Just bought one. Traded down from a GS800. The 800 was too heavy for me to enjoy in sand and loose rocks. I thought that all of your observations were correct. It's pretty. Light. Agile. Easy to control. Great for "sightseeing." But on a west Texas Interstate where the posted speed is 80mph, there is nothing left if you need to power out of a problem. I bought a ramp and load it into the bed of my truck for the interstate. That's easy to do alone because of the weight. Overall very happy with the purchase. The bike is fun. Cheers to a sober review.
I had one. Loved it for the most part. No issues with speed or power, even at 80 mph. The reason I got rid of it was BMW not taking care of a coolant leak from the weep hole in front of the water pump. If they would have replaced it, I would probably still have it. BMW said it was normal, and thusly would not honor the warranty. I have had 20+ bikes and never is a coolant leak normal. Anyway, I hope my bike was the only one and all others are fine.
Greetings from Canada! This week I bought a new 2019 310GS and I love it. This is a road oriented bike that can do light off roading; if you keep that in mind you will have a lot of fun. I am a 66 year-old woman (retired teacher) whose last bike was the KLR 650; I love it but it was getting too top heavy for me. Great, intelligent review!
Clutch and flywheel weight improved on 2022 model. Plus electronic throttle and all round LED lights. Very good bike. Seat height still high but I’ve ordered a low seat from BMW
You explained the engines' characteristics telepathically man. Never heard such an astute breakdown of any engine from any journalist. just discovered this channel and I look forward to more of your breakdowns on other engines. Really good stuff!
Yeah, this guy is amazing - best journo around at the moment. He doesn't bash the bikes, but if something doesn't work he lets you know and explains why. I think he is an amazing rider and a great presenter.
Gotta love Brake Mag reviews! Who else talks about fly wheel weight, and how it relates to rideabilily? No one, that's who. Had a bit of a laugh when he said "you can brake (break) two fingers all over the place."
I had one as a courtesy bike whilst the GS1200 was in for a service... Boy that took a while to get used to... It did feel like I was going 70mph when really it was a measly 30mph :-) Stalled it like 7 times... Good run around town/city bike.
Ha ha... not debating. Just saying that most of the reviews I’ve seen on this motorcycle had all good things to say about it. India is really kicked about this motorcycle. :)
I have one, I like it for around town. I find it needs different suspension, a metal skid plate, high rise handlebars, knobby tires and wind screen. I would like to have also spoke wheels crash bar and hand protectors. my list is more then that. at this point why not get a 12000 or 8000 GSA too dam heavy for the way I like to ride like off road. liked the video thumbs up from the States.
I have about 8,000 miles on my 2018 310 GS. Your observations are spot on. Don’t expect good manners above 70 MPH and don’t attempt single track. All in between, the bike (with certain mods) is off-road capable.
With the Rally Raid kit, it's a totally different bike from what I've seen on Y.T., but you have to throw on a shed load of kit to get it to that standard. I'm sure it would be about £2000 extra for the upgrades.
Ride it for 3000 km now. Overall a nice bike. Biggest problem is the clutch and stalling, more than Honda crf250l. Seat and front suspension as mentioned and finding neutral from 1st gear. Feul consumption is minimal 4 liters/100km. I am 1.85m and 80+ kg: that is about the limit for larger people I think. Greetings and have a fun ride🙂
The Versys-X 300 is better but the 310 GS is the closet thing to it in that class (the KTM 390 Adventure is coming to the US w/ 43 HP). The Versys has a little more power but only gets about 65 mpg. The big tank still gives it over 200 miles range. The 310 I demo'd six months ago had an issue where neutral was tough to locate. The second bike at that dealer had the same issue. They must have worked that out. Reliability is an unknown on the 310. The other bike I considered was the Honda CB500X.
