00:00 There are quite a few models that sit at the pinnacle of adventure touring
00:04 motorcycles. Honda has the Africa Twin, Suzuki the V-Strom, Yamaha the Super
00:08 Tenere, KTM the 1290 Adventure, and of course, Ducati the Multistrada. But of
00:13 all the go-anywhere bikes out there, there's one that really stands out in
00:17 particular, at least in our market, the BMW R 1250 GS.
00:24 [Music]
00:33 You know how anybody knows what a Ferrari is? In a way, you could probably say the
00:39 same for the GS. Be it an older 1200, a smaller 850, or this actual 1250, anyone
00:46 with the slightest idea about motorcycles or big bikes probably knows
00:49 what BMW's ADV is. This was already one of the most common big bikes you'd see
00:54 in the road before COVID happened, and when the pandemic hit, the GS population
00:59 just seemed to have boomed even bigger. But this isn't just some bandwagon. No, no,
01:04 no, no. When you're talking about a bike that costs more than a million and a
01:08 half pesos, more expensive than your typical five-seater crossover, or heck,
01:12 even a house here in the province, it has to be good. It has to be really
01:18 impressive, so much so that you'd consider it worth every single precious
01:22 penny. If you ask the owners, they'll probably tell you it is. Of course it is.
01:31 When you say adventure bike, you'd want something that looks the part, and this
01:37 thing sure does. Okay, it doesn't roll off the factory with chunky off-road tires,
01:42 but that's nothing the aftermarket can't fix. It's got the touring part covered, too.
01:48 That's for sure. In case you missed it, this GSA variant is ready for the full
01:52 package. You've got brackets for both panniers and the top box at the rear. You
01:58 also have an absolutely humongous gas tank up front. Those aren't just fairings,
02:03 mind you. Undoubtedly, not a lot of bikes can match the 1250's design, and with this
02:09 trophy livery on the GSA variant, but this bike isn't all about the looks.
02:15 Underneath all this, you have perhaps one of the most impressive engines BMW
02:20 Motorrad has built to date. A 1,250 cc air and liquid-cooled twin-cylinder
02:26 boxer engine that churns out 134 horsepower and 143 Nm of torque. Not
02:32 super sport bike figures, but it's still quite the punch. It gets from zero to
02:38 triple digits pretty quickly, and when you're already there, you'll cruise at a
02:41 hundred kilometers per hour on the highway at sub 4k rpm. Smooth as can be,
02:46 and with the adjustable windscreen up front, you'll want to crank it up even
02:51 further. You got plenty of room to do so as this boxer headlines at 9,000 rpm.
02:56 An absolute beast. You can carve mountain roads easily with this bike, too. It's
03:01 freakishly heavy, but it's light on its feet once it gets going. It makes low-speed
03:06 maneuvers look like a cinch, and it'll back through twisties just like the best
03:09 of them. Well, okay, you probably won't be knee-dragging through hairpins here, but I
03:14 can promise you you're gonna enjoy this bike a lot through Manila Que.
03:19 All this is bundled in with all the BMW Motorrad technology money can buy.
03:23 Adjustable suspension, different ride modes, cruise control, you name it. It's
03:29 even got heated grips. You're also looking at one of the most impressive
03:32 instrument clusters in the business. This display has all the information you need
03:37 for either on- or off-road riding. Switchable ABS comes at the ready, too, in
03:42 case you need to turn it off when you're riding through muddy terrain. Speaking of
03:46 tackling the roads less traveled, that's something I know the R 1250 GSA is more
03:50 than capable of doing, but I didn't bother doing so myself. See, this bike is
03:58 an adventure tour. It's an off-road-ready ADV that doubles as a touring machine. To
04:04 really test its off-road capabilities, you'd need a proper trail or course.
04:09 That's not easy to find where I'm from, but is easy to find or open highways. In
04:14 this type of terrain, the R 1250 GSA excels. It's as comfortable as a motorcycle
04:20 can get. On long road trips, this two-wheeler stands out as well. Why? Simple.
04:27 This thing comes with a 30-liter fuel tank, 10 liters more than the standard GS.
04:32 Even for a relatively thirsty bike that does 16 to 18 kilometers per liter, you'd
04:37 still easily be able to ride for 400 kilometers with just one full tank.
04:41 During the first few stops on a long road trip, you'll find yourself chilling
04:45 and sipping coffee at the station as your buddies gas out their bikes. So, worth
04:51 every penny? Ask someone who doesn't have a GS in his garage, and chances are
04:57 you'll get a note. See, the R 1250 GSA, like most bikes in this segment and price
05:03 range, clearly isn't for everybody. To make the most out of this, you'll need to be
05:08 riding outside the city more than half the time. There's too much power in that
05:12 boxer engine, too much fuel in that big-ass tank, and just too much all-around
05:16 tech in this bike for it to be simply kept within the confines of Metro
05:20 Manila. You'd need the time for Subic rides, for trail outings, for Laguna loops,
05:25 and for just about anything that won't entail crawling through gridlocked city
05:28 traffic. Most riders don't have that luxury. Never mind that it's too tall. The
05:35 GSA Trophy variant is as low as a R 1250 can go, and even for someone who's about
05:40 5'5" or 5'6", about the size of an average Filipino, I suppose, this is still a
05:45 damn chore to straddle. But yeah, never mind that because even if you were more
05:50 vertically gifted than most, you'd still need the experience to be handling a
05:53 machine this big. Outside of all that horsepower and all that torque, we're
05:58 talking about a two-wheeler that weighs 268 kilograms when it's road-ready.
06:03 That's about thrice the size of the average Filipino adult or about a
06:07 little over twice as an overfed Top Gear motorcycle editor. That's pretty darn
06:13 heavy. Just getting it upright will be challenging. Pushing it around the garage
06:17 or parking lots will be even more so. Most riders don't have that strength and
06:22 capability. Sure, this thing has crash guards at the ready in case, God forbid,
06:27 you drop this thing on the asphalt. But should dropping your bike really be one
06:31 of your concerns when you're out there riding? Most riders would prefer not
06:36 having to worry about that on the daily. Let's not forget about the full tech
06:40 package. It can be a bit overwhelming. While it's nice having the complete
06:45 bells and whistles and all, and I'm sure GS customers loaded enough to splurge on
06:49 the highest spec BMW bike they can get, would probably agree. But let's be real,
06:54 most riders don't need all those toys.
06:59 But then again, BMW probably didn't build this bike for most riders anyway. Of
07:05 course, as a business, you'd want to sell as many of your products as humanly
07:09 possible, but this might be too upmarket and just too advanced for most people.
07:14 All that being said, I don't think it matters that much because BMW still
07:20 built a very solid bike here, and it still offers a lot of value for those
07:24 who can afford it. That's why you still see a lot of people buying it. Now, there's
07:29 supposedly a new one on the horizon, so this could be on its way out.
07:34 Actually, BMW just released the 1300 GS just before this video was published.
07:40 Not our fault. So yeah. Does that now make the R 1250 GSA a bad buy? Heck no. If
07:48 anything, if you're on the lookout in the second-hand market, it's about to become
07:53 an even better one because once that next-generation model comes out, prices
07:58 for preloved and used but not abused 1250s are only set to drop. And by then,
08:03 I'm sure a lot of you will be waiting.
08:07 (upbeat music)
08:10 (upbeat music)
Comments