Dissecting The All-New BMW G310GS

BMW Motorrad has finally revealed the G310GS. One could hardly dream up anything more beautiful than the idea of exploring the outdoors astride such a nimble motorcycle, all while enjoying the seductive grumblings of its exhaust.

- Brett Swan

Before I walk you through my personal experience from the saddle of this BMW unicorn, let us first get the technical specifications out of the way. I refer to this motorcycle as a unicorn, as it is the first time BMW has manufactured an engine below 500cc on a production bike. The exact reasons for this departure are no secret, BMW is looking to broaden its footprint into other markets and to be visible in all motorcycling areas by 2020.

The medium to small cc adventure bike market is highly competitive, and BMW has its hands full trying to rival the likes of the Suzuki V-Strom 250, the Kawasaki Versys, Yamaha and even the KTM 390. It is a very interesting segment of the market that is sometimes overlooked, but in terms of form and function, we should definitely pay more attention to the rumblings coming from the small adventure bikes.

This will be the first BMW motorcycle that will not be manufactured in Europe, but rather built and assembled in India. It should not come as news to anyone that Asia’s large population makes commuting by motorcycle efficacious, so on face value, the business model seems sound.