BMW Motorrad today officially announced its newest model, the G 310 R, which will compete head-to-head with KTM’s 390 Duke. The two Germanic machines, one being German, the other being Austrian, are both built in India.
The two motorcycles both offer premium motorcycling to riders shopping in the sub-500cc segment. The bikes themselves are quite similar in many ways. They both utilize single cylinder engines, both use wet clutches and both are chain driven. In fact, the two bike weigh nearly the same in terms of wet weight with the BMW weighing in at 158.5kg whilst the KTM weighs 154.2kg.
The BMW has a smaller displacement than the KTM at 313cc. As a result, the KTM has some a bit more HP. The BMW engine produces 25kw of power whereas the KTM produces 32kw. The BMW has a slightly lower seat height of 785mm when contrasted with the KTM’s 800mm seat height.
It is still unclear whether or not the BMW G 310 R will make it to American shores with emphasis being placed on the markets that the motorcycle was designed for – Asia, South America and Europe. Either way, the real ‘test’ will be comparing the two in real life and seeing which bike encompasses a higher degree of quality and which better attacks the corners as well as the urban jungle.
