Why I bought an R1250GS instead of an R1300GS?

“The last of the old. Will always beat the first of the new” Carroll Smith

Congrats, man! You went through the same rationale I did when I got my ‘23 GS. I look forward to watching the adventures. 👍

Awesome. I Just did the same. Today traded my 2021 R1250GSA in for a 2024 GSA Trophy. All for the exact same reasons. I had no intentions of changing my current bike but I got a cracking trade in price which I couldn't' refuse, together with a healthy discount on the new bike. The last of the line R1250GSA will be the most refined, reliable and perfected version to date. I intend to keep this one quite a long time. I'm not a fan of the new R1300GSA although it might grow on me but I won't be looking at one for many years to come now. This one will do just fine and cost me next to nothing to change into!

I am new to the BMW GS1250/1300/1200 World. I own a 22 Royal Enfield Himalayan I bought new last year. Fun bike to ride and i can ride all day and its really comfortable. Only drawback is 60-65mph is about the top speed for long runs. I went to my Local BMW Dealership in Wilmington North Carolina. I live in the Myrtle Beach area and Cape Fear BMW are awesome. I'm 5'9" and they showed me the 24 1250GS with low suspension option. I can easily flat foot it and love the 8 gallon tank. Its so well balanced, it feels as light as my Himalayan and the tank was full. As a just retired Ford dealership mechanic, I am with you in buying the last, best made model. Give the 1300GS a few years if them fixing the engineered gremlins. Great video. Ive been watching a bunch of these to decide. I'm going to Maine, then Austin Texas to visit family and maybe out towards Arkansas. The BMW looks to be the right tool to get me there.

My 2015 GSA is about to hit 36,000 miles. I look at the new GSA’s every year and your color is the only one that interests me. Since I bought a new 4Runner and Subaru Ascent recently I’ll wait another year. If I had to buy a new bike today I’d have get the Gas Gas ES700. Already have a KTM EXC-F and XR650L in the stable. The GSA is still the bike I ride the most since the only way to ride offroad is to enter events 3+ hrs away which are drying up. Congratulations, she looks great!

Nice to hear your thoughts on 1250 vs 1300. I myself changed from 1250GSA HP -19 to a 1250 GSA Rally like yours. It started when I saw the launch of the 1300 GSA and thought that it must probably mature for a while in my mind. The 1300 GS has, so I went to my dealer and test drove one. But I wasn't particularly impressed, certainly the engine and gearbox were a bit better, auto leveling was nice. But I didn't get a feel for it, so I went home on a 1250 GSA Rally :-) In Sweden, there is no price dumping of 1250 GSAs, but you get a 3-year service agreement, a BMW ConnectedRide Navigator and BMW pannier set with the purchase. And like you, I have a lot of equipment that I move over, Touratech suspension, Altrider bashplate and so on.

I bought my first GSA (2018) at Max BMW in Portsmith NH and wanted to buy another GSA bike from them. I reached out to them first to help me find a 2023 GSA. I did not have the same experiencer with Max BMW that you did. I did not experience any ambition, or enthusiasm in helping me procure another GSA. In the end I bought a 2023 (1,600 mi) GSA from AZ for 23K out the door and $1500 for shipping. I talked with the salesman via e-mail after the sale was finalized; he told me he could have found one local and cheaper. Wish I had the experience you did.

Congrats, Adam. Leaving from Point Pleasant,New Jersey June 21. From Atlantic ocean to Arctic ocean. Hope to see you on the road.Be safe.

I also tested and thought about swapping my 2023 GS rallye for the new 1300, but to be honest it’s just to small and to fast . It’s a great bike and if your into that great , but I went for exactly the same bike as yours but with gold rims . I just love the sheer size of the GSA 1250 . Just clicked 450 miles in the 1st week. I agree it’s got years and years of fine tuning and it really is the ultimate final proper fat GSA. I’m that convinced I’ll be keeping it I even went with the 3 year service plan . I think they already are a future classic , especially in our 2024 rallye colours . Enjoy and all the best from the UK

I saw the 1300 GS at Barber also. I of course had seen pics and videos, but they were very impressive in person. However, I have always wanted a 1250GS Rallye, so when my dealer found a low suspension(I’m a short guy) 2023 model, I bought it, even though they offered me first dibs on the first 1300 in the store. I will probably end up with a 1300 at some point, but right now, I’m really enjoying my 1250. Your GSA looks great, btw.

