BMW G 310 GS - 1000 Mile review
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- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- This one addition to the 2023 BMW G 310 GS Rallye has made all the difference in handling: Rox Riser 2" on 7/8" Bars on Amazon: amzn.to/3Qv7rPX
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We made it to the 1000 Mile mark!
Do you ride a BMW G 310 GS?
Do you plan to purchase one?
If so, please consider giving us a thumbs up and subscribing to our channel as we plan our future rides in the desserts of the PNW.
So far, we have enjoyed having the smaller displacement motorcycles.
Let us know what you think of this 1000 mile review.
Thanks for watching!
John and Caroline ☘️
📚 Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to the 1000 Mile Review of the BMW G 310 GS
00:25 - Caroline gives her reviews the HIGHLIGHTS of her Factory Lowered BMW G 310 GS
02:30 - John discusses the Add ons for the BMW G 310 GS
04:00 - Review of 3 Likes vs. Challenges of the BMW G 310 GS
08:30 - Add the Rox Risers to any motorcycle - they work great!
10:30 - G310GS Does Everything we ask it to do... so far! 😃
12:00 - Final ride - See you out on the road! 👍
Cheers! You found us.
We are John and Caroline O'Boyle. Welcome to our channel. After 42 years of marriage we sold our home, loaded our 2 - BMW GS motorcycles into the garage of our Grand Design 351M and traded the familiar for adventure. Join us as we travel America's roads in search of the best hiking, biking, and motorcycle riding that is has to offer. Our rides resemble a Shamrock 🍀 thus the name: "The Grand Shamrock Tour."
Please consider subscribing and smashing the "Like" button if you enjoy these types of videos and want to follow along! 👍😃
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🏍 Nelson Rigg: www.nelsonrigg.com
Use the Code: SHAMROCK25 for a 25% discount at checkout.
🏍️ SRC MOTO: www.srcmoto.com
SRC MOTO has given product support to John and Caroline.
Be sure and tell them The GST sent you. No current discounts are offered but they do provide an incredible product and fantastic service. Our product was shipped and received within 2-3 days!
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Amazon Link to the 2” - 7/8” Handlebar Rox Risers from Speed FX:
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2 NEW 🏍 Motorcycles!
#2023BMWG310GSRallye
Previous motorcycles for the first three years:
#2017BMWf700GS
#2019BMWR1250GS
🚴♀️ E-Bicycles:
Rad Power: City Step Thru
Rad Rover E-Bike
@RadPowerBikes
RV:
Grand Design Momentum 351M - Toy Hauler
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”#fulltimerv #fulltimervliving #fulltimervlife #toyhauler
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#Retiredinspired #positive
#helmetcam #senaprismtube - Авто та транспорт
We had some technical difficulties loading this video. Thanks for your patience. If you own a BMW G 310 GS or are planning to purchase one... let us know. Thumbs up if you appreciate this video. Safe travels! John and Caroline 🍀
Great review you two - many thanks. I have just bought one here in the UK and pick it up tomorrow - really excited !
Congratulations on the BMW! We know you will enjoy it. Stay tuned for Sunday… we have the Rox Risers install coming out. That made a big difference in handling.
Best wishes with the new bike! Thanks for watching. John and Caroline 🍀
Looks like you guys really did your research. Great review for bikers.
Thanks so much! A light, playful bike! Now… on to the desert. 😂
John and. Caroline 🍀
Im gping to add fog lites. On same hiway had driver take a L in front of me from a T intersection, and 10 miles later a car pulled out to over a truck- ' hey like you know Im in this lane right?" I had to emergency brake again and pull over to rt as far as ...finally it pulled back in. I was toast otherwise. More lites the better.
Nice review. Thanks for posting/sharing. Cheers!
Thanks for watching for sure! We are looking forward to more miles and another review by June.
👍😄
John and Caroline ☘️
I have a 2023 G310 GS. I had dual sports years ago, but wanted something very road worthy that could be off-road capable. I am 5ft 9. 180lbs. I have added the following:
PUIG windscreen
Barkbusters hand guards
Rox Handlebar Risers
Pivot Pegz
Hepco Becker Skid Plate/Engine Guard
Bridgestone Battleaxe AX41 50/50 tires
Rally Raid Spoke Wheels
Rally Raid Level 2 Suspension
Scorpion Exhaust
I will be adding the SRC headlight guard, Kickstand Sensor Guard, Radiator Guard. Atlas Throttle Lock, Double Take Mirrors. I agree the Rox Risers are a great inexpensive upgrade. I added them after about 400 miles. After that the pivot Pegz are the best bang for your buck if you are going to stand up off-road comfortably. The biggest game changer was the Raid Suspension and AX41?Tires. I am really enjoying the 310!
