Three Amigos 300cc ADV Bike Comparo: BMW G310GS vs Kawasaki Versys-X 300 vs Royal Enfield Himalayan

Why don’t we go to Baja more often? Well, one reason is the manufacturers want us to get special dispensation before we take their bikes to a foreign country, you need to buy Mexican insurance, everybody speaks a weird language down there, you can’t drink the water… those are all really easy obstacles to overcome, and I’m told you can drink the Baja water now.
In fact, there are no good reasons not to go, most things are 50% off - and when a couple of people mentioned to me the recently chic Ruta de Vino, or Wine Route, inland from Ensenada, well, when do we go? Baja is perfect for testing these three little ADV bikes: It’s only a couple hours of freeway from SoCal down almost to the border, followed by a bit of nice, twisty two-lane east to cross at Tecate instead of Tijuana. Naturally, since we were all careful to have all our papers in order, we didn’t need any of them to get in. We were the only ones who wanted into Tecate. A gate went up and a green light went on, no human attendant in sight. Welcome to Mexico, land of taking it slow, manãna, and many dirt roads and sandy beaches to explore. Also wine.
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[@superchargedpetrolhead]

the compass on royal Enfield does work pretty good, the arrow on the compass points to north while the displayed direction indicates the the direction the bike is pointing towards, many gets confused with it because it displays every directions like SE, NW etc and people get confused like " why isn't it showing north " but it always shows north with the arrow and the direction you are riding is displayed in digital readout, cheers guys great review.

[@martianpolarbeer]

This is useful. Guess the dealership should inform the customers.

[@whatsstefon]

narayan verma they can also read the user manual. I know... crazy idea.

[@RiderOftheNorth1968]

@@martianpolarbeer OR people should stop a second and think about how a compass is used! If you do it all makes sense!!

[@narayanverma5895]

@@whatsstefon Right Lol

[@narayanverma5895]

@@RiderOftheNorth1968 I like your profile name :)

[@eadsierestorations]

I don't get it? what are a lot of people moaning about? this is one of the Best "laid-back" reviews ive seen, its relaxed, tasteful, un-hurried, honest, and above all....the guys have had a lot of fun making this review. Hats off to you guys, and thanks for a great un-biased review, its not all about facts and figures, you only have to look at other dedicated BMW, KAWA or HIMA videos to fine out exact details of the three bikes, I like that fact that they dont dwell to long on fine details...love the Mexican music to set the tone and relaxed atmosphere, good job gents....keep up the good work :-)

[@cisium1184]

People are moaning because criticizing others' work is easier and less risky than doing your own work and putting it before the public. Same reason scared would-be musicians become music critics. In short, because they are losers.

[@bfarm44]

Everyone complaining about lack of review. I prefer this way. See everything and see the bike's actually being used instead of standing around....

[@goldfever4570]

Chaps, I really enjoyed this video. Great to see you doing something different! Dynamic and gave more information about what the bikes are *like to ride* instead of reading off the spec sheet as is so common on KZbin. Cheers!

[@luckyjordan8139]

Nice to see a bit of fun and adventure along with tech specs and bike reviews

[@justinwaller7339]

I like the mix of commentary on the adventure and commentary on the bikes. I also enjoyed the visuals and music selection. Nice video.

[@johnroberts6836]

Once again guys a great review and a great run down baja on three very capable little machines. Hats off to you. 👍

[@johnaronson5974]

Nice production value Sean. Good to see your work. The reviews of these models are all over print and the web because Moto-Journo's get the same machines, but you boys nailed what motorcycling fun can be in this review piece. Bueno!

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Liked this video. We've had all three well reviewed separately. Nice to see they're all up to the job, the pros and cons of each aren't overwhelming, and you don't need a litre+ ADV (except for the camera man) to have a bit of an adventure. Good soundtrack for the first five mins as well.

[@DadandaBike]

Just found this video as I'm researching buying a 2022 g 310 gs and gotta say this was the tipping point. Seeing how much fun you guys had made me realize it was the bike for me. Thank you for the awesome time and the good feelings. We are all on two or three wheels and dealing with the same world experiences. Ride to live, live to ride my brothers and sisters

[@Tennessee968]

Did you buy the BMW? How is it?