We'll have to disagree here. The Versys is a worse bike to ride in every way. The engine is badly geared and lacks any mid range, it's uncomfortable, the suspension is a bit harsh and it's uncomfortable as hell. The seat is stupidly hard and the Versys has way less off-road ability. It's got far less of a polished finish for the same money too. At least, that's what we think :)
@@BrakeMagazine I have to disagree. Yes the Versys is badly geared and that's it's biggest fault. But even with the lack of torque, the parallel twin of the versys delivers more performance than the GS and as for build quality...Even with the Versys's high revving engine it feels like it would out last the GS. Build quality feels decidedly iffy on the GS. The plastics feel brittle and fragile and the whole bike feels cheaply put together. The view of the cockpit on the GS doesn't do anything to dispel that feeling with its cheap looking clocks. While the Kawasaki has a larger better looking dash. The BMW skimps on a hazard lights switch and a slipper clutch that are both present on the versys. Yes the GS stalls a lot until you get used to it and yes it's a bugger to find neutral. I'd take the Kawasaki's firmer suspension over the GS's overly soft suspension and the seat on the Versys isn't that bad if you have the UK spec larger seat. Overall the Kawasaki just feels more solid and never fails to put a grin on your face when your howling down the road sounding like your are doing 150mph when in fact your doing 50. In stark contrast the G310GS sounds like a bag of nails when ticking over and it's not because it's a single as the CRF250Rally is so single and doesn't sound like that. This add to the feeling of lack of quality. Neither bike is perfect and both have headlights that don't belong in bikes released in 2017/18 but having owned both and spent real world money on them the Kawasaki is the better bike to drop your cash on as it proved the more reliable in my experience of the two and that's the most important thing to me when you drop over £5000 on a bike and are left feeling like the bike won't last the distance which is how I feel about the G310GS. That's just my opinion. I recently traded my Versys x300 for a CB500X and there's no doubting the CB is a better bike but it lacks the character of the Kawasaki. I'd have traded my G310GS instead of the Kawasaki but I couldnt get the right deal for the little Beemer and the miles had started clocking up on the Kawasaki as I had rode it more due to it being the better bike to commute on. (Even with the dodgy low gearing which actually enables the bike to have far more overtaking power from 70-85mph than the BMW can offer even though it doesn't sound pleasant when doing so lol). My opinion is all related to road riding not off-road as neither bikes are off road bikes to me they are just marketed as soft adventure bikes and in reality are commuters bikes with adventure styling. I personally prefer their seating position, styling and weather protection over a naked or sports/ tourer bike. You can certainly feel the ninja 300 DNA when you sit on the Versys as I've owned a ninja 300 and I'm sure it would be the same with the G310R/GS as it looks like BMW did even less than Kawasaki to differentiate them. They are in my opinion the motorcycle equivalent of a Nissan Qashqai and that's fine with me. (How they handle speed bumps and weather protection they offer is my reality for these bikes). That's not to say neither can off road but so can a moped when some thieving oik nicks it and thrashes through the local park. If I was was interested in off road riding it would be the Honda Crf250l Rally all day everyday anyway. (Which I also owned and never took off road but by God that 21inch front wheel and long travel suspension handles speed bumps and potholes in its stride. Its just a pity the engine is a little too weak on that bike from prolonged motorway riding). Back to the Kawasaki and BMW debate the Kawasaki is certainly the bike that looks more polished in the flesh there are more fine details that struck me when I first saw the Kawasaki even down to the different textures along it's seat cover and talking is seat covers what is the seat going on under the seat cover on the BMW. It doesn't hug the sponge beneath it properly, there's a distinct gap between the two where the front seat area curves up toward the raised pillion area where you can push the cover with your finger at least an inch before it touches the sponge padding of the seat beneath. (It's as if BMW decided to Reddy the seat height at the last minute by removing some sponge and neglected to correct the seat cover. The right hand switch gear and throttle cable in the Beemer comes perilously close to the tank on the right side too. Those are rough edges and certainly not "polished" feeling. I'd take all the negatives you mentioned on the Versys over all the negatives of the G310gs as you don't mention the numerous reliability issues the G310's have faced. Hopefully BMW will address all these issues and not just give up and discontinue the models as they did with the three 650 models they were doing a few years ago, the X country and Super Moto and the other one that I can't remember the name of. Didnt they have a few Husquvarna models they discontinued quickly before they off loaded the brand to KTM too or is my memory playing tricks on me? At least they did just increase their warranties from 2years to 3years on their bikes which will help in the long run if and when probably needed.
Nice review from a real rider. I haven't ridden the bike, only sat on it in the showroom, though. the thing that most unbalanced and not accounted for in the review as well as most if not all of the comments is the fact that just about all of us by some measure are seasoned riders and by all accounts the 310 was not targeted at us. The 310 I believe is meant to try and capture a new audience primarily the millennials.
We had a whole two minute bit about how it was a bike for beginners, new riders and Asian market but had to take it out, the review was a bit too long 😂😂 You're completely right however. It's aimed at three key areas. First is India. It's built there for a reason and that's to keep the price low inside India. The market there is enormous, so a slice of that is very lucrative. Last year Royal Enfield sold 850,000 new bikes. BMW sold 140,000 worldwide. Second is is definitely the younger generation in Europe and if I were a young person still I'd be really into the GS. Third is the more nervous, age non descript rider. Thanks for watching.
