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Sad News BMW 310 GS

44006

Member
My friend who bought 310 R last winter and loved it also bought 310 GS this winter in addition to the 310 R. I have been working on him to join MOA with no success yet. He was having so much fun with both 310s that he sold his full dress Harley and his very reliable Burgman scooter and was about to keep only the BMWs.

Then the new 310 GS at just over 2000mi last week failed its alternator stator - oops back ordered till maybe sometime in January - unacceptable down time so he made a deal for a new Yamaha and will sell 310 GS if and when dealer ever gets the part. The 310 R is still ok at over 6000 mi.

I read on this forum and other places that BMW does not have parts for these bikes in the US.

In my opinion the bike is not ready yet for market and should be avoided.

Unfortunately I bought a 310 R last month now about 800mi. This is the first BMW since the /2 bikes that will fit my 24in inseam without serious modification butchery. I am afraid of what to expect.

I remember all too well the early to mid 1980's Yamaha Venture and Honda Goldwings that came too early to market with failing alternators and no replacement parts which spoiled a full season of touring for many of my AMA friends. I would have thought BMW would have known better by 2018 than to put unreliable junk on the market.

The 310 R is a joy to ride otherwise - only complaint I have is too small gas tank (not enough range) and not enough clearance inside filler assembly to allow use of some of the higher pressure gas pumps without splashback.

ps My 1980 R65 with close to 100,000 mi and no failures ever requiring a tow and no dealer service for about 35 yr took me home from the 310 GS failure site to get my truck to rescue this guy and haul him home after AAA failed to come as promised. The old airhead with a low battery could have been push started with no lights and driven probably 100 miles to a safer place. The modern bike was simply SOL when the battery went just lower than its electronics demanded. I will have a hard time after this expenience ever trusting my new 310 R to do anything important too far from my truck.
 
One failed part on one bike, and you call the 310 "unreliable junk"? There are folks out there putting lots of miles on these sweet little bikes, and from what I see and read they are holding up very well. :scratch
 
If they can't support the bike any better than that, I'd not consider one either. I buy to ride, not wait on warranty parts for 2 month, that's not riding

Has nothing to do with how reliable the bike or any bike is, if the dealer can't get it fixed in a timely manner due to parts shortages, why would I ever take the risk of something failing and I wait 2-3 months or longer for a part.

Is bmw going to extend the non riding time on the warranty clock? They'd have to do at least that while the bike is down, and down for a length of time not the owners fault but the makers fault?
 
Voni and I each have about 12,000 miles on our G310GS bikes and have had no such issues. That said, we could have a problem tomorrow. But for us it would not be a crisis because we each have at least one other bike we could ride.

I am reminded of the early days of the R1100RS back in 1993 and 1994. The first round of transmissions were problematic - a skip somewhat like jumping out of gear. Most likely weak input shaft face cam springs but BMW never fesssed up to what the issue was. Many were replaced. We took her bike in - they replaced the transmission but it took a month to do so. Oh well.

Today that bike sits in front of the house with 413,000 miles on it and it has been loads of fun and a multitude of memories. We did not declare it junk. And we are both very glad we didn't.
 
For your consideration-
We are currently in a bad spot in the graph where the intersections of technology, parts, parts quality, parts support and the ability to actually achieve a well running device/machine. I spend a lot of time keeping the systems “up” in many instances. Parts that have lasted 15 to 20 years, replaced the the new version of the parts frequently last 15 to 24 months.
It would seem that well made part does not complete well with a low priced part except in appearance and since the consumer of these parts are more often than not driven by price and not value- a short life prevails.
If all of that is coupled with an idea that is brought to life with “outsourced” parts, provided by an unproven supplier you arrive at today’s situation regarding mechanical devices.
While I don’t believe any manufacturer wants a problem due to the cost of warranty repairs and the pummeling that happens on social media, they are kinda stuck trying to move forward.
If you are concerned with the bike- move on.
If the bike that failed can be “Lemon-Lawed”, move on.
Of course, YMMV.
OM
 
My view: All social media users (this site is social media, BTW) are using a platform that responds to, and rewards, negative opinions. (Those negative opinions can be correct, they are just negative.) The threads here that are negative-themed seem to get more "looks" and more responses than the positive-themed threads. My guess is that the original poster of this thread is younger then most of us (I certainly could be wrong) and is more in tune with pounding a product and getting lots of attention and agreements from other posters. We of an older persuasion are more circumspect and experienced (we can still be wrong in that experience and circumspection) and therefore less likely to jump on a product at the first sign of failure.
 
For your consideration-
We are currently in a bad spot in the graph where the intersections of technology, parts, parts quality, parts support and the ability to actually achieve a well running device/machine. I spend a lot of time keeping the systems “up” in many instances. Parts that have lasted 15 to 20 years, replaced the the new version of the parts frequently last 15 to 24 months.
It would seem that well made part does not complete well with a low priced part except in appearance and since the consumer of these parts are more often than not driven by price and not value- a short life prevails.
If all of that is coupled with an idea that is brought to life with “outsourced” parts, provided by an unproven supplier you arrive at today’s situation regarding mechanical devices.
While I don’t believe any manufacturer wants a problem due to the cost of warranty repairs and the pummeling that happens on social media, they are kinda stuck trying to move forward.
If you are concerned with the bike- move on.
If the bike that failed can be “Lemon-Lawed”, move on.
Of course, YMMV.
OM

:thumb

I've been waiting 6 months for my black throttle bodies to become available on the camhead. Germany needs to get their crap together. it's unacceptable to wait this long on replacement parts.
 
