BMW G310R and G310GS motorcycles are being recalled in the US. About 2,781 units of G310GS and 2,741 units of G310R are affected in this recall. The reason for this recall is that the brake unit is faulty. The units, over time, may corrode and could impair the brake caliper’s piston’s clearance within the bore.
Faulty units of G310GS are manufactured between 03 November, 2017 to 07 August, 2019. Faulty units of G310R are manufactured from start of sale in 2017 to 29th July 2019. As of now only bikes manufactured in the US are recalled. There is no word on recall being announced in other countries, where the bike is sold.
This recall involves the front and rear brake calipers, and brake caliper’s pistons. Over long-term exposure to certain environmental and winter-time road-treatment conditions, corrosion could occur on the surface of the unanodized brake caliper piston bore.
This in turn could impair the piston’s clearance within the bore. If corrosion impairs piston’s clearance within the bore, it could get stuck, and affect brake performance, thereby increasing risk of a crash.
The rider may notice a increase in noise from the brakes; difficulty to manually push / manoeuvre the motorcycle / scooter; signs of corrosion on the brake calipers; reduced performance when attempting to accelerate; unusual odour near the area of the brake calipers.
The brake calipers in question is manufactured Brembo India, at its Chakan plant. ?Brembo operates in India with the ByBre (By-Brembo) brand, a value-conscious subsidiary.
The recall involves going to a BMW Motorrad dealership and swapping the brake callipers for new ones for free. The recall is expected to begin in early October. The recall also affects 416 BMW C 400 X scooters with the same brake callipers.
The matter first came to the fore in Great Britain in November 18, 2018 when at low speed, the front wheel became blocked. This caused the rider to crash without injury. An investigation suggested that front braking performance may have been affected. A second low-speed incident was reported in March 2019. Great Britain was identified as a high-risk area for corrosion, due to unique road treatment conditions (very hygroscopic and aggressive salt types / significant usage).
On March 19, 2019, BMW conducted a voluntary safety recall for Great Britain. The company conducted a field monitoring program and an inspection campaign in other potentially affected markets. It was found that Great Britain was the only high-risk area for corrosion. All other countries were identified as low-/medium- risk. However, in an abundance of caution, on August 6, 2019, BMW decided to conduct a voluntary safety recall.
BMW G310R and the G310GS are the most affordable motorcycles on offer by BMW. These were launched with the idea of increasing global presence and sales. Seeing the success of Bajaj-KTM partnership; BMW joined hands with TVS for the production of their cheapest offerings till date – the 310 twins. Both G310R and the G310GS are made in India by TVS.
Though made in India, the G310R and G310GS are prices at a similar rate as they are in the US; when the bikes sold in US are imported from India. Price of G310R in India is Rs 2.99 lakhs and that of G310GS is Rs 3.49 lakh, ex-sh.