[@smithjones1906]

I've defended their reviews in the past but this was horrible.

[@BuluBiker]

Plz add RE Himalayan to the title and the Video will boom like anything, Himalayan is a very popular bike in India.

[@HimadriSekharGupta]

Bulu Biker sahi bola bhai

[@Eswarr]

It's added :)

[@jaydeep7234]

Can't you see that on click bait

[@gautthammohan5630]

Bulu Biker maybe that’s how you use click bait for your channel

[@bengaluruhulk4341]

Sir, I want to meet you in Bangalore. Can you please share me your number or please call me on: 9071171133.

[@staffordvideoproductions5788]

Pay no attention to the negative BS. Sean you did a great job. These goofballs don’t understand the nature of storytelling. This is not just about a review of three bikes, this is about what you can do with them and how much fun you can have. When I watch your video I dream of being with you guys. It’s about the journey not about the technical parts of the three bikes.

[@Land-Shark]

Good stuff! I love the longer road trip vids like these. :)

[@ronaldwaddell3135]

One of the best reviews I have seen on this channel.

[@arooplipi]

Love you guys, Love this documentary, pls make more videos like this.

[@sathishrao7926]

Fair review.. Pleasantly surprised to see Himalayan getting featured.. In my total 5 years of living in the US (until 2017), I remember seeing exactly one Royal Enfield Bike ( an ancient Bullet !) on Road !! Hope to see more Enfields ( especially the new 650 CC Twins ) in the years to come..

[@trevorschober8769]

Not really a review, more of watching them on holidays. Got to see Baja I guess.

[@yesanirudh]

The video is so well made, just loved it... I owned the Himalayan the first Gen, with over 22k km's... Did Ladakh on it, I had my share of problems with it but nothing too short to stop the enjoyment...

[@Desertfox92308]

I enjoyed the fun, relaxed pace of Mexico. Keep up the good work guys!

[@MrBrown-br7sh]

Great video. I kinda lost it when you guys started talking about how you love the bikes’ “great racks”. As I get older one thing has remained clear: I’ll always be a child and I also appreciate a great rack.

[@Clambelly]

John Burns ... you are a national hero in the wings. Productions are first class. You guys should have multi-million subscribers. Great honest reviews, with fantastic video and humble host !

[@carlosalbertocastillopicad5924]

Great vid guys

[@rwmotovlogs3818]

Great video guys!

[@thanos_mav]

Great video guys! Thank you!

[@tysteven6279]

Cool little video. Giving a decent look at 3 entry level adv bikes, and baja of course. Thanks.

[@themarriedbiker]

at last a good comparo of the trio nice job keep riding

[@mkula1968]

Excellent video, very well done.

[@JohnnyRebKy]

In my opinion Kawasaki wins every bike shootout 👍

[@martianpolarbeer]

Nicely done. Great review thanks.. :)

[@Allthingstech3108]

Royal Enfield way to go great job. dominated the talk

[@mysurlytrucker7510]

Compass works fine if you didn't know how to start the bmw and were trying to start it with the light switch ?.

[@travismaddox2393]

Great video guys

[@garciano4323]

Well done guys!

[@danilocapellan1316]

Great video thanks I enjoyed it . 😄🙏🏽👍🏽

[@jcastillox]

I just found the video, great trip testing those small adventure bikes. Question about accessories: you guys were using AGV AX9 helmets How was experience with noise isolation and wind noise ? A big step up from AX8 dual evo? Thanks for sharing !

[@ds2831]

Which is best bike BMW Kawasaki X-300 RE Himalayan

[@aat7943]

Nice first impression review

[@mc52]

Really enjoyed the music!

[@nebacanzer]

The theme of the video was chill and laid back. Although, its a channel which reviews bikes, it doesn’t always have to. Its a travel video on bikes with grandpa

[@rockafella1690]

Almost 5 minutes in and not a single comment about the bikes. Poor.

[@hujimix]

It's called doing an introduction, you dumbass.

[@rockafella1690]

hujimix Introductions don't last a quarter of the entire video......you dumbass.

[@noyopacific]

Yeah, it's kinda like foreplay so maybe rockafella1690 would have trouble understanding.

