BMW’s Hidden Costs
The BMW R 1300 GX is nice. Don’t get it wrong. It replaced the 1250, had to wear big shoes. So they shrank the chassis. Lighter. Stiffer. The Telelever suspension? Still there. The new boxer engine breathes better, hits 140 hp. Tech-wise, the base model isn’t a beggar.
LED matrix headlight. Traction control. Hill hold. Cornering ABS. Keyless start. Heated grips.
It looks complete. On paper.
$20,395.
That is the price. But you feel poor anyway.
BMW hides the actual good stuff in optional packages. A quickshifter? Heated seat? Electronic suspension? All locked behind a paywall. And you cannot pick just one. You pay the premium package cost—roughly $6,000 more. Suddenly you are nearing $27,000 for a bike that still needs an accessory center stand.
“Neither of these is available as single accessory, either.”
Why let them bully you?
Honda Doesn’t Hide Its Cards
The Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES DCT costs $18,599.
Cheaper than the base BMW. Cheaper than the optioned BMW by eight grand.
It feels more luxurious. Why? Because the luxury is standard. No gatekeeping.
Honda sells you just the parts you want. A center stand? $211. BMW sells that stand for $6,300 in a “Trophy Package” you didn’t ask for. Which sounds like a ripoff? Exactly.
Power And Precision
The Honda engine is a 1,084 cc parallel twin. 100.5 horsepower. Less than the BMW. But usable. Low compression. A 270-degree crank. Power hits early—5,500 to 7,500 RPM. It is tractable. Boring numbers. Brilliant real-world feel.
And the DCT. Automatic transmission. People used to mock these. Now BMW has one. Honda perfected it first. The Dual Clutch Transmission has been tuned for ages. Smoother low-speed shifts. Two automatic modes (Drive/Sport) plus manual triggers. There is even a ‘G’ mode that reduces clutch slip. You can slide the rear wheel by throttle input. Useless for 99% of riders? Maybe. But it feels pro.
Suspension That Just Works
Showa EERA.
That stands for Electronically Equipped Ride Adjustment. Standard equipment. Not an option.
It uses a six-axis IMU and inertial sensors to watch the bike. Speed. Attitude. Fork behavior. It adjusts damping before you hit the bump. Four presets: Hard, Medium, Soft, Off-road. Or you set it yourself. 45mm forks. 8.3 inches of travel. More than the BMW.
BMW makes you pay for electronic suspension. Honda gave it to you. Free.
The Details Matter
Yes, the Africa Twin weighs 559 lbs. The R 1300 G S is 523 lbs.
But the Honda holds 6.6 gallons of gas. BMW has 5 gallons. The Honda comes with spoke wheels as standard. Lighter, better off-road. The extra weight is payload. It makes sense.
Tech? The 6.5-inch TFT touchscreen dominates the dash. It does Apple CarPlay. First in class? Likely. Below it sits a smaller LCD. Keeps the speed and gear count visible while the big screen shows maps. Smart.
Six riding modes. Wheelie control. Cornering ABS that you can turn on or off. Heated grips included.
Is It Time To Switch?
You could spend $27,000 on a BMW that feels bare-bones.
You can spend $18,500 on a Honda that feels fully loaded.
The Africa Twin doesn’t beg you to spend more. It just works. It is quiet, competent, and expensive looking without the luxury tax.
Or maybe you just really like German engineering and the weight of a premium option bill.
