[VAdadofthr33]

Hi, I have had my bike for a few months now, ridden it offroad a few times and frankly find it terrifying on even logging roads compared to my dirt bike setups. I have always relied on others to do suspension upgrades because I am afraid of screwing it up, so my knowledge is limited. I have seen that there are multiple manufacturers out there selling upgrades. I was hoping to get some idea who is using what, how much you spent and what your experience is with it? Living stateside I would think that there may be a price benefit to not buying rallyraid but IDK. Not looking for the bleeding edge best but wondering what would make this a little better all around. I am heavier at 238 lbs or so.

 

[Cyrille]

There is a kit from Rally Raid...

• Buy: BMW G310GS
• Video:

 

[ARBOLMANO]

Read about. Only one company has actually done the research and developed an economical practicle solution. Watch JMo‘s videos on ADV. That’s Rally Raid. Sadly, wheels are not available at the moment, kinda important if going off road much, wheel size playing large role really. There is a forum member doing his own “Full Mod” so stay tuned. The RR fix will run much less than $1000 and take 2 hours to remedy the soft spring issue.
I am at 230 lbs myself and found the 310 near dangerous off road. Rally Raid level 1 fixed the issue. Only limited by the tires (and rider skill) now. One gains amazing handling on road as well with the kit. Getting the springs proper for the loading without dropping a pile of money was my goal.

 

[VAdadofthr33]

Read about. Only one company has actually done the research and developed an economical practicle solution. Watch JMo‘s videos on ADV. That’s Rally Raid. Sadly, wheels are not available at the moment, kinda important if going off road much, wheel size playing large role really. There is a forum member doing his own “Full Mod” so stay tuned. The RR fix will run much less than $1000 and take 2 hours to remedy the soft spring issue.
I am at 230 lbs myself and found the 310 near dangerous off road. Rally Raid level 1 fixed the issue. Only limited by the tires (and rider skill) now. One gains amazing handling on road as well with the kit. Getting the springs proper for the loading without dropping a pile of money was my goal.

Did you do both front and rear?

Not looking to rail this bike hard offroad, I have enduro bikes for that but just to improve the overall ride for my BFArse

A few others I saw were:

• TOURATECH Suspension Options for the BMW G310GS | Touratech-USA - I think I read previously that the ones in there now are progressive? idk. I have had progressives installed in a few enduro bikes and i liked them soft and plush on minor stuff but stiffens with intensity
• Cogent Dynamics BMW G310GS Suspension Upgrades | Cogent Dynamics

I like the fact that they are stateside and at least with Cogent is a drivable distance. I dont know anything about either of them though.

 

[ARBOLMANO]

I did just the front at first as my 310 is not my dirt bike and I just wanted to correct front. That worked pretty good, cranked preload way up on rear shock. I added the rear shock as I found a used one. Huge difference but if your funding tight, I’d advise just the front first. Deals arrive on rear shocks if patient. One poster here installed hyper pro springs but had issues. Many will sell you springs the tricky part is what rate and how many. No really only the right fork spring supports the load and is damped. The new “industry standard” apparently. That’s what’s nice about RR. They’ve actually developed under real world conditions, no genius work or expensive guesses. One poster here has dropped bucks on springs and shocks and still seeking solutions on a DIY mission. Some people are into such things. But one easily can spend much money and still not have a KTM 6 day, though you could have bought one. It’s a 90/10 GS that comes in over 340 lbs, cast wheels and low rpm torque is weak. An awesome bike and a value but it is what is.

 

[VAdadofthr33]

Deals arrive on rear shocks if patient.

Do you mean on RR site?

One poster here has dropped bucks on springs and shocks and still seeking solutions on a DIY mission.

I went that route with a KTM 350, front end was always washing out, ended up selling the bike because I couldnt get a solution to work for some reason....dangerous and frustrating....Thats why I was trying to find out what kind of success/failures people have had. Good to hear that the RR is working out for people Bad suspension will ruin your day quickly. Thankfully its not as bad as my old KLX but its not confidence inspiring in its stock state for me for even the mildest of off road conditions

 

[ARBOLMANO]

For sure stay tuned. Steeler on your path two weeks ahead of you. He’s intending to do show and tell soon. Sorry to hear about RR issues on KTM, I‘ve only ridden one and short distance, way too much bike for me. Bummer RR didn’t help. Check out JerryG s posts. Pretty real World use by experienced rider. I worked at researching and for many, 310 RR worked and wasn’t too expensive. I was so grateful to one poster who did what I almost did, install progressive springs. His experience demonstrated clearly it’s not like the old days.
But I‘m on fixed income, have a dirt bike, ride mellow and slow. Just correcting a soft spring issue worked for me. Highly advise holding off a week or so and see what Steeler does. You could well require more than Rally Raid and will have to ante up. Not much worse than to install something and then realize you cheaped out, and should have got the better one.

