The R 1250 GS is already a very capable adventure motorcycle. Naturally, its successor, the BMW R 1300 GS, has to be even better. Well, how about we tell you that you can ride your R 1300 GS to an active volcano and it will do it happily, we can't say the same for you though.
Barely two and a half months after its world premiere, the new BMW R 1300 GS proves its outstanding off-road expertise and unique robustness in South America. From 6th to 7th December 2023, starting from sea level on the Nevado Ojos del Salado - at 6,893 metres the highest active volcano in the world - a fleet of fully equipped BMW R 1300 GS models managed to reach an altitude of more than 6,000 metres in less than 24 hours. The climb, which is very difficult for riders, bikes and tyres, culminates in the notorious “Rock Channel” on the northern flank of the Nevado Ojos del Salado, where the expedition climbed to 6,006 metres in just 19 hours and 22 minutes to reach a maximum altitude of 6,027 metres.
The backdrop for the expedition, which represents an extreme challenge for man and machine, is the Circuito de los Seis Miles in the Atacama Desert in Chile, the highest active volcano chain in the world, to which the Nevado Ojos del Salado belongs. The four standard BMW R 1300 GS models set off on 6 December at 3.00 pm local time from Bahia Inglesa, a town near the port of Caldera on the Pacific Ocean in the Atacama region, to climb the Nevado Ojos Del Salado.
The destination was finally reached on 7 December at 10.22 am local time. Equipped with Metzeler Karoo 4 tyres, the BMW R 1300 GS models started from sea level on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, followed by the ascent through the Atacama Desert to the Circuito de los Seis Miles and finally to the slopes of Nevado Ojos del Salado on the border between Argentina and Chile. Riding the BMW R 1300 GS were Christof Lischka, BMW Motorrad Development Manager, Salvatore Pennisi, Metzeler Test and Technical Director, Michele Pradelli, Italian Extreme Enduro Champion and tester for Italian magazine InMoto, and Karsten Schwers, tester and journalist for German magazine MOTORRAD.
A further unique feature of this expedition was the decision to undertake it with standard motorcycles and standard tyres. It should also be noted that this result was achieved with 19" front and 17" rear tyres, showing a new dimension in the world of adventure riding.
