Is a ‘hot’ BMW GS on the way? BMW M 1300 GS, R 1400 GS nameplates spotted

As far as new motorcycle launches go, they don’t come much bigger than the forthcoming BMW R 1300 GS and GS Adventure.

A perennial best-seller across Europe and beyond, the current generation BMW R 1250 range - namely the GS and GS Adventure trims - are critical to the German manufacturer’s bottom line, meaning any replacement has to be approached with meticulous care.

Nevertheless, a new generation is indeed on the way, as previewed by well camouflaged mules undergoing testing in June 2021 though it remains unclear when exactly the first of the tourer/adventure models will land.

What we do know though is the engine will be a little larger with the 1250cc becoming known as 1300cc but we’ll have to wait until nearer the time to find out more about what it is packing underneath that mutated bodywork.

Nevertheless, things are indeed ramping up, as demonstrated by the eagle-eyed reporters at Motorcycle.com, who discovered a curious couple of entries on an online requisition form.

As the publication explains, the form itself is odd, offering options for motorcycles that haven’t been available for decades. However, it appears to have pulled in a lot of data from BMW’s ‘back end’, including two previously unseen models - the M 1300 GS and R 1400 GS [update: these models have since been removed from the form drop-down]

Now, the M 1300 GS isn’t necessarily a surprise given BMW trademarked it back in 2019, though seemingly in readiness to launch its new ‘M’ division, which went on to debut with the hot M 1000 RR sportsbike. Back then it seemed BMW was simply securing the prefix as their own for use on any model it chooses, even if there was no plan to do so.

However, if BMW was going to go down the route of a sportier GS in a similar vein to that of the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, the ‘M’ nomenclature would make sense. 

Perhaps more unexpected was the R 1400 GS, which denotes a larger version of the venerable tourer but could simply have the same capacity, a trick BMW already pulls with the F 750 GS and F 850 GS

Another possibility put forward is that BMW is preparing to do away with the GS Adventure naming format altogether, with the R 1400 GS simply being the ‘Adventure’ with a larger fuel tank.

Time will tell, but all indications point towards the new R 1300 - whatever its naming structure - coming before the end of the year.