[shajufx]

I have a serious information to readers who are going though this review. There is a major battery issue going on within my group of riders (around 135 owners) and many other groups all over the globe. Let me explain :

From the day I took delivery of my bike, there were at least 2 or 3 breakdown reports in my whatsapp group (every 2 weeks), totally stranded on road or on a highway. We always pushed it aside judging it as 1st batch bikes or bikes of 2018. But the moment it started hitting 2019 batches, we realised, there is a serious quality check failure with the batteries of 310 R and GS. Even the Alternator, Starter Motor etc are not spared in this trouble.

I created a Google Doc to collect reports, less than half the owners with issues took time to report it there, still we are crossing 22 'stranded' reports in that doc as of today only from Bangalore.

Multiple attempts were made to convince the Motorrad HQ to look into this issue, but they always rubbed it off as individual cases and never cared to do a 'battery health check up campaign' as requested by us as 'owners group'.

Our fight is now open and we are doing everything to make the company rectify their own quality issues. Stranded bikes are towed by RSA to the dealer and it remains there 1 week or 2 weeks having no parts or diagnosis mode. Even the battery replaced bikes go through the same issues again.

Now its a situation where anyone can get stranded on road with a dead battery, because nobody (including the HQ nor the Dealer) knows whats going wrong. This is totally unexpected of a brand like BMW and very depressing to see the issue not given its due importance and a solution.

We, as owners, seriously wish to have someone with a practical brain to be dealing with such reports and issues than a robotic response of "we will look into it", "we will get back to you" !! Its high time Motorrad India listens to its customers and do something about it immediately !

Attachment 1907890
One of the 30+ bikes that are towed to the dealer in the last 4 months.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I have a serious information to readers who are going though this review. There is a major battery issue going on within my group of riders (around 135 owners) and many other groups all over the globe. Let me explain

Many thanks for sharing! Moving this post to a new thread as it deserves a dedicated discussion. I will also have this put up on our news section.

[KiloAlpha]

Are these issues related to those described in this thread?

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...r-problem.html (BMW G310: Many bikes suffering reliability issues due to alternator problem)

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

Are these issues related to those described in this thread?

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...r-problem.html (BMW G310: Many bikes suffering reliability issues due to alternator problem)

Same thing, the electricals on the GS310 has been iffy from the beginning.

So much for "pay more money, get more quality" ideology.

[nasirkaka]

Not Related to battery, but here is sharing my recent experience with BMW India (tusker Bangalore). On the 6th of August, just a km before my office, the gear shift lever on my BMW G310 GS went limp. Meaning when i press the lever to change gear, the lever did not spring back to its normal position. I managed to reach office and called Tusker BMW and explained the situation. I was asked to use the RSA and send the vehicle to service station. Couple of days later i was told that the issue was diagnosed as broken gear shaft shift spring and they had ordered the part and would communicate once the part arrived. I was following regularly on the developments and after 2 weeks i was told that the spring is arrived but some child part (seal ring) is expected and would take about another weeks time. At this point, i lost my patience. In todays date where a 100rs order from amazon reach from bombay to bangalore in a day or two, kawasaki manages to source spares from Thailand in about a weeks time, how come BMW can not manage to get a spring (yes, just a SPRING) in 2 weeks and wants another week. I escalated the issue via mail to others post which things moved swiftly and i collected the bike yesterday.

Yes, on 6th of August evening, the bike was sent to send to them, and it was ready on the 26th. 20 days for a spring change is just not acceptable by any measures.

I am sharing this story here mainly to highlight that its the Motarrad India and the dealers taking customers for ride, much true to their tag line if "Make Life a Ride". Its not just me, a lot of others on the group have had issues with sourcing of spares, unavailability, un-realistic timelines, etc.

I am still in love with my baby GS. In my 16K kms of riding in last one year, this broken spring is the first issue i have have faced. Barring this, i have just got the two required service done and bike is been running all along without any issues. Yes, a lot of bikes are facing issues with battery, alternator and electricals and need serious intervention but Its the Dealers which have made the entire ownership experience bitter. Firstly by overpricing the product in the name of brand, secondly by not acknowledging electrical issues, and lastly poor after sales experience with service and spares timelines.