 

[VAdadofthr33]

Sorry to hear about RR issues on KTM, I‘ve only ridden one and short distance, way too much bike for me. Bummer RR didn’t help.

Just to clarify for anyone reading it was not RR that I dealt with. Regional guy that does quite a bit of the local hare scramble champs suspension.

 

[Steelers Bike]

After weeks and weeks of research, I am now installing a high end solution. This will be my only bike, I weigh 260#, and will do both street and OHV dirt.

So I am spec'ing out a system that will cost $2K-ish. I do not believe that my solution will be 'worth it' to most. Judging from your comments, it'd be a bad fit for your needs. (If I may be so bold.)

I'll admit that part of my motivation comes from wanting to just push the envelope.

Anyway...my research also suggests that it's very, very hard to beat Rally Raid for price/performance. Also, RR is a very well-known entity come resale time. It's also 20x better-documented than the sum of the rest of the market combined. That's not nothing.

But it's good to have (at least a few) choices.

 

[Steelers Bike]

BTW, this rambling thread also discusses suspension upgrade options.

 

[VAdadofthr33]

Anyway...my research also suggests that it's very, very hard to beat Rally Raid for price/performance. Also, RR is a very well-known entity come resale time. It's also 20x better-documented than the sum of the rest of the market combined.

That was exactly what I was trying to figure out. I just need to wrap my arms around my end goal. In the "i wish" section of my imaginary amazing bike it would have more power, be better on road and be better off road, but just as light and nimble......I was looking at the level 1/2 RR setup. Not much more if I am going to do it to go level 2, IDK. Still a boat load of money for a hobby with a wife and college tuitions...Having a hard time swallowing that part.

 

[Steelers Bike]

That was exactly what I was trying to figure out. I just need to wrap my arms around my end goal. In the "i wish" section of my imaginary amazing bike it would have more power, be better on road and be better off road, but just as light and nimble......I was looking at the level 1/2 RR setup. Not much more if I am going to do it to go level 2, IDK. Still a boat load of money for a hobby with a wife and college tuitions...Having a hard time swallowing that part.

Totally understandable.

From what I've internalized about your requirements, I think that RR L1 is your most rational choice (assuming you can swing the budget). Edit: IMO, if you are not going offroad, forget RR L2.

And it's always nice to have a single chest to put your finger to if something ain't right.

And, conversely, being a systems integrator is a lonely and dangerous job. lol

But bikes aren't solely a left-brain tool. Sometimes they're made of dreams.

 

[Cyrille]

For the moment still using OEM... If I had the budget I would go for Rally Raid Suspensions and Wheels.

 

[VAdadofthr33]

Totally understandable.

From what I've internalized about your requirements, I think that RR L1 is your most rational choice (assuming you can swing the budget). Edit: IMO, if you are not going offroad, forget RR L2.

And it's always nice to have a single chest to put your finger to if something ain't right.

And, conversely, being a systems integrator is a lonely and dangerous job. lol

But bikes aren't solely a left-brain tool. Sometimes they're made of dreams.

View attachment 17438

That is a thing of beauty.... How does the road ride feel change with that setup

 

[ARBOLMANO]

Steeler puts on 10k a year so in a short time (that’s what 100 miles/week?) it would be a great long term test to see if spending big bucks tenders a result anyone else might seek. Sometimes high buck (race) stuff is short lived, requiring rebuilding constantly. There’s also the whole issue of correct spring rate and damping adjustments. Figuring that out can get expensive and non effective. Letting someone else drop money is the way to go. There are quite the few successful rests of the Rally Raid posted. I can’t find a succesful test of other systems In use for the 310.
Of course Steeler may still be limited by tires and wheels to light duty off road use with traditional logic. So we may not see much real off road testing from him. I personally find the tires perhaps more limiting than the suspension for off highway use. But thats my skill level. Probably not an issue to more skilled riders than I.
There’s always a small percentage that are not satisfied to go with the pack, have skills and can afford to do their own thing. This is good, one intrepid soul saved me from wasting money on installing two fork springs. I went with the effective Rally Raid system instead. I totally owe that person. The deadicated builders seemingly have jumped ship from the 310 platform to the Honda CRF as it has far more potential. At least this year…. So having intrepid product testers is awesome and saves many from potentially wasting money. Alternativly a demanding rider might see a happier path than installing a kit that doesn’t satisfy their needs.
I love people unafraid to spend money.

