- 7 months ago
BMW's R 1300 GS is the latest model in 45 years or the German manufacturer's excellence in adventure motorcycling. We take a look at these big boxer powered BMW adventure motorcycles and discuss why they are just so good in this episode of The Motorcyclist Podcast.
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00:00Hey, welcome back to the Motorcyclist Podcast, where we talk about motorcycles and what makes
00:04them great. Topics on the show always change, but the one thing that always remains is two-wheels
00:09fun. I'm Justin Dawes, Executive Editor. We've got Editor Adam Waheed, and we've got Photo
00:15Director Jeff Allen. Today, we are going to talk about BMW's Big Boxer GS. We're going to talk
00:22about the history of what can be argued as the OG adventure bike, the original adventure
00:29bike that kicked off a craze that's going on for 45 years strong at this point. We're
00:36going to talk about why it's always been kind of the gold standard of adventure bikes, what
00:40makes it so good, what we like about it, and yeah. So, let's get into it. Let's start with
00:47some history. I guess I'll be a historian on this episode, as we usually kind of share
00:53the duties, but I'll tackle this one since I'm very familiar with the GS, as we all are.
00:59We've all ridden lots of GSs and fallen off of GSs and jumped GSs and done all kinds of
01:06things. So, let's start off with, in 78, 79, BMW employees started taking the Boxer out
01:21of the R80 and turning it into a dirt bike. They were kind of trying to build their own dirt
01:28wagon for things like the six days. And once the bosses saw that thing, they decided to
01:36make it a production motorcycle. So, 1980 was the first year of the R80G slash S, GS, we
01:46call it now. And GS stands for Gallande Strasse. I'm probably butchering that. Germans, I'm very
01:54sorry. That's as close as I can get with my limited German.
01:58Did you come across that originally it was called the Gentleman Scrambler?
02:01Yes, yes. In the OG, it was Gentleman Scrambler, but now it stands for Gallande Strasse, which
02:07is woods and street. So, they both, in the beginning, Gentleman Scrambler absolutely made
02:16sense because the R80GS was not a gigantic motorcycle. But it did have some of the things
02:22taken over from the street bike, shaft drive, had a single-sided swing arm called the monolever,
02:27had the 787cc boxer, air-cooled pushrod motor, and it proved to be better than just a big
02:38dual sport. In fact, right off the get-go, they started entering it in Dakar, and it won in
02:4581, 83, 84, and 85. So, the 83, 84, 85 models actually ran a 1,000cc motor, but it was still
02:57an R80GS. So, that is the impetus for every adventure bike you see these days almost. Sure,
03:06there were scramblers and there was bikes that could do both before that, but BMW tapped into
03:11something with the GS that has stood the test of time. So, 87.
03:16When would you say it became less of a Scrambler and more of an adventure bike?
03:23I would say we will get there.
03:25Okay. All right. I'm anxious. I love this thing. So, spoiler alert.
03:30How about it became less of a Scrambler and more of an adventure bike in 1987? Second generation.
03:37It was now the R100GS. It lost the slash. So, just GS, not G slash S. And it went to a 90,
03:47sorry, 980cc engine. And then it got a pair lever rear swing arm, which is basically still
03:54a single-sided swing arm, but it got some bracing pair lever to a rod above the swing arm to keep
04:03things working better off-road. So, that's kind of when it started to move away from more of a
04:09Scrambler and more towards an adventure bike, street bike that worked well and all sorts of
04:14things. Then in 1994, it went to the R1100GS. So, a much larger engine, 1,085 cc. It's the first
04:24incidence of the towel lever fork. So, gone were normal telescopic forks that you would see on most
04:31motorcycles these days. And instead, you had a A-arm coming off the front of the frame that
04:36connected to the fork assembly with a shock attached to the frame above it. So, what that did was
04:44balance out the forces in braking and acceleration a little bit, kept the bike on a more stable plane
04:51with minimal dive when you were jamming on the brakes. So, big, big change for BMW there.
04:59Yeah. Also, the reason the bike got so wide.
05:02Mm-hmm.
05:02Yeah.
05:03Because you could have, you had to move, they had to move the radiator. Well, I guess this
05:07was before a radiator.
