[RPRIME95]

An extremely well-written review of the GS310. The bike looks beautiful. Wishing you many many happy kms over roads as well as not-so-much-roads in the future

I agree with the chain adjustment point. Just finished 5000km on my RR310. Never adjusted the chain this entire time. Just lube regularly and enjoy the ride.

Thinking of modifying my RR for off-road duty
Any advice ?

[nitinkbhaskar]

Originally Posted by autocrat

I am divided between a cruiser and an adventure bike.

Thanks for your words autocrat.

That's a wonderful dilemma you have there . If I would have been in your place and this would have been only bike in my garage then ADV all the way. The sheer versatility it will offer would be hard to match by any other segment let alone cruiser.

Let us know how it pans out.

On another set of update - Got the handlebar risers and handguards fitted on Reyah.

1 inch risers in black shade.



Shot from another angle.



The 3 mount system for the barkbusters. The fit is quite sturdy and good.



The blue barkbusters selected by my son. And yes, I agree it does look gaudy now . But then love for kids do surpass love for machines !!

Right off the bat - The saddling on bike has improved by a huge margin. I am more comfortable now and bike feels more in control. Steering the bike with the ankles instead of hands now comes up naturally and this upgrade has really upped the connect quotient with Reyah.

Quite content.

Only downside - Fitting both of these costed my 550/- at Indimotard garage. I feel its bit too much. However, its been quite sometime since I have sat in the garages and got work done. Maybe inflation is playing its part. Let me know your thought guys.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Thinking of modifying my RR for off-road duty
Any advice ?

You probably won't get a satisfactory bike out of the effort, and the road performance will also suffer for it. And if you have a fall, that full cowling is gonna make your pocket regret it.

I say keep it stock and use it the way a sportbike is intended. You can do some mild offroad like fairly level mud and gravel trails on any bike anyway.

Get a pair of dual purpose tires first and see if that makes your bike sufficiently capable enough for the kind of offroad riding you expect to do.

You can also do some inexpensive sprocket changes (bigger rear or smaller front) for better pickup if you need it, and a bit more confidence riding offroad.

But if your offroading expectations are more intensive and you're committed to the silly idea of riding a sportbike offroad, then I hope you're well familiar with riding offroad and have your techniques down, because that helps out a lot more than just having the right equipment for it, especially for avoiding falls and having to face something like breaking a clip-on bar and be left stranded somewhere, unable to ride the bike or have a hell of a time trying to push it.

Anyway, as far as the bike goes, you'd want to change the ergonomics first for better control.

You'd need a taller set of clip on bars like the ones on the NS 200 or the R15 for a more upright position and less front biased weight distribution. You'd probably need to tinker with them a bit to get them to fit, may need to change the cables too.

Or alternatively, you can probably change out the whole top triple clamp and handlebar to the one on the GS if they use the same diameter suspension tubes.

Next, see if you can fit the footpeg mounting brackets from the GS to change up the ergonomics to a bit more forward set position. It should be possible since they share the same frame and the brackets just look bolted on at different points. Then, get the serrated footpegs from the GS or get wider aftermarket ones.

You can probably remove the bottom cowling to increase GC a bit on the cheap, but 180mm is pretty decent for a roadbike already.

Getting the taller suspension and the bigger front wheel of the GS for more clearance is gonna turn out to be a much bigger commitment moneywise as well as experience-wise though.

Take things one step at a time. Good luck.

[nitinkbhaskar]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

An extremely well-written review of the GS310. The bike looks beautiful. Wishing you many many happy kms over roads as well as not-so-much-roads in the future

I agree with the chain adjustment point. Just finished 5000km on my RR310. Never adjusted the chain this entire time. Just lube regularly and enjoy the ride.

Thinking of modifying my RR for off-road duty
Any advice ?

Thanks RPRIME95.
Nah man - Lola is beautiful the way she is. My advice would be to save up a bit and get a second hand xpulse. That will be much better than investing in Lola in terms of both time and money (tyres, footpegs etc.) + you can be more care free with the xpulse while pampering Lola

However, if you still wish to go ahead then what drt_rdr has mentioned makes absolute sense.

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

Take things one step at a time. Good luck.

Nice post man.
That's a good advice.

