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When shopping this bike I once said I was looking for reviews and could not find many… so now that I have it let me share my own observations.
Got mine June 12th, first one sold by my local dealer in Montreal, QC. I rode it to work every day since, even under rain. Very pleased with it so far.
This is not my first bike, got higher displacement bikes in the past, but this time just felt I did not need a big bike for the common usage I’m needing it for. My daily commute distance is 30km round-trip and in the city, no highway, so the average speed I reach is very low. Something light, easy to maneuver and affordable were my criteria, and these are met with this bike. Here the registration under 400cc is cheaper, and it also reflects on for insurance (rare thing, a check from them is even in the mail for the difference compared to my previous bike).
Position: I’m 5’7” (1.70m) tall and the bike fits nicely. Feel somehow “inside” the bike as opposed to “sitting” on it, probably due to the shape/position of the gas tank.
The bike is smooth and to my surprise does not vibrate the way I was expecting from a mono-cylinder. My last bike as a KTM 690 and I could barely see in the mirrors since they were vibrating so much! This is a no-issue with the G310R.
The transmission gears are very close. To reach a cruising speed of 50km I find myself shifting up to 4th gear. Riding in the city mean you’ll constantly be switching gears. 1st gear is very low. Seems like you can almost use the 2nd gear as the first one. (I might consider putting a front sprocket with one more tooth when/if that becomes available to see if it better fits my city pace). That being said, when I’m done with the break-in maybe I’ll end up cruising the bike in higher revs. Right now still sticking (maybe a bit too strickly!) with manufacturer’s recommendation of running under 6K RPM. I went on the highway reached about 100km/h at the 6000 RPM mark, so I did not test the bike in much higher speed yet. Ride was still very stable at that speed.
Brakes took a good 50km to start to be somewhat responsive. Same goes for the shifting mechanism where the more I ride the better it gets. On the way out of the dealer, I was having a hard time putting it in Neutral (found it was easier to find neutral when down from 2nd than up from 1st gear) . Also got the ‘-‘ mark a few times in the first rides. Never had issue finding 6th as other reported. From all new bikes previously owned, this is probably the one asking the more mileage to break-in the transmission, at least from what I recall. I’m at 220km and I hope things will still improve in that area.
Overall the bike inspires confidence, seems the weight is really well balanced. Feels well “planted” and so you don’t fear to lean it in the curves. VERY quick from switching from a side to another, will be fun to ride in twisty roads for sure. The stock tires, Michelin Pilot Street are doing a great job. Unless putting the bike on a track, I would not see the need to swap these tires before using all the thread they have!
Exhaust noise is minimal & the tune of the sound has nothing special nor very exciting, but luckily I’m not the type of person choosing a motorcycle by its sound. I also got a few fines in the past for changing exhaust (forbidden by law here) so I’m out of that game for now.
Despite the price and the fact the bike is not made in Germany (as other models are ?) it certainly does not look of feels “cheap”. I was happily surprised when I finally saw it in the flesh and rode it for the first time. No regrets so far!
Got mine June 12th, first one sold by my local dealer in Montreal, QC. I rode it to work every day since, even under rain. Very pleased with it so far.
This is not my first bike, got higher displacement bikes in the past, but this time just felt I did not need a big bike for the common usage I’m needing it for. My daily commute distance is 30km round-trip and in the city, no highway, so the average speed I reach is very low. Something light, easy to maneuver and affordable were my criteria, and these are met with this bike. Here the registration under 400cc is cheaper, and it also reflects on for insurance (rare thing, a check from them is even in the mail for the difference compared to my previous bike).
Position: I’m 5’7” (1.70m) tall and the bike fits nicely. Feel somehow “inside” the bike as opposed to “sitting” on it, probably due to the shape/position of the gas tank.
The bike is smooth and to my surprise does not vibrate the way I was expecting from a mono-cylinder. My last bike as a KTM 690 and I could barely see in the mirrors since they were vibrating so much! This is a no-issue with the G310R.
The transmission gears are very close. To reach a cruising speed of 50km I find myself shifting up to 4th gear. Riding in the city mean you’ll constantly be switching gears. 1st gear is very low. Seems like you can almost use the 2nd gear as the first one. (I might consider putting a front sprocket with one more tooth when/if that becomes available to see if it better fits my city pace). That being said, when I’m done with the break-in maybe I’ll end up cruising the bike in higher revs. Right now still sticking (maybe a bit too strickly!) with manufacturer’s recommendation of running under 6K RPM. I went on the highway reached about 100km/h at the 6000 RPM mark, so I did not test the bike in much higher speed yet. Ride was still very stable at that speed.
Brakes took a good 50km to start to be somewhat responsive. Same goes for the shifting mechanism where the more I ride the better it gets. On the way out of the dealer, I was having a hard time putting it in Neutral (found it was easier to find neutral when down from 2nd than up from 1st gear) . Also got the ‘-‘ mark a few times in the first rides. Never had issue finding 6th as other reported. From all new bikes previously owned, this is probably the one asking the more mileage to break-in the transmission, at least from what I recall. I’m at 220km and I hope things will still improve in that area.
Overall the bike inspires confidence, seems the weight is really well balanced. Feels well “planted” and so you don’t fear to lean it in the curves. VERY quick from switching from a side to another, will be fun to ride in twisty roads for sure. The stock tires, Michelin Pilot Street are doing a great job. Unless putting the bike on a track, I would not see the need to swap these tires before using all the thread they have!
Exhaust noise is minimal & the tune of the sound has nothing special nor very exciting, but luckily I’m not the type of person choosing a motorcycle by its sound. I also got a few fines in the past for changing exhaust (forbidden by law here) so I’m out of that game for now.
Despite the price and the fact the bike is not made in Germany (as other models are ?) it certainly does not look of feels “cheap”. I was happily surprised when I finally saw it in the flesh and rode it for the first time. No regrets so far!
