Motorcycles fall over, it's just a fact of life.
I know, I know, you'd never do it. You're too good of a motorcyclist. You've got the skills to pay the bills or whatever. But come on. We all know that no matter how good you are, falls still happen whether we like it or not.
Jesus, even Pol Tarres falls over from time to time.
But that fact of life, something that absolutely is fact, makes BMW's decision to make the standard R 1300 GS' shifter out of carbon fiber reinforced plastic all that much more confusing. Because it's literally the first thing to hit the ground if you lay the bike down. And, given its off-road chops and marketing, a very weird move since if you're out on the trail and have a small spill on the left side of the bike, you're gonna be SOL, which actually happened during the off-road portion of the Devilstone Run I was recently on.
Now, I'll preface this by saying that the R 1300 GS that was with our group didn't have off-road tires. Nor did the F900 I was piloting, though I made it through the entire trek without tipping over. And neither were the off-road spec versions. Furthermore, the trail we were heading down wasn't just a fire road, but one with whoops, a river crossing, and some small technical spots.
The off-road versions would've been great for this part of the route. But I honestly don't think that actually matters.
See, the shifter broke on a fairly low-speed fall after the river crossing. The rider, which wasn't me, had made it through the river unscathed but fell over going up the opposite hill on his way out. It was, as you'd expect, something that could've happened to anyone. And a few other riders fell over, too. upon exit and throughout the day
But the difference between their motorcycles and the R 1300 GS was the shifter's construction.
As mentioned above, the BMW's is carbon fiber reinforced plastic, which is just a fancy way of saying it's slightly stronger than ABS plastic. But it's still plastic. And it shattered when it hit the ground. Again, in a pretty slow-speed fall. Yes, it was on hard-pack dirt, but even dropping it in your garage on accident likely would've broken it too.
We attempted a backcountry fix including wiring it together, duct tape, and zip ties, along with a combination of those elements, but nothing proved strong enough for the rider to actuate the shifter without breaking it again. In the end, one of our fellow riders managed to shift it into second and the rider just carried on for the rest of the trail there.
But I just don't get why BMW did this?
It's not like making the part out of aluminum adds that much more weight to the already porky 523-pound tourer. Saving a few ounces, especially somewhere where it's not unsprung, isn't going to do anything. And, according to BMW, the R 1300 GS with Style Option 719, gets an aluminum version. So it is available, at least for a price. But even that likely wouldn't save the company all that much cash per unit.
And the downsides are bigger than any upsides, as you're stuck calling a tow truck or, in the case of our backcountry fix, stuck in second gear for the remainder of your ride until you can get it fixed. I imagine that this will be a bigger headache for the brand than any cost-savings it might see, as owners become stuck and cursing the heavens (or BMW) after slow-speed falls.
AGAIN, WHICH ALWAYS HAPPEN.
What's really annoying about this whole saga is the rest of the bike is great. I've got my review coming soon and, prefacing that, it's like BMW took Henry Rollins from Black Flag and put him in a suit: corporate punk rock. And I would have no problem taking this motorcycle around the world, ala Long Way Round, or just doing countless miles from Tierra del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. It's a stonking great thing, one I hope to get more time on soon.
At least, hopefully on one that doesn't have this dumb shifter.