[Arfaat_46]

Hi Guys, Just Came across an article mentioning that BMW is recalling its G 310 GS and G 310 R motorcycles for bad brakes. Not sure if the recall is worldwide or only in US.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/b...-brake-recall/

[shajufx]

There are plenty of towing images from our group. Just to prove the original subject line 100% genuine, I am posting 4 more bikes on tow vehicle here (thats a total of 6 bikes on tow vehicle till this post). We are not making up any story, we love our bikes, but we want it to be at least as reliable as a TVS Luna

[v12]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Not Related to battery, but here is sharing my recent experience with BMW India (tusker Bangalore). On the 6th of August, just a km before my office, the gear shift lever on my BMW G310 GS went limp. Meaning when i press the lever to change gear, the lever did not spring back to its normal position. I managed to reach office and called Tusker BMW and explained the situation. I was asked to use the RSA and send the vehicle to service station. Couple of days later i was told that the issue was diagnosed as broken gear shaft shift spring and they had ordered the part and would communicate once the part arrived. I was following regularly on the developments and after 2 weeks i was told that the spring is arrived but some child part (seal ring) is expected and would take about another weeks time. At this point, i lost my patience. In todays date where a 100rs order from amazon reach from bombay to bangalore in a day or two, kawasaki manages to source spares from Thailand in about a weeks time, how come BMW can not manage to get a spring (yes, just a SPRING) in 2 weeks and wants another week. I escalated the issue via mail to others post which things moved swiftly and i collected the bike yesterday.

Yes, on 6th of August evening, the bike was sent to send to them, and it was ready on the 26th. 20 days for a spring change is just not acceptable by any measures.

I am sharing this story here mainly to highlight that its the Motarrad India and the dealers taking customers for ride, much true to their tag line if "Make Life a Ride". Its not just me, a lot of others on the group have had issues with sourcing of spares, unavailability, un-realistic timelines, etc.

I am still in love with my baby GS. In my 16K kms of riding in last one year, this broken spring is the first issue i have have faced. Barring this, i have just got the two required service done and bike is been running all along without any issues. Yes, a lot of bikes are facing issues with battery, alternator and electricals and need serious intervention but Its the Dealers which have made the entire ownership experience bitter. Firstly by overpricing the product in the name of brand, secondly by not acknowledging electrical issues, and lastly poor after sales experience with service and spares timelines.

Strange coincidence - a colleague of mine who has a Apache 310 also faced a similar issue. The gear lever just went limp and wouldn't shift. Issue was identified as a broken shaft or a broken spring. So maybe the issue is not only with the BMW's - its also with TVS. I will find out more from him and update here.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by v12

Strange coincidence - a colleague of mine who has a Apache 310 also faced a similar issue. The gear lever just went limp and wouldn't shift. Issue was identified as a broken shaft or a broken spring. So maybe the issue is not only with the BMW's - its also with TVS. I will find out more from him and update here.

Apache 310 and BMW 310 come from the same TVS factory at Hosur. Many parts are common for both. Surprisingly Motorrad sells same parts for 3 to 4 times the cost with added premium labor cost. Indians notice everything, we even keep the products side by side and compare. But the brand thinks we can be fooled with the logo

[surenpv]

The problem does not seem to be just with the battery. There have been cases of one of battery/alternator/starter motor failing and in some cases more than one of these.
I own a 310GS too and for most of us it is now more a question of when it will be our turn to call the RSA than if !!

[RSimonS]

Issues faced by owners is not with battery alone, with various bikes the dealership has changed the following
- Battery
- Voltage Regulator
- Starter Motor
- Alternator

There seems to be quality issues with the wiring and battery. BMW Motorrad is not acknowledging the same nor doing anything to help with the agony owners are facing.

[nasirkaka]

Originally Posted by v12

Strange coincidence - a colleague of mine who has a Apache 310 also faced a similar issue. The gear lever just went limp and wouldn't shift. Issue was identified as a broken shaft or a broken spring. So maybe the issue is not only with the BMW's - its also with TVS. I will find out more from him and update here.

Thats scary and points to quality issue of the spring. If this Happens on a long ride, there is nothing that can be done but to truck the bike to nearest service center. Please find out more from your friend and share. Thanks!

Apache 310 and BMW 310 come from the same TVS factory at Hosur. Many parts are common for both. Surprisingly Motorrad sells same parts for 3 to 4 times the cost with added premium labor cost. Indians notice everything, we even keep the products side by side and compare. But the brand thinks we can be fooled with the logo

For eg, the cush rubbers on the rear wheel hub is exactly same on both the bikes. the ones on the BMW even has TVS written on the cush rubbers. commonality of parts makes sense from operations point of view, but least they could have done is pass the cost benefit to the customers, which they did not.

[ashwinprakas]

With so many affected parties what surprises me is that I see not one of the owners diagnosing the issue themselves before handing the motorcycle over to the ASC.

Cause irrespective of manufacturer, many a times have owners been provided replacement batteries that also failed soon after when least expected.

P.S. A multi meter costs a few hundreds and is always a good investment for any and all motorcycles.

P.P.S As for the shifter spring, that happens, if it's the rod that has snapped then that's a different case. Also before gunning the manufacturer do note that how an individual shifts plays a huge role in component life.