[@rockafella1690]

noyopacific Yeah I do have trouble understanding that 3 guys talking about bikes is like foreplay, you fucking weirdo.

[@noyopacific]

LMAO! :-D

[@natearchuleta2003]

Love the format. Top Gear special vibes.

[@SJCB27]

Seems to be a lot of whinging and moaning below about the format of this video... On a cold and wet October day in Yorkshire, I really enjoyed all the gorgeous scenery and felt that the slow, laid-back presentation showcased these little bikes perfectly. Thanks very much for posting.

[@NinjasOfOrca]

Great review - thanks guys. Really helps me confirm my leanings toward the RE. This is the type of adventure I envision, and the Himalayan seems to fit exactly what I want to be able to do and how I want to do it. I'm pretty new to riding, and I don't want to be revving high to stay in the power band or whatever. The Himalayan's diesel-like torque and power specs (legend has it RE once made a diesel motorbike) really do it for me, even on-road. I want the torque there early, but I don't much care about revving high. Love that it's simple and easy to work on too, and the cheapest option. haha - no brainer for me. But I had to see this video to confirm that. (Well, I still gotta test ride, but this will help me know what to expect) Thanks dudes!

[@lanceg.8458]

Man I like how that BMW looks! What a looker. Never considered a 310cc bike tho :)

[@TheZaneknight]

How would you rate these bikes if Royal Enfield was @ 2.5k $ , BMW was @ 5.2k $ and Kawasaki was @ 6.9k $ ? . These are roughly the current prices (bmw expected) in India atm .

[@threethrushes]

2.5k USD for the RE? Wow… almost makes sense to buy one in India, and ride it back to Europe.

[@santoshmoopanar6584]

They are evenly priced in the foreign

[@bonnevillebagger9147]

The Kawi is $3900 at my dealer.

[@davidc1961utube]

Gerhard Symons Itchy Boots channel is doing just exactly that! She is awesome!

[@khakimzhanmiras]

They are all in the $5-6k ballpark in my country. I would personally get the 310gs used and add a rally raid kit to it.

[@oso1165]

you guys still motorcycle reviewers? or just motovloggers now

[@stanleyknife1967]

Nice video. Somewhere else to add to my bucket list! The Himalayan comes with abs in the UK - part of Euro 4.

[@maxisgoingaway859]

Love my little Himalayan, done 10k in 3 months and having a ton of fun ^_^

[@lacix22]

One of the coolest videos made. I mean the whole.....

[@michaelhutson9268]

just read the article this morning! didn't know there was an accompanying video but i should have guessed,since they brought a videographer/photographer with them

[@martchris65]

Being 6'4 an 250 lbs would that make the performance of the versy different

[@InsideoutIndia]

Nice video

[@jessaphillips2846]

so do you guys use the Triumph Tiger 1200 as your chase bike for all of your videos?

[@grren1782]

Honestly my dream mid-range adventure would be a chassis like the Royal Himalayan but with a buell blast power plant.

[@danilocapellan1316]

Excellent 👍🏼

[@skapis13]

Will there be review of a Triumph Tiger 1200 as well? ;)

[@XCHECK]

Why would you eat with a microphone 2 inches from your mouth? That was pretty intense...

[@jhensley71]

X-CHECK - Intensely made me hungry

[@GIGABACHI]

ROTFLMAO @intense.

[@dcijams]

So, what was the 4th bike on your ride?

[@derekflinn1]

Honestly I can’t remember the last good review these guys have done, it seems the bikes are second or third in priority in there videos. Sad really 10 or so years ago they did a much better job.

[@dennism1919]

Completely agree. Shame, that.

[@zenden6564]

The big baggers review comes to mind as excellent.

[@dionmoore879]

Only years will tell the tale if the RE is reliable. But nice to see a video from Motorcycle .com that doesn't just trash it because it's not German or Japanese.

[@anoopkl4u]

i ride a 45 years old Royal Enfield and it rides smooth AF

[@cyrilgomez]

that bmw is made in india by tvs ....come our of ur bubble

[@jadevilla3653]

Raghu Reddy, it is made not merely assembled in India, albeit under BMW quality-control, surely.

[@newmp1961]

Check out Nathan Millward (Nathanthepostman) He’s thrashed his Himalayan for nearly 17,000 miles over all sorts of terrain with very little trouble.

