Bought a preowned BMW G310GS: A comparo with my Triumph Speed 400

Power is slightly less than the Triumph but nothing that will make you feel inferior on the road.

BHPian Himanshu809 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey guys. As many of you in this thread here know my waifu and I are proud owners of the Caspian Blue Triumph Speed 400 which we are both enjoying a lot. Getting back into biking was a revelation for me as I relearn everything I know. Why relearning? More on that later; let’s not get ahead of ourselves and let me announce the arrival of the Baby GS i.e. BMW G310GS in our garage.

That’s waifu adjusting the rear view mirrors on the GS as we get ready to leave for our morning Delhi-Jewar-Delhi ride.

I’m typing this with one hand as I recently got my life’s first fracture (hairline, so nothing to fret about) and I got it while I was standing on a red light and a stupid scooty person skidded and whammed into my extended elbow and side of the new pre-owned baby GS we recently acquired. I didn’t even get to know about the fracture until 3 hours later as I gave him my 2 cents in typical Delhi fashion as he profusely and clumsily apologised, same way he “rides”.

That’s what I meant by relearning as you never know on our streets what will hit you and when, and how we had a event-free 200km morning ride just yesterday and I got hurt in such a silly way on the very next day while riding to my cousin’s place just 8 kms away. Any who let’s get back to the main course i.e. surprisingly nimble and fun G310GS.

Looks nice? What do you guys think?

So the itch/need for a second motorcycle started when we got rid of our old UCE Classic 350 which was becoming a pain in the behind as is it’s nature with everyday repair jobs and still not reliability. Good riddance I must say.

And neither my waifu nor I are big on pillion riding, we realised we need another bike so that we can both go on rides together. We started to look for a companion to Speed 400 with only one strict requirement in our minds i.e. something more suitable to a taller person (6’0”) like me.

Upon some online searching and some scavenging in the pre-owned Karol Bagh market we came across this gem of a baby GS someone had decided to let go of in its infancy.

• July 2023 registered
• 3600 kms run only
• Brand new condition
• Zana crash guard, bash plate, mobile holder, adjustable & foldable levers, tall windshield installed

Slight crack in side fairing extension was the only damage we could find, otherwise it was as good as new and we were saving a cool 85K+ on the price as compared to a brand new one (before even counting the accessories)

With a short test ride and some background information collection our mind was kind of made up but we didn’t reveal that in front of the dealer to leave room for negotiation.

We got it after 3-4 days of first seeing it, paid the dealer, got both keys and documents and went ahead with a morning ride the very next day. Akash from TBhp Delhi group joined us too with his own BMW G310GS from Noida and together the three of us went till Jewar in the cold foggy morning. During the ride I kept thinking that bikers are fools for a reason.

But other than the weather, the bikes performed perfectly. And we had good fun.

So now about the bike,

Keep in mind my benchmark for comparison is Speed 400 and that’s all my observations are based on.

Pros:

• Tall stance and good road presence. Up tight seating position makes for a more comfortable ride and thanks to the eye catching ‘police’ color theme people pay attention to it and some even give side to it. Not a bad quality at all to have on the road, to create your own safe space.
• Engine & exhaust sounds nice, a bit gruff and unpolished to be honest, but that helps with the street presence and eliminates the need for an aftermarket exhaust.
• Power is slightly less than the Triumph but nothing that will make you feel inferior on the road and nothing that can be solved with an extra twist of the throttle. Engine comes alive at 3K RPM and after that it’s on you how much you can pull, bike weight is manageable easily though the side stand can be a bit inconvenient.
• Fat dual purpose tires help create a stable ride, handle all kinds of tarmac nicely and support you if you happen to lean in a bit. Suspension is amazingly supple and all potholes and tarmac irregularities are handled with ease.

Cons:

• The side stand keeps the bike almost upright, like some people claimed the new Himalayan leans a lot on its side stand, G310GS feels like it doesn’t lean at all, which makes it a bit more prone to side falls/drops due to your own error or some not so innocent bystander’s shenanigans or fiddlings.
• The gearbox is clunky and finding neutral is a task. It can’t keep up if you downshift/upshift very rapidly (unlike our Triumph, god bless her sweet and quick responding shifter). You have to be gentle with it and take your time, especially while slowing down.
• No HAZARD LAMPS switch?!? Why? Sorely missed one on the foggy morning ride. Bikers need that extra visibility on the road sometimes.
• Higher maintenance cost thanks to the BMW brand, as almost everything in it is made by TVS you always have the option of buying needed parts/spares from them.

Can’t wait for my dumb hairline fracture to get healed so I can saddle up again and see where the road takes us!!

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