For years now, we’ve known BMW was building a small-capacity motorcycle in conjunction with Indian manufacturer TVS. Now, that bike has arrived.
The BMW G310R is the production version of the same machine the company teased back in the summer, wearing stunt clothes. It’s powered by a liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve single-cylinder motor. The intake of the motor is at the front, and the exhaust is at the back of the cylinder; that’s similar to some of Yamaha’s more modern off-road bikes, but this design isn’t common on street bikes.
Supposedly, the engine makes 34 hp at 9,500 rpm and 20 ft-lb of torque at 7,500 rpm. The motor is all-new, not a refinement of something already in use by TVS (India’s third largest motorcycle manufacturer). It has EFI, not carbs.
The motorcycle weighs 158 kilos. Suspension is a basic monoshock in back and 41 mm USD forks up front, with no fancy brand names involved. The chassis is tubular steel, with cast aluminum swingarm. Two-channel ABS is standard, and the bike has a 300 mm brake disc up front, with radial-mount, four-piston caliper. This beginner-friendly machine shouldn’t suffer from the segment’s usual bad-brake woes.
As this bike is intended to build BMW’s market, grabbing beginning riders and steering them towards the brand, we’re sure it will be a global model, and therefore available in North America. However, we have no idea when the bike will show up here, or how much it will cost. Pricing in the beginner segment is particularly tricky; if you’re charging as much as the Big Four are asking for middleweight bikes, you’ll lose sales to machines like the CBR500. Charge too little, of course, and you’re losing money.
GALLERY
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[…] The premium small displacement bike market continues to grow with new arrivals such as Benelli’s TK502 and Leoncino Scrambler (though they’re unlikely to get to Canada) and Ducati’s Scrambler “Sixty2”, which offers a Scrambler in 399 cc format. But perhaps the small bike that was most anticipated was BMW’s G310R. […]
” the engine makes 34 hp at 9,500 rpm and 20 ft-lb of torque ”
“The proper term for torque in English units is the pound-foot, (not foot-pound) which we can find abbreviated any number of ways, such as lb.-ft., lb-ft, lb/ft (not ft-lb) , and so on. However, a foot-pound is a unit of work. Engines certainly do produce work as well as power, but in this case torque is the property in reference.”
[…] five bikes at EICMA, and it’s safe to guess this machine is one of them, along with the G310R. It’s also safe to guess the eRR will be there, although whether that machine counts or not, […]
Apparently this bike will be built in a new factory just like it would be in Europe, but with substantially lower labour costs. With a high bore ratio, and Indian market conditions in mind, there will likely be a two stage power band, a good low end for economy, and a higher top end for the sporty playfulness the rest of the world wants. I just hope the typical BMW premium pricing is not going to ruin any hope of this bike becoming successful.