From our recent adventure to Moab, Utah with Adv rider and journalist Jenny Morgan of Rally Raid. LINKS: Rally Raid UK www.rally-raidproducts.co.uk/ Giant Loop Moto - Bend Oregon. www.giantloopmoto.com
@Wes B Funny you should ask. It gave me transmission problems within the first couple of weeks. So I upgraded to an f850 GS which is way more bike than I needed or even wanted. I love my f850 she rides like a dream.
Kudos for another excellent upgrade package from Rally Raid! BMW should create a GSA version...larger fuel tank, wire wheels, higher spec suspension bits.
Watch MAD TV Australia. They did a complete make over with the guy from Rally Raid England. Best part is half the 33min vid is just engine noise & no music to kill the feeling!!!👍
VERY INTERESTING REVIEW 😊 Had no idea of the "GAS BAG" !!!!😲 Always a very beautiful area of the west for background! Loved the INTRO and that EXIT WITH THE DRONE !!!😍😍😍
Excellent Juan, I watched Jenny's bike build in Virginia 2 times and now she has made it to the West coast.. I live right on the TAT about 40 miles from where Sam Correro lives in Mississippi I who's I could have have Jenny a wave as she went by. I have had people camp at my home while they were riding the TAT from Switzerland, Spain, and Netherlands.. Keep up the good work Juan..
Found your channel when I was looking at the 737 problems, just today stumbled on this video about the 310GS. I'm in the market for an adventure bike and this is very informative. Thank you!
Great review Jenny. Mass respect for your knowledge and experience. I have a RR level 2 CB500X. I think this bike might be next. Just can't get enough of the smaller adventure bikes.
Excellent. Though a bicycle rider of 40 years experience in London I've yet to do my bike test and been planning to do the Rookie to Rider and get the 310GS. Jenny and RallyRaids products made me even more ready to do this. Great to see a forward thinking and open-minded company providing such products...I've done loads of research on the GS and RR covering all and any shortfalls to optimise it's potential, good work...
Beautiful footage unlike what is typically seen of Moab, Utah and a very informative and detailed account of the dos and don'ts of riding on a G310 GS while traveling cross country. Thanks
That was great...Jmo is so knowledgeable about all things motorcycle, and a good person to talk to. Her travels across the USA on her XR650R were great to follow...and on the XT660Z Tenere. Cheers, Steve
Jenny Morgan is the greatest . I enjoyed the Honda vids with her now this one is great too. Love the smaller bikes . Thinking of getting a small second bike to go with my 650 strom . I like the 2 she has been representing . Another great video from u . Thanks .
Great Review! I started out adv touring with my best friend in 2002, with a BMW R1150 GS Adv. I loved the bike for hundreds of reasons. In 2003 we took a trip from Ga. US to to the Darien Gap in Panama. It was the best 5 weeks of my life! However: on the trip back, the rear hub took a crap on me. Thankfully the S. Houston BMW dealer was only about an hour away. They fixed the bike without a whimper. Dave, my buddy, rode his quite new F650 GS Dakar. At the end of the trip, I realized that my 1150 cc machine was overkill for the job. Next bike was a gently used KLR 650, and I rode it to Mexico and Canada. The next trip was to S. America. I bought a NOS XR650r and added a rally kit. It was fun to ride that 2X4 of a seat for 10+ hours a day. We left late in August, and made Santiago, Chile on Nov. 1 '06. In short, Juan is absolutely right! There is no need to buy anything over 650cc. The small bikes can do anything the big ones can. I would even use a 350-400 cc machine. Did I mention that I am 6'5'' and 270 lbs.? If you're contemplating doing it, don't think you need a $20,000 or even a $12,000 machine. Go for it!
Great to see the full review on this GS after the shake-down runs earlier in Oz and US. So impressed with the attention to details that really matter - suspension, protection, weight, ergos. Jenny really knows her stuff! Did you bring both the CB 500X and the KTM 350 for this shoot? Love the drone footage, as well. Stunning.
