BMW G310R First Look Review

The G310R is BMW Motorrad’s most affordable motorcycle yet. It is also the first motorcycle that has been developed under the BMW-TVS alliance formed two years ago.

Similar to the KTM-Bajaj alliance, BMW has engineered the motorcycle and will use TVS’ manufacturing capabilities to produce a motorcycle that’s cost efficient. TVS will also sell an itration of this bike under its own name. Interestingly, while the G310R is BMW’s smallest offering, the TVS bike based on the same platform will the latter’s biggest, most powerful and most expensive product. The BMW meanwhile will take on the Benelli TNT 300, Kawasaki Z250 and the KTM Duke 390 in India.

Starting with the looks, the muscular front end of the G310R oozes an ‘big-bike’ aura. The thick golden USDs upfront are attractive. The floating instrument cluster is topped with a neatly embedded R logo. The sharp triangular design language is seen on the side fairing as well as the turn indicators. Coming to the tank, it is bulky but with sharp edges. And it adds significantly to the overall design of the motorcycle visually. The belly pan design though is simplistic.

The rear of the BMW G310R has a sharp tail. However, the seat is a single piece unit and is well padded. The tail light is mounted on the mudguard and not on the tail of the motorcycle, similar to the Bajaj RS200. The G310R also comes with sporty five spoke alloys and has some design elements from the S1000RR and the R1200R; just to keep the family look alive. The bike will be offered in three colours namely Pearl White Metallic, Cosmic black and Strato Blue metallic.

Coming to the powertrain, the G310R has a 313cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine. This engine churns out 34bhp at 9500rpm and has a peak torque of 28Nm at 7500rpm. It is mated to a six-speed gearbox. The bike has a claimed top speed of 145kmph and a fuel efficiency of 36kmpl, in the real world. This power figure will put the bike just between the Duke 200 and the Duke 390 in terms of positioning. In terms of pricing, however, the 310R might not take this middle ground.

In terms of features, BMW has loaded the G310R with a thick 41mm upside-down forks at the front and a monoshock with adjustable preload at the rear. The braking power on the bike is taken care of by a 300mm single-disc with radially bolted four-piston caliper at the front and a 240mm two-piston caliper at the rear with two-channel ABS as standard. Moreover, bike has a competitive kerb weight of 158kg. The G310R rides on 110/70 R17 tyres in the front and 150/60 R17 at the rear. It has a fuel tank capacity of 11 litres and an approximate range of 330km.

The G310R will be manufactured by TVS at their Hosur facility and will be exported worldwide. We are expecting the BMW G310R to be priced between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2.4 lakh.