Good news, if you’re saving your money and eagerly awaiting the new BMW R1300 GS. Although we initially expected this machine to come in heavier than the current R1250 model, it seems the new bike may actually shed quite a bit of weight.
Motorcycle.comoriginally arrived at a guess of 552 pounds for the new GS, a slight increase over the current model. But documents filed with Australian regulators actually indicate a weight of 522.5 pounds at the curb.
If that number is right, that means the new GS would actually be 26.5 pounds lighter than the current R1250 GS model. It would even come in 15.5 pounds lighter than the F850 GS Adventure model, with its massive 6-gal fuel tank.
How would BMW find such weight savings? Clever re-working of the engine will certainly help. Liquid cooling often results in weight savings, as engineers can trim down the mass that’s otherwise necessary to dissipate heat. Of course, a ground-up re-design of the engine would also potentially find new savings. Or maybe alterations to the chassis reduced weight. As engineers learn how to use new materials, they are able to cut a lot of pork that was previously held as unavoidable. See KTM’s composite rear subframes as the perfect example of this in action.
New photo!
This garbled government-document photo shows the R1300 GS in its cast-rimmed glory.
Australian regulators also showed a low-rez photo of the new GS. The bike seen is the standard version, with 19-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear, both using cast rims. We expect spoked rims to also be available as an upgrade, coming standard on a future Adventure variant.
For previous coverage on the new GS, seehere. We expect to see an official reveal to BMW fans this summer, and a launch on the show circuit this fall.
