I have see quite a few articles recently that BMW have teamed up with an Indian company (TVS) to make and market a range of 300cc bikes, and among them will be an adventure version.
My first reaction was that 300cc was way to small, but I think they may be onto a winning concept here.
I suspect that a modern EFI 300cc motor could well have power and torque ratings not far from the original XT500, and that was right at the front when the whole Adv bike thing started. I have recently upgraded my 150 commuter scooter to a kymco 300i, and I am actually astounded how much performance they get from a 300 motor. The scooter weighs 160 or so Kg, and I am not sure where it quits on the speedo, but I normally quit at 120-130 and it gets there easily in the length of the freeway on-ramp. I upgraded the 150 as it was just a little slow to ride the 6km of freeway on my daily commute.
In my mind the 300 is just about perfect as a commuter. I took the Kymco 500 for a test ride, but it just felt a bit too heavy at 205Kg for my local travels.
But how would 300cc be on an adventure bike? I suspect good. If the BMW/TVS tie-up makes a bike in the 150Kg weight range, with a reasonable clearance, and not on stilts, I think there would be a market.
I have ridden many times with folk on bikes in the 200-250 range, and whereas sometimes you wish they could keep up with the pack doing 120-130 on the tar, when it comes to the twisties and gravel its another story. I remember BeemerMike's missus riding a TW200 up the passes in Lesotho to Oxbow, and whereas the bike struggled at 100 or so getting there, once on the twisty bits the bike went up like a homesick angel. I am sure if her bike had had my scooter's 300cc motor we would not even have noticed she was on a smaller bike.
At the KZN bash last week I was looking at the big bikes on display, and was wondering if KTM and Yamaha have not lost the plot a bit. They seem to be locked into a size and feature arms-race, and sure you are going to need those behemoths for inter-galactic and trans-continental travels, but for a Sunday ride through the Valley, or even a weekend trip to a spot 400km away, do you really need all that bike?
So who would be interested in a 300cc Adv bike? I suspect it may be great not just for new entrants into adv riding, but for folk like me in the autumn of their riding lives. I have to admit that since my cardio cut and paste job there have been may times I have thought of hanging up my helmet and selling the 660, but for an adventure bike that performs like my scooter on tar, and can do the type of gravel trips I did last weekend I may do a downgrade to something smaller - and a bike that I can lift without popping the wires that keep my chest together.
I say go for it BMW. What you guys think?
My first reaction was that 300cc was way to small, but I think they may be onto a winning concept here.
I suspect that a modern EFI 300cc motor could well have power and torque ratings not far from the original XT500, and that was right at the front when the whole Adv bike thing started. I have recently upgraded my 150 commuter scooter to a kymco 300i, and I am actually astounded how much performance they get from a 300 motor. The scooter weighs 160 or so Kg, and I am not sure where it quits on the speedo, but I normally quit at 120-130 and it gets there easily in the length of the freeway on-ramp. I upgraded the 150 as it was just a little slow to ride the 6km of freeway on my daily commute.
In my mind the 300 is just about perfect as a commuter. I took the Kymco 500 for a test ride, but it just felt a bit too heavy at 205Kg for my local travels.
But how would 300cc be on an adventure bike? I suspect good. If the BMW/TVS tie-up makes a bike in the 150Kg weight range, with a reasonable clearance, and not on stilts, I think there would be a market.
I have ridden many times with folk on bikes in the 200-250 range, and whereas sometimes you wish they could keep up with the pack doing 120-130 on the tar, when it comes to the twisties and gravel its another story. I remember BeemerMike's missus riding a TW200 up the passes in Lesotho to Oxbow, and whereas the bike struggled at 100 or so getting there, once on the twisty bits the bike went up like a homesick angel. I am sure if her bike had had my scooter's 300cc motor we would not even have noticed she was on a smaller bike.
At the KZN bash last week I was looking at the big bikes on display, and was wondering if KTM and Yamaha have not lost the plot a bit. They seem to be locked into a size and feature arms-race, and sure you are going to need those behemoths for inter-galactic and trans-continental travels, but for a Sunday ride through the Valley, or even a weekend trip to a spot 400km away, do you really need all that bike?
So who would be interested in a 300cc Adv bike? I suspect it may be great not just for new entrants into adv riding, but for folk like me in the autumn of their riding lives. I have to admit that since my cardio cut and paste job there have been may times I have thought of hanging up my helmet and selling the 660, but for an adventure bike that performs like my scooter on tar, and can do the type of gravel trips I did last weekend I may do a downgrade to something smaller - and a bike that I can lift without popping the wires that keep my chest together.
I say go for it BMW. What you guys think?