I sure that Jenny could teach Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman a thing or two about adventure riding. Amazing bike knowledge and real ambassador for Rally Raid. Great review.
Brilliant I'm not even in the market for a new bike, but loved the talk.As always informative and intelligent. I am planning on getting the Coyote bag but was thinking Rotax for fuel but will take a closer look at the gas bag. Thanks for the video and education! Aloha
Great info on the bike's capabilities. Have you experimented with any other types of bags, I would be interested in some sort of soft saddle ags. Wolfman or something along those lines. Keep up the good work/play
An excellent product review and after these mods the little BMW seems to be a perfect machine for backcountry exploring, much like my trusty old KLR650. My only gripe is that it doesn't come exactly like this from the dealer. Seems a shame to have to do such starightforward modifications, so obviously needed in the first place. Once this bike starts coming out in the used market I'll probably pick one up and hand Rally Raid some $$ for the needed bits.
Nice review etc. One reservation I have for any BMW and many new bikes in general, is price of bike and even more important is price and availability of parts in the USA.
Amazing video!!!! Thank you! I’m thinking of buying a new 310GS soon with some of these Rally Raid parts installed. Is there a U.S. dealership I can order this bike from that will also install the RRP parts? Would be great to pick it up ready-to-go, rather then finding another place to have everything installed.
great video. where can I get the new rack she put it inthe back? the rack that comes woth the bike is huge and it looks so much better w/out it. thanks
Really great review. Very intrigued with this bike. Curious why you never developed any products for the g650gs? Very capable bike, and is on the mid-weight side that seems to fit your target philosophy?
Juan, Whats your opinion about the GS with a rider at 6'-2' and 250 lbs. Will it fit and will the Rally Raid products work with that weight ? Thank you.
I really like the story you guys are telling. This BMW Rally Raid set sound good. I've been thinking about the CB500X, but these weight savings sound really good. Loaded it sound like there is at least 50 lbs difference between the two bikes. That could be important out on the trail. I might be able to manage 400 lbs, but I don't think I could do 500 lbs.
Nice to see this kind of riding is still around or coming back into popularity at least, although too many riders clogging pristine areas wouldn't be so cool... I was trail riding a LOT in the early 1980s, did so for about 5 years, then my back said "stop it," rather insistently, too. I'm still interested in recent developments, of course. The "bike bug" never goes away, entirely. Did this bike originally come with the fairing and hand guards? I guess I can look it up. I don't know about the fairing's width and weight it would add as a permanent installation on tight trails, and it appears the windscreen is too small to really protect well at highway speeds. I suppose there will always be tradeoffs trying to do both kinds of riding. Still looks like a fun bike, BMW had a really nice flat-twin version back in the '80s, don't know if they still make it, also bit dodgy for tight trails, although I'm sure someone came up with good aftermarket guards to protect the cylinder heads that were sticking out dangerously far. Except for the width and weight, that thing was an absolute trail beast, also a great highway bike, with outstanding BMW dependability. Expensive though, a rich man's toy, otherwise draining the average rider's budget... But, I do know a guy who's had his BWM dual-purpose twin for well over 25 years, still rides it pretty much daily, too. Thanks for the good review anyway Juan, fun to just imagine the rides.
Can this 300+ cc bike cover around 500 km/per with a pillion. I'm undecided as to wait for KTM 390 Adv or to stick with G310GS. What helmet model was Jenny wearing in the picture ?
