With the India launch of the BMW G310R delayed, the bike maker has unveiled the adventure-touring version of the naked motorcycle at EICMA 2016 in Milan, Italy. Like its naked sibling, the G310 GS has been developed by BMW Motorrad in Germany and will be built at TVS' plant in Hosur, India. We broke the news a few days ago that BMW is readying a "Baby-GS" model.
While the smaller displacement adventure-touring segment has been dormant for quite a while now, this EICMA has seen a sudden revival of the segment by manufacturers. This can be credited to its growing demand in emerging markets like Brazil and India, where the road conditions are far from perfect.
The baby GS inherits its family styling, with the stubby front beak, radiator shrouds, headlamp cowl and tank design. It gets a tubular steel frame, and cast five-spoke wheels.
It is powered by a313cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine, with four valves and a reversed DOHC cylinder head. It gets a six-speed manual transmission that will be tweaked to suit its adventure-touring nature. The engine will churn out 34hp of power and 28Nm of torque. At 169.5kg, ready to ride, it's not the lightest dual-purpose out there, but it won't be particularly heavy either.
It gets a gold, upside-down 41mm fork which has 49mm more travel than the G310R’s. However, it is non-adjustable, while the rear monoshock does boast adjustable preload. ABS will come as standard, as well as a decently equipped LCD dash. In addition, it will also have a host of official accessories to choose from, including 12-volt power sockets, heated grips, two seat-height options (820mm and 850mm), luggage kits, a centre stand, satellite navigation and smartphone solutions.
Ved Janve
