India is the first country BMW Motorrad has chosen to launch the refreshed G 310 R in, at a price of Rs 2.45 lakh, ex-showroom. While power and torque figures remain the same, the bike sees a few nifty upgrades to help it stand out from the crowd. The new G 310 R now gets a full LED head and tail lamp setup, ride-by-wire throttle and an adjustable clutch lever as well as brake lever. It also sports dual-channel ABS and a slipper clutch as standard equipment.
The G 310 R will continue to be powered by the 313cc water-cooled single-cylinder mill, rated at 33.5bhp and 28Nm. Flat out, the G 310 R will do 143kmph and reach 50kmph in a matter of 2.5 seconds. The engine housing covers of the alternator, clutch and water pump are now painted in titanium grey metallic. Ride-by-wire enables automatic idle throttle increase, which will solve the stalling issue that plagued the BS4 model. This feature is similar to that which is seen on the TVS Apache RR 310 which we tested in February. The frame has two parts – a tubular steel grid with a bolt-on rear subframe. The swingarm is made of aluminium and works in conjunction with a directly mounted monoshock while the forks are upside-down units. The engine housing covers of the alternator, clutch and water pump are now painted in titanium grey metallic.
BMW is now offering the G 310 R in three new paint schemes – Polar white, Cosmic black and Limestone metallic, which it also refers to as the Style Sport livery. Surprisingly, in its BS6 compliant iteration, the price tag of the G 310 R has gone down by Rs 54,000, in comparison to the BS4 model, making it a better value-for-money proposition with its added features in this moniker. The bike can be had at a monthly instalment of Rs 4,500 through BMW’s financial services. Apart from this, BMW Motorrad is also offering a three-year warranty as standard with the option to extend it five years for the price of Rs 16,250. However, the first 500 customers will get an introductory offer of Rs 5,499 for this extension.
With this new pricing, BMW has put its entry-level sportster within firing distance of its rivals. The G 310 R now costs Rs 12,000 less than the KTM 390 Duke while the Bajaj Dominar 400 undercuts the Beamer by Rs 47,200. However, BMW Motorrad has only 21 dealerships across the country while KTM has more than 700 outlets, thanks to Bajaj’s Probiking network.