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I rode 2024 1300 GS today at wild west motoplex.
The 2024 R1300 GS / Triple Black was quite nice but had somethings I did not like. The one I rode was the street only version with very hard street sport suspension (too much dampening, not enough spring, not enough suspension travel, small front wheel, street only tires). The seat was very flat and hard and combined with the overly dampened suspension, I would not be able to ride for more than 1-2 hours at time. (For comparison, I consider the Tiger 900 GT to be a 4 hour bike and the Pan America to be an 8 hour bike). The 1300 makes an absurd amount of power starting at 2000 rpms. Below 2000rpms their was little power, but I never got the feeling that I was going to stall. (Compared to the Pan Am, that will stall very easily under 2500 rooms and does not start making power until 3000rpms.). The 1300 was amazingly light. At low speed it handles like a 400lbs or less vehicle. The combination of the engine power and low felt weight is worth the price of admission.
However, I found the endless menus and countless buttons to be a turn off. My Pan America has 27 buttons but I am sure the 1300GS has more. That may not be an issue for some but I wish for something with just 3-4 buttons (ABS, Trac-Off, Ride mode toggle and Cruse). That is just me suffering from button / menu / endless adjustment burn out - can I just ride please?
The brakes were also very good, but I could feel the linked brakes adding a lot more rear input than I wanted at times. Despite seeming to be overly dampened and under sprung, there was a good deal of nose dive. I was thinking the extra rear brake force was being electronically added to create an artificial leveling effect, but the more I think about it, I think the it was just not set up for a 240lbs rider. (Pan America was also nose-dive-y until I had the suspension professionally adjusted). The 1300GS engine also seemed very quiet and smooth even at higher 7k++ rpms as if it really had a red line of 12k, but you are artificially limited to 9k. Power seemed very linear and I did not notice any "shift cam" lurch that I have seen other people mention when climbing the RPM mountain to the top.
My last thought is that the 1300GS gave me a feeling that I can only describe as "paper airplane-ish". It could be that everything is super durable, space age materials making it feel light, but I got the feeling that it may not hold up like a KLR or DRZ if it tumbles down a hill.
Overall - Replace the seat with something soft, tune the suspension to your weight and it is a home run. (Edit: ...and don't drop it)
9/10
The 2024 R1300 GS / Triple Black was quite nice but had somethings I did not like. The one I rode was the street only version with very hard street sport suspension (too much dampening, not enough spring, not enough suspension travel, small front wheel, street only tires). The seat was very flat and hard and combined with the overly dampened suspension, I would not be able to ride for more than 1-2 hours at time. (For comparison, I consider the Tiger 900 GT to be a 4 hour bike and the Pan America to be an 8 hour bike). The 1300 makes an absurd amount of power starting at 2000 rpms. Below 2000rpms their was little power, but I never got the feeling that I was going to stall. (Compared to the Pan Am, that will stall very easily under 2500 rooms and does not start making power until 3000rpms.). The 1300 was amazingly light. At low speed it handles like a 400lbs or less vehicle. The combination of the engine power and low felt weight is worth the price of admission.
However, I found the endless menus and countless buttons to be a turn off. My Pan America has 27 buttons but I am sure the 1300GS has more. That may not be an issue for some but I wish for something with just 3-4 buttons (ABS, Trac-Off, Ride mode toggle and Cruse). That is just me suffering from button / menu / endless adjustment burn out - can I just ride please?
The brakes were also very good, but I could feel the linked brakes adding a lot more rear input than I wanted at times. Despite seeming to be overly dampened and under sprung, there was a good deal of nose dive. I was thinking the extra rear brake force was being electronically added to create an artificial leveling effect, but the more I think about it, I think the it was just not set up for a 240lbs rider. (Pan America was also nose-dive-y until I had the suspension professionally adjusted). The 1300GS engine also seemed very quiet and smooth even at higher 7k++ rpms as if it really had a red line of 12k, but you are artificially limited to 9k. Power seemed very linear and I did not notice any "shift cam" lurch that I have seen other people mention when climbing the RPM mountain to the top.
My last thought is that the 1300GS gave me a feeling that I can only describe as "paper airplane-ish". It could be that everything is super durable, space age materials making it feel light, but I got the feeling that it may not hold up like a KLR or DRZ if it tumbles down a hill.
Overall - Replace the seat with something soft, tune the suspension to your weight and it is a home run. (Edit: ...and don't drop it)
9/10