[RPRIME95]

I say keep it stock and use it the way a sportbike is intended. You can do some mild offroad like fairly level mud and gravel trails on any bike anyway.

Did not expect that but awesome advice for someone who actually wants to do this. Just thought of injecting some humor in a GS310 thread with some weird ideas

My advice would be to save up a bit and get a second hand xpulse.

Perfectly reasonable advice although I am now focused on saving money to invest in a House. A second bike is still a distant dream since I do not even get time to take Lola out regularly.

On a lighter note, I was just kidding. I will never modify Lola to the point where she stops being an RR310. Love her just the way she is. Actually offroads quite capably over unmade roads (180mm clearance :heart)

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Did not expect that but awesome advice for someone who actually wants to do this. Just thought of injecting some humor in a GS310 thread with some weird ideas

Lol, I'm happy you're a sensible guy... but part of me wanted to see someone do it too.

As bad and stupid as the idea sounds, it would be kind of cool to see it. And it actually looks easier to do than expected on this platform.

[RPRIME95]

Lol, I'm happy you're a sensible guy... but part of me wanted to see someone do it too.

As bad and stupid as the idea sounds, it would be kind of cool to see it. And it actually looks easier to do than expected on this platform.

You know, I actually gave it some thought. I believe the following mods will actually make this a very competent off-roader

1. Remove the fairing
2. Replace both end shocks with GS310 ones
3. Replace Tyres
4. Replace handlebar and triple T. Since switches can be relocated, no loss of function

And I checked, these are perfectly legal mods since the bike is actually homologated with these parts in India. Just with a different fairing obviously.

The co-development process makes it so easy to switch parts over

I mean, you can basically make an RTR310 just by removing the fairing and replacing the handlebar. Would look pretty cool actually

[RPRIME95]

As bad and stupid as the idea sounds, it would be kind of cool to see it.

Okay just had a lightbulb moment. What if you just replaced the shocks of RR310 with those of GS310. You instantly have a fully faired, will knock your socks off touring machine that can take on the 390Adv (for someone who cares less about pillion seat )

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Okay just had a lightbulb moment. What if you just replaced the shocks of RR310 with those of GS310. You instantly have a fully faired, will knock your socks off touring machine that can take on the 390Adv (for someone who cares less about pillion seat )

Your bike will sag to sri lanka and whatever ground clearance you have will evaporate before you know it.

You will.need a lot more than switching out the rear shock to make that bike a good all purpose touring machine. Can be done, but just not worth the time in my opinion. Money and time better spent elsewhere.

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

You know, I actually gave it some thought. I believe the following mods will actually make this a very competent off-roader

1. Remove the fairing
2. Replace both end shocks with GS310 ones
3. Replace Tyres
4. Replace handlebar and triple T. Since switches can be relocated, no loss of function

And I checked, these are perfectly legal mods since the bike is actually homologated with these parts in India. Just with a different fairing obviously.

The co-development process makes it so easy to switch parts over

You definitely can. That's what I was pointing to earlier. The question is, are you mad enough to do it?

Minor mods to increase a bit of capability is one thing.

But considering the cost of removing the fairing (which means having to replace the headlight among other possible bits and bobs), switching the suspension, wheels, and handlebar out to expensive BMW parts, a practical man might as well buy a second hand xpulse like nitinbhaskar suggested... or sell the RR and buy a GS altogether.

I mean, you can basically make an RTR310 just by removing the fairing and replacing the handlebar. Would look pretty cool actually

Making a naked out of it sounds really cool though. But then TVS claims to have put a lot of time into sculpting the fairing for supposedly excellent aerodynamics. For me, it would hurt to part with a thoughtfully built component, especially something which costs quite a bit.

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Okay just had a lightbulb moment. What if you just replaced the shocks of RR310 with those of GS310. You instantly have a fully faired, will knock your socks off touring machine that can take on the 390Adv

The idea actually sounds interesting. But considering BMW's taller and bouncier suspension, you need to be prepared to lose out on handling sharpness. The GS is not a sharp handler compared to the Adv390 which seems to be designed around minimum compromise to sharpness. The only place you'd probably have an edge over the KTM is ride comfort and mileage.

Personally, I don't think it's worth swapping the suspension because you're losing out on the road manners of a well tuned sportbike, and basically, there's not a lot to gain from this in terms of offroad capability on a 175 kg bike either.

