2021 BMW G310GS 

30th September 2020

Liquid-cooled | 34bhp | A2 licence | Euro 5

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We first saw this model back in 2016, and we were moderately impressed with its diminutive persona. Not everyone, after all, wants or needs a monster GS to dish the dirt. Or tarmac. Some guys and gals prefer a more modest experience, and BMW evidently recognised that fact, saw a niche, and developed this "baby Beemer."

Of course, its limitations were immediately obvious. The design proportions offered limited luggage space. For some riders it had a few mild vibration issues (notably when holding steady motorway speeds). It didn't overtake anything decisively. It didn't bounce with any kind of sophistication. And it could have used another 10bhp (and what motorcycle couldn't?).

But it was okay-ish if you wanted moderate power underpinned by the BMW quality promise. It just wasn't special.

Four years on you might expect some fairly big changes to mitigate any accumulated deficits and boost its cred. But of course, over the past three or four seasons the market hasn't exactly been very accommodating, and manufacturers are wary of fooling around too much with a reasonably successful formula. Not least BMW.

For 2021, the G310GS gets a few tweaks and little more. But typically, they're at least sensible tweaks—whatever that means to you. The 80mm x 62.1mm, 313cc liquid-cooled single cylinder engine is pretty much unchanged, except for the clutch which is reworked a little to prevent hopping when braking heavily. The clutch lever, incidentally, is now adjustable.

The LED headlight gets a boost too, and the LED indicators are new. And aside from new colours and the addition of a ride-by-wire throttle, that's pretty much all the meaningful bait that BMW is offering.

So expect performance to be much the same at maybe 80mph—and maybe a little more or less depending on which way the wind is blowing and how much fat you're toting. MPG is still around 60 - 65 or so (subject to the aforementioned qualifications). And of course with its relatively modest 34bhp output, it's A2 compliant—and Euro 5 has arrived with the 2021 model.

As for those colours, you can opt for black & yellow as long typified by the GS brand, or Polar White, or choose the Rallye livery, meaning red and metallic blue.

And the price? BMW didn't say, which is the usual irritation. So if this is your idea of very limited off-road fun, talk to your BMW dealer and demand some answers. Conclusion? The 2021 G310GS appears to be better than it was, but not hugely better.

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