Top Gear Philippines
  • last year
Even if you’re not a motorcycle enthusiast, you can take one look at the BMW R1250 GSA Trophy and know immediately that it’s an exceptional machine. This is an ode to adventure on two wheels, the freedom to go anywhere, the power to conquer anything on your path. Click play on the video above to see why this BMW Motorrad offering is not just a ride—it’s an experience and a way of life.

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Motor
Transcript
00:00 There are quite a few models that sit at the pinnacle of adventure touring
00:04 motorcycles. Honda has the Africa Twin, Suzuki the V-Strom, Yamaha the Super
00:08 Tenere, KTM the 1290 Adventure, and of course, Ducati the Multistrada. But of
00:13 all the go-anywhere bikes out there, there's one that really stands out in
00:17 particular, at least in our market, the BMW R 1250 GS.
00:24 [Music]
00:33 You know how anybody knows what a Ferrari is? In a way, you could probably say the
00:39 same for the GS. Be it an older 1200, a smaller 850, or this actual 1250, anyone
00:46 with the slightest idea about motorcycles or big bikes probably knows
00:49 what BMW's ADV is. This was already one of the most common big bikes you'd see
00:54 in the road before COVID happened, and when the pandemic hit, the GS population
00:59 just seemed to have boomed even bigger. But this isn't just some bandwagon. No, no,
01:04 no, no. When you're talking about a bike that costs more than a million and a
01:08 half pesos, more expensive than your typical five-seater crossover, or heck,
01:12 even a house here in the province, it has to be good. It has to be really
01:18 impressive, so much so that you'd consider it worth every single precious
01:22 penny. If you ask the owners, they'll probably tell you it is. Of course it is.
01:31 When you say adventure bike, you'd want something that looks the part, and this
01:37 thing sure does. Okay, it doesn't roll off the factory with chunky off-road tires,
01:42 but that's nothing the aftermarket can't fix. It's got the touring part covered, too.
01:48 That's for sure. In case you missed it, this GSA variant is ready for the full
01:52 package. You've got brackets for both panniers and the top box at the rear. You
01:58 also have an absolutely humongous gas tank up front. Those aren't just fairings,
02:03 mind you. Undoubtedly, not a lot of bikes can match the 1250's design, and with this
02:09 trophy livery on the GSA variant, but this bike isn't all about the looks.
02:15 Underneath all this, you have perhaps one of the most impressive engines BMW
02:20 Motorrad has built to date. A 1,250 cc air and liquid-cooled twin-cylinder
02:26 boxer engine that churns out 134 horsepower and 143 Nm of torque. Not
02:32 super sport bike figures, but it's still quite the punch. It gets from zero to
02:38 triple digits pretty quickly, and when you're already there, you'll cruise at a
02:41 hundred kilometers per hour on the highway at sub 4k rpm. Smooth as can be,
02:46 and with the adjustable windscreen up front, you'll want to crank it up even
02:51 further. You got plenty of room to do so as this boxer headlines at 9,000 rpm.
02:56 An absolute beast. You can carve mountain roads easily with this bike, too. It's
03:01 freakishly heavy, but it's light on its feet once it gets going. It makes low-speed
03:06 maneuvers look like a cinch, and it'll back through twisties just like the best
03:09 of them. Well, okay, you probably won't be knee-dragging through hairpins here, but I
03:14 can promise you you're gonna enjoy this bike a lot through Manila Que.
03:19 All this is bundled in with all the BMW Motorrad technology money can buy.
03:23 Adjustable suspension, different ride modes, cruise control, you name it. It's
03:29 even got heated grips. You're also looking at one of the most impressive
03:32 instrument clusters in the business. This display has all the information you need
03:37 for either on- or off-road riding. Switchable ABS comes at the ready, too, in
03:42 case you need to turn it off when you're riding through muddy terrain. Speaking of
03:46 tackling the roads less traveled, that's something I know the R 1250 GSA is more
03:50 than capable of doing, but I didn't bother doing so myself. See, this bike is
03:58 an adventure tour. It's an off-road-ready ADV that doubles as a touring machine. To
04:04 really test its off-road capabilities, you'd need a proper trail or course.
