RIDE REVIEW I 2024 BMW R 1300 GS
P60
SLIM IT DOWN
There are many aspects as to
why this is, but the biggest and
most obvious comes from the
new motor. Now, the GS en-
gine has its six-speed gearbox
mounted underneath rather
than
behind the crankshaft, gifting de-
signers a considerable amount
of
extra space to allow for tighter
packaging of the exhaust and
the reworked Paralever rear
suspension.
"If you are standing on the
footpegs on the bike and you
look down to the ground, the cyl
-
inders are in a symmetric posi-
tion," says Reiner Fings, Product
Manager of BMW
Boxer Models.
"The reason for that is that we
have one timing chain behind us
and the other one in front. This
is very good for ergonomics, es
-
pecially off-road. The new engine
is a real power
pack. It's smaller,
shorter, and it's the most power-
ful boxer engine we have ever
built.
We lost about 3.9 kg (8.6
lbs.) on the engine. One reason
is that we had only two transmis-
sion shafts, and the gearbox is
mounted under the crank.
This
gave us the space for the new
exhaust, which looks very nice."
BMW is claiming 145 horse-
power and 109 lb-ft of torque
from
the new air/liquid-cooled
motor thanks to wider bore and
shorter stroke numbers com-
On road, the GS has its
performance turned up big
time in 1300 guise. Initial
turn-in is as fluid as ever, but
the new ergonomics give the
chassis better mid-corner
poise than the 1250.
