[JerryG]

Google's translation of the above Russian...

"probably it would be right not to think about what others think .. you need to buy a motorcycle as a toy, you like it - ride until you get bored! and how high, low, heavy, expensive it will be for you - it doesn’t matter! the main criterion is that you like it))), and then of course you need to get rid of it ... well, then, then everything is new)))"

My response: I agree with this. As long as I like my G310GS better that the next best alternative, I'm good.

My response in Russian via Google Translate: Я согласен с этим. Пока мне это нравится больше, чем следующая лучшая альтернатива, я в порядке.

 

[JerryG]

Yeah, I agree with that. I was thinking more along the lines of: should you sell your current 310 when the warranty ends to get a new 310?

As soon as there is a new less-than-400-lb-GS that is a significant improvement over the my current less-than-400-lb-GS, I'll buy it. Warranty status isn't a factor for me, but I can understand how it would be for someone who would be hard pressed to pay for a major out-of-warranty repair.

 

[JerryG]

Время покажет))) времена и пристрастия имеют свойство к изменениям..я ни в коем случаем про ограничения типа кефир и зефир)) мне очень нравятся Хонда GRF 300 .. но мне претит иметь два мотоцикла сразу..я так не могу.. не может быть у мужчины две женщины)))..поэтому катаемся на бмв 310 GS))

Google Translation: "Time will tell))) times and preferences tend to change .. I'm by no means talking about restrictions like kefir and marshmallows)) I really like the Honda GRF 300 .. but I hate to have two motorcycles at once .. I can’t do that .. a man can't have two women)))..that's why we ride a bmw 310 GS))"

My reply: I've always believed the right number of motorcycles is three, that's why I have an S1000RR for track days, an S1000XR for sport touring, and the G310GS for adventuring. I guess the womanizing analog would be a mistress, a wife, and girlfriend? Good thing my wife suffices for all three (and approves of all three motorcycles). 😇

My reply in Russian: Мой ответ: я всегда считал, что правильное количество мотоциклов — три, поэтому у меня есть S1000RR для трек-дней, S1000XR для спортивных туров и G310GS для приключений. Я предполагаю, что аналогом распутства будет любовница, жена и подруга? Хорошо, что моей жене хватает на все три (и все три мотоцикла одобряет). 😇

 

[JerryG]

The thing is, the 310 GS is so good for everyday riding that I don’t think I would be using a bigger bike all that much.

I can almost agree with this, but I'm not yet ready to give up the exhilaration that comes from a 498 lbs sport-touring bike with 165 HP or a 459 lbs track bike with 199 HP.

I do hope that BMW keeps improving the unit. I read somewhere that they’re beginning another cooperation with TVS, so I assume that’s a good sign.

I very much agree with this and there is a sign that this is likely: The recently announced G310RR has a TFT display and two engine modes, a Track/Sport mode and a Rain/Urban mode. If BMW can justify these improvements for the 310RR, I like to think the next gen 310GS will the TFT and it's own dual modes, one for street and one for enduro. 🤞🤞🤞

Link: https://www.bmw-motorrad.in/en/models/sport/g310rr.html

 

[JerryG]

I'm eyeing the s1000rr if I get back into track days, or maybe just replacement for my Yamaha MT-10. It's such a badass bike!

Got my vote x2: I've had a 2014 S1000RR and I currently have a 2017 S1000RR. It's set up like an RS with ABM handlebars that are 4" higher than the OEM clip-ons and a Zero-Gravity Touring Wind Screen. I put 24,000 miles on the 2014 and I've put over 30,000 miles on the 2017 so far. Longest ride was to the Ozarks and back from Northern Virginia. Below 10,000 RPM, it's a fun sport bike. Above 10,000 rpm, it's an insanely quick track bike. On track, I hit 162 mph on a half mile straight while still leaving room to brake hard for the hairpin turn at the end of the straight. Yes, I'm smiling as I type this...

 

[JerryG]

Maybe I need to get a Grom as a backup…

Anything is better than nothing. In forty odd years of riding, the longest I've been without a bike is three months. It was a very long three months.

 

[JerryG]

...dealers are not in a big hurry to get them fixed when something goes wrong—or to supply a loaner vehicle.