04:09 That's not easy to find where I'm from, but is easy to find or open highways. In
04:14 this type of terrain, the R 1250 GSA excels. It's as comfortable as a motorcycle
04:20 can get. On long road trips, this two-wheeler stands out as well. Why? Simple.
04:27 This thing comes with a 30-liter fuel tank, 10 liters more than the standard GS.
04:32 Even for a relatively thirsty bike that does 16 to 18 kilometers per liter, you'd
04:37 still easily be able to ride for 400 kilometers with just one full tank.
04:41 During the first few stops on a long road trip, you'll find yourself chilling
04:45 and sipping coffee at the station as your buddies gas out their bikes. So, worth
04:51 every penny? Ask someone who doesn't have a GS in his garage, and chances are
04:57 you'll get a note. See, the R 1250 GSA, like most bikes in this segment and price
05:03 range, clearly isn't for everybody. To make the most out of this, you'll need to be
05:08 riding outside the city more than half the time. There's too much power in that
05:12 boxer engine, too much fuel in that big-ass tank, and just too much all-around
05:16 tech in this bike for it to be simply kept within the confines of Metro
05:20 Manila. You'd need the time for Subic rides, for trail outings, for Laguna loops,
05:25 and for just about anything that won't entail crawling through gridlocked city
05:28 traffic. Most riders don't have that luxury. Never mind that it's too tall. The
05:35 GSA Trophy variant is as low as a R 1250 can go, and even for someone who's about
05:40 5'5" or 5'6", about the size of an average Filipino, I suppose, this is still a
05:45 damn chore to straddle. But yeah, never mind that because even if you were more
05:50 vertically gifted than most, you'd still need the experience to be handling a
05:53 machine this big. Outside of all that horsepower and all that torque, we're
05:58 talking about a two-wheeler that weighs 268 kilograms when it's road-ready.
06:03 That's about thrice the size of the average Filipino adult or about a
06:07 little over twice as an overfed Top Gear motorcycle editor. That's pretty darn
06:13 heavy. Just getting it upright will be challenging. Pushing it around the garage
06:17 or parking lots will be even more so. Most riders don't have that strength and
06:22 capability. Sure, this thing has crash guards at the ready in case, God forbid,
06:27 you drop this thing on the asphalt. But should dropping your bike really be one
06:31 of your concerns when you're out there riding? Most riders would prefer not
06:36 having to worry about that on the daily. Let's not forget about the full tech
06:40 package. It can be a bit overwhelming. While it's nice having the complete
06:45 bells and whistles and all, and I'm sure GS customers loaded enough to splurge on
06:49 the highest spec BMW bike they can get, would probably agree. But let's be real,
06:54 most riders don't need all those toys.
06:59 But then again, BMW probably didn't build this bike for most riders anyway. Of
07:05 course, as a business, you'd want to sell as many of your products as humanly
07:09 possible, but this might be too upmarket and just too advanced for most people.
07:14 All that being said, I don't think it matters that much because BMW still
07:20 built a very solid bike here, and it still offers a lot of value for those
07:24 who can afford it. That's why you still see a lot of people buying it. Now, there's
07:29 supposedly a new one on the horizon, so this could be on its way out.
07:34 Actually, BMW just released the 1300 GS just before this video was published.
07:40 Not our fault. So yeah. Does that now make the R 1250 GSA a bad buy? Heck no. If
07:48 anything, if you're on the lookout in the second-hand market, it's about to become
07:53 an even better one because once that next-generation model comes out, prices
07:58 for preloved and used but not abused 1250s are only set to drop. And by then,
08:03 I'm sure a lot of you will be waiting.
08:07 (upbeat music)
08:10 (upbeat music)