[@pseutube]

RE has terrible workmanship and most of their bikes share primitive engines. The paints starts to peel within the first year. As a previous owner of the himalayan I can tell you to steer clear of it it has a lot of defects. Also the old RE bikes are extremely heavy slow and start vibrating like crazy when you move over 60 70 kmph. Just get a better bike guys.

[@littlebigadventuring]

Great video. I don’t get why people complain about editorial footage. It ‘s good to see what you put the bikes through if nothing else.

[@michals1108]

In Poland we have Romet 400 ADV with an old Suzuki 28HP engine. In Italy they also have some nice little adv bikes.

[@solstar4778]

How’s the mileage on all three?

[@bengaluruhulk4341]

The video quality is so very rich.

[@bunnatura9892]

what is the song played earlier, can someone help me? huhu

[@Astrix_Jaeger]

The torque, the rev, and the cool

[@DarkHorse2305]

The fact that the RE Himalayan costs just 2.5k USD in India makes it a clear winner in my book. Personally I feel the other two are better bikes but the price difference is insane and hard to justify! - in India atleast.

[@rickshawphilippines]

Sorry. Dont waste your money. Have one here in Philippines. It's broken everyday!

[@ToGrimmToWin]

Himalayan starts at 5,300usd before all the fees it's more like 5800usd plus tax 7.5%

[@jasonstrickland5251]

NICE! Reppin the KCFD!!

[@TheGronk78]

Awesome video...

[@openairokie]

The old guy looks like George Bush jr with a beard 😂 Looked like an awesome trip!

[@beanburnham01]

It would be cool to see this trip with these 3 bikes as project bikes. Cuz realistically no one will leave these stock. It’d be cool to see how capable you can make them with some basic mods

[@jonr4651]

beanburnham01 honestly it wouldn't change much. Regardless of mods all of these would be pretty comparable. Rally raid is currently working on suspension upgrades and spoked wheels for the gs. The kawai only really needs less teeth on the sprocket and knobby tires. The Enfield just needs some minor brake upgrades. No matter which one you chose add a bit to it and it would be good. The only thing that would be head and shoulders above in this segment would be the rally raid cb500x.

[@mookyzook]

What do you mean capable. If you want an off road bike you wouldn't buy one of these, If you want a powerful on road bike you wouldn't buy one of these. I've had my little Kwaka for months now, it will go anywhere I would go on an adventure in stock. The only thing I would change if I was going to do more off road stuff would be the tyres everything else works. And it's light compared with the bigger adventure bikes I've had in the past so if it does go down it's easy to get up again.

[@drencrum]

I'm debating between a Versys-X 300 and the Himalayan as my first bike; the g310gs stock just doesn't seem ready for dual sport adventure at all, it needs the rally raid upgrades but that puts it at nearly 10 grand and way out of my budget.

[@Knapweed]

The BMW G310GS and the RE Himalayan are the same price in Canada for some perverse reason, so it's not really a tough decision.

[@mattevans5812]

I've considered all 3 of these bikes but I wanted something lighter weight, more capable on the highway and off road and bulletproof reliable with easy maintenance so I bought a DR650

[@13Palkia]

Love the Versys X 300!

[@ark1289]

The Himalayan is such a great design, so simple and so purposeful, great design as always from Royal Enfield, but their build quality and engines are such a let down. I wish they improve that, cos their bikes are amazing to look at

[@pseutube]

Yeah exactly it could have done so much more. Sadly the fan boys cannot tolerate any of this.

[@motozest7856]

"their build quality and engines are such a let down" - why? Do you have data or is that just an opinion?

[@anandgosai3294]

New 2020 version came out with switchable ABS

[@dennisb7317]

What is the music in the intro ?

[@unitedrider57]

How tall the rider of bmw 310gs?

[@vzheka1981]

in 2019 in FL: BMW-$4400, RE-$4500, Kawa-$3700

[@galerinha]

In 2020 in brazil: BMW-$5400, Kawa-$5200, RE-$3600. But I'll probably go with kawa cause of better performance on road. And RE bikes seems like of a lesser quality with a lot of customers angry with recurring problems. Not like the 2 years warranty won't pay but I like more when things just work

[@pumps32]

Nice little trip. Careful wearing that KCFD shirt, someone might want you to do something. I came on the job with your brother.