[nasirkaka]

With so many affected parties what surprises me is that I see not one of the owners diagnosing the issue themselves before handing the motorcycle over to the ASC.

Cause irrespective of manufacturer, many a times have owners been provided replacement batteries that also failed soon after when least expected.

P.S. A multi meter costs a few hundreds and is always a good investment for any and all motorcycles.

Sir, not all riders have technical bent of mind, or DIY enthusiasts. These modern bike designs are also not very DYI friendly in-terms of construction. I have been wanting to remove my bike's airfiter, but the difficulty level is very high. Not simple like for eg. UCE bullets. Even with a multimeter, what can we do beyond judging the health of the battery. console shows low battery, engine does not fire. I really doubt anyone has knowledge and access to dig deeper and figure out if there is fault with alternator, or starter motor, etc. A rider does not necessarily has to be a mechanic, Good if he is, but most aren't. And it is not right to assume bases a few posts that riders in the group with battery issues have not tried figuring things out on their own. They have, within their knowledge and capabilities, jump-started and reach the ASCfor futher investigations. But most of those guys are not even there on team-bhp to comment.

P.P.S As for the shifter spring, that happens, if it's the rod that has snapped then that's a different case. Also before gunning the manufacturer do note that how an individual shifts plays a huge role in component life.

Its the shifter spring, not the shaft. But why does one have to jump to extreme conclusions. The issue i have shared is more about the dealer experience and less about the broken spring. Riding style affects the ride/bike is common knowledge, which most on team bhp know/agree with. There is no one gunning the manufacturer. And even if we assume that the gear shaft was broken, i would still blame the quality and not my riding style, as going by that logic, all my previous bike's gear shafts should have been broken too, but they aren't.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by nasirkaka

Sir, not all riders have technical bent of mind, or DIY enthusiasts. These modern bike designs are also not very DYI friendly in-terms of construction. I have been wanting to remove my bike's airfiter, but the difficulty level is very high. Not simple like for eg. UCE bullets. Even with a multimeter, what can we do beyond judging the health of the battery. console shows low battery, engine does not fire. I really doubt anyone has knowledge and access to dig deeper and figure out if there is fault with alternator, or starter motor, etc. A rider does not necessarily has to be a mechanic, Good if he is, but most aren't. And it is not right to assume bases a few posts that riders in the group with battery issues have not tried figuring things out on their own. They have, within their knowledge and capabilities, jump-started and reach the ASCfor futher investigations. But most of those guys are not even there on team-bhp to comment.

Chill Sir, the reason I insisted on opting for a self test is to triangulate what exactly is at fault, the charging system has the stator, RR and battery to be looked into, since irrespective of what goes out the battery would be the first part the blame falls on it is only common sense to confirm the same, information freely available on the internet (Understanding & troubleshooting Motorcycle Charging Systems) is enough to do just that plus I bet it would take the same effort needed to raise hell on the internet but in turn yield better results.

Else you'd be replacing battery after battery without an end to the issue provided the battery is not really the one to be blamed.

The reason why I'd strictly suggest solely not to depend on the SVC is simply because its not their motorcycle that is at fault but our own, and as reported by another user they might simply plonk in a new battery that would resolve concerns for the time being but leave you stranded a while later and that would be a colossal waste of time and effort.

As you've mentioned the issue rests with the service network, but then again it doesn't hurt to seek knowledge and get on top of things.

As for air filter replacement, doesn't look that hard, though definitely irritating;

BMW GS 310 AIR FILTER CLEANING/REPLACEMENT

How to replace the air filter on BMW G310R

If you really wish to get your hands dirty then you'd be better off sourcing the workshop DVD from ebay.com, as it seems BMW has shifted to DVD's compared to actual manuals.

Its the shifter spring, not the shaft. But why does one have to jump to extreme conclusions. The issue i have shared is more about the dealer experience and less about the broken spring. Riding style affects the ride/bike is common knowledge, which most on team bhp know/agree with. There is no one gunning the manufacturer. And even if we assume that the gear shaft was broken, i would still blame the quality and not my riding style, as going by that logic, all my previous bike's gear shafts should have been broken too, but they aren't.

Doesn't hurt to be sure, plus irrespective of the number of motorcycles we've owned or the km's we'd ridden, there is always some scope for us to improve.

The reason I pointed our usage pattern is because a friend and fellow enthusiast recently had faced shifting issues on his motorcycle, which had quite some km's racked on it.



The issue was isolated to be a broken shift drum stopper but months before this happened I'd observed that his shifting style was way off, the dude brushed it off since he had the experience to keep doing what he was doing but eventually something did give up.

Hence the old saying, 'Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle.'

Cheers,
A.P.