BMW Marks One-Millionth BMW GS with a Boxer Engine; Announces R 1300 GS

June 22, 2023 editor 2024 4 min read

L-R: Markus Kapitzke, chairman of the Works Council BMW Group Plant Berlin; Dr. Markus Schramm, head of BMW Motorrad; and Prof. Dr. Helmut Schramm, head of BMW Motorrad Production, stand with the one-millionth BMW with a Boxer engine. (Photos courtesy of BMW Motorrad)

Marking another milestone in the “100 Years of BMW Motorrad” anniversary year, the company announced that on June 21, the one-millionth BMW GS equipped with a Boxer engine rolled off the production line at the BMW Motorrad plant in Berlin-Spandau. The motorcycle of note was a BMW R 1250 GS in Triple Black Style.

BMW Motorrad has been busy this year, with a host of new and updated bike announcements, including releasing 100 Year Heritage Editions of the BMW R nineT and R 18 and announcing limited details on the 2024 BMW M 1000 XR prototype, as well as a successor to the R nineT, the 2024 R 12 nineT, and a new member of the R 18 family, the Roctane.

Continuing this momentum, BMW Motorrad also announced on Wednesday that the latest edition BMW GS with the Boxer engine – the R 1300 GS – will be presented on Sept. 28 at the grand opening of the new BMW Motorrad Welt in Berlin.

The BMW GS with a Boxer Engine: A Legendary Combination

BMW motorcycles have been manufactured in Berlin since 1969 and the BMW Motorrad GS models with Boxer engines since 1980. In autumn of that year, BMW Motorrad presented the R 80 G/S, a 798cc motorcycle with 50 hp that combined two areas of riding for the first time: off-road and on-road.

Between 1981 and 1985, the rugged G/S proved its mettle with four wins in the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally and three wins in the Baja 1000.

“With the R 80 G/S and its unique combination of on-road and off-road suitability, everyday qualities and long-distance touring abilities, BMW Motorrad created the new motorcycle genre of touring enduros in 1980,” said Dr. Markus Schramm, head of BMW Motorrad.

“The BMW GS with Boxer engine became an icon, which achieved global success in this segment. What is more: The BMW GS became a legend and at the same time an indispensable cornerstone in the BMW Motorrad model range. Its outstanding talents, such as dynamic riding performance, brawny off-road qualities, superior long-distance comfort and enormous robustness, have since been continuously developed by BMW Motorrad and transferred to other BMW Motorrad model series with great success.”

At the beginning of last year, we tested the 2021 BMW R 1250 GS 40 Years of GS Edition, featuring the 1,254cc Boxer with the ShiftCam variable-valve timing system, making 119 horsepower at 7,900 rpm and 91 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm at the rear wheel on Jett Tuning’s dyno, as well as a host of other bells and whistles that also reflect that continuous development mentioned by Schramm over four decades.

“The GS’s enduring and broad appeal stems from its excellent handling, versatile performance, comfortable ride, comprehensive features, and renowned durability and reliability,” our reviewer said. “It’s a capable canyon carver as well as a comfortable highway cruiser, great for loading up with a passenger and gear, and is surprisingly capable off-road. Nearly every GS owner – and motojournalist – has, at one time or another, described the bike as the Swiss Army knife of motorcycles.”

The 2021 BMW R 1250 GS 40 Years of GS Edition. (Photo by Kevin Wing)

The new BMW R 1300 GS

Schramm said he was pleased to be able to announce the one-millionth BMW GS with a Boxer engine during the anniversary year, adding that he was “equally pleased that the unique history of BMW Motorrad models with Boxer engines will soon be supplemented by an exciting chapter with numerous innovations with the new R 1300 GS.”

BMW Motorrad called the new BMW Motorrad Welt, located directly next to the BMW Motorrad plant site in Berlin-Spandau, the new “heart of the brand.” The BMW R 1300 GS will be presented at an exclusive opening event on Sept. 28. Interested fans will have the opportunity to follow the opening ceremony via livestream on the BMW Group and BMW Motorrad social media channels, and BMW Motorrad Welt will be officially open to visitors starting Sept. 30.

See all of Rider‘s BMW coverage here.

The post BMW Marks One-Millionth BMW GS with a Boxer Engine; Announces R 1300 GS appeared first on Rider Magazine.