BMW has dressed up their smallest bike in the company’s biggest of big boy pants with the introduction of the G310GS. The 313 cc machine gets the full GS appearance package – beaky nose, two tone paint, skid plate and rear carrier. The beefy little beast also includes niceties like a tubular steel frame with a bolt-on rear section, switchable ABS and an inverted front fork. 34hp and a low weight of 170 kgs should make this a kinder, gentler GS for those who do not want to wrestle one of the big boys through the forest and across the tundra. Now BMW doesn’t want anyone to think that just because the G310GS only has 25% of the displacement of the R1200GS it is not a real BMW. To that aim the company states:
A genuine BMW. Like the G 310 R, the G 310 GS represents everything that BMW stands for: progressiveness, outstanding quality and of course many years of carefree partnership with its owner. Excellent components and materials come together to make it a real all-rounder. The G 310 GS is the GS below 500 cc, providing worldwide entry to the premium world of BMW Motorrad.
The extent to which the G310GS will have a premium price tag has not yet been disclosed for the Canadian market. BMW now has a 700GS and 800GS and of course the company’s top two selling motorcycles, the R1200GS and the R1200GSA. The ADV market is the strong trending segment so it makes sense that BMW would want to provide both a stepping stone model and an entry level bike which the G310GS is both. Intesting the G310 turns up in the same year that Honda releases a big boy ADV version of the company’s CRF250L in the Rally version. Things are looking interesting in the play pen.