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BMW Motorrad, this German motorcycle manufacturer is more known for its adventure motorcycle the R1200 G series and also S1000RR which was their first motorcycle with inline 4 cylinder. So far they didn't had anything is quarter liter segment, until now. In 2013, BMW Motorrad and India's TVS Motor Company announced their collaboration to development a sub 500cc motorcycle, and the result was G310 R. This motorcycle is reportedly design and developed in Munich, Germany which is home for BMW and will be manufacture by TVS Motor Company in their Hosur plant. The reason for this was to keep the production cost down. Now, even though this motorcycle is manufactured by TVS in India, BMW does the quality check and only after their approval it is delivered to customer, so we can expect a top notch quality product. And trust me it is.
Design:
Talking about the design, it's a sport naked motorcycle. At first glance, it might look a small motorcycle. And you are not wrong here, it is small with the wheelbase of 1374 mm and a seat height of 785 mm. But surprisingly it doesn't feel cramped once you are on the saddle. The fuel tank looks big and muscular, but it can hold only 11L of fuel. The handle bars are within thoughtful reach and pegs where they need to be. The seat is wide, firmly padded and there is quite a space to move around while cornering, the pillion seat is small though. The triangular shape headlight looks neat and has a small wind deflector on top of it with the R badge. The tail lamp is in unusual position, it is placed on the mud flap which holds the number plate. The rear fairing has a neatly placed split grab rails. Well, they are necessary because the pillion seat is small, without those grab rail nobody would want to ride as a pillion on this motorcycle. The instrument panel is all digital with a bar graph tachometer, shift light, gear indicator, fuel gauge, clock, etc. it also displays actual range to empty. Over all the motorcycle look proportionate, everything is the right place and of the right size.
Engine & Preformation:
This motorcycle is powered by a 313cc single cylinder engine which pumps out 34 horsepower at 9500 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 7,500 rpm. It doesn’t looks anything special on paper, but the engineers at BMW have rotated the engine by 180� on vertical axis. So now the intake manifold is are at the front and exhaust manifold at the rear of the engine, exactly opposite of what we are used to see. The rationale is simple, it makes room to lean the barrel and head backwards, so the motor can move forwards in the chassis, which means the swingarm can be longer for a given wheelbase which in turn gives good control over the rear suspension.
Get on to the saddle and push that start button, the engine comes to life, revs at around 3k rpm and settles at 1100-1200 rpm. Put it in gear and release that clutch, which is light but the levers are not adjustable. The engine is always eager to rev till redline, which is 10,500rpm. The vibrations are as low as it could be in a single cylinder engine, the only noticeable change is the strong roar in the sound from the airbox once you cross that 7k rpm on the tacho, and it stays until you see the shift light blinking and you upshift. Below 7k rpm that roar is present but it’s little quit. Gear shift are smooth and engine braking is strong, a slipper clutch is missing here.
Braking department is handled by 2 piston ByBre unit with 300mm disk at front and a single piston ByBre unit with 240mm at rear. ABS unit is standard and is supplied by Continental Automotive, which also provides ABS units to the flagship S1000R. Never got a chance to test the ABS, as the Michelin Pilot Street rubber combined the KYB forks provided plenty of traction even on hard braking on this German asphalt.
This motorcycle handles well, it is very agile to flick around corners and I find changing directions on this baby bimmer easier compared to my R15 V2.0. Straight line stability is also good considering that it’s a naked motorcycle. I clocked 140kmph on a small straight patch where there was no speed restriction between Dettenhausen and Tubingen, and bike was well planted. No doubt on Autobahn it can easily cross the 160 kmph mark. Windblast can be the concern, but that small cladding above the headlamp keeps that in check but don’t expect more from that. The roll on acceleration is quick in any gear except 6th gear, provided you are above 5k rpm. I found 6th gear a little tall, I used it very less as I was riding through the winding country side roads of Stuttgart and most of portion had a speed limit of 80-100kmph.
Full Digital instrumental panel
2 Piston ByBre unit with 300mm disk. KYB forks
Rear shock absorber is directly mounted on the swingarm. you can also see the exhaust pipe where usually intake manifold is present.
Switch to turn On/Off the headlights is missing, as in Europe it's mandatory to keep the headlights on
Quality of switch gear if good enough and those mirror are adequately good
Triangular shape headlight with a small wind deflector on top of it
Muscular fuel tank which looks big but holds just 11lt of fuel
That Brake pedal looks like it's belongs to a motocross bike.
Single piston ByBre unit with 240mm disk. ABS is standard. The Exhaust now houses CatCon to meet the Euro 4 norms
The Ride seat is spacious and well padded and comfortable, not sure about the pillion seal
Final verdict:
In terms of quality, TVS motor company has done a great job in production department. I had to mention this because people will have concerns about the quality and doubt this will meet the BMW standard. But when it comes to features, 390 Duke is miles ahead from G310R. But this is a prefect bike for city commute, long distance touring and short distance corning fun as well. Final verdict in one sentence, this will be my next motorcycle.