The 310 appears to be a decent bike but I wouldn’t expect it to match the quality of contemporary Japanese offerings. TVS and BMW may try but India suppliers are in a very cost-competitive environment and the occasional shortcut is bound to slip through.

In the 310’s home market it sells for less than half a Versys 300, but import tariffs are probably a factor. Still, Kawasaki must sell enough 300’s to make importation worthwhile, which at least provides something of an India buyer’s perspective.
https://auto.ndtv.com/compare-bikes/tvs-apache-rr-310-1288-vs-kawasaki-versys-x-300-1371

That said, I like the 310 and could consider owning one someday. Appearance and ergos are good, and the US price is still reasonable.
I just wouldn’t expect it to be bulletproof. (India pun intended)
 
Have seen parts sourcing issues on almost every make and model of products for years, seems it will be an issue in on demand inventory practices which is the norm now. Not just BMW, nor motorcycles, try to find parts for any LG appliance as just one more example.

Those who remember the late Beemerdons and his experience trying to source parts for the very new K16 several years back will hear a familiar tune. It took forever.
Seems parts supply just is never the priority we think it should be. Build,build, build and forget to stock the parts chain is hard to understand the lag.

We own a similar model from India that was out before the 310, a KTM 390 Duke, build quality doesn't seem any different from the Austrian 690Duke bigger brother sitting next to it.

One failure to the owner is a major hit, I get that. I don't think there is an epidemic in the 310 line and hope it doesn't present itself . Electrical assemblies fail, some just for a random reason, some for QC or weak specifications and too much maximizing profits.

So many manufacturers in many countries including the US building foreign cars for other folks. Someone from each mothership is eyeballing the offshore efforts you would think, so you hope there is no difference other than assembly point.

Side note:
Brownie, I would have just painted mine by now, mainly cause I'm cheap these days and hate long wait times. Have black ones on our S.
 
Have seen parts sourcing issues on almost every make and model of products for years, seems it will be an issue in on demand inventory practices which is the norm now. Not just BMW, nor motorcycles, try to find parts for any LG appliance as just one more example.

Those who remember the late Beemerdons and his experience trying to source parts for the very new K16 several years back will hear a familiar tune. It took forever.
Seems parts supply just is never the priority we think it should be. Build,build, build and forget to stock the parts chain is hard to understand the lag.

We own a similar model from India that was out before the 310, a KTM 390 Duke, build quality doesn't seem any different from the Austrian 690Duke bigger brother sitting next to it.

One failure to the owner is a major hit, I get that. I don't think there is an epidemic in the 310 line and hope it doesn't present itself . Electrical assemblies fail, some just for a random reason, some for QC or weak specifications and too much maximizing profits.

So many manufacturers in many countries including the US building foreign cars for other folks. Someone from each mothership is eyeballing the offshore efforts you would think, so you hope there is no difference other than assembly point.

Side note:
Brownie, I would have just painted mine by now, mainly cause I'm cheap these days and hate long wait times. Have black ones on our S.

I agree, but it's a triple black, so trade in value will be affected, IMO.
 
Electrical assemblies fail, some just for a random reason, some for QC or weak specifications and too much maximizing profits...

I recall, with aircraft avionics, if they were going to fail, they'd fail in the first 20 or so hours of use.
 
I recall, with aircraft avionics, if they were going to fail, they'd fail in the first 20 or so hours of use.

Electronic Hijack:wave

My son, the former Avionics Tech on the flight deck with EA6B's of the carrier Stennis would have some added words no doubt. Just read it has been retired and replaced with a bit newer EA18. Definitely some avionics onboard!

1324089627038876560.jpg
 
The 310 appears to be a decent bike but I wouldn’t expect it to match the quality of contemporary Japanese offerings. TVS and BMW may try but India suppliers are in a very cost-competitive environment and the occasional shortcut is bound to slip through.

I read and heard similar sentiments about Japanese vehicles back in the '70s when I bought a Subaru. Which was, by the way, the only car I have ever owned that I kept for over 250,000 trouble free miles, excepting wear items like brake pads and such. We now own 2 G310 bikes. I will deal with whatever comes up but will not out-of-hand condemn them because of their origin. Time will tell, of course. But until I am bit I will remain happy with the bikes.
 
Good News Problem Solved by very special Dealer

I have learned that my friend who had the failed alternator mentioned in my original post
has been taken care of to his satisfaction by the dealer who apparently did the unthinkable
- that is took the part from another bike in stock, repaired and delivered the repaired bike
to my friend's house.

Euro Cycles of Central Florida


www.eurocyclesofcf.com/visit-us-at-one-of-our--locations

My 310R now at a little over 1200mi without issues - is a joy to ride
Only serious problem is with design of gas tank filler assembly which makes filling the tank
very messy at a station with relatively high pressure delivery - the filler assembly is directly
on top of the tank standing seam without enough clearance to insert the nozzle far enough to
prevent splashback. Design should have had filler assembly off center to the right in my opinion.
 
Always good to hear of a happy ending and good service :thumb
Thanks for following up.
OM
 
Had a bad stator also. Euro Cycles of Daytona (same owner) found one in US and got my bike back up within reasonable time. I think dealers make a difference in what happens when problems occur. Huel Johnson is service director for all three dealerships and is customer oriented.
 
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