Had to nip into town to do some last minnute Christmas shopping. Took the Euro 5 310 GS to see how it'd cope with a bit of trail and tarmac to get there. Merry Christmas all.
Blimey, I'm sure I wasn't the only one willing you on to get up that lane, I always find the philosophical chats interesting and relatable. As for the GS, it's a shame it hasn't sold better. While I'm not a great fan of cosmetic changes for the sake of it, i think the spoked wheel transform the look and the perception of the bike. Now we have a slightly more road focused alternative to a CRF. As to why it doesn't sell? I think because mainly BMW sells GSs to people who like you to think they go offroad rather than people who actually do in the main, so a 310 is seen in the same light as a Harley Sportster, not a real BMW and something you buy if you're new or poor, which seems unfair. You only have to look at the challenges 'Itchy Boots' is currently having to see how much more sense a light and nimble bike is for round world travel but then if BMW conquered that market, why would anyone want to buy the high profit margin 800 / 1300 bikes? A hidden gem i think in short...
Brilliant video. Shows how capable that little bike is!, I love mine, 20k miles, 4 years ownership, I don’t think I need a bigger bike as I still can’t ride 100% of this one, if you know what I mean. Great vid man, more like this.!
Great stuff Nathan, always appreciate your championing of small capacity adventure bikes. Looking forward to following you through the coming year. Merry Christmas
Hey merry Christmas to you and your family, love your videos, hope 2024 goes well. My books arrived, thank you for taking the time to do the sketch I love it, and what a great read. Cheers
As always, such GOOD content! Real down to earth reviews with actual practical perspectives! Is there anyone on the internet better than Nathan? Congrats and happy New Year!!
Well done Nathan, enjoyed your positive attitude and good points of the bike. I have a 22 310GS and love every ride , agree with you,and don't have any issues,
First time I saw that bike live was in my garage, parked next to me. My first thought was that it is some of the various versions of the 650 gs and took me some time to realize. I liked the bike, it was touring upgraded with tall screen, huge hand guards and bags. Happy holidays, Nathan.
Extremely informative video , and it is a lovely bike. I see guys buying big bikes for big money and they don't have anywhere near the amount of fun your having.
Another excellent video Nathan. Well done for not turning around on that lane. Myself and a friend flew to Marrakech in May and hired 2 BMW 310 GS’s and spent 6 memorable days touring in the Atlas Mountains only averaging 250km per day but about half of that on unmade roads/tracks and with plenty of stops but travelling for around 10 hours each day. These little bikes were just perfect for the trip, and reliable despite each having approx 75k on the clocks.
I rented and rode a 310gs in Morocco for a week. Rode a mix of tarmac and off road. I thought it was a great little bike. Not fast but nippy, economical and it handled all the off road tracks and mountain trails easily. I'd be interested in trying one that's been Rally Raided to see the difference over stock. Merry Xmas to you and all the best for 2024. Cheers🍻
Haha, they have definitely sorted the drainage out on that lane. 10/15 years ago it would be flooded in two foot of water in parts. It was no problem for my can am quad. I even let Bill Bailey ride my quad down it when he used to come out with us . Merry Christmas mate , have a good one .
My wife’s been learning to ride on a 310. She’s got her A2 mod2 booked for Barnstaple mid January so looking to pick up a second hand one. Happy Christmas !
Happy christmas Nathan. Went out today on mine in the crap weather in suffolk - it does really well, even with the 17 tooth front sprocket fitted & sits happy at 75 - 80 on the speedo. I Fitted a hyperpro rear spring last week to the bog rear shock & will do the front forks next year. People need to get over themselves regarding small capacity motorbikes - you have proved time & time again, you dont need 1250/1300 GS etc for adventure/ touring . Ride safe mate.
Awesome! That trench looked like a tough ride. I bought my 310gs this summer and love it. I don’t know why it’s not more popular. I’m not an adventurer and got this as more of a city bike to get out on. I’ve put a top box on it and a windscreen. I got it over the R because I like sitting more upright. I’m not a fan of the KTM at all and the Versys x300 wasn’t as comfortable. This bike looks good, is comfortable to ride, and has all the power I need. Great video. I enjoyed watching it.
Nathan, your right this bike is very good, after loaning a G310GS whilst my Himalayan was off road, I realised for my riding type, the BMW was a more accomplished road machine including performance, comfort and handling, these are my considerations measured against my Himalayan which in reality I only ride a truthful 1% of my time off road.
