VOL. 55 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 2, 2018 P77
Still one of the
best all-around
street-going
motorcycles on
the road.
ously). So with a seven-percent
capacity increase, the bored and
stroked new Boxer engine offers
nine-percent more horsepower
and 14 percent more torque than
its predecessor. Even though
the R 1250 GS motor doesn't
rival a 160 bhp KTM 1290 Super
Adventure in terms of absolute
performance, the smooth and
practically cuddly way it delivers
the extra power and torque more
than compensates for that.
The chance to find out for
myself how great a difference in
real world terms this made on
the new bike compared to the
old one, came on the first day of
the global press launch via a gru-
eling 140-mile Portuguese day
trip in 34-degree temperatures
aboard the new GS, in both
on-road and off-road guises. To
begin with, climbing aboard the
new GS seemed like slipping on
a brand new pair of your favor-
ite shoes—everything felt pretty
much the same as on the outgo-
ing model, save for the addition
as stock of the large 6.5-inch
full-color Connectivity TFT dash
previously available only as an
option. This has a super-legible
digital speedo in its center with
the gear selected reading on its
right and almost as large, plus
the BMW Motorrad Connected
App can be downloaded free of
charge from the Google and Ap-
ple app stores to offer an arrow-
based basic navigation system
directly via the TFT screen, so
there's theoretically no need to
carry a Garmin or Tom Tom. With
an active Bluetooth connection
to any standard smartphone, you
can also listen to music or take
phone calls along the way.