I think that BMW might find that older riders who find the weight of the 750 and 800 GS models a problem might well look at this as an option that allows them to ride off road well into retirement. At a recent BMW Rally we had many older riders coming and asking us what we thought of our G310GS bikes. Every single one of them mentioned fears of dropping heavy bikes and injuries as a result as being main reasons. The bigger GS bikes are fine for fit and active younger people, but once you get past retirement age like me, you seek something easier & lighter.
Just wish there were more bike shots (close ups on various parts, shots from different angles with different sized riders, more on road clips on and off road etc) instead of interviewing the dude with the hair. It's 90% dude in an office.
The whole frame was cracking on the welds at the side stand point. No centre stand option either. If you don't mind a broken frame and finding your bike on it's side it's fine. Even the dealers don't know what to tell the customers and are not offering a loan bike either.
Chris Hart I’m always hearing people say “but the quality isn’t compromised” but something must be compromised or it wouldn’t be cheaper to produce it.
@@Na5tyify it doesn't even seem that cheap. How much would we expect to pay if it was full bmw quality just like the other gs models. Back when i got a gs. It was £7k for a kawasaki versey's £8.8k for a basic f800gs i would say the £1.8k is fair for the extra bike you get even bmw badge aside
@@chrisredfield3240 have to agree with you there I was one of those who suffered the "standard" stuff for a new bike. Weld cracked and my 150mile g310gs required a new frame except they didn't have one and if they did I didn't want one. I did get a new bike eventually but reviewers dismissing these issues as no big deal obviously aren't putting their hard earned money into it.
Great review! Agree with all the comments both negative and positive which is why I personally feel, at this price point, the bike is lacking in many respects.
Nicely balanced and realistic assessment, thanks. I'd be interested to hear what you think of the _standard_ CB500X (I've seen your Rally Raid upgrade review).
as well as the gs1250 rallye I have, just bought a full rally raid spec bike to get out on my own, but borrowed a standard 310 and it took me a week to get to kn it, hated it at first then you learn the bike. If you demo one dont be to quick to diss miss it
Cool, good review. I'm considering this bike here in Indonesia but I'm a 6'2 western build and only now starting to progress into adventure bikes. I rode the bike on hilly pavement in Bali but didn't get it into the dirt. Would like to ride it a bit more and try out the CBX500. Thanks for the review! Have you reviewed it with the Rally Raid kit? Seems like that would solve some of these problems though at a cost...
I'm also 6'2 and I was okay with everything. The biggest thing I noticed was the seat is actually quite small so it holds you in one place. It's more cramped than bigger bikes but its small and really light. We tried the CB 500 X with rally raid kit, but not the 310, yet. It looks like it may solve some problems.
Great review....from a westerner's perspective. Take a look at some of the S, Korean riders on very difficult technical single tracks. AStounding what this bike can really do. Will blow yur mind. (See 1st reply)
The suspension is soft and I think the bike will be cramped. The seat space is small for me and the footpegs to seat gap about normal. I am 187cm and 90kg. I would want a taller seat, higher bars and maybe a little tweak to the suspension if I used this bike for more than an hour or two at a time. If it's for commuting to work it'll maybe be okay, but you are a lot taller than me. Might feel slow after your maxi scooter too.
It vibrates very bad...also the foot peg to seat gap was less.. kind of didn't like it, since I am short guy, my side portion of seat was touching the seat edges...
We agree about the seat. The profile is wide and square and makes it feel taller. The vibrations isn't the best but it's also not the worst in the class. The Versys-x is much worse for this. :)
Brake Magazine thanks for replying, but r u sure the Versys vibs more then this, I just rode the versys 300 for about 400 kms n felt it was smoother then the BMW... If it's true then, I guess BMW had a screwed up test ride bike, atleast the one I tried... May be I have to ride it once again. Is there something that we can do with the seats or footpegs to make it better for me? I am considering to buy one of these two bikes...
I own a 310GS. There is nothing BMW'ish in this bike. Seat's uncomfortable and unreasonable tall. Extremely wobbly in wind. Neutral is always a challenge to find. Gears are awkward. Definitely can't take it off-road in stock. Will sell it and get something else next season.
When we say it's 'BMW', we're referring to.it in the context of its price point, contains bike like the Versys-X, V-Strom 250 and Royal Enfield Himalayan. It's a very budget bike comparative to the rest of BMW's range. The next bike in the line-up is the 750 GS which cost roughly 40% more.