I got 96 mph out of my friends on way home from Benidorm . Was actually as fast through mountain passes in Spain. Just needed a bit of late Braking and rev it on.
Well done on getting up that hill. I rode an F650GS (single) from Santander to the Arlgarve last summer, and it proved a good choice for including the extremes of ACT tracks and Motorway cruising. At the moment the F650s are a bargain general purpose machine capable of handling most on and off road work. Mine is fitted with Mitas MT07s, ok offroad, surprisingly good when scratching, and long lived. Neither bike nor tyres would be my choice for muddy rutted tracks. Thanks for an informative blog.
First thing I noticed: the rear wheel. Tubeless, eh. As I've said before, it's a shame it isn't a 410. Handsome bike. The G450 bikes were superb. Merry Christmas, Nathan. Nick
Happy Christmas to you and yours, better choice now of smaller capacity machines, stopped buying MCN as focus on bigger and heavier machines and a somewhat condescending opinion of anything else. If the manufacturers don't put some effort in to making appealing ( and accessible) learner bikes there won't be a big enough rider base to sustain sales of the bigger machines. Love the lightweight and modest power that means I can go anywhere I please without fearing dropping the bike. Enjoying the books btw, 75%of book one complete so far!
You got it up that hill 👏 👏 👏 as you said MCN push for bigger bikes all the time. When the simple truth is one of your ct110 would have flown up that lane. Are MCN and the media why most manufacturers are pushing big adventure bikes? Or just more profit in them? Top video happy Christmas
I just bought a Yamaha TW 200, which i assume is not available in UK as it has no ABS and would be unlikely Euro 5 . It is very interesting to ride on unpaved surfaces with its fat tires (130/80 14 in rear and 130/80 18 in front) . I would love to see how it would do in your hands in your various uses . It weighs 126 kg wet and has only 16 horsepower with top speed about 70 mph. Seat height is about 790 mm
Nathan, would you buy a euro4 version (pre 2021) and spend the saving on suspension even given the low speed stall issue?. Is the stall something you get use to? I like the idea of being able to switch off abs too
Cheeez and fudging sprinkles, bloke, I was on the edge of me sofa, dared not to dunk me cussy cream until you'd got up that hill. Chuffin' Ada, chap, I was ridin that with you, damn near wrote off the arm of me sofa. What an absolute corker of a little chugger, frie d. I've always liked the look of 'em, especially as they suit me being a short-house. However, I'm just total rookie with bugger all experience and all the mags & write-ups dont give them any credence. So I scrubbed the idea. But you've just proved them to be a serious contender with some decent qualities. I reckon they are proper lookers. Hence, thanks a million for proving I've actually,ly got good taste......well in bikes, anyway......nowt else, though! Thanks for your years work and fabulous viewing, bloke, have a good one and watch how you go, bloke. Oh, and please dont ever threaten me with mental images of you in lingerie again, chap, theres got to be at least 3 entire sections of the Geneva Convention banning 'cruel an unusual punishment' like that. I need to go and cry for a while.
Happy lingerie party Nathan, from Ireland. I live near Louisburgh near the Doo Lough pass in Mayo. I know you'll be coming through the pass when you do Ireland. It'd be nice to meet up with you and I could show you some nice off road short cuts if you have time. Nothing difficult but a nice side show that you wouldn't find by yourself. Steve.
Good question and thankfully. Obviously the warranty won't extend to the new parts but will still cover everything else. Some BMW dealers were even offering the Rally Raid kit as sort of unofficial upgrade kit on their new bikes.
Interesting comments about MCN's assessment. Absolutely typical of this rag which continually slags off sensible bikes in favour of over-powerful pseudo macho machines with eye watering prices. There is little wrong with the G310 and it is perfectly capable of touring just as well as GS1200 and arguable better, especially when off-road. Who needs that absurd heft and weight.
I always feel this is a bike that could be so much better, if BMW actually wanted it to be so.....The success of the Himalayan should have inspired them to improve it.....
I had a very enjoyable 18 months in Devon a very long time ago and so I keep thinking about booking onto one of your courses, BUT, every single time I watch your videos its almost always raining and deep mud. Plus you're always mad for it going up crazy little paths. I'm now turning into an old fart and have no off road experience so is it realistic for me to even consider. I need something to do next summer ! Seriously considering the new Himalayan by the way, it's just a bit heavy. I keep looking for something that can do pretty much everything that's not much more that 150 kg.