Yes…Logically 1250 is the value, best bang for the buck. But my brain creeps up every night and whisper: 1300.. 1300…1300. Tough decision but if you like it it’s probably the right choice.

Maaan I am so happy for you and for your new GS, btw didn't come here maybe for 3-5 moths (because of my overseas trip) you look like a new person (good way), bet all kudos go to Heather for sure. Totally agreed on the motorcycle weight. I have Husky TE300 and that thing is awesome, but stability and comfort compare to big machine on the same trail, you just can't compare, I am riding in Colorado just if someone want to say I don't know what I am talking about.... Maybe you remember some time ago told you take a look at Ducati, so I pulled the trigger , my process of thinking was the same as yours, was checking new 1300, but new GS would come maybe 1-2 years, will be selling for any asking price because of craaaazy demand and at time when was checking R1250 GS our dealers had that for almost 30K. Like I said now I have 2023 Multistrada V4 Rally, (had 3 miles on it in day of purchase) with 1.9% apr no payment for 4 or 5 moths (forgot how it was) and over 3K discount of asking price, another big thing was service interval oil change 9K miles or once a 2 years (I am do it by myself yearly) and big service 36K miles....... anyway I am happy for you and I think you made right purchase decision, cheers V!

Hi, same here . . agonised about buying the 1300 vs the 1250. I ended up getting the 1250 last December as I believe the 1250 is 'PEAK GS' and that the 1300 is not a natural progression from the 1250 and it will need to fight its own corner to remain top dog. Thanks for the video 😎

Hey Adam, Love the video, I live in NH and have purchased my last 2 BMWs from MaxBMW, they are great people to work with. Nothing like your GSA, Just the 750 like your wife has but some day I will get a boxer GS. The 1300 look great but I love the the 1250 GS HP model. Enjoy the new wheels, it looks awesome! 🙂

Like the thought process! Bought a spanky new 23 GSA early last year with similar calculations. Didn’t get a crazy good deal but I got what I wanted, know how excellent the GSA is, and knew it will be for the long haul. It replaced two 20yo (ea) bikes, and I’ll be moving it (and me) to the Dominican Republic where it will be more bike than I’ll ever need for virtually any riding situation I put myself into. Thought of upgrading to the 1300 before moving but the GSA version is not out in time. Furthermore, in the DR, a 2023+ 1250 or 1300 GSA would end up being a US$50K proposition! Yikes!!!

After owning a 2018 1200GSA and a 2022 1250GSA I took the dive. I now have a 2024 1300 GS Trophy version with the taller sport suspension. After competing for the GS Trophy Team last year I wanted something lighter (about 75lbs). To me the 1300 is better in every way. I had the Touratech Evo suspension on my 1250 and think the 1300 feels better with its completely new setup. Off-road you can really throw the 1300 around. The front feels way more stable in corners and the sport brakes are a major upgrade. Now the part you will miss immediately, a 7.9 gallon gas tank. I ride hard and get about 220 per tank. My bike stays in Dynamic or Enduro mode. I agree with Adam when it comes to price but the added features list is huge. The electric screen allows me to not have to change screen and it actually works. Do not get me wrong. The 1250 is a wonderful bike. Ride safe everyone and enjoy the ride no matter what you ride.

Again a real world presentation! Thanks for your candor, honesty and the tidbits you throw in. I too was thinking in the same terms. Love my 2018 GS - w TFT. The package and sound are intoxicating. The 1250 even better, and that was my quandary (which way to go). So I’m in a different position in life and can wait to see what the 1300GS Adventure looks like. Keep up the good work. Been following you scince NH . See you at Touratech Dirt Daze?

Great video! I am going through the same analysis. I have not been here in a long time!! You have been working out!!!

Can you redo the farkle list for this build? Are you planning on painting the red boxes?

How many miles were on the bike when you sold it? I might’ve missed it, so I just needed to understand because I understand the amount of writing that you did.