KIWI RIDER JULY 2020 VOL.2 | Page 102

However, I do have a suspicion as to what might be one of the reasons the 310GS gets overlooked by aspiring adventurers is the wheel combination on offer. BMW spec’d the 310GS with alloy 19 and 17-inch wheels wrapped in Metzeler Tourance tyres, which offer a good amount of gravel confidence, but are mostly a road tyre. With the growth of the adventure market in recent years if you want your bike to be taken seriously it needs the tougher spoked wheels if anything for the rough and ready image they impart. The factory rubber does a great job on both road and gravel roads, but their more roadoriented nature starts to come unstuck when you start to venture off the beaten track and in the back of your mind you are always questioning (and probably needlessly at that) whether the next unexpected pothole might just damage the cast alloy rims. Putting some more knobbly tyres on really makes a big difference to rider confidence on the gravel and dirt. GRAVEL EXPLORER The G310GS in factory trim isn’t exactly the worst bike to be exploring gravel backroads on. Its 313cc engine provides enough power to be entertaining, while its suspension offers a pliable ride that doesn’t bottom out every time you glance at a pothole. Even its 169.5kg weight is respectable for an adventure tourer and makes the bike very easily managed by riders of all sizes. But if there was one thing I’d change first on the G310GS it would be swapping out the tiny footpegs, which are really the only functional hole in the bike’s otherwise capable adventure tourer armour. Taken directly off the R model, the pegs simply don’t offer a comfortable platform to stand on for an extended period of time. After a couple of hundred of gravel kilometres I found myself constantly shifting my weight while riding twisty gravel roads to take the pressure off my feet. GS LIFESTYLE Even though the smallest GS in the stable will never be as agile as a full-on trail bike, with the combination of the reverse-cylinder engine and lightweight chassis it certainly is a confidenceinspiring ride. It’s exactly what a bike aimed at bringing riders into the GS lifestyle should be, and as far as I’m concerned it is criminally overlooked. When the hero GS costs well in excess of $30,000, the ‘baby’ GS, along with the road-specific G310R, offers the BMW brand a decent foothold within the LAMS segment, even if the GS doesn’t stand out from the crowd as much as some of the flashy newcomers. 102 KIWI RIDER