Having been held on all continents around the globe, the GS Trophy returns this September to where it all began in 2008 – Africa. The host country for this off-road adventure will be Namibia, an adventure riding paradise located on the south-western coast of Africa, with breathtaking landscapes and distinctive flora and fauna.

Now, after more than a year since announcing the upcoming GS Trophy’s location, BMW is revealing the official bike participants will use to tackle Namibia’s epic landscapes during the six-day challenge: the R 1300 GS Trophy Competition Bike. With 145 ponies and 110 ft-lbs of torque, the machine has been equipped with competition-specific components to take on what BMW says will be ‘one of the most challenging GS Trophies’ to date.

The competition machine features several upgrades such as black cross-spoke wheels with anodized rims that not only improve its looks but dirt-worthiness as well. The bike is also equipped with Adaptive Height Control that BMW says makes the bike safer and easier to handle. In addition, the standard rubber has been swapped with Karoo 4 tires for better grip on difficult terrain. 

To better withstand the off-road abuse, BMW has equipped the competition bikes with several protection parts including an engine protection bar,  a frame guard, a large skid plate, a headlight protection guard, and white handguard extensions.

An Akrapovic exhaust system, handlebar risers, adjustable gearshift and brake levers, GS Vario rider footrests, enduro hand levers, and a rally seat, round off the equipment of the competition GS. As a practical storage option, the bike is outfitted with an adventure tail bag. 

Although the BMW Motorrad Competition Bike is not available for sale in exactly this form, the bike can be configured on the basis of the R 1300 GS Trophy model variant, with the exception of a few details such as the stickers, the large skid plate guard and the gearshift lever. As part of the off-road equipment package, rider’s opting for the Trophy variant can equip their bikes with a wide range of protection accessories, as well as robust cross-spoke wheels with black rims as standard or in gold as an option. Plus, the bike can also be configured with the sport suspension option which raises spring travel by 20 mm. 

This year, a total of 22 national teams – including six women’s and 16 men’s teams – with a total of 60 riders will compete for the coveted trophy GS Trophy 2024 Namibia from September 15th to the 20th. Based on past GS Trophy events, the most successful team will be the one that prepares the best, has the best teamwork and rides most skillfully, while enjoying the great rewards of international camaraderie.