A lot of motorcycling enthusiasts in India have been waiting to get hold of an adventure motorcycle that’s not just affordable, but practical and fun too. While the Royal Enfield Himalayan didn’t appeal to a lot buyers, the upcoming adventure bike from BMW surely will. The G310GS – BMW’s most affordable adventure have been under development since a last couple of years and we’ve been lucky enough to see some of the test mules in the open and that has got all excited. In this story, we tell you five things about the BMW G310GS.
Design
BMW has made sure that the G310GS look as close to its granddad – the R1200GS. While we understand that we are comparing two really different displacement motorcycles, but the intention looks clear – stick to the GS family design. And honestly, that was a brilliant call by the BMW designers. This hasn’t just made the G310GS more appealing, but having a relation to the best motorcycle directly increases the aspirational value of the product. The traditional beak at the front, small windscreen and a slightly tall fuel tank design – all have been inspired from the R1200GS. Being an adventure bike, there’s a luggage rack at the rear, bash plate and a center stand. The alloy wheels on the test mules are the same ones which we see on the G310R.
G310R underpinnings
The G310GS is built on the same G310R naked bike platform. That’s why you’ll see the same frame, swingarm, instrument cluster and switch gear. While the suspension setup is also the same, the front suspension on the G310GS has longer travel to suit the adventure needs. Powering this adventure bike is the 34bhp 310cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine. We’re expecting BMW to retune the engine on the G310GS to deliver more torque at the low-end.
Made in India
This is the best part! Thanks to the BMW – TVS alliance, the G310GS will be manufactured in India at TVS’ Hosur facility. This means that the G310GS will have heavy localisation, which will make it easy to source spares for the bike. And it being an adventure bike, chances are it’ll be dropped a lot while exploring trails and it’ll be affordable to fix the bike.
Global unveil
BMW gave a lot of action at the Intermot 2016 but only through its big bikes. We believe the G310GS will be unveiled to the world at the upcoming 2016 EICMA – the mecca of two-wheelers. We’ll get an idea of the India launch at EICMA 2016.
More info
All the test mules were equipped with tyres that could be used for off-road as well as on-road. However, BMW will also sell proper off-road tyres for someone who likes riding in extreme dirt conditions. Other than this, expect the German manufacturer to sell a lot of accessories with the G310GS.