Wow! Such great comments!! I love the list of upgrades. We will be adding tires for sure. The pivot pegs may be next based on your comments. We head for the desert in June after we put a few more miles on these tires.
Adding Spoke Wheels and Suspension mods! That is a big deal. Having two bikes makes it a bit of a financial challenge. 🤣
Did the Scorpion Exhaust make a difference for you?
We will be putting out a Rox Riser install this next week.
You will really like the SRC Moto products. Let Scott know that The Grand Shamrock Tour says hello.
Thanks for taking the time to write in!
John and Caroline ☘️
The Exhaust shaves off over 6lbs, and is noticeable. They claim adds 1hp, but the real fun is that it gives the bike a deep tone that makes the little GS sound respectable, but not obtrusive. I look forward to more videos!
@@Sauk-gp8wy So cool! Thanks for the info. We will have to consider the exhaust as well.
👍😀 J&C ☘️
Hi John and Caroline! Glad you have a good review on these bikes. They look like they handle very well. Even in the rain and fog. Or is hard to see in the rain and fog? My brother he always quit riding in the rain and waited til it chewed up.
He rented a bike out here and ride to Death Valley. He loved it. But so glad you love your bikes. Stay safe and travel safe.
Such a great ride to Death Valley! We rode there when it was 105 degrees! So hot I could hardly move. 😂 Thanks for watching. We will continue to ride and share as we go. J&C 🍀
@@TheGrandShamrockTour
Oh good I like hear how it’s going on the bikes.
@@TheGrandShamrockTour
I can’t wait to see more of your riding!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this bike has tubeless tires. Being able to "plug and go" is huge. Additionally Rally Raid offers aftermarket spoked tubeless wheels.
So correct! We have had to use a plug and go on our prior GS. It is an advantage that was not mentioned. 👍
Hey… when Rally Raid sends us those wheels I can’t wait to put them on! 😂🤣
Thanks for watching.
John and Caroline ☘️
Hi John and Caroline. Excellent video. I have the exact same bike and love it. I bought it last summer and have put about 1,600 miles on it. I’m a retiree and just riding it locally here in Nashville Tn. and it’s my first bike since I was in my 20’s. The only mods I’ve done is put a Givi top box on it and a Puig windscreen on. Only been on paved roads. But there plenty of winding country roads outside of town that are great riding roads. The bike handles them perfectly. Great content and I’ve subscribed and look forward to seeing more from you. Ride safe!
Wow! Of course we love your bike! 😂 We appreciate you subscribing and reaching out. I even checked a couple of your videos.
Last year we rode the curvy roads to Leepers Fork and then to The Loveless Cafe for lunch. A great ride!!
We have only had these on the main road so far. The Oregon rain has kept it too wet to get to those backroads.
Keep riding and enjoy!
John and Caroline ☘️
@@TheGrandShamrockTour it’s great riding the Natchez Trace on. There are a bunch of roads in that area to enjoy. My question to you is how do you like going from 2 cylinders to 1? Is the 1 cylinder a thumper to you or do you even notice it? My curiosity has me wondering if I’d like to upgrade to the 750gs. I don’t need it. Just wonder if it’s a more comfortable ride and the tft screen and all. It all seems better but bigger too. So I keep telling myself I don’t need it.
@@MikeNoble We have been riding the bigger motorcycles for years. It feels great to have a smaller lighter bike. That being said… we so enjoyed the 1250 and 800 GS! They served us so well. Just planning a different adventure. 😀👍
I bought a 2019 G310GS for my 60th birthday, in late October, a few months before the 2021 models were due. BMW chopped off $1000 and the dealer chopped another $400. It was $4920 out the door. I've done all of the maintenance in those 3.5 years and it's been easy and cheap to keep. I never needed the generous 3 year factory warranty. I'm coming up on 8000 miles and I love my baby GS. I've make a lot of mods with a few still to go. I'm 6'2" with freakishly long arms, and 30 mm bar risers made a huge difference in the riding comfort, on road and off. The pegs were too small for doing much off road standing so I installed PivotPegz and they're very nice. I bought the bike to do ultralight moto camping and I've been doing more of that lately. I've almost worn out the factory Metzler Tourance tires and will be installing some 50/50 or maybe 70/30 tires that are more off road capable than the Metzler's although I'd always ridden small dual sport thumpers and the 90% street tires have been great for road use compared to dual sport knobbies.
My only real con with the baby GS is the 2.9 gallon fuel tank. An ADV bike should have at least a 5 gallon tank, even one that gets 65+ MPG.
More generally, the entire motorcycle industry has ignored decades of increasingly desperate pleas for a lightweight off road capable ADV bike with enough power for comfortable highway cruising. They finally made small ADV bikes but they all make them as beginner bikes for US and Europe and as bikes for the large Asian market. They're built to a budget, which is fine, but they refuse to sell us the bike we really want - a 450-600 cc single cylinder bike with a large fuel tank, and large rear rack, weighing less than 350 pounds. That's technically reasonable but they'd need to replace some steel with aluminum. The big moto companies don't want to make a more capable lightweight ADV bike that's good on and off road because, if they did, who would buy their expensive mid and full size highway cruising "adventure" bikes?
