Off-road and BMW motorcycles go together like Bert and Ernie, Ted and Coach Beard, cha siu bao and another cha siu bao, and me and getting hurt. In other words, it's a match made in motorcycling heaven.
And yet, for the last few months, there's been a conspicuous hole inside the BMW lineup. That hole, of course, is the Adventure iteration of BMW's halcyon R 1300 GS. But we can all breathe once again, as the wait for said motorcycle will soon be over.
Yes, the R 1300 GS Adventure is coming, and you'll only have to wait a few more days to peep the all-new, off-road, go-anywhere machine.
Teased across BMW Motorrad's social media channels, the R 1300 GS Adventure will launch July 5th, and there will even be a live-streamed event to celebrate its debut. The motorcycle will be based on the standard R 1300 GS, but follow the familiar pattern of other GS Adventure models like the F 900 GS Adventure, and likely feature upgraded suspension, off-road tires and wheels, as well as bash plates galore.
At least, that's most likely what will occur. And what could also debut with the R 1300 GS Adventure is BMW's Automated Shift Assistant, i.e. its automatic transmission.
BMW has been rumored to launch the brand's new automatic with the R 1300 GS Adventure for a while now, as the press photos of the system heavily indicate that it's on some form of the R 1300 platform. But since it wasn't released when the standard bike launched, everyone—including RideApart—was pretty sure that it'd launch with the Adventure version.
The Automated Shift Assistant tech works pretty similarly to a normal automatic, as it still uses gears and a clutch. But, instead of you actuating the clutch manually via a standard motorcycle clutch lever and toe shifter, two electromechanical actuators do all the work for you.
It's pretty slick tech, and would be in line with other big adventure motorcycle manufacturers are offering in the space at present, with KTM set to launch its automatic in the coming months, and Honda offering one for years now.
But whatever the case, I can tell you based on my experience with the F 900 GS Adventure, it'll surely be extremely rad, as BMW makes some hellacious off-roaders. So who's looking forward to July 5th? I know I am.