05:08Before a radiator.
05:09But the frame itself had to get wider.
05:10Everything got wider.
05:12You have this A-arm assembly instead of just a normal head tube going up at the bottom and
05:16down on part of the frame, you have the A-arm shock going up. So, a lot more complicated. It
05:22started gaining weight. It started getting wider. It got bigger fairings. The 1100 got a
05:29four-valve head rather than the two-valve head of the R100 and the R80. We're talking
05:33more power. In 99, it went to the 1150 GS. So, 1140 cc's. And then, in 2002, was the first
05:44GS adventure model. Which, bigger tank, more capacity, more off-road ability. That was the
05:52first incidence of that bike. So, it's crazy to think that it's been 23 years since the
05:58first GS adventure.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Did the first one get longer travel suspension?
06:03I am not for sure about that.
06:06Yeah.
06:07But, anyway, bigger tank, all the world traveler capabilities to basically go after whatever
06:15you wanted to at the time. 2004, we went to the R1200 GS. 1170 cc's. It got 60 pounds lighter
06:23than the previous model. And then, 2005 was the GSA. And then, in 2008, they added the ESA,
06:32electric suspension adjustment. So, that was able to basically change up the rear shock and make
06:41it electronically adjustable. You could basically pick some modes that you were going to ride in,
06:47press the shock button on the handlebar, and it would, you know, it would change the modes of the
06:52shock. In 2013, the R1200 GS went to water cool. That was a big improvement. That motor hit a lot.
07:03But, yeah, that was a really, I mean, that was a noticeable, very noticeable improvement.
07:08Huge change, more power, all that goodness of being able to more effectively manage the cooling,
07:17which allowed you to make more power. But, some of the faithful didn't like it.
07:23No, they did not.
07:24It was short-lived, though, that the, the.
07:26Yes.
07:27Yeah.
07:27It was short-lived.
07:29It was one of those things that if you didn't like it, it's because you hadn't ridden it.
07:32Exactly. Yeah.
07:33Well, I mean, their, their arguments are, oh, like, it's going to take away the reliability
07:37and the fix anywhere ability of the GS. If it's a world traveler, if I've got radiators,
07:43what am I going to do if I pop a radiator? Well, there's a bajillion cars out there with
07:47radiators. I think almost any place in any country can figure out how to repair a radiator.
07:52Yeah.
07:53As long as you don't completely rip the thing off the bike.
07:56Yeah.
07:56You're going to be okay.
07:57I really love the characteristic of that motor down low. It was, had like a snappy,
08:01torn air-cooled one?
08:03No, the water-cooled.
08:04Water-cooled. The first water-cooled, yeah.
08:05Yeah.
08:05Very torquey out the bottom.
08:07Yeah.
08:08Yeah.
08:09Yeah.
08:09So, so that ran until 2019.
08:14And then we got the R1250GS.
08:17And that got very real-alifying shift cam.
08:20So, what is that allowed to do?
08:22Make even more power, have better emissions.
08:24Uh, and, uh, we've got increased capacity to 1,254 cc's.
08:31And that engine is amazing, has been amazing since it, since it showed up.
08:37Uh, we're talking even more grunt, even more power.
08:42Um, just, it just made the, the previous engine that much better.
08:47And now, in 2024, we got the R1300GS, talking even more power, slimmer.
08:57Uh, it has variable valve timing.
08:59It's got the transmission mounted underneath, uh, the crankshaft.
09:03So, it's shortened up the engine, as well as lowered the center of gravity.
09:06You've got all that rotating mass sitting lower in the bike for better handling.
09:09Um, and it's, it's just a, it's a kind of a redo of the GS philosophy in a way, because
09:17the GS kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and wider and taller, um, to make it
09:23more of a, uh, a travel bike.
09:26But, um, the trend for adventure bikes in the last, you know, 10 years has been to also
09:33be very dirt capable.
09:34And they were starting to lose some of that, uh, that, that ability in a way compared to
09:40the competition.
09:41So, they upped the game.
09:42So, now it's even better off-road.
09:44It's, you know, all over.
09:46They, they did a huge redesign and it's really, really cool to see.
09:50And now, in 2026, they have a throwback model, um, the R12G slash S.