If BMW wanted to meet us halfway, they could improve the excellent G310GS by offering a G310GS Adventure, with a 5 gallon fuel tank that provides more fairing for the legs, tubeless spoke wheels, an aluminum skid plate and maybe crash bars, a taller adjustable wind screen and two 18 watt USB charging ports. None of that would cost them all that much to upgrade (as opposed to after market) and they could charge $2000 more. I'd pay it. They won't do that, and definitely won't offer a similar bike with 450-600 cc, because it would gut their 900GS sales.
Wow! What an insightful response. We thank you for that. We have had the larger GS motorcycles and rode them for 1000's of miles, just not much off-road. Your thoughtful observations will likely help a lot of other dual sport riders and hopefully will encourage others to purchase bikes in this category. The motorcycle industry needs to add younger riders as well as keep us older riders as customers. One thing we appreciate about the BMW G 310 GS is that it is an "aspirational bike" that gets others interested in motorcycling. 👍😃
We are finding a renewed enthusiasm for the smaller displacement bikes. We are both 62 and have been riding together since we met and have found that lighter, smaller, and easier is a welcome feature. (Caroline still misses here f700GS 😂)
We also appreciate the BMW G310GS flexibility in that Caroline is 5'4" and used the 28mm Rox Risers. Knowing that you are able to modify the same bike to fit your taller frame is impressive.
We are looking at changing tires. The original Metzler's are good for highway and street, okay for back roads and fire roads. We do need a more aggressive tire to get "off road." I am not sure we will wait the 8000 miles to wear these out. 😂
Caroline's one concern with the bigger tank is the weight. She is not flat footed on the 310 so if the tank was too heavy it may be a challenge. (Her GS tank was within the frame vs. in the true upper tank- which made a big difference.) John is considering adding a Roto-Pax for an extra 1.5 gallons for those days we are farther out. We have the luxury of two riders and John can carry the extra weight.
We like the idea of a lighter 450-600 cc dual sport with the features you suggest and have met plenty of riders that would agree with you. I hope others leave a comment or reply on their thoughts.
Thanks again for reaching out. Keep riding and stay safe.
John and Caroline ☘️
@@TheGrandShamrockTour - Most people ignore my long form UA-cam comments, but you actually responded with an even longer reply! 😀 I love seeing couples riding together in their 60's. The kudos go mostly to Caroline for that, which makes John a very lucky guy.
@@UltralightMotorcycleCamping I agree! John is one lucky guy! 😂 Thanks for the laugh. Caroline
Wonderful video! You guys are so funny, yet so professional! Packed full of great information! See you out on the road!
Thanks Kathy! We will try to keep sharing AND entertaining! 😂 Thank you for watching.
J and C ☘️
Glad to finally see this review. Ill have to look into that riser for when i purchase my g310gs. Are you doing an install video?
Hello! We are thinking of making a Rox Risers install video… I do have a short almost ready just for fun. 😂 Would a full install video help? Let us know and I will keep you posted. J and C ☘️
@@TheGrandShamrockTour If you don't mind making one, I'd love to have it. I don't have a lot of confidence with tinkering, so having a full video for the risers and the src accessories will be helpful for me
@@Thoraxe0987 Sounds great! We had the video footage and decided to put it together. Let us know what you think… it comes out Sunday morning.
John does a great install video. He is easy to listen to and has a good perspective of mechanics. He used to own a motorcycle shop and has been a motorcyclist nearly his whole life. 😀
Love your videos, i have the 2022 g310gs in Polar White (Mudhorn) with alot of the src mods you have and the roks risers. I also have the puig tall screen, barkbusters, and a 17tooth front. I love the 17tooth front for the highway miles since it does 70 to 80mph at around 5 or 6k rpm. It is a bummer for takeoff but every gear feels more usable. Keep up the great work
Thanks so much! We so appreciated the SRC Moto Crash Bars and accessories. Certainly the best handling add was the Rox Risers. We love the feedback for what other riders are doing. We will plan a few more adds: exhaust, pegs, and wind screen.
Thanks for reaching out!
John and Caroline 🍀
What’s a 17 tooth front and the barkbusters ? How do they work/help with handling?
@@sanjaykamodia1022 Neither improve the handling but I do believe his comment was to improve the overall riding experience.
We like having hand guards for wind protection and a bit warmer. We have not added the 17 tooth sprocket so far.
One add on that makes the biggest difference is the Rox Risers. We hope this helps.
