BMW R 1300 R (2025) – Technical Review

Ever since BMW introduced the R 1300 GS for the 2023 model year it’s been just a matter of time before the company’s other boxer twins adopted the same all-new engine and chassis that debuted on the class-leading adventure bike. For 2025 the R 1300 R is the first follow-up model – replacing the previous R 1250 R and adopting a sportier approach to the naked bike market than its predecessor.

Pros & Cons

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Price & PCP Deals

At £13,200 the starting price of the most basic version of the R 1300 R is surprisingly affordable – just £200 more than the outgoing R 1250 R and more than £3000 less than the entry fee to R 1300 GS ownership – but that figure can be rapidly increased with the addition of a few desirable options pack.

The SE version, which comes with some of those options fitted as standard, comes in at £15,500, while the SE ASA variant that also adds BMW’s ‘Automated Shift Assistant’ semi-auto transmission to the mix, cranks the cost up to £16,255. But even in that high-end spec, that’s still a few hundred quid less than the cheapest version of the R 1300 GS that shares the same engine and platform. If you don’t need the GS’s high-rise riding position and semi-off-road style, the R looks like a tempting prospect.

BMW offers four variations on the theme. The base model comes only in one colour – ‘snapper rocks metallic’ (that’s blue to anyone else) – with black forks. The ‘Exclusive’ version gets racing blue paint, a painted seat insert, an engine spoiler, and a dark chrome exhaust instead of stainless steel. Step up to the ‘Performance’ variant and you get white paint, gold forks, the ‘Dynamic package’ including DSA electronic suspension and the ASA transmission, shorter bars, milled adjustable pegs, sport seats for rider and passenger, ‘design option’ wheels and sport suspension. At the top of the line there’s the Option 719 Kilauea package that includes ‘blackstorm metallic’ paint, black forks, ‘Option 719’ wheels and milled parts.

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Engine & Performance

BMW’s 1300cc boxer twin, introduced on the R 1300 GS, is the biggest revamp of the company’s signature engine in years and includes a bigger bore and shorter stroke than its predecessor to hike power from 134hp to 143.5hp (or a more pleasing-sounding 145hp if calculated using slightly weaker metric horses).

That new power peak arrives at the same 7750rpm as before, while torque maxes out at 149Nm (110lbft) at 6500rpm, up from 143Nm (105.5lbft) at 6250rpm for the old 1250 motor. The redline sits at 9000rpm.

But the changes are far more substantial than tweaked dimensions and outputs. Most importantly, the DOHC motor’s transmission now sits underneath the engine rather than behind it, and is integrated into a single part with the motor. That redesign saves weight – a substantial 6.5kg from the whole powertrain – and centralises the mass of the bike more tightly around the centre of gravity, improving handling.

It's still a six-speed box, with a wet slipper clutch, and powers the rear wheel via an updated version of BMW’s Paralever shaft drive rear end. As on the GS, BMW’s ASA semi-auto transmission is an optional extra, adding electronic actuators to the clutch and shifter to enable fully-auto and semi-auto modes. It eliminates the clutch lever, but there’s still a foot-operated shifter – albeit one that’s connected to electronic switches rather than actually moving cogs inside the transmission. ASA also works hand-in-hand with the optional radar-based adaptive cruise control, allowing the bike to shift its own gears as it automatically changes speed to keep pace with traffic.

The standard bike gets a trio of riding modes – road, rain and eco – to adapt the power delivery and the rider assistance systems, while the optional Riding Modes Pro pack adds ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Dynamic Pro’ modes. DTC traction control is also standard, with the option of upgrading to DCT-Shift, included on the Performance version of the bike, that lets you tweak the amount of rear wheel slip.

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight)

The engine isn’t the only massive change to come with the adoption of the 1300 motor – BMW has also ditched its long-serving tubular steel chassis design in favour of a frame made of pressed and welded sheet steel, bolted to a cast aluminium rear subframe.

BMW moved away from its once-ubiquitous Telelever front suspension with the R 1250 R, and there’s no return to the tech with the new R 1300 R, which has fat, 47mm upside-down telescopic forks.

The optional DSA (Dynamic Suspension Adjustment) system adds electronic adjustment for the damping, preload and, for the first time on a bike with telescopic forks, the spring rate at the front as well as the back. That means the bike can be instantly tweaked for two-up riding or luggage, and the DSA system is also tied into the bike’s riding modes.

