BMW is on a serious expansion drive and to do so they need to appeal to a broader market, introducing the 310 R earlier and now the GS310.
The world of motorcycle manufacturers need to appeal to a broader market and by that I mean a younger audience. If you take a look around to see what's on offer (like the Kawasaki 300 Versys and the Honda 250 Rallye) it's easy to see why BMW have chosen this route. The German firm has so much brand equity in the GS range of motorcycles, you'd almost think this bike would sell itself, but make no mistake, it has big boots to fill if it wants to wear the GS badge with any pride. By producing this bike, BMW are hoping to attract first time buyers to their brand and, once there, to hopefully keep them interested by moving them up within the family. To this end, BMW is hoping to produce over 200,000 units by 2020 and they are well on their way of achieving this as they are coming off a record year preceded by another record year before that. 
I'm a sceptical bugger, when I heard about the production line in India for these smaller bikes from BMW I immediately, as did many other people I spoke to, had my reservations about what the end product was going to be like. Come on, we are talking about a manufacturer here that only concentrates on the bigger, high end, quality bikes and here they are climbing into a new market with a bike not made in Munich but in India, so how good could it be?
So with this added scepticism I was flown to Barcelona to sample this latest offering. I had seen the pre-production unit at Eicma last year already and we published a few facts about the bike two months ago but it's not until you are standing right next to it whilst inspecting it with a fine tooth comb that you realise the amount of effort and detail they (BMW) have gone to, to ensure that the quality is right and that it shows. Here I'm talking about every little bolt, every bit of wiring, the protruding plastic protection strips which prevent your boots from scratching when rubbing against the bike, the ally triple clamp, the handle bar clamp bracket, and, last but not least, the dash and switch gear. Truth be told, I inspected the bike more than what I normally would just because it comes from India. Presumptions hey, but I'm happy to report that on the superficial level everything looked okay. As a matter of fact, a little more than okay, and I had to eat humble pie because I was convinced that I'd find something wrong, and I did not.
For this project BMW joined forces with TVS which is India’s fourth-largest manufacturer (after Hero, Honda and Bajaj), and their three factories in India, plus a fourth in Indonesia, manufactured over 2 million motorcycles last year. BMW signed a joint venture agreement back in April 2013 with the company owned by the Srinivasan family to manufacture the G 310 R and now the G 310 GS, with development of the model starting that same year in Munich under the supervision of project leader Jürgen Stoffregen. It’s taken just three years to bring the all-new model to production – a timeframe that’s all the more impressive given that doing so entailed sourcing local suppliers capable of producing components to BMW’s standards, as well as educating TVS in German production values. One of the key factors is also following the same procedures of manufacturing different components of fairings, plastics and other metal bits to get the same end result that they get with bikes made in Germany. The end product is remarkable especially once you understand the complexity of silly little things like sourcing the switchgear plastic texture and similar items... The BMW ethos are evident in this TVS plant manufactured BMW.
So let's talk about the look. It's immediately apparent that this is a family member of the bigger GS models. The two silver aluminium looking side shrouds and beak resemble the GS 1200 LC very closely and even the shape of the tank and the headlight also helps bolster this resemblance. You can see it's a GS from a mile away, so first box ticked. All the bikes we had on the launch had magnesium rims and not spokes although spokes will be an option later on. The truth about spoke rims is that unless you spend lots of money making them tubeless, you will very seldom ding a rim because of the bike’s light weight. It's all got to do with weight and momentum, but I digress. Very interestingly, the motor is turned around like it is on the R model with the intake to the front and the exhaust out the back of the bike with the air-box below the tank. The grab handles for the passenger also resemble the bigger brother's and the stepped seat is also good for two people. The dash has a few handy features like time, fuel level, gear selection, revolutions, speed, consumption, range and trips, so all you need really. It shares the R’s frame, 310cc liquid-cooled single motor, and ABS-moderated single discs front and rear. The main differences being the GS’ bodywork, longer-travel suspension (180mm front and rear on the GS compared to 140mm front and 131mm rear for the R), 19-inch front wheel, and switchable ABS for those who want to ride off-road without intervention.
These launches are well planned, and so they should be, because they must be tailored to show you the best attributes of that specific model. Make no bones about it, this is only a 313cc single with an output of 33hp at 9,500rpm and a max torque figure of 28Nm at 7,500rpm but my first impression was how incredibly light and very easy to manoeuvre in traffic this bike is. While we were heading out in full-on traffic in Barcelona the going was slow but I was actually surprised by the power. I did, however, remind myself that I was at sea level which was probably why it felt better than I had anticipated. The standard seat height of 835mm is also very easily accessible for vertically challenged people but you get two seat options lifting it either by 15mm or dropping it by 15mm. This is, for sure, a very easy bike to ride and will appeal to newcomers.
We headed out of the city and into the mountains where there was switchback after switchback and I worked the 6-speed gearbox. I criticised the front suspension at first as I raced the little bike against the other journos, but I soon realised that this is not who this bike is aimed at. I relaxed a little with regard to hard front braking and tried a little more rear brake and all of a sudden I was in love. We hopped on a small stretch of highway and I saw 150km/h quite easily, but I was working the little single hard. We stopped for pictures and lunch and I was offered a bit of off-road to test its off-road manners. Again I was quick to say the bike was too soft until remembered, yet again, who BMW want to sell the bike to, and I very quickly got back in my box.
What's it going to be like up here at JHB altitude and our big open roads? Well not as much fun as in tight Barcelona back roads but here you need to take me out of the equation because I'll be on an 800 or 1200 but, for a newcomer or an older person who is past the Speedy Gonzales stage of their lives, this little bike will be the answer. And at around R75,000 you are getting a lot of value for your money as well as being introduced to the world of motorcycling.
Well done BMW, you have hit the nail on the head; expect to see many of them on our roads soon!