John and Caroline ☘️
Go up a tooth on the front sprocket. You’ll like the bike even more!
We have heard that. That first gear is quite short. How does it affect the bike when riding in gravel and dirt? Did you also change your tires?
Thanks for the comments!
John and Caroline 🍀
Same ?? as the shamrocks. Im In a need to know situation w/my 2018 310 gs.
@@ikeeptime Not sure on our end for the 2018 310GS. Thomas, what are your thoughts! @thomasAndreas-ck2fh
Great video, thanks! What is the tire upgrade tread height restriction with the lowering link? Seems knobby tire would rub up against the link...
Hello! It has been suggested to us that a large selection of tires will fit. We are heading to the BMW National Rally in June and plan on making the change to new tires then. We will share what we come up.
Feel free to share any changes you make. Hope you are enjoying your 310 as much as we are.
John and Caroline ☘️
@@TheGrandShamrockTour Yes, thank you! I have 1800 miles on my original Baby GS Touregs and would like to buy a new set soon. I've been riding the gravel roads in the Berkshires.
@@brucerobtoy7286 Sweet! We are looking forward to getting the miles on the originals and then maybe the Battleaxe… to your point, we will be checking the clearance first. 😅
Ride safe!
J and C ☘️
What tyres would make it better off road ? I am thinking about the scorpion rally STR
On our other GS's we have used the Anikee III, the Anikee Adventure, and the Dunlop Missions.
I have heard good things about the Scorpions, we will be trying the Bridgestone BattleAxe next. Stay tuned. Let us know what you think of the STR's.
John and Caroline 🍀
I can tell that you are a subscriber to "ADV Larry". You are using most of the same equipment like he does on his 310. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hello Robert! We actually chose this equipment because of @advlarry 👍😀
We enjoy his content and we like these bikes. Ride safe!
John and Caroline ☘️
I've created my list of goodies too, using his videos and plan on putting the same hardware on my 310. Ride fast and dangerous! ("not!")
@@RobertHopkinsArt Be sure and add Rox Risers too.
They are the best! 👍
Hello. You mentioned that you lowered your 310gs from the factory. How did you go about doing that and what was the end seat height? My wife really needs to have that done since she can't touch the ground as it is. Any lower seats available? Anyways...if I can find who to call. 😊
Hello!
We had one of our BMW G 310s lowered for Caroline. She is 5’4”. The BMW approved lowering link is made by Bestem and lowers it 1.5 inches.
The local shop did the install for about $400.00 and includes having the kickstand lowered as well. They did a good job but that link could be installed yourself much cheaper. You would still need access to have the kickstand lowered.
Caroline is not flat footed on the bike and there is an odd tipping point in the bike but with the Rox Risers she is much more able to handle the balance and getting her feet down. She has been on a factory lowered 800 GS but this bike is much easier and lighter to manage.
There are seats available that would potentially lower it another inch so that would also be an option. So far Caroline does not need it.
We hope this helps. Let us know if you have other questions.
John and Caroline ☘️
Does finding neutral hard for you too? Coz mines a bit of a pain. Esp. On a stand stil. I've tried adjusting the clutch but it did nothing. Care to share some insights?
Hello! I have found that I have to double clutch sometimes as it jumps from 1st to 2nd... I will have my "mechanic" (that would be John 😂) check my clutch adjustment as well and get back to you. Caroline 🍀
John says try releasing the clutch "lightly" while searching for neutral. It will put pressure on the shift drum. Let us know. 👍 John 🍀
Hello,
Does it have vibrations? On the handlebar and tank?
Hello! YES... There is handlebar vibration. However, we have taken 200 miles rides and WE were fine. Our problem: my iPhone in my RAM Mount ruined the phone camera. 😳 We are looking at getting a Quad Lock but have not gone that route yet.
Thanks for asking. I will make sure to add that on our next review.
Caroline and John ☘
Thanks ... on higher speeds there are certain sweet spots where you just glide and the vibrations are almost nil, but most places in the rev range one finds that and it gets a little annoying.. having said that the overall experience is wonderful
@@Thinkerzmusic Also… we did add the Rox Risers 2” that may have made a difference for us. We do find that sweet spot right after 5000 RPM.
Safe travels!
John and Caroline ☘️
Would you recommed for beginners? Or for 5’4 height rider?
Absolutely for both!
For 5’ 4” riders the lowering link helps. It’s light and handles well. We have used on street, logging and fire roads and it handles all well. Versatile for beginners. 👍😀
We have added the Rox Risers as it really helps with handling, even for shorter riders.
Enjoy!
John and Caroline ☘️
Hi there... What about to put a DNA air filter... I put in my 310 and change the breathing of the engine.. cheers
Wow. We had not thought of doing that… yet.
Did you need to open up the air box? How did it affect performance?
Thanks for reaching out.
John and Caroline ☘️