Yes it can off road and ride technical trails in stock. We did it many times. Maybe not blame the bike if you dont have the skills. Wobbly, yes because its light, of course it is just 310cc. Finding neutral is true.
Yeah agree with Haydar here. I have done things with my 310 offroad that are well beyond what BMW built it for; stream crossings, rocky hillclimbs, even drove down a broken bridge. It's not refined but it gets the job done. Seat height is tall because it has good ground clearance. I rode it offroad for 10+ hours and had no issue with seat comfort. I do agree that the gearbox is shit though.Takes me forever to find neutral. If this bike isn't what you're looking for, all the more power to you to find something else that works, but really don't agree overall with your criticisms.
I own 5 BMW bikes and this is definitely a BMW, but a very price pointed bike. I find the seat very comfortable, have never had trouble finding neutral and find the gearbox to be just fine. I have had mine off road, and sure it needs better suspension like the Rally Raid kit, which I will be getting soon. It cost me just over one third of the price of an F750GS, so I can afford to improve things and still be around half the price of the next biggest GS. I loved it so much that I bought a second one for my wife!
By flywheel wheel weight we me crank or flywheel weight. The 310GS lacks any capacity to keep running when load is added. It lacks any inertia at all, which is characteristic of a lack of crank or flywheel weight. Essentially they achieve the same thing and is a term that comes from off road riding and could have been phrased better. 😊
I had a loan of the 310 road version and the two things I picked up were that at 5` 10" my knees felt like were up near my elbows when riding and whilst Im used to riding a larger bike it was totally lacking in any get me out of here pull should the need arise.
Its a little cramped, we agree but generally at 5 10 I think you're bigger than the intended audience. The get up and go issue is the same with all bikes in the category. You have to plan much more of your riding than on a bigger bike! :)
Yep I quite agree , I did ride a Suzuki DRZ400 for a while and although it has slightly more CC google suggests it has similar 33 Bhp but it seems more peppy on the road than the 310.
@@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse the drz400 is a good bit lighter than the 310. Also 33hp most likely is at the wheel these could make an easy 39hp @the crank vs 34hp (310). There faster than the dr650
@@BrakeMagazine haha, must be, it’s now got 20k miles on it and still going strong. I do love my little beemer. Great videos btw, always enjoy your content. 👍👍. Keep it up 👍
Depends what you're using it for. The engine is better, the polish is better, the controls are more refined. The only thing stopping it being a straight yes is more suspension control and stronger wheels.
Biased because I own a Himalayan but I rode the bike back to back with a G310GS the other week and I could see where the 310 was the more exciting and more dynamic road bike, but when it came to multi-purpose use, and as a travel bike specifically, the added versatility and practicality - and value - made the Himalayan the obvious choice of the two, for me at least.
Haha. Yeah, I'm still plugged into the BMW mainframe from when I owned the 1200. I was actually just trying to be balanced - and kind - as if I'm completely honest I thought the 310GS was a really poor product after the second time out on it. Everything you said; suspension, overall quality, lack of flywheel weight. To me it's not very much a true 'GS' product. Not a bad bike, just a diluted attempt at small capacity GS. BMW could have done a lot better and odd as I am, I actually preferred the Versys!
Every video of someone talking does it because most people find it less boring. It also gives the editor more flexibility. Youre totally in the minority. ...Actually, i expected someone to say "who cars about the host? The video should be almost all the bike!".
Kinda hoping that BMW and others would make bike with similar weight, but bit more power (50-70hp), better suspension and 21" front. Like modern take on KLR 650 with proper emphasis on offroad driving, but a bit more touring capability than KTM 690 Enduro R.
Matti Sillanpää wait for t700 ténéré, it may come lightweight, hopefully. Regarding the bmw, For me the fork weakness offroad is a showstopper. I m riding a klx 250 and this bike is light, 135kg, 22bhp are enough off road. On road it is fine up to 90 kph to reach the next trail.
Well it doens't turn it into 70 hp twin :D. Also fitting the longer front is a bit of pain. I've researched this a bit and all bits and pieces in place that fit is not super simple. Getting whole front end is best option, but pretty expensive even from crashed machines.
Hi Matti - you don't have the fit the longer fork kit, there is also a standard travel kit (LEVEL 1) that addresses those issues highlighted in the video. Either kit is also very straightforward to fit, as the main spring (which is replaced) and the damping is all in the right hand leg. You undo the cap, take the old parts out and drop in the new ones. Should take less than an hour. You don't even have the touch the left leg unless you want to fit the matching fork cap.
