the 1250 which I rate as excellent . There ’ s great initial bite and feel , and the linked system , which brakes both front and rear wheels from the right-hand lever , is especially good with the rear ABS disabled on gravel . Straight line braking is superb and you can still add rear brake for steering if required . It genuinely is a top-shelf setup .
ELECTRONICS Wow . Trying to explain the list of acronyms alone would require a whole review . Cutting to the basics of it all , some are great , some are unnecessarily complex and some are in between . TC and ABS definitely have their place . Hill-start Assist not so much , in fact I think it ’ s useless . It tends to hold the brakes on a fraction longer than required ... so a little more throttle is needed to avoid stalling and it just interferes with a normal takeoff . Just use the front brake and you are good to go . Thankfully , it can be turned off . Then there is the electric assist on the centre stand ... You ease the centre stand down , then the suspension raises the bike to theoretically make it easier to lift on to centre stand . Only it doesn ’ t . The last bit is just as hard to lift as the full lift . And , it only works when the ignition is activated , so when you are just moving it around the shed the assist doesn ’ t work unless you go and get the fob and switch it on . For me this kind of electronic ‘ assist ’ is just unwarranted , especially when it doesn ’ t work very well and it takes the R1300GS further away from being a ‘ real ’ Adventure bike and more of a luxury tourer . Perhaps that is what most riders want ? But , I ’ m not one of them . While I ’ m having a wee grizzle , the radiators no longer have guards – these are very important for every adventure bike . No one wants a stone-holed radiator . Then there is radar cruise control with emergency braking and indicators , which is probably helpful for high-speed motorway travel in Europe , but not something that I ’ d use here in NZ and certainly not on gravel . I guess it comes down to how you will use the 1300 and each to their own with the electronic features mentioned . Some will love them . Of course , all the usual power modes are in place and everything can be monitored clearly on the fantastic BWM TFT screen , which is one of the best in the business .
64 KIWI RIDER