In addition to the dates listed above, many BHS Approved Riding Centres offer in-house Stage 1 assessments, where candidates book and pay for their assessments directly with the centre. If you are interested in finding an in-house Stage 1 assessment, the following centres may be able to help. Acrecliffe Equestrian Centre The central LED unit at the middle of the X contains both low and high beams, while the four lines surrounding it serve as daytime running lights. BMW aren’t subtle in singing its praises, claiming it “illuminates the road with a hitherto unrivalled clarity, ensuring even better perception in traffic”. There’s also an option to equip the R 1300 GS with Headlight Pro, where the LED beam turns into the corner, informed by the bike’s lean angle sensor. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the biggest shakeup in the 40-plus-year history of BMW’s beloved GS legacy. The all-new R 1300 GS – and by ‘all-new’, we really do mean every single component on the bike – is more powerful, torquier, lighter and more sophisticated than the R 1250 GS it takes over from. The R 1300 GS is a true, literal, clean-sheet design: a totally redesigned engine, in a completely new chassis, featuring technology that’s never been seen on any production road bike before . And, perhaps most controversially, there’s also a dramatically different look from nose to tail. Despite making the new Boxer unit massively oversquare and upping peak power by a claimed 11bhp, you don’t have to chase the revs. The R 13 drives very much like the older bike –it certainly sounds like the old bike –but does so with more of everything. There is a now a deeply satisfying spread of torque from as low as 3000rpm, and I found myself accelerating briskly out of sleepy Spanish villages in high gear with effortless laziness. Shorter, lighter, more powerful and gruntier across the revs – on paper, it certainly looks like BMW have done an impressively complete job of the most significant Boxer reinvention in more than a decade.

Blimey, deep breath… The base-model R 1300 GS comes with a higher specification than the base 1250. Four riding modes are now standard (Rain, Road, Eco, Enduro), where the 1250 had three. All versions of the GS will come with cornering linked ABS, traction control, engine braking control, cruise control and hill-hold assistance. Despite the wealth of bigger numbers, not everything has gone up in size. BMW say this is a more compact Boxer engine than before, thanks to moving the six-speed gearbox from behind the engine to a new location underneath it. This means the motor is shorter and better balanced – in fact, the engine alone is now 3.9kg lighter, while the weight savings increase to 6.5kg across the whole powertrain. Preload. Optional semi-active suspension including auto preload and optional adaptive ride height controlPeak torque is a fraction higher than before at 6500rpm, while peak power arrives at the same 7750rpm and, to be frank, you really don’t need to rev above 7000rpm, even when your brain is in sport mode. I deliberately rode the GS in a gear too high as I carved up the multiple Spanish hillsides and was blown away by the endless surge of instantaneous and immaculately metered torque on tap. We all know how fast a GS can be but the way the new bike delivers whilst only using 60% of the rpm is truly impressive. It asks so little of the rider. The frontal area is pleasingly neat and gives the new GS a slimmer look and feel. Even without lowering the electronic suspension, I could get two feet securely, if not quite fully, on the ground. Shorter riders can opt for a lower seat option or the adaptive vehicle height control, which automatically drops the seat height from 850mm to 820mm at slow speeds. Of course, the extra energy in the new R 13 must in part be down to its new chassis and its lower weight. The 1250 GS has legendary natural balance and carries its bulk low, but it still feels weighty, especially when fully fuelled. The new 1300 GS has a similar natural feel at low speed but is now less bulky and intimidating. BMW claim a weight reduction of 12 kilos but it feels like more, particularly in town and some classic Spanish congestion, where I found the new Beemer far easier to wiggle and weave through the chaos. As for fuel consumption, the 1300 is only a fraction down on the 1250 – a claimed 58.9mpg for the new motor, compared with the previous bike’s 59.5mpg. What will make a slight difference is having a 1-litre smaller fuel tank, with volume now just 19 litres. That gives a theoretical range of 246 miles, which is down on the R 1250 GS’s max range of 262 miles. For now all these are purely on paper – we’ll bring you tested economy and real-world range as soon as we’ve ridden the bike. Standard equipment also includes a new lighting system, with indicators built into handguards, and a brand-new LED headlight that’s certain to split opinion. Where every GS since the 1150 has used an asymmetric, two-light face that’s become synonymous with the model, the 1300 boldly switches to a brand-new X-shaped unit.

