For years, the BMW GS has stood as the pinnacle of adventure riding for both long-distance, go-anywhere riders and Starbucks adventurers alike. The entirety of BMW’s GS range excels in both on- and off-road excursions—something that our very own Jonathon Klein was able to prove with the F 900 GS.
That being said, the top-tier R 1300 GS remains the flagship model in the GS line, and it seems that it’s about to get even better with an upcoming Adventure model.
Much like the previous R 1250 GS, the new R 1300 GS is expected to soon become available in an Adventure model, marking the return of the GSA moniker for BMW’s top-notch adventurer. And just like all GSA models, the 1300 is expected to come with quite a fancy array of tech.
Most notable of which just has to be BMW’s new Automated Shift Assistant (ASA), which is really just a fancy name for an automatic transmission. And yes, much like the automatic gearbox found in your BMW 3 Series, you’ll still be able to shift manually with the foot lever whenever you please, but there won’t be a handlebar-mounted clutch lever for you to fiddle with.
Plus, when the revs drop too low in a certain gear, ASA will step in and automatically downshift for you, preventing the bike from stalling.
Of course, BMW doesn’t want to lose its more traditional fanbase, and so it’s expected to offer the upcoming R 1300 GS Adventure in a standard manual six-speed option, too. Thank goodness for that.
As for the numbers, we can expect the GSA to carry quite a bit more heft than its standard sibling thanks to a larger fuel tank. More specifically, it’s expected to weigh 46 pounds more than the R 1300 GS, bumping its wet weight to 569 pounds. That increase in weight is not only accompanied by extra range, but more suspension travel, beefier bodywork, and as-standard engine guards, too.
Performance-wise, the upcoming GSA will more than likely have the same 143 horsepower and 110 pound-feet of torque as the regular GS. But because of the extra heft, it’s expected to be slightly slower, with a top speed of 136 miles per hour, than the standard GS with a top speed of 140 miles per hour.
So, when will the new R 1300 GS Adventure officially break cover? Well, BMW’s expected to unveil its top-tier ADV bike some time in the fall, so stay tuned for that.
