VOL. 54 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 10, 2017 P77
A
s promised, BMW
Motorrad has be-
gun expanding its
range of different models
based on its new G 310
single-cylinder entry-level
platform, which made its
marketplace debut last
year with the G 310 R
roadster.
This represented the
first fruits of its partner-
ship signed in April
2013 with TVS, which
manufactures the bikes
in India at its factory near
Bangalore. Perhaps
inevitably, next up is a GS
version, and after debut-
ing at last year's EICMA
Milan Show, the G 310
GS is now in production,
ready to add to the 4000
examples of the G 310 R
that TVS will have manu-
factured in India by the
end of this year.
Thanks to the massive
contribution to BMW
profits which its R 1200
GS best-selling Boxer
twin makes globally in
all its various guises,
the German company's
management is quite
understandably hyper-
concerned not to risk
devaluing the iconic GS
trademark with a badge-
engineered 313cc
bauble, whose primary
merit is that it's cheap.
"Creating a small-
capacity GS single that
lives up to the brand
values is one of the most
challenging things we've
yet had to do," admits
BMW Motorrad's Head
of Vehicle Design, Edgar
Heinrich. But before
assuming that role in
2012, he spearheaded
the design of both the
R 1150 GS and R 1200
GS, as well as numerous
other key BMW Motorrad
models.
Riding the result of his
and his team's efforts
in northern Spain for
two full days, covering
380 miles in going from
sea level at Barcelona
to more than 7500 feet
in altitude to visit the
independent principal-
ity of Andorra, climbing
high up in the Pyrenees
Mountains to cross over
them into France, then
back again to Barça,
raised the cost-to-perfor-
mance bar to levels that
bikes with three times
the capacity and twice
as many cylinders might
struggle to attain.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST LITTLE BIKES IN RECENT MEMORY IS FINALLY
HERE. THIS IS THE GERMAN DESIGNED, INDIAN-BUILT BMW G 310 GS.
It might be small,
but the G 310 GS is
a BIG deal to BMW
and the emerging
markets it's trying
to infiltrate.
ACCESSIBLE
BY ALAN CATHCART
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL KRAUS
ADVENTURES
