Is it time for a bigger, badder GS? Maybe. Several online moto-mags are running photos of what appears to be the new BMW R1300 GS. Or, maybe an M1300 GS …
What’s in the pics? It appears to be an adventure bike at BMW’s training facility. The pix were shot by (or at least peddled by) Bernhard Höhne, who makes lots of money off this sort of thing. We don’t have the pix here, but you can easily find them online, including here at Motorcycle.com.
The photos show the new ADV bike is powered by a liquid-cooled flat twin, with what appears to be an updated cooling system. Currently, BMW’s R1250 GS has a minimalist liquid cooling system; expect it to be larger in the future, perhaps to appease anti-pollution regulators.
The bike itself gets a visual overhaul as well, with new headlight/front fairing assembly. It also appears to be slightly smaller than the current model, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. The spy shots show a machine that appears to be a bit more offroad-friendly than the current big 1250 model, that’s for sure.
To sum it up: A while back, BMW started submitting paperwork to regulators indicating an M1300 GS is on the way (note that it’s not an R1300 GS, but part of BMW’s new M series of performance bikes). The bike in these spy pics is far from production-ready, but it indicates BMW has come a long way in its development, and it seems sensible to expect it inside a couple of years. The R1250 GS model brought us variable valve timing and other mechanical goodies, but progress marches on, and so do BMW’s engineers.
Why stop at 1300? Many riders are getting older and flabbier. With an array of crash bars, skid plates, metal boxes, and safari lights wouldn’t a larger displacement make more sense?