BMW R 1300 GS Adventure Option 719: First Ride Review

Introduction

The BMW R 1300 GS Adventure has carried millions of adventures, both in kilometres and as memories. The big one in the GS family is meant for long roads, uncertain roads, bad roads and sometimes, no roads at all.

The new R 1300 GS Adventure takes that idea even further with every technological tool available to the two-wheel riding Neanderthal, a 30-litre fuel tank, a new 1300cc boxer engine and, in the case of our test bike, the Automated Shift Assistant system. This is the system that removes the clutch lever and allows the motorcycle to work either like a clutchless manual or a full automatic.

The variant we rode was the BMW R 1300 GS Adventure Option 719 Karakorum draped in this fantastic green that is priced at Rs. 29.30 lakh, ex-showroom, in its Auto Shift form. That is a lot of money by any yardstick. It also puts this motorcycle in a space where the buyer is not merely paying for displacement or badge value, but for a very deep set of electronics, comfort systems, safety tech and tremendous touring ability. Over two weeks and roughly 2,000km, we rode it on fast highways, broken city roads, Delhi/NCR traffic in the heat of June, sharp corners and plenty of off-road trails with dust, gravel, ruts and what not. The simple takeaway is that the GSA feels intimidating for the first few kilometres, but once you learn how it wants to be ridden, it starts shrinking around you.