It has been a long time since I last rode. About 6-7 months and the reason is because I brought a new bike. It is a R1300 GS Adventure ASA 2025 and I traded in the K1600GT and said I would not put any more kilometers on it.
So why did I choose the BMW R1300GSA Adventure ASA model over all the others? When I decided to sell my K1600GT due to being too heavy I originally was going to go back to the R1300RT. I originally had the R1200RT and it was a great bike. However, it was now March 2025 and the R1300RT is nowhere to be seen so I decided that I like the bigger tank on the R1300GSA of 30 litres giving between 550 and 600km a tank. It also heaps of attachments to put luggage just about anywhere and I purchased the bike new with Panniers, Top Box, Tank Bag, and tank mounted side bags.
I purchased and got installed the Denali D7 Pro lights as the system I had to the K1600 was not compatible. This is attached via 3 circuits. 1 each to the left and right mid lights and a Y connector to rest of the lights on both lights. These are only active when the engine is running as they suck the battery like no tomorrow. On circuit 4 I put the Garmin Nuvi XT2 GPS and the Adaptiv TPX radar detector which come on as soon as the power comes on. The Denali lights are attached to the upper crash bars which I purchased from SW Motech. I didn’t like the option of mounting them on the engine crash bars as they would be too low.
Also attached direct to the battery is a Chigee T100 which supplies power via USB to anything I want. It can also reverse feed to battery and charge it if required from a battery bank.
Another addition is the Carpuride W702BS which mounts directly into the BMW NAV prep and gives nice displays and works as an apply car play device.
So why the ASA version you may ask. With the R1200RT and the K1600GT I never used the clutch anyway except for pulling away from stationary and coming to a stop. The quick shifter, especially on the K1600GT was just so awesome it did not need the clutch. Any reports of the difference between the ASA and non-ASA version found that the ASA version shifted better, so the choice was easy. I was not going to be riding many hard out adventure rides so would not miss the clutch. For me the adventure side is really for going down those gravel roads and such without getting a flat tire. Fun fact that all my punctions except one, have all been on gravel roads. I had one puncture in Tauranga just after a service when a piece of seashell cut through a tire.
With retirement age coming up in May and being able to access my Dairy Super it was a good time to purchase. I put my order in just after I got back from the 2025 TT2000 ride only to be told it would be August before I saw my new build. While waiting there was a deal that if you brought a new BMW, you could get a new suit worth about $3,000. I asked if I was able to get that deal and soon had a fitting and found one that fits nicely. My current pants are a bit tight around the waistline. I dropped all my goodies off to be fitted while I was there except the upper crash bars which after 4 months still are not here.
So September arrives and the bike is finally here in NZ. It took a day and a half to fit my extras for me and decided on September 3rd as a nice day to go and get it. Left home at 3:30am and it was very cold at about 2 degrees. Could not use my heated jacket as I had removed the wires from the battery to go on the new one. Quite a long delay at Mount Messenger, where they still haven’t repaired the small slip and the make the whole of the road from the top to the bottom one way when the slip is only about 10 meters long. The other main delay was all the road works from the bottom of the Kaimai range into Tauranga. Took my about an hour with filtering. Hate to think what it would have taken in a car.
Anyway, arrived finally and found my new bike in the shop but without the top box and pannier extensions. Top box is still on backorder with over 300 still waiting to get theirs. Mine included. Have ordered a Lone Rider 42L until mine arrives. The pannier extensions are not even on a part number yet. Pretty slack of BMW really.
Did the paperwork and handed over the K1600GT and signed for the new R1300GSA and was taken through the options. Will take a bit to memorise them all. They had not changed the heated grips to 5 settings from 3 as I asked so back to the shop and on the computer. After a while Chris came back and said that it was not possible. I checked once back home, and it seems BMW have encrypted the comms so makes it harder for 3rd party like GS911 to change things. With only 3 settings, 2 is not warm enough and 3 is too hot. Hope they sort it.
Eventually all done and ready for the trip home. The feel of the bike is completely different and will take a little getting used to. The automatic gear shifts are quite abrupt as noted by many but was smoothing out after 500kms. The manual shifting however was buttery smooth and way better than the quick shifter on even the K1600. Adaptive Cruise Control was awesome as well and you can set quite a few things on it such as following distance, how quick to accelerate after pulling out or the vehicle moving out of the way.
Tire noise with the Anakee Adventure 80/20 tires is quite noticeable especially when cornering but seemed to be handling extremely well.
Stopped off at Whakapapa ski field on the way past to try it on some light snow in the car park and it went well on that even in road mode. Took some photos while I was there and inserted below.
Seat in not as comfortable as the K1600 or the R1200RT but I guess my butt will get used to it. Have not ridden since the TT2000 in February so it is a bit soft.
Two rides coming up next month are the NI800 and I have also entered the BMW Rallye GS. Also the 1KC will be the month after.
Pictures from Whakapapa Ski field