09:58Um, so it's, uh, it's a retro styled, uh, model based on the R12, which is, they have an
10:04R12 Cruiser and, uh, uh, Roadster.
10:07It's using the R1200 GS engine.
10:11Um, and it's, uh, it's just a kind of a cool throwback style, uh, adventure bike.
10:18It doesn't have a big fairing.
10:19It doesn't have, it's much more simple.
10:21It still has, you know, rider modes and all the great electronics, but it just looks like
10:27you're back in the early eighties, which is super cool.
10:31So, yeah, I haven't ridden that bike.
10:32Uh, no one has Hoyer's actually, uh, in Germany right now, um, probably riding it today.
10:40So, um, but you know, they remember the R19 GS.
10:45I love that thing for like the nostalgia of it.
10:48And they went back to that, the, the, the white and the blue and the, that sort of orangish
10:53red.
10:54And I always thought that they could have gone a little further with that with added some
11:00luggage and stuff like that.
11:01Cause that was really a pretty fun motorcycle.
11:05I think that's what the R12 GS is doing.
11:08Like they've upped the suspension travel.
11:10You can get an enduro package as an 18 inch or a wheel.
11:13So, you know, it's, it's really upping the ante, I think in a way that, that maybe those
11:19R9 T GS fans wanted to see.
11:23So yeah, I'm one of them.
11:25It's very cool.
11:25Yeah.
11:26I, I, I think it's really cool too.
11:28And I want to do some, some cool projects with it, which hopefully we can figure something
11:32out in the future.
11:33Um, just to touch on it.
11:35I mean, that are 80 GS, the R100, like it's from that popularity, it spawned a whole segment
11:43of GS models for, for BMW.
11:46We're only going to talk about the big boxers here, but you had a 650, you had a 750 and
11:51800, 850, 900, a 310, you know, um, and now you have, you have, um, you know, a selection
12:00available, uh, 310, 900, um, GS models that, you know, so they kind of, they were on the
12:09gamut and there's going to be a 450 GS coming up.
12:11So they're going to have, you know, a tiered ecosystem for GSs, you know, all based on the
12:17popularity of this big boxer.
12:19So, um, that's the history, very truncated, very short, uh, our BMW GS friends are probably
12:28like, Oh, they forgot about the nuance of this change here and that change here.
12:33And man, we're keeping it simple for the one.
12:35So we don't screw up a two to keep it light and keep it rolling.
12:38Otherwise we could be here for a week, just talking about GS changes, which I think is,
12:45it's, it's valid because it's done so much and there's been so many changes and BMW is
12:49constantly kind of refined and push that motorcycle.
12:53It's, it's worth maybe a week long conversation, but we're going to keep it to what we just did.
12:58So, um, let's talk about why, why it's the king of ADVs.
13:05Adam, why do you like, let's, let's touch on the, the, why is it the, the measuring stick,
13:12the gold standard that all their adventure bikes are measured by?
13:15Well, probably just because it's so capable and basically all conditions, you know, on
13:22the street, off road, you know, two track fire road, even a little bit of, you know,
13:27single, single and a half, single track.
13:30Like it, it, it's literally like the one bike that does everything.
13:34It just does everything.
13:35You can go anywhere on it.
13:37If, if you, every time I was talking to one of my friends the other day and they're like,
13:43what bike would you buy right now?
13:44I'm like our 1300 GS trophy edition.
13:47I'd put street tires on it.
13:48It does everything.
13:50Like it just, yeah, it's $30,000, but it, it, it, it fits so many, so many roles.
13:56Yeah.
13:56You could buy, you know, two, three motorcycles, but why, when you can just buy one that just
14:00does everything and it does everything just with great pedigree.
14:04Yeah.
14:04The GS you're kind of buying two or three motorcycles, you know?
14:07Yeah.
14:08Like it really, it is a, it really is a true all rounder, like more than any
14:14motorcycle has ever been.
14:16I mean, they did, they've done the, you can do everything.
14:18It's a great touring bike, whether you're touring single or two up.
14:23Um, I've ridden it off road two up.
14:26That thing is, that thing is fantastic.
14:29It, it is the, it's the original.