 

[choerenz]

I also have the Rally Raid level two suspension and love it. I can't imagine this bike without it.

 

[ARBOLMANO]

The Rally Raid corrects issues with the 310 and sets it where it should be. A true professional set up.

 

[JerryG]

Check out JerryG s posts. Pretty real World use by experienced rider.

Thanks, @ARBOLMANO, now you've got me blushing 😊.

I did research and development (R&D) and test and evaluation (T&E) for much of my military career. R&D and T&E are incredibly expensive and full of things that don't pan out, that just turn out to have been good ideas, but not effective and/or not suitable. So, once I decided on a G3GS, it didn't take me long to find that Rally Raid had done a lot of R&D and T&E on G3GS upgrades, more than enough to convince me. I bought almost three grand in upgrades from them and installed them myself the first month I owned the bike. That includes their Level 1 Fork Kit and their Level 1 Low Rear Shock. If it wasn't for my limited inseam, I would have gone with their Level 1 Rear Shock combined with their Tractive Hydraulic Preload Adjuster; unfortunately, their low rear shock isn't compatible with their hydraulic preload adjuster (that's the kind of thing you only figure out via R&D and T&E).

In June, I completed a 7,101 mile trip that included a good amount of off-road, including about 60% of the NEBDR and a lot of off-road in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. With the RR Level 1 suspension, the bike performed wonderfully helping me maintain control in gnarly situations and smoothing things out both on- and off-road.

Side note: While not required for going off-road, spoked wheels are better for going off-road; they contribute to suspension behavior and wheel durability. I did NOT get RR's spoked wheels because (1) they weren't available; (2) I didn't like their method for making them tubeless (plastic liner with a four year warranty); and (3) I found and bought the BMW-like cross-spoke wheels discussed in this thread: Spanking new tubeless cross spoked wheels (not rally raid)

Hope this helps.
JerryG

 

[choerenz]

Thanks, @ARBOLMANO, now you've got me blushing 😊.

I did research and development (R&D) and test and evaluation (T&E) for much of my military career. R&D and T&E are incredibly expensive and full of things that don't pan out, that just turn out to have been good ideas, but not effective and/or not suitable. So, once I decided on a G3GS, it didn't take me long to find that Rally Raid had done a lot of R&D and T&E on G3GS upgrades, more than enough to convince me. I bought almost three grand in upgrades from them and installed them myself the first month I owned the bike. That includes their Level 1 Fork Kit and their Level 1 Low Rear Shock. If it wasn't for my limited inseam, I would have gone with their Level 1 Rear Shock combined with their Tractive Hydraulic Preload Adjuster; unfortunately, their low rear shock isn't compatible with their hydraulic preload adjuster (that's the kind of thing you only figure out via R&D and T&E).

In June, I completed a 7,101 mile trip that included a good amount of off-road, including about 60% of the NEBDR and a lot of off-road in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. With the RR Level 1 suspension, the bike performed wonderfully helping me maintain control in gnarly situations and smoothing things out both on- and off-road.

Side note: While not required for going off-road, spoked wheels are better for going off-road; they contribute to suspension behavior and wheel durability. I did NOT get RR's spoked wheels because (1) they weren't available; (2) I didn't like their method for making them tubeless (plastic liner with a four year warranty); and (3) I found and bought the BMW-like cross-spoke wheels discussed in this thread: Spanking new tubeless cross spoked wheels (not rally raid)

Hope this helps.
JerryG

For what its worth, I have the RR wheels, both were tube type, and I converted the rear to tubeless. No issues and I have a lot of confidence in these wheels. I also just added the seat concepts "tall" seat, which further improves the feel of this bike off road. I haven't yet tested the bike on the NEBDR (I rode several sections on my Tiger 900 Rally Pro) but I am confident it will be a far better bike for me than my Tiger. The Tiger is a top of the line bike, but with the lighter weight and the RR treatment, I feel so much more comfortable with the baby GS. Light is right as they say.

 

[ARBOLMANO]

Once the suspension addressed, the 310 easily one of the better rounded dual sport. Once you want more than stock tires provide, spokes are wise for the robustness.