WORDS: PETER ELLIOTT
PHOTOS: GEOFF OSBORNE
SMOOTH
CRIMINAL
ow do you take a bike that’s been top
of the British and European bestseller
lists for 14 years and remake it, all
sparkly and new, and not make it
a massive disappointment? Seems like a
hell of a job. Thank god it’s not actually my
problem.
I just had to ride the 2019 R1250GS and
report. Here goes..
It was interesting to note that when I picked
it up with precisely 4km on the clock, it
looked smaller than it’s 1170cc predecessor,
launched about five years back.
“New frame on this one?” I asked.
“No”, I’m told, “about the only thing they
haven’t changed is the frame”.
It’s still 2.2 meters long, head to tail. Yeah?
Doesn’t look like it… but, okay, time for a
little digging in the research files just as soon
as I get this beastie home. As it was supplied
without the usual whopping panniers, I
suspect that the uncluttered stern gave the
impression of weight loss.
Key fob in pocket. Keyless start. Push the
button, and a flashy colour display warps its
twisty way across a full-colour, non-reflective
surface, on the 6.5-inch TFT screen. So far,
so slick.
Hit the start button, brap, rumble. Oh!
That’s nice too. Slightly, and I mean slightly,
less than totally polite. Potent sounding.
Good.
A bewildering number of options appear
on the TFT screen when tweaking the
ribbed ring controller – with ever more
choices on twisting, pushing and tilting the
thing. Jeepers! There are a lot of menus…
seemingly enough for a week of reading.
BMW devotees have waited
for this bike for years…
and they aren’t going to be
disappointed. The R1250GS
is a true all-rounder.
Over on the right hand... aha!, the MODE
button. This is familiar – Rain, Road,
Dynamic, Enduro. Auto settings. Yep, but,
hang on, I can adjust every setting manually
WITHIN the auto settings. All this choice is a
tad bewildering me. Let’s just get on it then.
Ok, set to ROAD. Gas? Enough for 137km.
All righty then.
Snick into first, ease the clutch, slip gently
out the drive and into second at 48km/h and
up to 75 and into the corner... WFT?! This is
so smooth, quick and unfussy that I could
lose my license in less than a city block.
Never mind the Gelande part of GS for a
while, the Strasse is totally acceptable.
And here’s the first thing, yes, it may be
tall in the saddle (adjustable of course) and
it may be weighty at 249kg, but the bike is
ridiculously easy to ride. This was reinforced
continually throughout my week with the big
Beamer.
I added 400km and managed a little off-
road experience as well, quite happily.
So, before I go further, or if you are short
on time dear reader, would I own it? In
a heartbeat, if I was planning any sort of
touring. The bike is comfortable, fast, clever,
capable, balanced, powerful, well built,
finished superbly, technologically advanced
and friendly.
Perfect, right? Yes...
...and No. When travelling longer distances
the bike sits you up to see the scenery, the
clever screen design zaps all turbulence
away from your helmet, and the view
remains stable and picture-clear in your
vision. Amazing.