Planning To Buy A BMW R 1250 GS? Here Are The Pros And Cons

BMW Motorrad India launched the 2021 BMW R 1250 GS and the R 1250 GS Adventure in India a few months ago. Prices for the R 1250 GS start at Rs. 20.45 lakh while the R 1250 GS Adventure prices start at Rs. 22.40 lakh. Both prices are introductory and ex-showroom, pan India. The motorcycles get significant updates for 2021. The motorcycles come to India as completely built units (CBUs). The overall design of the motorcycle stays the same. There are a total of four colour options available - Style Ice Grey, Style Triple Black, Style Rallye and the '40 Years of GS' colours, which will be sold in limited numbers.

Also Read: 2021 BMW R 1250 GS All You Need To Know

The 2021 BMW R 1250 GS Adventure gets more suspension travel, larger fuel tank, and also comes with widened endure footrests, and standard tyre pressure monitoring system

The motorcycles continue to get the 1,254 cc boxer-twin engine with variable valve timing system, which is 'Shiftcam Technology' in BMW-speak. Of course, it will be BS6 compliant as well. The boxer-twin engine now makes 134 bhp at 7,750 rpm and 143 Nm at 6,250 rpm and is paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The updated R 1250 GS range gets new adaptive cornering lights, with the headlight reflector able to swivel in a 30 degree arc, so when the bike negotiates a corner and the headlight is on dipped beam, the headlight pivots and aims the beam to the direction of where the bike is headed. The light can also adjust the height with a pillion on board. BMW says that it has updated the hill start control (HSC) system on the motorcycle and updated the same to HSC Pro. Additional features include heated rider and passenger seats, as well as heated grips that now offer five stages of heat adjustment all controlled through the TFT instrument console.

2021 BMW R 1250 GS

In addition to the road and rain riding modes, the 2021 R 1250 GS series gets Pro riding modes as well. These include dynamic, dynamic pro, enduro and enduro pro. The 'dynamic pro' and 'enduro pro' riding modes further get individualisation options to set the motorcycle to individual requirements. The GS Adventure gets a special storage compartment, widened enduro footrests and tyre pressure monitoring system over the regular GS.

(The motorcycle continues to get the same 1,254 cc boxer-twin engine which makes 134 bhp and 143 Nm)

The adventure bikes also get a new integral ABS Pro as a standard fitment. The Integral ABS Pro is a linked system, with the hand lever activating both front and rear brakes simultaneously, while the brake pedal only operates the rear brakes. The Integral ABS system uses a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) to optimise braking performance for both on-road and off-road riding.

Pros

1. Go-anywhere ability
2. Easy to ride, despite its bulk
3. Lots of features
4. Lots of customisation options
5. Good on-road and off-road performance

Cons

1. Likely to heat up in traffic
2. Rider needs to invest in upskilling, otherwise difficult to extract maximum performance
3. Spares and cost of ownership is expensive
4. Expensive motorcycle, with prices starting at Rs. 20.45 lakh