27 August 2026

BMW R1300GS Adventure in it for the long haul

Whilst a sophisticated machine, the BMW R1300GS Adventure is nonetheless a big beast built for the long haul.

Impressively spec’d, it’s powered by a very capable boxer twin and, with a 30 litre tank, can both eat up and go the extra mile.

 

Ever since Charlie and Ewan rode around the world on those two older R 1150 GSA machines, the big Beemer has been the bike to go for the more adventurous of us.

These days the 1150 is long gone with the bike having evolved to a 1300cc affair which bares almost no comparison to the old machine from all the way back in 2003.

In 2004 we got the first 1200, the 1250 followed a lot later and the 1300 suspiciously soon after that!

As a mildly interesting aside the GS bit stands for Gelände/Straße. This is German for ‘on road /off road’.

GS also stands for Gach Sráid which in Ireland means ‘all streets’.

Distance runner

With BMW’s R1300GS Adventure, the Adventure dictates that it’s all ready to go the extra distance with a bigger tank and therefore a different physical profile.

What’s really impressive is that the German company has managed to pull 145hp out of an air and liquid-cooled boxer twin.

Add that to the real world 149 Nm of torque and we have a powerful and capable engine.

The chassis comes in two parts, with a separate bolted on subframe.

While much, much, more sophisticated than ever before, the suspension still consists of a single spring telelever up the front and a paralever down the back.

BMW have been using these for a very long time and have perfected the system over the years to something that works very well indeed.

While the wheels are a 17” on the rear, the 21” on the front, as well as sporting cross spokes, shows the big beast’s capability off road.

Shifting weight

When we take into account that it has a wet weight of 269 kilos, a permissible fully loaded weight of a staggering 485 kilos and is also over a metre wide, it can still use and benefit from cornering ABS. Not a bad bit of engineering!

Before we get all excited with the optional extras, the standard bike includes electronic height adjustment, cruise control, a keyless ignition and filler cap, bigger handguards, extra lighting on the front of the bike.

There are also mounting points for all the other stuff that you’ll need to take on the world.

The extras list then includes a spoiler for the windscreen, a headlight guard, a fairly impressive choice of luggage and that cool plate that replaces the pillion seat.

The topbox has an electronic interface, there’s also a quick-shifter, and radars on each end that work in conjunction with the cruise control.

Conor at Kearys Motorrad has a very high spec Triple Black demo model for sale at the moment which comes with a host of extras and warranty package. Give him a call on 021 5003600 to book a test ride…

BMW motorcycle quote? Call the bike insurance specialists on 0818 945 950.

 

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