250GS Adventure with the seat on its 910mm max thanks (all farm machinery should be dayglo yellow with flashing amber roof lights). The R1250GS Adventure might only be 40mm taller in the saddle than a stock 1250GS (and the same as the out-going 1200 Adventure) but, I’m told, an inch and half can make all the difference.
The gangly 1250 Adventure makes good squeezing through a narrowing gap between the tractor’s mud-slinging back wheels and the verge, shuffles down a notch through its auto-blipped box, and disappears over the horizon in a splendid huff of booming flat-twin charisma.
We didn’t have to be biking’s Nostradamus to know BMW would quickly introduce its new, next-generation 134bhp (that’s claimed; 127bhp gets to the back wheel), 1254cc Shiftcam-equipped boxer-twin motor across every model in the R-series. It started with the R1250GS (Dec 18 RIDE) and R1250RT (Jan 19 issue) and so it must follow, as night the day, that next is the R1250GS Adventure.
So, like the GS, the Adventure has basically the same chassis and ergonomics as the previous model, with a couple of electronic 2019 upgrades, a new brake caliper manufacturer, a few new extras as standard... and, of course, a new engine.
In identical spec to the standard 1250GS, the bare numbers are still impressive: an 84cc increase over the 1170cc motor, from wider bores and longer stroke, make an extra 10bhp, up to 134bhp, and 14lb·ft more torque to 105lb·ft – but, importantly, at similar revs, on the same gearing and with no shift in delivery shape; in terms of riding sensations the new motor feels like every other Beemer flat twin, but with more oomph, everywhere.
BMW’S Shiftcam is a variable-valve system designed to give the 1250 a ‘best-of-both-world’s’ engine tune. Two low-lift, short-duration intake cam profiles give optimum efficiency at low revs and part throttle, switching to a pair of high-lift, longer-duration profiles at wider throttle loads and higher revs for full performance. The switch is achieved by literally shifting the camshaft sideways when a metal pin locates into a drum gear on one end of the shaft. It’s mechanically simple, but not original – Audi did it over a decade ago. It is, however, undetectable in any and all circumstances, and while the electronic
components have a 60,000-mile service life, it’s hard to see how the mechanics will be any less durable than normal.
Back in the here and now on the road, the new motor imbues the GS Adventure with significantly more overtaking whip, and rolling on at cruising speeds reveals a lot more performance headroom than previously. It’s a more eager, alert and healthy engine than the 1200, as if it’s spent the last few years in a gym — the extra 84cc has taken years off it.
All about the mass
With a full 30 litres of fuel on board, the additional weight of a Te-spec Adventure over a TE Executive-spec GS slightly blunts its extra performance in the saddle, but it also takes the edge off the GS’S agility too — it’s a slightly more languid ride than the standard 1250. But that was also true of the 1200 Adventure versus the 1200GS. It still goes for miles too — watching the fuel range creep over 250 miles is satisfying.
But when it comes to weight, there’s a lot to deal with: as measured on the RIDE scales, this 1250 Adventure in TE trim is a whopping 282kg fully splashed; 24kg more than the 258kg of a gassed-up 1250GS TE Executive. The extra ten litres of fuel accounts for 7.5kg of that, so the remaining 16.5kg comes from those Adventure TE extras: engine bars, luggage rack, wire wheels, tall touring screen and fog lights (other TE extras include ESA suspension, extra riding modes, quickshifter and autoblipper, and keyless ignition). For reference, a fully-loaded 1200 Adventure (in Rallye TE spec) weighs 276.6kg — six bags of sugar less then the new Adventure.
It’s a lot to deal with, in truth, even for a 6ft, 15-stone weakling: alongside the Adventure’s height advantage, on max seat height I’m on tip toes and, engine off, I have to get off the Beemer to move it around, rather than paddle it.
Key differences between the GS Adventure and GS remain as per the 1200: the Adventure comes with taller suspension front and rear, with an extra 20mm of suspension travel. It’s worth noting that when the Adventure is loaded and its front and rear shocks compressed, that extra travel is reduced to next to nothing; like-for-like, the Adventure’s sprung weight — its engine and chassis — actually rides a couple of millimetres lower than the stock 1250GS. In fact, even the bars are fractionally lower. In reality, the difference in seat height between the two is the difference in seat depth: the Adventure’s seat is much more deeply padded than the stock GS’S.
Specs appeal
As per GS, a TFT dash is now standard – with BMW’S Bluetooth-based smartphone Connectivity meaning you can answer and make headset phone calls, view or change music, and update your Facetwitter status while you ride. The new Adventure also comes with Hill-hold Control and a new Dynamic Brake Control system closes throttle valves when the ABS is activated (BMW’S research shows riders sometimes open the throttle in emergency braking).
As usual, there are several specs of Adventure besides this TE version; the Exclusive TE, Rallye and Rallye TE all add further electronics and trim options, for prices starting at £14,415 for the base spec, rising to £18,100 for the Rallye TE.
• Thanks to Balderston Motorcycles in Peterborough. Call 01733 565470 to book a BMW R1250GS Adventure test ride.