14:32Well, of course they, you know, they essentially created that segment and, you know, they, and
14:38they just continue to own it.
14:40Essentially they've sold like, I think the number, they've sold over a million GSs.
14:45Wow.
14:45Yeah.
14:46What are your thoughts, Justin?
14:47Well, I, I think that you both have nailed it, that it does everything really well on road.
14:53It's got great handling, like it's so sure-footed in the corners, much more than it should be.
15:00Even on, when it's got knobby tires on it, it just works.
15:02It doesn't care how you go, how you position your body in a corner.
15:08If you point it around a corner, it goes around the corner without a fuss.
15:13It's comfortable.
15:14It's got tons of protection.
15:15It's got all these, all the tech and all the touring features.
15:18Like when you're on the road, you're not left wanting much out of this motorcycle.
15:24Right.
15:24And then you go to the dirt and it's more capable than any 550 pound, 550 pound motorcycle should
15:33be like, it is, it, you look at it and you're like, yeah, that thing that's going to be a
15:40handful once it turns to dirt, you know, like gravel roads, it's unbelievable.
15:45It's super easy to ride.
15:46Yeah.
15:46And you just keep upping the ante and it just gets better and better and better.
15:50And you could even ride single track.
15:52If, if it's, if the track is wide enough for the cylinders to fit through, it'll go.
15:56Yeah.
15:57Yeah.
15:57Yeah.
15:58No deep ruts.
16:00No, no deep ruts.
16:01Yeah.
16:01You don't want to be splitting trees.
16:03Yeah.
16:04Well, I mean, at least you won't smash your toes.
16:06You'll, you'll take the cylinder head out first, but yeah.
16:09So it's a bit of a protection, right?
16:12So, I mean, there's, there's so many things that it does great.
16:15And I think that is, um, the reason why it is, it is such a champion.
16:21Um, yeah.
16:23Yeah.
16:23You have to, you have to respect the weight off road, but that's why I was such a fan of
16:29when the, with the, uh, the, uh, 1250, the water cooled motor is that I almost feel like
16:36it's like, it might be a slight exaggeration, but only slight is like riding a 450, the way
16:42the motor is so grunty down below.
16:44Like you were talking about, like on Jeep two track, you know, like on a big adventure
16:48bike crossing from one side, you know, in the track over to the other side and that where
16:54the weeds grow and there's gravel in the middle, you can just like blip that thing.
16:58And it just kind of hops over to the other side.
17:01Yeah.
17:01I agree.
17:01It's got that 450, uh, CC single cylinder kind of character down low.
17:06Yeah.
17:07And the ergonomics, the ergonomics are, are mighty dirt bike now in a positive way.
17:13You stand up, it feels like a dirt bike and it, it's just heavy.
17:16It's like riding two 450s at the same time.
17:19Yeah.
17:19Yeah.
17:20That's a good one.
17:21Yeah.
17:22Two and a half 450s.
17:23Yeah.
17:23And, and I mean, your point is very valid about it.
17:27You have to respect the weight, but that's the same with every adventure bike.
17:30Like that's the thing about adventure bikes is, um, they have a lot of weight behind them,
17:34which means they have a lot of momentum and they make speed very quickly because it's such
17:39powerful engines.
17:40And so, um, it's easy to get yourself in trouble if you don't have a respect for the motorcycle,
17:46but if you're comfortable with it and you have respect for it, man, you can, you can
17:50do things on that, on the, the GS that they're just, yeah.
17:55Every time I get on it, it just blows me.
17:57I'm just like, there's no way that I'm going to go through that with this.
18:01And it just doesn't, you know, especially if it gets a little technical, if you kind
18:05of picture yourself on a, on a trials bike where you're not allowed to put your foot
18:10down, then you're, you're like, that's how you have to, that's how you have to think
18:13of it.
18:13It's just, well, you can't put your foot down.
18:16Like you guys said that that bike is capable of joint, uh, generating so much
18:20inertia and momentum, which is good.
18:23You, you want to use that momentum and inertia to your friend, but also when you have that
18:27inertia momentum, you have to be aware that it's going to take you a little bit more time
18:31to slow that thing back down.