Power and torque figures both represent a healthy increase over the 1250. Peak power is up from 134bhp to 143bhp, making for the most powerful production Boxer engine ever. Maximum torque is up from 105lb·ft to 110lb·ft, but more importantly BMW say there’s more grunt “across the entire engine speed range”. As evidence, they offer the factoid that the 1300 motor makes at least 95lb·ft of torque (more than the 2013 R1200GS’s peak torque figure) all the way from 3600rpm to 7800rpm. Maximum revs remains the same 9000rpm as the 1250, hopefully offering reassurance that the new motor hasn’t become any revvier than before, despite its shorter-stroke design. What they do highlight instead is the choice available for a rider to personalise the riding position, with four different seats (including the option for heated rider and pillion seats), three footrests, and different handlebars choices including a Comfort bar as well as a 30mm bar riser. In addition, the optional adaptive ride height control will let shorter riders feel more at home without having to resort to a low seat, or a Low Seat Height model with reduced suspension travel and compromised dynamics. The all-new electric screen (yes, finally) can be actuated by creating a shortcut from the main menu meaning you can simply move the screen up or down via a switch on the left bar. However, if you have the shortcut set to, say, traction control then you must go into the menu to change the height of the screen – there isn't a separate button just for the screen. Stage 1 Care and Ride assessments can be taken at any BHS Approved Riding School and also be booked via the Education Team on one of our pre-arranged assessment days:

System Requirements

So, yes, much like the 1250 GS only more so. What I wasn’t expecting was the performance higher up in the rev range. A jump from a 134bhp peak to 143bhp doesn't look too dramatic on paper, but on the road, it feels it. The new 1300 has some serious get up and go, revving with a freedom unimaginable by Boxer owners of a decade or so ago. In Dynamic mode especially it responds to handful of rpm by piling forwards, chewing up cars, zipping up mountains... It grunts, drives, punches, revs – the whole damn lot, and gives its rider aids a decent workout in the process. As the awarding organisation, BHSQ is responsible for the processes which learners undertake to obtain certification. BHSQ is responsible for verifying that assessment practice in approved centres is conducted systematically, effectively, securely and to national standards specified within the qualification. Switch from Road Mode to Dynamic Pro and the DSA suspension loses some of that squishy, cossetting movement but delivers a surprisingly sporty ride. Yes, you did read that correctly: what you can get away with on the new GS defies belief. That new lightness, the new chassis and the manner in which the semi-active suspension reacts to everything you can throw at it, conspire to create a platform that feels up for anything. When pushed, BMW's engineers put the step-change in chassis performance down to the suspension's ability to change spring rate whilst riding. MCIA Secured gives motorcycles a rating out of five stars (three stars for bikes of 125cc or less), based on the following being fitted to a new bike as standard:

