BMW G 310 GS Clone Launched In China

The Chinese are at it again, making clones of international bikes. This time around, it’s a German ADV

• The Colove 400X gets a much bigger fuel tank than the G 310 GS.
• The body panel design seems to be inspired by the BMW F 750 / F 850 GS.
• It is powered by a 378cc parallel-twin liquid-cooled engine.

Colove Motorcycle, a Chinese two-wheeler brand, has launched the Colove 400X in the Chinese market at 29,800 Yen (approximately Rs 2.98 lakh). The motorcycle looks eerily similar to BMW’s GS range. For one, the headlamp design appears to be inspired by the BMW G 310 GS whereas the body panels seem to be a mix-and-match-derivation of the BMW F 750 GS & BMW F 850 GS. 

The motorcycle features a large 20-litre fuel tank, and the company claims that the motorcycle returns an average mileage of 23.8kmpl. Theoretically, this should ensure a riding range of over 470km on a full tank of fuel.

The Colove 400X is powered by a 378cc parallel-twin, liquid-cooled motor which produces 36.7PS at 9000rpm and 35Nm at 6500rpm. Transmission duty is handled by a 6-speed gearbox linked to a chain drive. Compared to the G 310 GS, the Chinese bike makes 2.7PS and 7Nm more, and the engine sits inside a diamond-type frame. 

The suspension bits include 41mm upside-down fork with 165mm travel and a linked rear monoshock which gets 169mm travel. This motorcycle’s suspension offers 15mm (front) and 11mm (rear) less travel compared to the G 310 GS. The bike rolls on 19-inch front and 17-inch rear alloy wheels wrapped with dual-purpose tyres. This motorcycle is more of a road-biased ADV than an out-an-out offroad-centric adventure tourer. It comes to a halt using dual 296mm front petal discs and a single 240mm petal disc at the rear with dual-channel ABS. At 172kg kerb (excluding the three panniers), the bike is only 2.5kg more than the entry-level German ADV. Unlike the G 310 GS, the lighting system is all-LED in this bike. Colove also offers a USB charging port as standard on this motorcycle. 

It’s pretty obvious that the Colove 400X is unlikely to come to India. However, given its sub-Rs 3 lakh-rupee pricing, even if Colove launched the bike in India via the CKD route, it would cost as much as the BMW G 310 GS (Rs 3.49 lakh, ex-showroom India). In a nutshell, you’d get a more powerful road-biased ADV for around the same price as the G 310 GS!