BMW new small bike

[steven c]

 Bmw entering the small bike market.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcycles/2016-bmw-g-310-r/preview.htm

[O]

Wonder how this will compare to the 390 Duke?

[acogoff]

   Seems very Aprilia like.

[wrbix]

Surprised to see chain rather than belt drive.

[pauldaytona]

BMW made in India or China?

[Triple Jim]

Good.  The more bikes in that category available the better.  I hope there's a shift toward motorcycle being fun and inexpensive transportation, from status symbols and street legal race bikes.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

BMW made in India or China?

Developed in Munich by BMW Motorrad and produced in India in cooperation with partner TVS Motor Company.

[drlapo]

I like it but it won't replace my V7

[oldbike54]

Good.  The more bikes in that category available the better.  I hope there's a shift toward motorcycle being fun and inexpensive transportation, from status symbols and street legal race bikes.

 For sure , accessible performance , light weight , fun , what's not to like .

  Dusty

[Kev m]

For sure , accessible performance , light weight , fun , what's not to like .

  Dusty

The looks (and the chain).

[Roebling3]

In my experience with bmw mc's, plus reading of other owners with serious electrical & mechanical problems, plus adding bmw's delinquency on over 3 million USD in NHTSA fines, I would not again own a bmw. Regardless of the faults it is mostly (in my view), poorly specified materials for the application and inadequate testing. Repeating failures have been in the quality of wiring and metals.  There is also the rather well documented final drive problem; which seems to be mostly(?) an assembly issue. there are also repeating Getrag transmission issues.

BTW: Who the devil would design a permanently lubricated shaft driven final drive? In 2008, IIRC, bmw's final drives precluded a gear oil drain port! Brilliant! Can that be logically explained?

What became of those bikes that were of such high safety risk (2 - 3 years ago), that bmw issued a personal worldwide stop, do not ride order to every owner?  bmw offered to take those bikes back on purchase of a new bike; or let it sit in your garage until they had a fix! how long did that take?

bmw's response to warrantee issues has always been very poor. Will being assembled in India change any of that? Unlikely.

Along with risk the cost of bmw mc ownership is very high, IMO. We all try to understand our risks every time we ride. I see no reason to compound the risks we take.  Good fortune,  R3~

[oldbike54]

The looks (and the chain).

 It isn't styled for old guys , and modern chains are reliable , don't you own a chain drive bike ?

[Kev m]

It isn't styled for old guys , and modern chains are reliable , don't you own a chain drive bike ?

Well, technically it's Jenn's, and it's my least favorite bike in the fleet.

Now that you mention it, I texted Jay last week after I got home from a spirited ride on the Stone.

Seems right before a favorite road that leads through some of the few curves we have around here I came across a Duc 796.

He quickly charged to a position just off my tail and stayed there UNTIL WE HIT THE CURVES.

At the end I pulled over and waited for him. 

Yeah, I'll take my slow shaft-drive smallblock thanks. 

[Sasquatch Jim]

Bum W hasn't been in this area since the R-27.  This one is about 75 pounds lighter with  nearly twice the power.
 It should be interesting to see ride reports and reliability reports, but-
 And here is the big butt, it's still typical BMW ugly.  Come to think of it, there are very few good looking motorcycles being made these days.

[Charles in Lake Charles]

I'll bet it's expensive.

[Triple Jim]

I'll bet it's expensive.

I'll guess it'll be competitive with others like the Ninja 300 and the KTM 390, around $5,000-$5,500.

[BRIO]

I don't like it. An Indian made mini BMW. what's the point? Cheapest way of owning something with a white/blue propeller badge?

Id be all for it if it was a small displacement boxer with the same quality lever as the bigger ones only smaller and simplified.

[GearheadGrrrl]

No advantage over the competition, and probably at least a thousand bucks higher price to boot!

[Guido Valvole]

@ BRIO -- Germans don't do "simple" any more.
@ GearheadGrrrl -- yep, "preserving owner exclusivity". 
cr

[LongRanger]

Tough to imagine it being a sales success in the U.S., especially considering its Japanese competition, but kudos to BMW for introducing it. Like every other manufacturer, they're challenged to attract new riders to the fray. I imagine the build quality will be as good as anything else.

[kirkemon]

The looks (and the chain).