New wheels, 1.4kg lighter than the previous design thanks to a hollow-spoked construction, are standard. The Performance variant gets ‘Design option’ wheels, but more importantly benefits from uprated suspension including a longer fork and spring strut, increasing the height by 10mm for improved cornering clearance, and firmer damping than the standard version.

BMW’s ‘ABS Pro’ system is standard, with a ‘Sport brake’ available as an option. Both are made up of twin four-piston radial front calipers at the front and a two-piston caliper at the rear, operated via a combined braking system so the front lever adds a touch of rear brake as well. The Sport brake option brings titanium-coloured calipers and BMW claims a slight improvement in brake performance.

Unladen, the bike weighs in at 239kg, which is exactly the same as the previous R 1250 R, despite the lighter engine and wheels of the new model. You can slice two kilos off the mass by adding the optional M Lightweight lithium-ion battery instead of the standard lead-acid one.

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Comfort & Economy

BMW says that the new R 1300 R is ‘much sportier’ than its predecessor – reflected in both its styling and its chassis setup – and as a result there’s likely to be some compromises when it comes to comfort.

That doesn’t mean this is some sort of extreme creation that will send you to the chiropractor as rapidly as it can make the 0-60 dash. This is BMW, after all, and nobody does touring bikes much better, so some of that is sure to rub off.

For the R 1300 R, BMW has shifted the bars down and the pegs back, putting more of your weight over the front wheel, but it’s also added a layer of adjustability so you can tweak the compromise to your personal preference. The bar clamps can be rotated 180 degrees to shift the bars forwards or back by 10mm, and optionally you can add adjustable footpegs with four positions to the Performance version of the bike.

There are also multiple optional seats, higher or lower than the standard setting, giving a range from 785mm to 810mm. All the seats can be had with heating, too.

Fuel consumption is officially rated at 58.8mpg, and since the aluminium tank hold 17 litres, that gives a potential range of 220 miles.

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Equipment

While the R 1300 R comes with a decent level of standard kit including LED lighting and a 6.5-inch TFT screen with phone connectivity you can really up the ante once you start to delve into the options catalogue.

Headline options include BMW’s ‘Riding Assistant’ front radar, with adaptive cruise control and frontal collision warning, which becomes particularly suitable when combined with the optional semi-auto ASA shifter, so the bike can change its own gears when the cruise control is in use.

BMW’s Headlight Pro system, adding a cornering light ability, is also optional, as a navigation preparation that’s upgraded to include electronic unlocking for the sat-nav cradle. The same remote locking can also be used on the optional panniers, which are ‘electrified’ to include central locking, built-in interior lighting and a USB-C charge port inside the left-hand case. At 26 and 29 litres right and left, they add a substantial amount of storage space, too.

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Rivals

If you’re looking for a naked roadster with a boxer twin engine and shaft drive there’s no alternative to the BMW R 1300 R – and despite the increasingly busy naked bike segment that offers a host of options with similar performance at a range of prices, that can work in the BMW’s favour.

If the shaft drive and engine layout isn’t a concern, you might consider the following:

Honda CB1000 Hornet - Is the CB1000 Hornet 2025’s biggest motorcycling bargain? It’s got to be on the shortlist thanks to that £9k tag and superbike-based engine.

Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello - Not strictly a naked bike, but closest to the BMW in terms of its twin-cylinder engine and shaft final drive. It’s miles off in terms of power, though.

Ducati Streetfighter V2 - Ducati’s latest streetfighter is similar on price but has less power than the BMW. It’s much lighter and more focussed, though.

Honda CB1000 Hornet | Price: £9099

Read more

Power/Torque

150bhp / 76.7lb-ft

Weight

211kg

Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello | Price: £13,650

Read more

Power/Torque

115bhp / 75.2lb-ft

Weight

233kg

Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello | Price: £13,650 Ducati Streetfighter V2 | Price: £13,990

Read more

Power/Torque

120bhp / 68.8lb-ft

Weight

177kg

2025 BMW R 1300 R - Verdict

We’ll give a verdict after riding the bike.

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2025 BMW R 1300 R - Technical Specification

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• A steering lock that meets the UNECE 62 standard

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The higher the star rating, the better the security, so always ask your dealer what rating your bike has and compare it to other machines on your shortlist.