18:33So it's, it makes like dirt bike riding almost more of a game.
18:38It's like a different type of game.
18:40You know, it's just, it's, it's really rewarding too.
18:43When you tackle obstacles, you're like, how am I going to do that?
18:46Then you do it on that bike.
18:48You're like, wow, you know, and I think that's the point with it being, it being, you know,
18:53in the technical stuff, especially with the new bike, the center of gravity with the boxer
18:57engine, you know, the two cylinders sticking out the side.
19:00And then now the transmission below the engine or below the crankshaft, it, it's so easy to
19:07keep your feet on the foot pegs and balance the motorcycle.
19:10And the ergos are very dirt biking.
19:11Now they're very comfortable for standing up for you might, you know, might be hunched over
19:16a little bit and that, uh, you know, make, made it a little difficult, but now it just
19:22feels right.
19:23And you can basically, you know, especially with its tight turning race radius, like that
19:27bike at like, um, ADV rallies on the little challenge gym con courses they put up do that
19:34bike is the King because you can go really slow and turn really tight and it's really
19:39stable, uh, while you're going slow, much more so than any other adventure motorcycle.
19:44So if you want to like be the King at the rally, that is absolutely the bike in the skills contest.
19:49Yeah.
19:50And the skills contest, the slow race, the GS is definitely the choice.
19:54Yeah.
19:54There's nothing they can hang with the GS in a slow race.
19:57And that's be once again, because of that low center of gravity and the stability of
20:02the motorcycles.
20:03Yeah.
20:03It, and that's the thing.
20:04It's like, when I said it's, it's like two or three motorcycles in one, it really is like
20:09you, you think of that motorcycle.
20:10And then I've ridden off-road in Baja, like hundreds of miles.
20:14And then at the same time, you're like, how is this the same bike you could do like two
20:19up weekend to like on the free, you take like fast roads or even the freeway to San
20:24Francisco from Southern California.
20:26And that's all the same motorcycle.
20:29Yeah.
20:30And that, there you go.
20:31That's the, that's the reason why it's, it is the champ.
20:35And you know, people will be like, oh man, like Jeff's talking about riding anything in
20:38Baja.
20:39Sure.
20:39But a KTM would be better because it's got more suspension travel and blah, blah, blah.
20:42Sure.
20:42In that one instance, there may be a bike that does one thing better than the BMW.
20:49But if you put them all, you, if you take them all as a whole and you measure all things,
20:55there's nothing that compares to a GS.
20:57And I'm not going to totally agree with you.
21:00Like it does things like, like the big KTM.
21:03It does things as well.
21:06Dawes makes a good point.
21:08He, he does make a good point.
21:10Like you could pick one bike that, okay, that bike is going to be better for that certain
21:15little category, you know, singular style, but it's, it's, you know, you factor in just
21:21the versatility and, you know, just the, the touch points of the, of the R 1300 GS, like
21:27the character of the engine, the sound, the feel, the way it shifts gears, the suspension
21:33action, it, it, everything it does is just so precise and it makes riding very enjoyable.
21:40So maybe if it's not the very, very, very best, it, it certainly feels the very best
21:45because it has so much a nice character.
21:47And it just makes riding very fun.
21:49When I'm riding the GS, I'm having fun.
21:52Even at the freeway at 75 miles per hour, the sound of that boxer twin visceral power
21:57pulses, it's just like, it just feels right.
22:00And those, those miles disappear very quickly.
22:02Even the, even the getting their miles on the freeway or whatever.
22:05Yeah.
22:06Yeah.
22:06And now they're loaded with all the creature comforts in the world.
22:09Not that they weren't before they're just, it's almost like you're riding a gold wing.
22:13You got your Bluetooth stereos and you're heated everything and you're adjustable windshield.
22:17If you get the right option, it's, it's a really luxurious ride.
22:21Yeah, it can be absolutely.
22:23And I think, you know, when I was making the point of like, there's bikes that can do one
22:27thing better.
22:28Like let's, let's talk about like on the road, like a Multistrada V4S is the king of the corners
22:35in the adventure bike segment, a KTM 890 is probably the whoop wagon, right?
22:42Like you look at all these, but the, the GS is going to be in the top two or three in
22:47every segment that you talk about.