Everybody has different tastes. It's not a great looking bike but compared to, say a monster, well, it looks better to me.
Beauty is in the eye of your own head.
As for the chain, I would have thought belt, but a chain isn't the end of the world as some would believe. I don't think this is a touring bike.

[jas67]

Tough to imagine it being a sales success in the U.S., especially considering its Japanese competition, but kudos to BMW for introducing it. Like every other manufacturer, they're challenged to attract new riders to the fray. I imagine the build quality will be as good as anything else.

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I can't see it being price competitive with the Japanese bikes in this segment.

I certainly don't see anyone shopping for a bike in this segment paying BMW prices.

But, yes, kudos to BMW for trying.    I would say that this is more of a way for BMW to penetrate other markets where small CC bikes are more mainstream.   It is too much of a niche for this market.

[Kev m]

Everybody has different tastes. It's not a great looking bike but compared to, say a monster, well, it looks better to me.
Beauty is in the eye of your own head.
As for the chain, I would have thought belt, but a chain isn't the end of the world as some would believe. I don't think this is a touring bike.

I was just answering Dusty's question.

But if you want to discuss it further I think a chain is a mistake in this segment of the market. Small/light/cheap will more likely sell to a newbie who probably knows nothing about caring for chains and/or to someone who can't put it in a garage at night so it will sit in the elements.

I don't love it or hate it personally. To me it's kinda meh.

But I like that they're doing it.

[SmithSwede]

I'm interested, but then, I really like light bikes.  Love, love, love my 2012 Ninja 250.   This little BMW would have less weight, more horsepower, and probably better suspension than the two-fiddy.    Sounds good to me. 

The little BMW potentially has a decent range too.   Supposedly 70 mpg with a 2.9 gallon tank, so that's about 200 miles max.

Two big questions though.   How buzzy is it on the freeway?   The little Ninja is very smooth, so I don't hesitate to take it on long trips if I want to. 

And of course price.  How much will BMW charge for this little thing?

Will be interesting to read the road tests. 

I for one am glad that we are seeing the manufacturers offer interesting new stuff in the 250/300 cc category. 

[oldbike54]

 Yeah , the styling thing is pretty subjective , Lots of designs that others fawn over leave me cold , and several bikes that are almost universally panned on WG are very attractive to my eye . As for the price , well , the S1000RR is actually cheaper than some of its Japanese competition . Quality and warranty issues , hmm , BMW doesn't have nearly the problem that some believe, and they have some huge sales successes recently . To paraphrase our famous mechanic from OZ , the airhead is dead .

  Dusty

[Kev m]

I'm interested, but then, I really like light bikes.  Love, love, love my 2012 Ninja 250.   This little BMW would have less weight, more horsepower, and probably better suspension than the two-fiddy.   

Will it, the article is most certainly quoting crankshaft hp, though I guess there's not as much loss with a chain.

And isn't the weight they're quoting probably dry?


So BMW < 34 hp (@9500 rpm) and > 350#dry  vs. Ninja 250 26 rwhp & 383# wet

There might not be much of a difference at all.

[LongRanger]

Except the Ninja (and Yamaha) are twins, not singles. The buyer of the BMW may not care about this, but I'd expect the magazine reviews to take notice and critique accordingly.

[oldbike54]

Will it, the article is most certainly quoting crankshaft hp, though I guess there's not as much loss with a chain.

And isn't the weight they're quoting probably dry?


So BMW < 34 hp (@9500 rpm) and > 350#dry  vs. Ninja 250 26 rwhp & 383# wet

There might not be much of a difference at all.

 20+% more HP and 8% less weight , hmm , I think that will be noticeable .

  Dusty

[jas67]

Except the Ninja (and Yamaha) are twins, not singles. The buyer of the BMW may not care about this, but I'd expect the magazine reviews to take notice and critique accordingly.

From what I've been reading from owners, some of which who have had multiple bikes from this market segment, the Yamaha R3 is the current leader of the pack.

[Triple Jim]

KTM seems to be doing well even though their bikes are more expensive than the Japanese bikes.

Actually, the KTM 390 is about the same price as the Ninja 300, give or take a little, depending on options.  I'd think that once they're made in India, the price premium for the BMW name should be pretty small.