MODERN CLASSICS - BMW R 1250 GS

NEW-GEN ADVENTURE TOURER IS A BIG LEAP OVER ITS PREDECESSORS

- GUY ALLEN

THOUGH SHARING a version of the distinctive motorsport colour scheme with its great granddad, the R80GS of 1980, and the approximate engine configuration, BMW’s latest-gen GS series is quite simply a rocket ship by comparison.

Even if you walk back just to the previous-gen R 1200 GS, the changes are significant.

For this series the engineers bumped the engine capacity and went for variable cam-timing (aka shift-cam in BMW-speak) which has had a significant effect on how the thing comes across to the rider. To put it simply, the 1254cc version is an absolute bullet, claiming 100kW (134hp) at 7700rpm and 143Nm at 6250. They’re fairly high-stepping numbers for a boxer twin and give the thing, despite its near 250 kilo wet weight, some serious straight-line urge.