22:50Like it's going to be second or third every, in every place.
22:54It's not going to, it's never going to be out of the contention.
22:58So that's, that's what it's consistency in, in ability to do all the things to 95% of
23:06the top in any category.
23:09And it wins, you know, it just wins because of that.
23:12So yeah, it's really all the things.
23:14I had a, a, a note on here to say like, do you like it?
23:19But I think it's pretty clear.
23:21We all like it, but I want to, I want to, so instead of saying, do we like it?
23:25Cause we all like it, I want to hear about like, Jeff's got some crazy GS stories.
23:31Adam's got some good GS stories.
23:33I probably have some good GS stories.
23:34So let's, let's talk about that.
23:36Let's, let's start with Jeff.
23:37Cause Jeff's a storyteller and we may only have time for Jeff's story, but I'm not sure
23:44if that's a dig or not.
23:47Well, okay.
23:48So there was a time that me and a few guys from the industry, we were going, we were
23:52right, we decided to ride off road from here in Southern California to, uh, Cabo San Lucas
23:59for new years.
24:01We left right after Christmas and we were doing a bunch of miles of almost exclusively off
24:05road.
24:07And I mean, it was pretty, we, we, it was, the days were short.
24:12I mean, the, the riding days were long, but the sunlight was short.
24:14So we ended up riding in the dark and doing all this crazy stuff.
24:17But, um, at one point we were riding pretty quickly on this seldomly used dirt road.
24:25And I, uh, was, I had one guy in front of me and I came across and there was this giant
24:32washout and, uh, I tried to get across it by just like, just wheeling in the front and
24:41I got the front over it, but the rear, when the rear hit, it's bucked up so hard.
24:46Like I, it felt like the rear wheel was above my head.
24:50Like it was like, I was just looking straight down over the handlebars and somehow, I don't
24:56know that I'd even did anything.
24:58I didn't crash it, but it did.
25:00It completely blew out the shock.
25:04It just blew.
25:05I was, I was like, Oh man, it's scared.
25:07The rear shock.
25:07The rear shock.
25:08Yeah.
25:09The rear shock.
25:09And it's just scared me.
25:10And, you know, you kind of like, you have a moment like that.
25:14You just sort of like check yourself.
25:15You're like, I can't believe I'm still up.
25:18I'm still riding up upright.
25:20And then my foot started slipping on the foot peg and like, what's going on?
25:26And I could see there's this oil everywhere.
25:27And I thought something happened to the motor, but it just blew all of the fluid out of the
25:32shock onto my side of my pant and the, uh, and my boot.
25:37Um, and so, uh, we managed to get that.
25:42The road improved quite a bit after that was like the one big moment right there.
25:45And we were well down, well down halfway.
25:49We're below, we were below San Ignacio and even, and, uh, the, uh, the thing pumped all
26:00of the fluid out of that thing.
26:01And I wrote it the rest of the week and all the way home on just a spring.
26:05There was no tampon in spring and like this, like, even like you're going through the turn
26:10and there's like, there's semis coming the other way.
26:13And you're like, like this.
26:15And it was, it was terrifying, but that thing still made it home.
26:18Let's see.
26:19And it turned out when I got back, it turned out I had blown up the, uh, the front shock
26:25as well.
26:25Got both of them, but I didn't know that I didn't notice anything riding.
26:29Well, the, the rear was so bad.
26:31I don't know that I could have noticed what was going on in the front.
26:35Yeah.
26:35But that was a, that was a big, scary moment.
26:38Yeah.
26:38Yeah.
26:39And there goes to your, your, your point about, you know, all the weight behind you, but at
26:44the same time, the thing's pretty well engineered that if you can keep it going straight, when
26:48you make a mistake, you're going to probably still end up on two wheels.
26:52Right.
26:53Yeah.
26:53So, um, forgiving bikes.
26:55Very forgiving.
26:56I don't know that I did anything more than just close my eyes and hold on.
26:59But, uh, we were still going forward when it, when it all the drama was over.
27:05That's awesome.
27:06Uh, my story, GS story.
27:08I don't know.
27:09I have a bunch of them, but, um, I got to experience the GS trophy.