[@grz2g1]

RE sells well because of the torque it produces. It can keep it's foot on gravel without any hassles.

[@shashidl]

Is the bmw made in India as well?

[@siddharthtamhankar8499]

Two of the 3 bikes are made in India!! NICE! :)

[@ineinerbank]

in europe you have to have at least rear wheel ABS for being street legal, and since they sell Himalayans here, they must have it. i heard there is a mode button on them that doesn't do anything if you have a nmon-ABS himalayan

[@luispiovani9542]

Well, here in Argentina, the versys 300 costs 12.800 us dollars. And gs 310 even a little more. They are crazy!. The Himalayan costs 5.000, and it is the fuel injected with abs bs4 model. So I know they are not in the same league, but almost three times the price?

[@bfarm44]

Precisely why I want the 310. Slower pace. Just relax and enjoy the ride instead of having to muscle around 500+ pounds of bike and gear

[@Al.j.Vasquez]

I don't like the color scheme of the Versys 2018, maybe if they switched the colors... I'm glad i bought the 2017 model, it's just perfect.

[@desroin]

Good to know the Royal Enfield can do 65, people often say 50-58 tops before it starts to shake you off the seat.

[@sandeepanmazumdar6473]

The himalayan was particularly tested on the mountains with freezing weather conditions and therefore the air-cooled engine is not a problem also pointed out the fact that it's the easiest to work on and many may didn't know but it's made for very long service intervals and about the valve adjustments, it doesn't need so much , it's a pretty durable bike , the versys even though refined and the bmw are not considered value for money bikes in India . Also the service network of RE is biggest among these three and thus played a crucial role for after sales experience, good luck

[@simonjones2645]

Crap at altitude though as the carby fails miserably in thin air ....

[@kevinnashskitchen3517]

Another scenario that a dr650 with a windshield, seat concepts seat and a bigger tank would have spanked those little bikes. Good video.. Thanks for sharing the experience. ✌

[@mukundthorat5672]

Sea water will kill your bike chain in a day. Good review.

[@fleuger99]

Cool vid. Anyone doing the trip you did on these bikes would get panniers, why didn't you? Could have reviewed them as well.

[@EvansBrasfieldMotojournalist]

fleuger99 While that is true, the boys were only going down for two nights, so we decided to keep the gear to a minimalist level to focus on just the bikes.

[@fleuger99]

Understood, thanks for the response.

[@bsimpson639]

I think we could do without the bearded guy’s snarky reliability jibes at the RE. Yeah, historically, and previous generations, but this is a BS4 Himalayan, with EFI.

[@Madharr234]

Where is the versys 250?

[@ystarvlogs]

I am missing my Himalayan bought it before lockdown was not able to do a long ride.

[@Dokubus]

Great video, bad review. One reviewer complained the BMW pegs were not where he expected them to be. This is a faux complaint,a personal preference remark, a way to criticize the bike without saying anything bad about it. Would have been better to not say anything at all. I learned very little, there was a huge event you guys weren't planning on going to, but went away, and didn't cover it, but filmed it. Felt like a long commercial I did enjoy the video as a video, though. If you dropped the honestly very short review portion this would be very enjoyable. The video was carried on the back of the cameraman, not the reviewers. Cameraman did a great job. Music was nice.

[@crstudio668]

Hola soy de 🇨olombia 🇨🇴 y no se inglés deberías ponerle subtítulos, igual me gusto el vídeo, 👍

[@jimdoolan2277]

Versys 300 x great old man bike good on my knees love it

[@H31MU7]

how is it on your ass not being weird i just heard the seat is hard and i'm cross shopping the versys and the GS

[@jimdoolan2277]

Yes seat is shit I put a concept saet on it and it was great i have a Suzuki dr650 at the moment and really enjoying it had to put a concept saet on it to Cheers

[@I-Libertine]

Himalayan, hands down. Only bike to actually do extended adventure touring right. Makes larger, taller adventure bikes seem bloated and pointless (like suburban suv vs jeep). Enfield has got this one figured out--and all the other makers still trying to figure it out...