BHS Qualifications (BHSQ) is an awarding organisation recognised and regulated by the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) in England, SQA Accreditation in Scotland, Qualifications Wales (QW) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland. BHSQ works in partnership with a variety of organisations to develop and award qualifications for the equestrian industry. This ensures BHSQ qualifications are fit for purpose for the sector. On the road, we had the standard Eco, Rain and Road riding modes, plus the optional Dynamic/Pro, which optimises the rider aids, suspension, and power characteristics to the moment. We have developed our assessment model for Stage 4 Senior Management to allow candidates to be assessed via video call. An assessment centre is not required and the assessment will be arranged by the BHS. We flew to Malaga for two days and close to 500km of extensive testing, both on and off-road, to put the all-new GS through its paces. However, with so many model variants, so much new technology and so many tweaks, upgrades and general improvements we will have to visit the 1300 GS again (and again...) and put some serious mileage before we can say that it's fully tested.I rode the old 1250 GS recently and didn’t think it needed to be improved one jot. But the game moves on and with the new R 1300 BMW has improved the GS in every way. Watch out; the stampede to BMW showrooms is going to be alarming. BMW aren’t giving us much to go on for now, only describing that the “ergonomic triangle of the new R 1300 GS has been optimised for a sporty, relaxed riding position”, but not offering any details of how it compares to the 1250. We did get the opportunity to play with the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), which uses the new radar. You set the cruise control the same way as before but now it’s adaptive, adjusting the bike's speed depending on the distance between you and other traffic. This combined with the Lane Changing Warning (SWW) system helps make touring near effortless.

Leaving the hotel, I opted for Eco and enjoyed watching the Eco icon on the top right of the screen informing how economically I was riding. (Not especially as it turns out.) However, it didn’t take long before I dialled up Road mode, and that's when I encountered the noticeable jump in performance from the old bike to the new. Passing air/fuel mixture to and from the bigger combustion chambers are larger-diameter valves, with intakes up from 40mm to 44mm, and outlets up from 34mm to 35.6mm. BMW’s ShiftCam system is retained, which can change the valve timing and lift on the intake side by switching between two cam profiles on the same shaft. At lower revs and smaller throttle openings a milder “partial-load” cam reduces lift and duration, and also staggers the opening between each pair of intake valves to deliberately swirl the air/fuel mixture on its way into the chamber, all improving efficiency. Work the motor harder and ShiftCam switches to the “full-load” cam profile, opening the intake valves further and for longer to let the engine guzzle all the air and fuel it desires. There’s a real difference between fully lowered and fully upright. At motorway speeds, you can hear the wind noise vastly reduce as the screen rises. From low to upright the wind protection is greatly increased, too. There’s still some air cooling the rider, it’s not a complete bubble like a BMW RT, but I found the wind protection to be noticeably better than it is on the older GS. And I have to say that the adjustable screen is a game changer, not just for 5ft 7inch me but taller riders too. Shame it’s not standard. You feel the difference between the old 1250 and new 1300 as soon as you throw a leg over the new seat. For a vertically-challenged rider like me, it is much more accessible, especially as a flatter and smaller (by one litre) fuel tank makes the bike instantly more manageable. In short, this uses the radar sensor to anticipate potentially dangerous situations ahead even when the cruise control isn’t engaged, and can alert the rider, then even apply the brakes, in an attempt to avoid a crash or at least reduce its severity. The third element is Lane Change Warning, which uses a rear-facing radar to monitor traffic approaching from behind, and warn a rider if vehicles are travelling closely, or approaching at speed.

Scrabble Tools

The first is Active Cruise Control (ACC) – which uses a forwards-facing radar to adjust the bike’s cruising speed to maintain a safe distance to the vehicle in front. On top of this is a new Front Collision Warning (FCW) system, which you can read more about here . As the awarding organisation, BHSQ is responsible for the processes through which learners seek and obtain certification for their achievements. BHSQ is responsible for verifying that assessment practice in approved centres is conducted systematically, effectively, securely and to national standards specified within the qualification. Full Integral ABS Pro, Dynamic Brake Control, Dynamic Traction Control, four riding modes, hill-hold control. Optional: Shift Assistant Pro, Headlight Pro, Active Cruise Control with Front Collision Warning and Lane Change Warning, Riding Modes Pro, Dynamic Suspension Adjustment, adaptive ride height control DSA moves electronic suspension on to the next level by not only offering the ability to adjust front and rear damping in real time, but now also being able to change spring rate too. We’ve covered the system in detail before, so for more information on how it works, have a read here . The short version is that the suspension can now automatically adapt to offer a better ride across a wider range of use cases, from sporty solo riding, to fully loaded two-up cruising.