New BMW R1300GS Caught On Video Out Testing
Spy video catches the next-gen GS out in the wild while testing in the Alps.
With BMW Motorrad’s 100th anniversary coming in 2023 we’re anticipating some cool bikes to mark the occasion, among them the long awaited, yet still quite mysterious, R1300GS, which has been freshly caught on a stealthily taped video during testing in the Italian Alps.
Its rider and a chase rider on another bike are pulled over when a civilian approaches asking in Italian if this was the new 1300. The test pilot, waving his hands says, “no photo, no photo” and when the guy filming agrees “no, no photo” (after all he’s taking a video not a photo) the test rider confirms it’s the new 1300. A fraction of a second later, the BMW’s pilot realizes the guy is in fact filming and tears off, leaving an audio wake totally recognizable as a big boxer twin’s unique mechanical whir.
The video, first posted by InMoto.it, seems legit, but because it’s so brief, it reveals only a little more than spy photos previously leaked, where the bike was heavily cloaked in black plastic paneling that even had some white PVC pipe pieces applied to create a decoy frame.
The original spy shots showed an unfamiliar front profile on this new GS where the a square-looking headlamp assembly was integrated into the beak, and this oddity remains on the bike in the video, though if you zoom into a screen grab of the nose area, it still looks to be shrouded by a cover, so the light itself should at least be larger.
This low positioning of the headlamp helps create space for a radar lens that would be positioned under the tall windscreen. BMW has said this component is on the way for its bikes, an adaptive cruise control setup we already see in several flagship adventure bikes, which uses radar to measure the distance to vehicles ahead and adjust cruise control speeds accordingly. The windscreen on the 1300 in the video looks to have some kind of black covering on the lower half, obscuring the final design.
Also shrouded are the cylinder heads on the bike in the video. In the original spy shots we could see two large cowlings that appeared to house much larger radiators, and since these cylinder head covers block cooling air, we can double down that this is likely to be a fully liquid cooled engine, ditching the targeted air- and oil cooling system we see on today’s R1250GS models.
Germany’s MOTORRAD, which seems pretty close to the 1300 project, speculates the motor will come in at 1291ccs and projects it will produce between “140 and 150 hp with at least 145 Nm [106 ft lb] of torque,” which would be a slight bump from the 1250’s 136 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque. There will obviously be a new frame, and the Bavarian publication also predicts a revised paralever swing arm and completely new final drive, all which hopefully amounts to a lighter weight.
Looking back at the spy shots in 2021 the 1300GS appeared to be riding on a traditional fork, though in the video we can see the front suspension seems to be of BMW’s Telelever variety. New, narrower than current hand guards also stand out in the video and appear to be reinforced with metal.
The bike’s side panels are more defined too and the tank shape is clear in the video, though it still feels like there are some fake panels and smoke and mirrors going on with the overall shape of things, especially since we know a finished version of this bike has already been revealed to a select group of people, likely key dealers, and some OE accessory manufacturers already have prototype models in hand.
And this brings us to one of the most interesting elements of the test mule. The side bags and top case are definitely not a shape we’ve seen before, and weirdly, they look to be reinforced with white, hookless ratchet straps. Why in the world? Perhaps this a test run of a brand new luggage grouping mounted to the bike’s unproven mounting system? Then it might make sense that the guy on the chase bike isn’t for security, but is really watching for vibration or other issues.
Pretty fun to speculate about these sightings, but one thing is clear, we’re getting close to seeing this bike in real life. And not only an R1300GS, but as BMW revealed prematurely in April of this year, there will eventually be an R1400GS and an M1300GS as well.
In the data that accidentally revealed there will be a trifecta of new top shelf BMW GS bikes there was no listing of an ADV variant, which means the 1400GS could be the more off-road oriented adventure variant. The M bike will likely be an up-spec’d variant, something along the lines of BMW’s M1000RR.
No matter what 2023 will be a big year for BMW and its fans as the legendary builder marks 100 years since it sold its first production motorcycle. And how nice all the birthday presents will be for us!
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If I wanted an SUV I would buy a GMC not a bmw.