I mean, of course, it's gonna dance on bad roads and take on a bit of mud and gravel in style, but then, you don't do too bad on roadbikes either. I mean, I do some moderate offroading quite often on my wheezing 150cc roadbike with stock suspension, stock road tyres and about 160mm ground clearance. It's just a matter of putting a bit more effort to keep balance and get traction.

So, in the end, it's a question of whether you want to dilute the experience a purpose designed bike is made for or not.

I've considered swapping the stock suspension out on my roadbike (which is a nice tourer already) for taller ones too. And my bike isn't a race replica type like yours, it's just a mamooli roadbike with upright seating and good handling characteristics but not really sharp. Even so, I like the road behaviour and haven't been able to convince myself to swap out so far. Maybe once I buy another streetbike.

Anyway, nitin would probably think badly of us cluttering his ownership thread with offtopic discussions. If you want to talk more, shall we take it to your RR ownership thread which seems a more appropriate place?

[RPRIME95]

But considering the cost of removing the fairing (which means having to replace the headlight among other possible bits and bobs)

In my mind, I kept the headlight. No need to remove that. Its mounted seperately.

Anyway, nitin would probably think badly of us cluttering his ownership thread with offtopic discussions. If you want to talk more, shall we take it to your RR ownership thread which seems a more appropriate place?

Yes you are right. Although I do think he does enjoy this completely weird discussion of merging the GS and RR. He was interested in the RR for a while until BMW woke up

[nitinkbhaskar]

Originally Posted by RPRIME95

Yes you are right. Although I do think he does enjoy this completely weird discussion of merging the GS and RR. He was interested in the RR for a while until BMW woke up

Very true mate. Loving this discussion.

Recently I had to travel to Delhi and had to bid a mini farewell to Reyah. Hence, read up on what needs to be done for storage of bike in the user manual. The recommendation by BMW is as follows:

1. Fuel up the bike
2. Remove battery terminals (-ve first and then +ve)
3. Spray the brake, clutch lever pivots + center / main stand pivots with lubricant
4. Coat the bright part and chrome with grease
5. Store in dry place with no load on wheels

Since I don't have any paddock stand, I just bumped up the tyre pressure by 10 psi and parked the bike.

Battery terminals removed.



Just couldn't store the bike without a quick early morning ride.



Found a decent trail nearby and had a blast. Handle bar risers have really helped and I am loving it.

Will be back with Reyah in June. Till then, will keep on sharing couple of ride reports to keep this thread going.

[nitinkbhaskar]

So couple of weeks back got up really early in the Thursday morning. Thought of picking up a book to kill the time and then head out for normal exercises. But then, saw Reyah's keys dangling just beside the book shelf. And 10 mins later I was in the basement warming her up

Had a to-visit place in my google maps which I had saved long time back. However, never had the courage to visit the place due to traffic and parking woes. But that would not hold true in such wee hours and with Reyah.

The morning breeze was so refreshing and so was the ride. Maintained a decent pace on the ORR and reached the place in 45 mins. The place was jostling with the morning walkers, joggers and couple of folks like me who just wanted to gorge on breakfast.

Came back and went for a walk to digest the delicacies. A perfect start to a working day !!

Silk board still waking up.



The place. Its an old establishment and the food affair is quite homely here.



Yes, it was a solo ride and yes again as both the plates are mine



Reyah back home after a 50 kms stretching exercise.

[CptSlow]

Your ownership thread is definitely going to be helpful for a prospective buyer in the market like me who is trying to decide between 310GS and its competitors. I have almost zeroed in on this one, just waiting to accumulate the funds and for things to settle down a bit before I go start test riding bikes.
Following the thread closely, please keep updating the thread with your experiences.

[nitinkbhaskar]

Hope all of you are keeping well folks.
With deteriorating situation in Bangalore, I have pushed my return travel plans. With this I miss my ride more. Hope situation eases soon and we can ride out again (with all the precautions of course).

For now, posting couple of pics from a play date which Reyah had with some big girls (FZ1, Bandit and Versys 1000).

It was a nice ride to DD hills with some nice twisties and high speed runs. The folks on big bikes were considerate of my Reyah's limitations and hence I was able to keep up with them.