Cracking the 300cc market of motor bikes BMW Motorrad India has officially opened pre-bookings for the BMW G 310 R and the BMW G 310 GS. The Bavaria-based brand has set the booking amount at Rs 50,000 for both bikes.
Back in April 2018, it was reported that BMW Motorrad dealers in Pune, Kerala and Chennai had begun accepting bookings for the bikes. These dealers were also quoting the same Rs 50,000 booking amount at the time.
The BMW G 310 R is the most-affordable motorcycle from the German manufacturer, while the G 310 GS is the most-premium, adventure motorcycle in the country.
Indian made for the world
The G 310 R and G 310 GS have both gone into production at TVS’ Hosur plant and are currently being sold in European and US markets. The sport-naked 310 R was supposed to go on sale in India in 2017 but the company delayed the launch so that it could set up a decent dealership base to handle the expected demand.
The German bike maker had showcased both, the G 310 R and G 310 GS at the 2018 Auto Expo. Though the G 310 R was also shown earlier at the 2016 Auto Expo, this year’s expo marked the GS’ India debut. Since they have been around from quite some time, we are quite familiar with their designs.
The 310 R, being a sport-naked, has a muscular tank, angular headlamp and compact dimensions. On the other hand, the baby GS inherits its family styling, including the stubby front beak, radiator shrouds and headlamp cowl.
Price Tags
In accordance to the various dealers across the nation the G 310 R is priced at around Rs 3 lakh, while the G 310 GS will be priced from Rs 3.5 lakh (both starting prices, on-road). Both the BMW motorcycles were expected to be launched on July 18 in India and deliveries are expected to start by early August.
Engine
Like the TVS Apache RR 310, the G 310 R and G 310 GS use a reversed-cylinder design that slopes towards the rear wheel, instead of the conventional engine layout. The upside of this layout is that it creates space for a longer rear swing arm while keeping the wheelbase relatively short.
The engine is a 313cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder unit with four valves and a DOHC cylinder head. It churns out 34hp and 28Nm of torque on both bikes, which is also identical to the Apache RR 310. The engine is paired to a six-speed gearbox and both the R and GS have a claimed top speed of 145km/h and 143km/h, respectively.
Chassis
At the front, the GS gets an upside-down 41mm fork just like R, however at 180mm, the GS has 40mm more travel than the latter. While the front suspension is non-adjustable on both bikes, the rear mono shock absorber do boast adjustable preload. Both bikes also get tubular steel frames, five-spoke alloy wheels and ABS.
With a 300mm front disc and 240mm rear disc, the brakes on both BMWs are identical as well. We hoped for a larger fuel tank for the G 310 GS, but it has the same 11-litre capacity as the G 310 R. The kerb weights for the G 310 R and G 310 GS are 158.5kg and 169.5kg, respectively.
Competition
The sport-naked G 310 R’s only direct rival is KTM’s 390 Duke, which is the case internationally as well. However with an expected price of Rs 3.5 lakh (on-road, India) the bike can also compete with the more expensive, twin-cylinder bikes like Kawasaki’s Z250 (Rs 3.08 lakh) and the Benelli TNT 300 (Rs 3.43 lakh), which are ex-showroom prices off Delhi.
At Rs 4 lakh (on-road, India) the adventure-tourer G 310 GS has no direct competition. The only other single-cylinder adventure bike available in India is the Royal Enfield Himalayan FI which is priced at Rs 1.67 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). On the other end of the spectrum, however, there is Kawasaki’s Versys-X 300 with an unreasonably high price tag of Rs 4.60 lakh (ex-showroom).
Expectations
The BMW twins have been one of the most-awaited motorcycles to enter the Indian market. Although pricing of the two motorcycles is on the higher side, they are still the most-affordable offerings from the BMW stable. The BMW is offering a 3 years/unlimited warranty as standard which can be extended to the 4th and 5th year as well.
