BMW R 1250 R 2025 — Specifications

The R 1300 R is on the horizon. However, this doesn’t immediately threaten the roadster R 1250 R – its commercial career continues quietly in 2025, while the successor is prepared. Since the 1300 will be of a different caliber, from a profoundly reworked generation, the 1250 can still assert its current arguments as a “patina” that will not be found on the next generation.

The change is significant; more so than the previous updates it has received. This occurred in 2023, with the introduction of a new design approach. Its glass and light headlight can illuminate in curves (as an option) thanks to small LED elements embedded in the projector. They activate when the BMW takes more than 7° of lean angle.

However, other elements are added to the standard equipment. This includes traction control DTC and accelerator control DBC – Dynamic Brake Control prevents power from surging if you touch the right handlebar during braking. The Intelligent Emergency Call system also becomes standard equipment.

A “Eco” riding mode is installed to drag your… and save fuel to the maximum. This brings the number of Riding Modes available as standard to three. The turn signals and daytime running lights are redesigned. 12V and USB sockets appear, along with a range of treats for the options: heated seats, spoked rims for a Classic look, and a monoplace-style seat.

Within the range of BMW’s large-displacement roadsters, there are the S 1000 R for big-bang power and watts to overheat the coffee maker. Not quite below that, rather alongside, the R 1250 R plays in a more classic register, or classy according to different points of view. It leaves the hooliganism to its younger brother. Young, yes, because while the hypersport-derived streetfighter was born in 2014, its twin-cylinder counterpart comes from a lineage dating back a quarter of a century.

Successor to the 1200, this R perpetuates a philosophy of versatile roadster, muscular but not violent, and powered by the eternal Boxer engine. An idea born in 1994 with the R 1100 and its 4-valve-per-cylinder engine. Or even earlier with the R 100 R, with an engine from another generation. That was before. After numerous evolutions, the latest of which is ShiftCam variable valve timing, the German engine has moved up a notch in power with no less than 136 horsepower. A significant increase from the 1200, respectable and dynamic for a roadster of this caliber, and well below the firepower of purebred fighters. Torque is much more impressive than the horsepower, with 14.5 mkg, more than 11.2 of which are available from 2000 to 8250 rpm. With ShiftCam, allowing the ACT intake to switch to two different cam profiles, the Boxer is more responsive, smoother, and faster than the engine of the previous generation. For 2021, it freed itself from the Euro5 standard without losing power.

Apart from the appearance of the valve covers that evolve, it will be very difficult to visually differentiate this twin from the one of yesterday... Just like the rest of the motorcycle. If all models in the R range gain the 1254 cm3 at the same time, some take the opportunity to revise their appearance a little (GSA and RS), others not at all (GS, RT). The R 1250 R is part of this contingent, evolving mainly in terms of technology. The engine, of course, and also the electronics. The riding modes are there, with a "Road" all-purpose and a "Rain" for smoother riding as standard, let's not forget the "Eco" which softens all riding. BMW being a specialist in optionality, it retains the choice and temptation of two additional modes in a Dynamic pack. This add-on brings the "Pro Riding Modes" namely the "Dynamic" and the Dynamic Pro", the latter being configurable by the user. That’s not all. The electronic management is even more complete, crowned with DBC engine braking control, active cornering ABS Pro and Hill Start Control Pro. To finish the pack, note the presence of a sport bubble and a Shifter. For your information, know that the standard electronic equipment is far from being abandoned. The R 1250 R "in the nude" carries the Hill Start Control and ABS (which can no longer be deactivated) as partners of the elements updated in 2023. The manufacturer offers you the cake on one side and the cream on the other.

Riding on the seat, only one judge and one source of pleasure pass before the driver: the road. Whether it’s in the visual field? Not quite. Digital colors, a display embedded in a 165 mm large window, is the new TFT instrument panel. Named "Connectivity," BMW tentatively offered it in mid-2017 on the GS... as an option. Now, to impose it as standard equipment on its new models. Those allergic to all-digital displays will cough; technology and connectivity enthusiasts will appreciate, especially since this little tablet allows for even more interaction. Once paired with a smartphone, the motorcycle offers the pleasure of riding and the possibility of making phone calls, listening and piloting your music library, and using a simplified navigator via a specific app. Let's not forget to taste its very modern display, offering multiple actions and functions.

Widely revised engine and electronics live in a chassis similar to the ex-1200. The latter had already shaken its front end during the 2015 overhaul, with an inverted 45 mm fork replacing the Telelever present since... 1994. The R 1250 R is thus built on a two-piece steel tubular structure resting on the engine, with in addition a fork inspired by the S 1000 R, the Paralever monobrach swingarm, Brembo radial 4-piston brake calipers biting 320 mm discs, a rear brake composed of a 276 mm disc with a 2-piston caliper, a wheelbase 15 mm shorter than that of the RS cousin, and the privilege of being the lightest in the R family with 239 kilograms ready to ride. That’s 8 kilograms more than before. In exchange for an increase in price, the suspensions can become semi-active with the "Next Generation" ESA. Like the Dynamic ESA, it adjusts the settings in real time according to the road, the riding and the chosen Modes; the novelty lies in the automatic adaptation according to the load.

More powerful, even more technological, the R 1250 R manages to retain much of the bourgeois roadster spirit. Let's relativize; a bourgeois who frequents nightclubs more than tea rooms. If sometimes you hesitate between the disco corner, the pop track or the techno fever, the BMW will oppose you the same kind of choice with its multiple styles.

M.B - Photos manufacturer