P.S. I request admin to put this thread in the appropriate page, as this is just a review and not ownership review.
Design:
Talking about the design, it's a sport naked motorcycle. At first glance, it might look a small motorcycle. And you are not wrong here, it is small with the wheelbase of 1374 mm and a seat height of 785 mm. But surprisingly it doesn't feel cramped once you are on the saddle. The fuel tank looks big and muscular, but it can hold only 11L of fuel. The handle bars are within thoughtful reach and pegs where they need to be. The seat is wide, firmly padded and there is quite a space to move around while cornering, the pillion seat is small though. The triangular shape headlight looks neat and has a small wind deflector on top of it with the R badge. The tail lamp is in unusual position, it is placed on the mud flap which holds the number plate. The rear fairing has a neatly placed split grab rails. Well, they are necessary because the pillion seat is small, without those grab rail nobody would want to ride as a pillion on this motorcycle. The instrument panel is all digital with a bar graph tachometer, shift light, gear indicator, fuel gauge, clock, etc. it also displays actual range to empty. Over all the motorcycle look proportionate, everything is the right place and of the right size.
Engine & Preformation:
This motorcycle is powered by a 313cc single cylinder engine which pumps out 34 horsepower at 9500 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 7,500 rpm. It doesn’t looks anything special on paper, but the engineers at BMW have rotated the engine by 180� on vertical axis. So now the intake manifold is are at the front and exhaust manifold at the rear of the engine, exactly opposite of what we are used to see. The rationale is simple, it makes room to lean the barrel and head backwards, so the motor can move forwards in the chassis, which means the swingarm can be longer for a given wheelbase which in turn gives good control over the rear suspension.
Get on to the saddle and push that start button, the engine comes to life, revs at around 3k rpm and settles at 1100-1200 rpm. Put it in gear and release that clutch, which is light but the levers are not adjustable. The engine is always eager to rev till redline, which is 10,500rpm. The vibrations are as low as it could be in a single cylinder engine, the only noticeable change is the strong roar in the sound from the airbox once you cross that 7k rpm on the tacho, and it stays until you see the shift light blinking and you upshift. Below 7k rpm that roar is present but it’s little quit. Gear shift are smooth and engine braking is strong, a slipper clutch is missing here.
Braking department is handled by 2 piston ByBre unit with 300mm disk at front and a single piston ByBre unit with 240mm at rear. ABS unit is standard and is supplied by Continental Automotive, which also provides ABS units to the flagship S1000R. Never got a chance to test the ABS, as the Michelin Pilot Street rubber combined the KYB forks provided plenty of traction even on hard braking on this German asphalt.
This motorcycle handles well, it is very agile to flick around corners and I find changing directions on this baby bimmer easier compared to my R15 V2.0. Straight line stability is also good considering that it’s a naked motorcycle. I clocked 140kmph on a small straight patch where there was no speed restriction between Dettenhausen and Tubingen, and bike was well planted. No doubt on Autobahn it can easily cross the 160 kmph mark. Windblast can be the concern, but that small cladding above the headlamp keeps that in check but don’t expect more from that. The roll on acceleration is quick in any gear except 6th gear, provided you are above 5k rpm. I found 6th gear a little tall, I used it very less as I was riding through the winding country side roads of Stuttgart and most of portion had a speed limit of 80-100kmph.
Full Digital instrumental panel
2 Piston ByBre unit with 300mm disk. KYB forks
Rear shock absorber is directly mounted on the swingarm. you can also see the exhaust pipe where usually intake manifold is present.
Switch to turn On/Off the headlights is missing, as in Europe it's mandatory to keep the headlights on
Quality of switch gear if good enough and those mirror are adequately good
Triangular shape headlight with a small wind deflector on top of it
Muscular fuel tank which looks big but holds just 11lt of fuel
That Brake pedal looks like it's belongs to a motocross bike.
Single piston ByBre unit with 240mm disk. ABS is standard. The Exhaust now houses CatCon to meet the Euro 4 norms
The Ride seat is spacious and well padded and comfortable, not sure about the pillion seal
Final verdict:
In terms of quality, TVS motor company has done a great job in production department. I had to mention this because people will have concerns about the quality and doubt this will meet the BMW standard. But when it comes to features, 390 Duke is miles ahead from G310R. But this is a prefect bike for city commute, long distance touring and short distance corning fun as well. Final verdict in one sentence, this will be my next motorcycle.
P.S. I request admin to put this thread in the appropriate page, as this is just a review and not ownership review.
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