BMW seemingly perfected the formula for its range-topping GS Adventure trim. Take the flagship GS model, slap on a gargantuan gas tank, increase the suspension travel, bolt on some crash bars, and you have yourself a GSA. BMW did just that with the 2025 R 1300 GS Adventure, but this time around, the Bavarians have a few more tricks up their sleeves.

With the exception of their massive fuel cells, past GSAs were aesthetically aligned with their smaller (if only slightly so) brethren. As opposed to the R 1300 GS’s sleek redesign and svelte figure, it’s clear that the GSA embraces its chonky proportions in 2025.

Body positivity isn’t the only way the GS Adventure forms its own identity. Model-specific upgrades and accessories also differentiate the travel-friendly variant, including the option of BMW’s automatic transmission. Before diving into those differences, it’s worth identifying what the GSA shares with its sibling, the standard GS.

Common ground

In 2024, BMW overhauled the boxer engine at the heart of the R 1300 GS. A new crankshaft shortened its stroke from 76 mm to 73 mm. The cylinder bore grew from 102.5 mm to 106.5 mm. The capacity rose from 1,254 cc to 1,300 cc. Its output increased as well, with BMW claiming 145 horsepower (at 7,750 rpm) and 110 foot-pounds of torque (at 6,500 rpm).

That new boxer resides within an even newer frame. Instead of tubular steel units of past GSs, the latest-gen model leverages a sheet metal shell frame and die-cast aluminum subframe. Like the base model, the 2025 GSA sports BMW’s EVO Telelever front end and Paralever rear suspension, but its long-travel setup boosts front spring travel to 8.3 inches (R 1300 GS: 7.5 inches), rear travel to 8.7 inches (R 1300 GS: 7.9 inches), and the two-setting seat height to 34.3 or 35 inches (R 1300 GS: 33.5 inches). The GS Adventure continues on its own path from there.

Built different

The extra-large GS historically served long-distance travelers, and BMW equips the 2025 model as such. If there are any doubts, the 7.9-gallon aluminum fuel tank, heated grips, luggage racks, center stand, and adjustable tall windscreen lay them to rest. The steering stabilizer, tire pressure monitor (TPM), device-charging compartment, 12-volt power socket, and Intelligent Emergency Call system are just the frosting on the cake. Should the route tread off-road, the GSA’s cross-spoke wheels, engine guards, and skid plate prepare it for light trail work.

BMW expects the first R 1300 GS Adventure units to roll into North American dealerships in Q4 2024. Unfortunately, the Munich marque will only reveal pricing information at a date closer to the model’s market launch. 

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The film was inspired by photographer Danny Lyon’s book, also titled “The Bikeriders.” Lyon hung out with a club (or gang, you choose the word) calld the Outlaws from 1963 to ’67. It’s clear from the intimacy of Lyon’s environmental portraiture that he had their trust and access during that time.

“The Bikeriders” was published in 1968. He went on to have a significant career as a photojournalist and “The Bikeriders” was reprinted in 2014 by Aperture, a respected publishing house that specializes in photography. It’s still in print.

The motorcycle industry may not approve, either

When “The Wild One” came out in 1953, Triumph resented the fact that Marlon Brando’s character rode a Triumph Thunderbird. (They’ve since softened that position.) Since the 1980s, Harley-Davidson has carefully co-opted some “biker” imagery but it’s the exception. The rest of the motorcycle industry has worked hard to distance itself from the outlaw gang phenomenon. It would be reasonable for a site like Common Tread, which generally sees riding motorcycles as a sport or pastime, to want nothing to do with a movie in which motorcycle riders stagger out of a bar and ride off bare-headed.

Early in Jeff Nichols’ film, “The Bikeriders,” the director references “The Wild One” (1953). Late in the film, he gives a nod to “Easy Rider” (1969).

Although there was only 16 years between those two movies, they established iconic “biker” images of two very different generations; the first being a post-WWII and Korean War cohort, and the second springing from Vietnam-era counterculture. Nichols’ screenplay tells the story of a Chicagoland motorcycle club caught up in that same convulsive generational change.

The film was inspired by photographer Danny Lyon’s book, also titled “The Bikeriders.” Lyon hung out with a club (or gang, you choose the word) called the Outlaws from 1963 to ’67. It’s clear from the intimacy of Lyon’s environmental portraiture that he had their trust and access during that time.

“The Bikeriders” was published in 1968. He went on to have a significant career as a photojournalist and “The Bikeriders” was reprinted in 2014 by Aperture, a respected publishing house that specializes in photography. It’s still in print.

Did Hollywood finally make a good motorcycle movie?

I pitched Lance a story on “The Bikeriders” before I had a chance to see it. The early buzz and impressive cast had me hoping that, finally, someone had made a really good film in which motorcycles were more than props.

“The Bikeriders” debuted at the Telluride Film Festival nearly a year before its commercial release. (That delay was caused by the Screen Actors Guild strike; even movies that had already been made were affected because union rules forbade actors to promote films during the strike.) The unplanned hold may have helped build the critical buzz that raised my hopes for it. It was the subject of two big stories in The New York Times; even National Public Radio did a feature on it. I hoped that Hollywood had finally made a genuinely good motorcycle movie. By that, I mean something really good and watchable that accurately introduces some aspect any aspect of motorcycles and riding to a mainstream audience.

Have you seen it? leave us your comments.

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