Technoglitch
Core Member
BMW just lifted the curtains off the motorcycle it has been busy co-developing with TVS Motors, an arrangement that was announced in April 2013. The new motorcycle is called the BMW G 310 R. The motorcycle looks like a modern, aggressively styled, street naked with lots of BMW cues. BMW has not revealed the full specification and details just yet. However, they do make clear that the TVS is their Indian production partner and that BMW developed the BMW G 310 R and will play a vital role in ensuring that the Indian-made G 310 R meets the German motorcycle makers quality standards. No launch dates yet but we expect the BMW G 310 R to make a big splash at the Milan motorcycle show (EICMA) next week. Launch and sales plans should become clearer then but we do expect the BMW G 310 R to be at the Auto Expo and the price and sales should start soon after.
Engine and powertrain
BMW has developed an all-new engine that will power the G 310 R. As is normal for current motorcycles, we expect this engine to power other variants based off the platform as well. We guess, these are obvious, that a faired sportbike (S 310 RR or G 310 RR) and an adventure tourer (G 310 GS) would be natural. Normal product development lifecycles suggest that these will appear annually a year after BMW and TVS put the G 310 R on sale.
The engine uses an 80mm bore for its cast piston and the con-rod has a 62.1mm stroke. That achieves its 310cc displacement. In nature this should be a much calmer engine than the motorcycle it will have to contend with in India, the KTM 390 Duke. The Duke uses a much more oversquare configuration (1.48 bore-stroke ratio versus the BMW’s 1.29)
The engine is, of course, liquid cooled and fuel injected. Peak power is 34PS at 9.500rpm and peak torque is 28Nm at 7,500rpm. Redline is 10,500rpm. The exhaust doesn’t appear to use a collector box and that shows up in the relatively large volume of the exhaust which must host the catalytic convertor as well.
BMW makes numerous references to the S 1000 RR in the technical brief on the G 310 R. For instance, the wee 310 uses diamond like carbon coating (or DLC), an extremely hard wearing surface coating with lubricative properties in the rockers in the valvetrain as well as on the gudgeon pin. The latter eliminates a plain bearing cutting reciprocating weight. The BMW also uses Nikasil, another hard wearing technology for the cylinder liners.
The torque from the engine heads to the 6-speed constant mesh gearbox which uses an O-ring chain to drive the rear wheel. The counterbalanced engine, says BMW, produces a very smooth powertrain and BMW adds secondary air injected to ensure that the G 310 R meets EU4 emissions.
Chassis, brakes and tyres
As you can see, the steel trellis frame seems to be popping up left, right and center in this segment of motorcycles. The BMW G 310 R uses one as well, sticking with a cast pivot plate and offering a bolt-on rear subframe to complete the base chassis. Up front are 41mm upside down forks with no adjustability and at the back is a preload-adjustable monoshock mounted directly to the swingarm.
Using 102.33mm of trail and a rake angle of 64.9° (the Europeans measure rake as a complementary angle to the rest of the world), the front-end geometry is very similar to the KTM Duke platform. As is the wheelbase, actually, at 1.374mm. BMW says the longer than usual swingarm – 650mm – allows the chassis unprecedented neutrality while damping out forward-backward pitching and softer weight transfers. BMW says this should make for a precise, light-footed but stable ride.
Design
The word comfortable appears repeatedly in the BMW G 130 R’s press release. What that underlines is BMW’s aim for the motorcycle. I believe they’re aiming for a all-round comfort package that usually Honda goes for but with a slightly tighter, sportier feel. The riding shots show a rider sitting more or less fully upright with a fairly high handlebar and feet tucked slightly back. This is usually a riding posture that allows a rider to tuck and commit at the racetrack easily as well as ride upright out on a multi-hour highway run or on the commute. There is a single shot of the bike being ridden two-up which shows that the G 310 R remains a class-standard compact motorcycle that isn’t going to be dramatically more spacious than the KTM Dukes.
Production in India
As you know, TVS will produce the BMW motorcycles in India, at their Hosur plant indicates the release. BMW says TVS’ Japanese-inspired quality processes were enlarged to meet the German maker’s needs. Dedicated production and assembly areas have been created at TVS that are inspired by BMW Motorrad’s Berln-Spandau plant which is used as the basis for the G 310 R’s quality standards. Engine components are created on German machines with BMW taking an “advisory role” in the quality control process. The engine assembly line features cutting-edge automation says BMW including testing processes.
Pricing in India, though, will be a harder challenge. To us, the price band is between the Rs 1.4 lakh (KTM 200 Duke, ex-Delhi) and Rs 2.4 lakh (Rs 50,000 more than the KTM 390 Duke, ex-Delhi). Anything lower would be impossible for BMW to agree to given that it has a premium image and that TVS has to have pricing leeway for their version of this platform to co-exist. Anything higher than Rs 2.4 lakh ex-showroom and you’ll run uncomfortably close to twin-cylinder options from Kawasaki and Yamaha.