Great review! That's the one genre of riding I've never done, besides trials biking. I've had dual sport bikes in the past, but at 5'4" seat height was always an issue. I don't mind it so much off road, but on the road, with lots of traffic lights, it gets old "hanging a cheek" at every single light. Sounds like that Beemer would be perfect for me - 33" is about where I'm at. Not sure how that bike would be to ride in the woods in my area, though. Up here in the Northeast, you'll really feel the weight - lots of tight trails covered with rocks and roots. You'll get an upper body workout, for sure. Probably why we don't see very many of that style bike around these parts. I think having that lower seat height would ease the burden, though. Only one way to find out I guess! :)
Most of the smaller displacement XT/on-off road Enduro-type bikes have a lower seat height, good for those of us length-disadvantaged. I had a Yamaha XT-250 new in 1982 and the seat height was perfect, I could put both legs down at stoplights, even maintain balance with no legs down most of the time. The wheel travel was good, about 9" in front and 8" in rear, it rode like a Cadillac on the highway, and was light enough to toss around in the woods. It needed just a little more power, and I had wished they'd made a 350 with electric start without increasing the overall size, and I think they did later on. Of course, that came out after I was forced to stop by a bad back that's kept getting worse with age. I sleep in my recliner these days and walk only when absolutely necessary, but that has nothing to do with bikes, and everything to do with the USN in the early '60s. I still miss riding, I enjoy the memories at least, which are still vivid. If you're able at all, I'd say go for it, us older folks don't need to get too crazy, and if my wife wouldn't kill me as soon as she saw it, I'd go get another one tomorrow. 😉
.....IMHO: I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT IT'D BE A GREAT ADVANTAGE TO INSTALL A BACK-REST STYLE OF SEAT-BACK, AND LUGGAGE CARRIER. (WITH MORE SUPPORT, AND ATTACHMENT POINTS, FOR EXTRA CAMPING/FISHING [BTW: AWESOME DEMO VIDEO!!!! THANKS VERY MUCH!!!!....
WOW!!!!! THANKS VERY MUCH, FOR THIS GREAT REVIEW, DEMO, AND PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS!!! I HAVE RECENTLY BOUGHT THIS BIKE (A USED 2018 BMW G310GS), AND I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO BEGIN UPGRADING IT WITH THESE MODIFICATIONS!!!!! IS THERE ANYONE THAT SELLS THESE PRODUCTS WITHIN THE U.S.A.?!.... OR MUST I BUY DIRECT FROM "RALLY RAID" (UK)?!....
Great video the bike looks great but would never buy one with such a small tank, went through that with my DR 650, I want to enjoy the ride not worry about finding a gas station. I like the Rally Raid engine guard bash plate but want to use a center stand.Would be great if could have bough as at 70 yr love the convenience of a center stand.
I looked at the Giant Loop Fuel Bladder website and have two questions. They caution against High Ethanol fuels, what % is too high? It also seems that the product is not approved for on-highway use. Is that a problem? A great report, as usual!
Great review. Looks like a great little bike, although I'd prefer a bit more practical accessories and less cosmetic plastics. Like a little bit bigger tank, spoke wheels, an actual steel or aluminum bash guard under the engine.
I want something light and something I can flatfoot when stopped. I'm 5'10". The weight is the big thing there though. I'm looking at the lighter adventure or dual sports like the G310GS, Honda CRF-L 250, or maybe a DRZ400. Price is also a thing though. I'm looking for something I can afford to pay for straight and not finance.
Did some adding today and currently , new GS 310, straight off the showroom floor, plus being fully loaded with Rally raid products, including the, I think, obligatory level 2 suspension upgrade and the wheels, comes to £9995. Ouch. A few pounds sterlng more and you're into a brand new KTM 690 enduro with 74 horse power and roughly the same weight, the KTM possibly being slightly lighter. 🤔
Juan ask Jenny if she road on the Tail of the Dragon . It has 318 curves in 11 miles. I find it to be exhausting, whether you're in a car , or on a bike . Thank you.
Hi Myrtha - indeed I have, on a number of occassions, and most recently on my way west this spring on the G310GS. There is a short (4x) video of that ride - the whole length heading north - on RU-vid here: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GMEQjDn4mh0.html note. I had to mute the music as there wre copyright issues in certain territories, but if you play Garth Brooks’ Ain’t Going Down (‘til the sun comes up) along with it, it fits really well! note. You also need to select a higher resolution, as the default playback seems to be 360 and not 720.
Jenny Morgan it was even exhausting to watch the video . Sometimes I have a little vertigo. Thank you so much for your comment, truly appreciated. Next time your in my County let me know.