27:13And I think that's, uh, that's an important part to BMW's, um, the trophy event, the trophy
27:18event.
27:19But I think it's an important part of GSness is that like BMW has this event for GS owners
27:26that they can go and qualify the top three in every country gets to go to a place and
27:30they all get to compete against each other.
27:31You know, we're talking like, like 15 or 20 countries.
27:34So, you know, 40 to 50, uh, riders all duking it out in, in a country.
27:40And it happens every two years.
27:41And I got to go as the, the press guy for the 2022 edition in Albania.
27:48And it was really fun.
27:50Like one seeing all the people that were just there and into being GS owners and trying to
27:57ride the GSs as best they could.
27:58And, and it, the, the competitions weren't just if you could ride well, but there was
28:03teamwork stuff and there was puzzles and there was, you know, trivia.
28:06There was all these things that, uh, you know, you did at the event, but it was really cool
28:11to see all the people.
28:12It was fun to like, hang out with three American guys that all rode really well.
28:19The group that I, that I had in 2022 was one, a guy named Corey call, which Adam probably
28:23knows.
28:24Um, he's, you know, a maniac on, on two wheels and he owned a GS.
28:28So he got to go, uh, qualify and he did.
28:31And then a guy named Ben, uh, who I think if his GS broke, he could have just carried
28:38it on his back.
28:40And, and then a guy named Jim, who was like the never say quick guy, he was smaller than
28:46the other two, but he rode the GS awesome.
28:48And he, you know, if anything challenged his ability with his, you know, his inseam or his
28:55ability and able to muscle the bike around, he still went for it and he still fought it
28:59out, but you know, going, talk, talking about Ben, the craziest thing I've ever seen on
29:05a GS was a guy that actually wasn't on a GS, but next to it, we were on this big, huge hill
29:10climb.
29:10It was all rocky and nasty.
29:12And there was a ton of people stuck on it.
29:14And we get up to catching up to the groups in front of us and everyone's just laid out
29:18on this road.
29:20And so everyone's taking their turns, like help and pushing bikes up and pushing bikes.
29:24And there was a, there was a couple of female teams as well.
29:27And this lady, she gets this one section and she falls over.
29:30And so everyone picks her up and they start to push her and she catches another rock and
29:34it folds her front.
29:35She falls over again.
29:36And this guy from South Africa, he was a big, strong, like guy.
29:41No one else helped him.
29:42I saw this dude grab the bike by like the subframe and the forks.
29:48And he lifted the bike up and set it on its tires by himself, air, air underneath both
29:55tires by himself.
29:56Just went E-man.
29:57And I was like, that's the most insane thing I've ever seen.
30:01And I think, I think.
30:02Was he a competitor?
30:03Yeah, he was a competitor.
30:04And I think, I think South Africa won that year.
30:06And I, I put it down to that the, the, those three South African guys were massive humans
30:14that were able to do things that no one else could do just because of their strength.
30:18But it was the craziest thing I've ever seen is someone picking up a 550 pound motorcycle
30:22by themselves, Scott Summers style.
30:25Wow.
30:25Setting it back on its tires and then going here, hop on.
30:28Go ahead.
30:28Maybe even Scott Summers would have been impressed.
30:30Yeah.
30:30Scott Summers would have freaked out.
30:32So I think I blew a disc out in my back just watching him do it.
30:36So we're getting long here.
30:39So Adam, do you have a short story?
30:43Yeah, just real quick.
30:44Many years ago during a product evaluation function, we rode the R-1250 GS in, in Carissa
30:53Plains where it was all, where the, the, the West Coast earthquake divide is in the ground.
30:59And it had been raining for 24 hours.
31:02So we arrived and it's basically just, it's just soup.
31:06And then I was riding the R-1250 GS.
31:08And of course I, I knew we were going there.
31:11So I asked for Anarchy Wild, you know, uh, 37, 73, 30, 70, uh, you know, TKC 80 type tires,
31:19but they didn't do that.
31:20So they were on street tires and, and it was terrifying because I can't tell you how many
31:26times I'd be riding at 30 miles per hour.
31:29And I literally fishtail, I would do one eighties and three sixties and half the time I wouldn't
31:35crash and half the time I would.