I have to disagree. My dealer went to extreme measures to quickly fix my 310GS because (1) I carefully manage my relationship with them, (2) it died unexpectedly 114 miles away, and (3) I (truthfully) told them I needed the bike in seven work days for an no-refund off-road event. Also worth noting are the many stories in the BMW MOA magazine about dealers quickly getting tourers back on the road. Of course, a lot of this is situation specific. The loaner concept is a liability issue and, more recently, an availability issue.

Jerry, how did you end up with all BMWs in your stable? I assume you’ve owned bikes from other brands in the past?

My last non-BMW bike was my Suzuki TS250 sold in 1986; before that, I have to go back to my Honda GL500 Silverwing sold in 1984. I've had BMW's continuously, except for the three months when I had no bike, since buying my 1977 R100/7 in 1984. I did consider several non-BMW dual sport bikes before deciding on my 310GS, but the test ride feel killed the Husky 701 option and the premium above MSRP that the Honda dealer wanted killed that option. My reasons for going BMW through the years were initially my father's valid 1970s era opinion on their reliability and later/still, their continuous innovation. Other brands have caught up reliability-wise thanks to modern manufacturing methods, but, in my opinion, BMW is still leading the way on motorcycle innovation.

 

[JerryG]

It no doubt helps that you have bought several high-end bikes from the same dealer (I assume), so they should be doing their best to keep you happy.

Bad assumption: The only bike I bought from them was the 2022 G310GS itself, hardly high end. I bought my RR in northern Virginia (used with just 680 miles on it) and I bought my XR new from Charlotte BMW because at the time, it was the first fully optioned 2021 Motorrad colored XR inbound to the US. In fact, other than knowing it had Motorrad colors, I had to buy the XR without knowing what it would look like because BMW had not yet announced the 2021 model year changes and all pictures were still embargoed. Most of my relationship with my dealer comes from having them do all the service work on the RR, XR, and GS and I buy all my BMW OEM parts and accessories through them.

have been wondering what I would do if the bike broke down 2,000 miles away, when It would be imperative to get on the road again as quickly as possible. I guess it all depends on the dealership.

The nearest dealer won't be 2000 miles away, at least not here in the US. Pretty much every person I've spoken with who broke down during the trip had a good story about how quickly the nearest dealer was able to get them going again and/or a good story about how someone from the BMW Anonymous Book recovered them, got them to a dealer, or got them going themselves. Before your trip, get the Anonymous Book App on your phone and make sure you have BMW Roadside Assistance or roadside assistance from your insurance company or through BMW MOA. BMW Roadside Assistance transported me and my G310GS 114 miles back to my dealer at no cost to me. It took them awhile to find a provider, but they got it done in the end.

 

[JerryG]

When I called the local dealer to ask whether they could do the 600 mile run-in check a couple of days before I left for a longer trip, they told me that the first opening they have is four weeks out.

Sorry, but I'm going to call bull on this one: Unless your trip was an unplanned emergency (like my breakdown and non-refundable event), expecting a dealer to have or make an opening with just couple of days notice is poor planning on your part. Expecting him to bump a customer who got in line before you is not reasonable. What about that customer's plans? As the saying goes, "Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

 

[JerryG]

But there’s a larger issue at work here. If you sell me a new bike and you expect me to do a 600 mile service, but then you can’t offer that service within 5 weeks of me buying the bike, then that’s just not a great customer experience.

I get your frustration and I agree re your experience point. An interesting aspect of service wait times is that if your service capacity equals your service demand, service wait times become infinite. So, service providers have to buy excess capacity if they want to maintain reasonable wait times. However, motorcycle service demand is seasonal, so they can size their service staff for the height of the riding season and pay for excess staff during off season or they can let wait times wax and wane seasonally. They cannot afford to pay for excess staff off season, so we all get wait times that wax and wane seasonally.

I can think of three solutions I've used to work with this. (1) When I'm buying a new bike during the busy season (rare for me), I make the break-in service appointment part of the negotiations so I have an appointment scheduled when I expect to need it before I write the check. (2) I used to live near Bob's BMW in Jesup, MD; they solved this problem by making Saturdays first-come-first-served. They painted numbers on the service area motorcycle parking spots; if you really needed something done that day, you arrived before they opened, or at least quite early on, and parked in the open spot with lowest number. These sessions became mini-rallies with riders bringing food, drinks, chairs, books, tall tales to swap, etc. Bob's did this in part because their service wait times grew to 4-6 weeks during the height of the season. Perhaps you can suggest something like this to your dealer. (3) I know how to do my own basic services; if I can't get in, I can at least make sure continued use of the bike doesn't put it at risk of mechanical failure or void my warranty (I fully document everything when I do a service).

