S
ocial media throws up all kinds
of trash. Two bits that stood out
about the BMW R1250GS were
–‘It’s just not value for money
anymore’ and the age-old
comment about big adventure
bikes, ‘It’s just too heavy for
serious off-road riding’.
Well we already know that big bikes can do
some serious off-road riding. Our test of the
off-road biased R1200GS Rallye X proved
that. But what about the standard GS?
Do we really need the extra cubes for more
power? I’m actually a fan of small bikes but
when the tech and the engineers make a bike
feel smaller than its actual size suggests then
they’ve got my attention. BMW’s big change
from air/oil cooling to air/water cooling in
2013 included a huge jump in handling, the
bike was heavier but felt lighter and smaller.
The engine performance went from capable
old dog to spring chicken, and now ShiftCam
variable valve timing has produced a
testosterone-fuelled rooster. So short answer,
yeah, who doesn’t want to go larger? The
other major addition for 2019 is the TFT dash
and it’s bloody brilliant.
The new numbers are impressive on paper.
The 1254cc engine, up from 1170cc, produces
100kW at 7750rpm, up from 92kW. Torque
has increased from 125Nm to 143Nm at
6250rpm. In other words, a seven per cent
capacity increase has delivered 14 per cent
more torque and nine per cent more power.
To give you some more perspective, Charlie
and Ewan rode around the world with 63kW
and 102Nm. The 1250 has a whopping 110Nm
available at 2000rpm, which demonstrates
how good variable cam timing can be.
ShiftCam allows the bike’s power to be less
of a compromise between off-road and
on-road. The inlet camshaft has two lobes per
valve, one for partial load and one for full
load. Depending on the load and engine
speed, usually at about 4500-5000rpm, the
camshaft shifts across and the more
aggressive cam lobe sits in the hot seat.
The BMW engineers are a tricky bunch.
They have the full-load cam lobes opening
the valves together, whereas the partial-load
lobes slightly stagger the valve opening to
create a swirl of air-fuel mixture for a more
efficient burn, so fuel economy is 4 per cent
better than the 1200, but even better is how
smooth the engine runs at idle, 100rpm lower
than on the 1200.
This meant less chance of stalling on thehttp://www.adbmag.com.au MAY 2019 | 69
The BM can motor on a decent clay-capped road
ABS takes the bite out of radial-mount calipersGSA carries 10 more litres of fuelThe press bikes had a full set of crash bars