31:37But, uh, eventually, uh, the moral of the story was that even in these sketchy conditions
31:43on street tires, for sure, I fell down a lot, obviously, cause it's slicker than snot, but
31:49I still couldn't believe how well balanced that bike was.
31:52And some of the obstacles that we went up and over on street tires, caked in mud.
31:56It just, it literally blew me away how capable that bike is in the most treacherous of terrain
32:01with ill, with ill fit tires.
32:05Just an amazing bike.
32:06Amazing bike.
32:07So, uh, handicap a bike more than tires.
32:09Yeah, yeah, it still wasn't, yeah, it was still like not as, I mean, it was bad, but
32:15it wasn't like, it was still doable.
32:16Like your story about, you know, going to Mexico and halfway through the, the, the fork
32:22and the shock, you know, have an issue.
32:24That's the, that's the mantra of the GS, the GS keeps on going, keeps on trucking, you
32:29know, something doesn't work right.
32:31That bike will get you home.
32:32That's like a really just well-engineered quality bike.
32:35If the world ends, you'd want to be on a GS.
32:38Yeah, I think so.
32:38I really do think so.
32:39Um, so let's go, uh, real quick, GS or GSA.
32:44We're talking about the, the 2025 model, uh, R1300 GS or GSA.
32:53Uh, let's start with Adam.
32:55Which one would you rather have GS or GSA?
32:58I, I always liked the GS more.
33:00It's just a little bit skinnier.
33:01You know, we were talking about the styling that the new Lego like styling of the GS adventure
33:062025 isn't really my favorite.
33:08So I would just stick with the contemporary, uh, GS.
33:12Uh, uh, Jeff.
33:12How about you guys?
33:13What about you, Jeff?
33:15Uh, I'm always GSA.
33:17I love that.
33:18I love having a little more, uh, suspension travel and then also a bigger fuel tank.
33:23Cause you know, I always say you, you can't have enough gas unless you're on fire.
33:27Another good one.
33:31Yeah.
33:31It's a good one.
33:32Yeah.
33:33So I would, um, I do like the additional, uh, wheel travel of the GSA, but, um, in terms
33:42of actual heft and width and weight, I'm going to go with the GS as well.
33:46Plus the styling, I, it has not grown on me even seeing it up close.
33:51It's like, they just, you know, like you see GSA is usually with saddlebags and they're
33:56like, just make the whole bike look like a saddlebag, make it look like a top case or
34:00a side box.
34:01You know, that whole boxy front end thing.
34:03Um, I can't get around it looks wise.
34:06Uh, it probably skews my opinion a little bit, but I still like the, the slimness and
34:11the lightness relative lightness of the GS.
34:15So, uh, I guess, uh, you're overruled Jeff on GS or GSA.
34:21That's fine.
34:22If we get, if we get one in the office and it's a GSA, I'll take it.
34:25That's fine.
34:26There is one in the office right now.
34:27I know.
34:28I wish I could get my hands on the keys.
34:30It's a, it seems to be difficult.
34:32Uh, well.
34:34Just sneak in and get them.
34:36So, okay.
34:37Well, I think that's going to be it.
34:38We got to wrap this thing up.
34:39We're going long on time.
34:40So, uh, the takeaway from this one, uh, it may be debatable whether or not the R80GS
34:47was the first adventure bike, but BMW no doubt has shaped the adventure bike world more than
34:56any other manufacturer has.
34:57It's undeniable.
34:59They're 45 years.
35:00They've innovated and they've driven the segment.
35:02Almost the entire time.
35:04Um, if I told you draw an adventure bike, you would end up probably drawing something
35:10that looked like a GS.
35:11So it's the king because it does it all well.
35:14If you were to have just one, as Adam said, it's going to be the GS and that's, that's
35:19the short of it.
35:20So with that, uh, we're going to wrap it up.
35:23Thank you for the support.
35:24As always, please like comment, subscribe.
35:27Let us know what you think about the GS.
35:30Um, and again, give us some suggestions on, uh, iconic bikes we should be talking about
35:35in the motorcyclist podcast.
35:37Thanks for listening.
35:39We'll see you on the next episode.
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