2019 BMW R 1250 GS Adventure

While the new R 1250 GS had been revealed earlier in the year it was not until this week at EICMA that BMW took the wraps off the big daddy R 1200 GS Adventure for model year 2019.

Like the regular GS, the Adventure, as you expect, gets all the same updated mechanicals including the new ShiftCam version of the Boxer engine. 

This latest powerplant also realises a hefty 7 per cent increase in capacity from 1170cc to 1254cc courtesy of both a bigger bore and longer stroke. 

Power is up from 125 to 136 horsepower while torque is boosted further from 125 to 143 Nm. The rpm those peaks arrive at are unchanged for the power figure at 7750 rpm but peak torque now arrives 250 rpm earlier at 6250 rpm.

BMW claim that improvements lower in the rev range in regards to torque delivery are also notable, with 110 Nm already available as low as 2000 rpm, and the previous peak of 125 Nm already surpassed by 4000 rpm.

The accompanying dyno chart shows a momentary slight dip in torque around 5000 rpm which presumably corresponds with when the short duration and low lift cam lobe swaps over to the more aggressive longer duration and higher lift lobe.

It will be interesting to see how this transition feels on the road but BMW are claiming much improved levels of refinement and smoothness with the updated engine. The gearbox too is claimed to work better than before. 

On the chassis front the new GS Adventure runs slightly less steering head angle (65.1 compared to 65.5-degrees of the previous model), a marginally shorter wheelbase (1504 compared to 1510 mm) and more castor (95.4 compared to 92.7 mm on predecessor).

The new GS Adventure is also 15 mm longer but is 28 mm slimmer between the mirrors than before, however, at 268 kg BMW’s claimed wet weight figure is 8 kg heavier than quoted for the previous machine.

Wheel travel remains 210 mm at the front and 220 mm at the rear while the latest model benefits from Dynamic ESA ‘Next Generation’ with automatic load compensation. 

Rim and tyre sizes remain the same at 120/70-19 and 170/60-17, as do the brake rotor sizes of 305 mm (F) and 276 mm.

Likewise the 30-litre fuel capacity and 890-910 mm adjustable seat height remains unchanged but the low option now gets down as low as 820 mm. Presumably both the suspension and seat unit needs to be changed in order to realise that low figure, which would likely also reduce the wheel travel and ground clearance while possibly compromising suspension performance, and ruling out the fitment of ESA. 

The brilliant new 6.5-inch TFT screen is standard complete with bluetooth connectivity which allows navigation prompts to be displayed on the dash and your music/phone to be controlled via the well sorted BMW Multi-Controller. I love this technology. 

At this stage we believe BMW Motorrad are expecting stocks of the new R 1200 GS Adventure just in time to buy yourself one for Christmas! Buy me one too while you are at it….