Oh well, we live in an imperfect world; that's not going to change anytime soon; but somehow we mostly muddle our way through.

 

[JerryG]

Maybe the takeaway really is that it’s best to have more than one bike

Being dependent upon a single point of failure is problematic. In the Army, I was trained to have backups for your backups. You need one backup, whether it's a second bike, a friend, public transportation, etc.

I really like the solution that Bob’s BMW came up with. They seem to be a quality outfit, from all I can tell.

Bob's is a well run business; this reflects Bob's laser like focus for efficiency and profit.

All of this makes me wonder how much a good car mechanic can do as far as bike work goes. I have an excellent little shop right around the corner, with a great owner.

I think relying on a auto mechanic will only go so far, but certainly worth cultivating. If there is an independent motorcycle mechanic nearby, it couldn't hurt to cultivate him or her for some things.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[JerryG]

Actually, on tarmac I could keep pace with the 890 as his top speed was less than mine due to gearing!

I'm shocked about the 890 gearing. Wow!

Impossible to get a 310 to the same level of performance but with say $4000 (I forgot what Jerry spent) you can get close.

Not counting the Mosko Moto Reckless 80L luggage, I've spent ~$6500 over and above the cost of the G310GS itself, which was about the same, so I've spent ~$13,000 at this point. The link below is the thread that has a list of my mods and links to each one. I chose to mod the G310GS like this because I wanted an adventure bike that was comfortable long-distance on the road, BDR/TAT capable off-road, and less than 400 lbs so I can be laughing while picking up the bike after off-road "naps" as @ARBOLMANO likes to call them.

Jerry G : Most experienced and helpful

Check it https://tinyurl.com/57kn84j4

www.g310rforum.com

P.S. I didn't name the above thread; that was the brain child of @ARBOLMANO.

If I have a concern at this point, it's about the four confirmed catastrophic engine failures and the decision by those owners that they no longer trust the G310GS to do what they bought it for. The thread for that discussion is...

G310 Engine Failures (6 Confirmed); Share Your Valve...

I started this thread to share engine failure and valve clearance information. This is an outgrowth of the discussion at Performance- High rev.s- To redline or not A few weeks ago, I was informed by one of the owners about three G310GS engines that failed catastrophically, two that "ate a...

www.g310rforum.com

 

[JerryG]

if it self destructs you’ve already got all the bits to set up another

If I can't trust it for long distance on-road to get to and ride BDRs and the TAT, I'll have to redo my calculus on this. There is an interesting 382 lbs dry-weight optimized-for-reliability old-school wild card option out there...

Myth Motor custom BMW R100GS Adventure — Myth Motor

The Myth Motor custom BMW R100GS Adventure is the intersection of the inherent simplicity of an airhead, the needs for long distance adventure luggage, modern suspension, upgraded electronics and a lot more fuel.

mythmotor.com

Just today, a friend loaned me the book he and his riding buddy published about the run down to the bottom of South American...

THE BOOK — Two Wheels South

ORDER THE BOOK

twowheelssouth.com

 

[JerryG]

All good points and part of the calculus I was referring to, so thank you. But, like the admittedly only three folks so far who have had four engines self destruct literally under them, if I had one self destruct under me, I too would very likely lose confidence in the bike. I don't think I would change my thinking to "disposable" and simply buy another. I might decide, like those others did, that while it's a good bike for other use cases, it's not a good choice for what I was trying to do with it. I'm certainly not there yet. I'm going to use the heck out of it and see.

P.S. I was really bothered by the drum brake too. If I really start thinking along those lines, I'm sure he could do a disc brake plus there are other bike choices I'd consider too. The point is, I don't necessarily have confine myself to current offerings.

 

[JerryG]

I think I'll stay with my 310 for a while. If it dies on me or if the engine explodes I'll just buy a new one while the other one gets fixed up.

The $6000 price really does affect one's thinking.