2013 BMW R1200GS First Impression

As I’m sure everyone has seen by now, the 2013 BMW R1200GS received some major changes this year with an all new motor, chassis and electronics. BMW invited us out to Valencia, CA to give us the run down and let us ride away on the all-new machine.

We started our little day adventure in the heart of the city, rode out towards Lake Hughes, Frazier Park and ended the ride in Ojai. We spent most of our time (about 120 miles) on the street with about 28 miles of dirt. This worked out well since our bikes were equipped with Metzeler Tourance tires. With about 20 journalists itching to log some time on the new machine, what would normally be a leisurely ride through the canyon, turned into a full on race to the finish.

The brand new R1200GS is powered by the next generation liquid-cooled Boxer. Some of the key features of the improved engine – “vertical flow intake”, ride-by-wire, integrated gearbox with 8-disk wet clutch and of course liquid cooling – resulted in more power and torque across the board, along with better shifting and fuel efficiency. The new motor is also more compact which gives the rider a little more room in the cockpit. The Ride-by-Wire throttle has an easy and precise twist at your wrist and is controlled by the five different riding modes: Dynamic, Rain, Road, Enduro Pro or Enduro. Each mode reacts as you would expect and affects the ABS, ASC (traction control) and Dynamic ESA suspension. The ABS and ASC can be easily disabled and the Dynamic ESA has soft, normal or hard settings that can be selected in any riding mode. This makes the new GS very tunable so you can easily adjust the bike to fit your riding style or riding conditions. I spent most of my time riding in the Dynamic Power Mode; it gave the bike a fun sporty feel and was quick to put a smile on my face.

The new chassis and Dynamic ESA suspension really compliment the new motor. The bike has a great feel for the road and is a blast to carve through the twisties. The on-the-fly adjustment of the Dynamic ESA gives you instant gratification when going from perfectly smooth pavement to a pothole riddled back road. The fast and smooth power combined with the overall ride and feel of the new R1200GS gives you the confidence to charge through the corners and still open it up in the straights.

The new R1200GS comes with plenty of price/package options starting with a standard package at $16,600 and working up to the premium plus package at $18,870. We were impressed with the all-new BMW and can’t wait to log more hours and throw on some knobbies. Keep an eye out for the full test in the near future.