I believe BMW will price the G 310 R in India at about Rs 25,000 higher than the KTM 390 Duke, or Rs 2.15 lakh ex-Delhi. It will mark the BMW as the premium model in the market while allowing TVS to bring their version of this platform to play just under the KTM 390 Duke. The BMW and TVS positions will both play on the fact that their product quality is better than the KTMs and Bajajs.
http://overdrive.in/news/bmw-g-310-r-debuts-first-motorcycle-of-bmw-tvs-joint-development-project/
Engine and powertrain
BMW has developed an all-new engine that will power the G 310 R. As is normal for current motorcycles, we expect this engine to power other variants based off the platform as well. We guess, these are obvious, that a faired sportbike (S 310 RR or G 310 RR) and an adventure tourer (G 310 GS) would be natural. Normal product development lifecycles suggest that these will appear annually a year after BMW and TVS put the G 310 R on sale.
The engine uses an 80mm bore for its cast piston and the con-rod has a 62.1mm stroke. That achieves its 310cc displacement. In nature this should be a much calmer engine than the motorcycle it will have to contend with in India, the KTM 390 Duke. The Duke uses a much more oversquare configuration (1.48 bore-stroke ratio versus the BMW’s 1.29)
The engine is, of course, liquid cooled and fuel injected. Peak power is 34PS at 9.500rpm and peak torque is 28Nm at 7,500rpm. Redline is 10,500rpm. The exhaust doesn’t appear to use a collector box and that shows up in the relatively large volume of the exhaust which must host the catalytic convertor as well.
BMW makes numerous references to the S 1000 RR in the technical brief on the G 310 R. For instance, the wee 310 uses diamond like carbon coating (or DLC), an extremely hard wearing surface coating with lubricative properties in the rockers in the valvetrain as well as on the gudgeon pin. The latter eliminates a plain bearing cutting reciprocating weight. The BMW also uses Nikasil, another hard wearing technology for the cylinder liners.
The torque from the engine heads to the 6-speed constant mesh gearbox which uses an O-ring chain to drive the rear wheel. The counterbalanced engine, says BMW, produces a very smooth powertrain and BMW adds secondary air injected to ensure that the G 310 R meets EU4 emissions.
Chassis, brakes and tyres
As you can see, the steel trellis frame seems to be popping up left, right and center in this segment of motorcycles. The BMW G 310 R uses one as well, sticking with a cast pivot plate and offering a bolt-on rear subframe to complete the base chassis. Up front are 41mm upside down forks with no adjustability and at the back is a preload-adjustable monoshock mounted directly to the swingarm.
Using 102.33mm of trail and a rake angle of 64.9° (the Europeans measure rake as a complementary angle to the rest of the world), the front-end geometry is very similar to the KTM Duke platform. As is the wheelbase, actually, at 1.374mm. BMW says the longer than usual swingarm – 650mm – allows the chassis unprecedented neutrality while damping out forward-backward pitching and softer weight transfers. BMW says this should make for a precise, light-footed but stable ride.
Design
The word comfortable appears repeatedly in the BMW G 130 R’s press release. What that underlines is BMW’s aim for the motorcycle. I believe they’re aiming for a all-round comfort package that usually Honda goes for but with a slightly tighter, sportier feel. The riding shots show a rider sitting more or less fully upright with a fairly high handlebar and feet tucked slightly back. This is usually a riding posture that allows a rider to tuck and commit at the racetrack easily as well as ride upright out on a multi-hour highway run or on the commute. There is a single shot of the bike being ridden two-up which shows that the G 310 R remains a class-standard compact motorcycle that isn’t going to be dramatically more spacious than the KTM Dukes.
Production in India
As you know, TVS will produce the BMW motorcycles in India, at their Hosur plant indicates the release. BMW says TVS’ Japanese-inspired quality processes were enlarged to meet the German maker’s needs. Dedicated production and assembly areas have been created at TVS that are inspired by BMW Motorrad’s Berln-Spandau plant which is used as the basis for the G 310 R’s quality standards. Engine components are created on German machines with BMW taking an “advisory role” in the quality control process. The engine assembly line features cutting-edge automation says BMW including testing processes.
Pricing in India, though, will be a harder challenge. To us, the price band is between the Rs 1.4 lakh (KTM 200 Duke, ex-Delhi) and Rs 2.4 lakh (Rs 50,000 more than the KTM 390 Duke, ex-Delhi). Anything lower would be impossible for BMW to agree to given that it has a premium image and that TVS has to have pricing leeway for their version of this platform to co-exist. Anything higher than Rs 2.4 lakh ex-showroom and you’ll run uncomfortably close to twin-cylinder options from Kawasaki and Yamaha.
I believe BMW will price the G 310 R in India at about Rs 25,000 higher than the KTM 390 Duke, or Rs 2.15 lakh ex-Delhi. It will mark the BMW as the premium model in the market while allowing TVS to bring their version of this platform to play just under the KTM 390 Duke. The BMW and TVS positions will both play on the fact that their product quality is better than the KTMs and Bajajs.
http://overdrive.in/news/bmw-g-310-r-debuts-first-motorcycle-of-bmw-tvs-joint-development-project/
