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