Bmw's Next Move
BMW's Next Move
Leading the 2013 R1250GS to water (cooling)
The long-running “oil-head” BMWR1200GS has held its own in an evermore-crowded adventure-bike marketplace, but the Germans are hard at work developing and testing its replacement. These recent spy shots show testers shaking down the next-generation GS and confirm the existence of the rumored liquid-cooled R1250GS (Cycle World, Roundup, December, 2011).
Among the obvious clues that differentiate the powerplant from that used in the current R1200GS are the 1250’s relocated intake and exhaust ports: They are now in at 12 o’clock and out at 6 instead of in at 9 and out at 3.
Given that the GS’s design brief includes a good measure of dirt-worthiness, it seems unlikely that BMW would try to tune the engine to directly compete with the more street-biased Ducati Multistrada’s 134-horsepower, 82-foot-pound output. But a sizable boost into the 115-120-hp range (our last R1200GS testbike produced 98 hp and 79 ft.-lb. on the CW dyno) would give the new bike a few more ponies than the 113 hp we recorded for the new Triumph Tiger Explorer. With the almost certain increase in compression, peak torque will probably fall in the 85-ft.-lb. range. But BMW is the company that produces a 185-rear-wheel-hp superbike, so maybe its powertrain engineers will go for Ducati’s throat!
At first glance, the rest of the package is very recognizable as a GS, but there are lots of visible changes. The Paralever-swingarm/ shaft-final-drive assembly and exhaust outlet have swapped sides vs. the current model; a new Telelever features radial-mount brake calipers; a bulbous upper fairing conceals radiators and cooling fans; and crisper styling of the windshield, fender/fairing and headlight (which looks to be LED) update the bike’s appearance.
The photos show that the R1250GS prototypes are in an advanced state of development with what appear to be near-production-level components. One version of the bike pictured has a heavily camouflaged fuel tank, which suggests that its shape has been finalized.
In other images, the tank cowlings are poorfitting and more representative of an earlierstage development mule.
BMW’s only comment was that it wouldn’t comment on future products. Expect the new GS to debut this fall as a 2013 or earlyrelease ’14 model.
Blake Conner
