While the world's on fire for a lot of folks, whether it's dealing with catastrophic flooding, governments stealing land, or dealing with financial turmoil, there is a glimmer of hope in the darkness. A ray of sunshine to pierce the veil of darkness and bring light and joy back into the world.
Small displacement motorcycles.
Yes, as more and more people swap their big bikes for something smaller, and more and more younger folks enter the arena not immediately wanting a 1000cc Gixxer (thank god), we're getting manufacturers to prioritize small displacement bikes. And the motorcycles they've all been dropping have been absolute bangers. See my lord and savior, Royal Enfield's Himalayan 450.
And while most have seen the light, there are a few that are still somewhat behind the curve. BMW was, sorta, one of them, as while the company had the 310s, they weren't what I'd call the best available. But that's all possibly changed, as at EICMA the Bavarian brand dropped what it's calling the Concept F 450 GS.
Shut up and take my money.
The name, unfortunately, means that it's still, as it were, a concept. But while most other concepts look like they came straight out of Tron or some weird futuristic dystopia, the F 450 GS looks production-ready, albiet with a few parts or designs that'd likely get changed if it were to ever hit the showroom floor. And to its credit, BMW does state that the F 450 GS is "near-production-ready."
"The BMW Concept F 450 GS carries the characteristic DNA of the GS family," states Alexander Buckan, Head of BMW Motorrad Design, adding, "We have succeeded in designing the Concept with the sporty dynamic appeal of our large off-road icon in a particularly compact form." And that design is centered around an all-new twin-cylinder engine, which BMW says will deliver around 47 horsepower. More than enough for all your off-road fun.
Like the engine, the rest of the motorcycle is mostly new, too, including the chassis. "We were able to start the development of this vehicle with a clean slate. The aim was to enable excellent off-road capability and, at the same time, a nimble and precise handling on the road. Accordingly, the BMW Concept F 450 GS is equipped with a fully adjustable upside-down fork and a shock absorber with load-dependent damping, drawing on technology from rally and enduro sport," says Marc Weber, lead engineer of the BMW Concept F 450 GS.
It also gets a host of items from its bigger brothers, the F 800 and F 900, as well as the R 1300, including some of their tech and suspension bits. But other than that, details are scarce as it's still just a concept. However, what few details we do get amounts to is a serious headache for KTM and other manufacturers.
I've ridden most of BMW's latest and greatest off-roaders, including even spending some time with the R 1300 GS off-road equipped with on-road tires. The company knows a thing or two about making hellaciously capable rally machines. This F 450 GS, however, shiiiiiit. Take all that know-how and engineering and then just downsize it and you're looking at what could be the most capable small displacement adventure bike on the planet. It might not take my heart like Royal Enfield's did, but I'll save that judgement for when BMW brings this to market and lets me ride it.
To that end, Johann Simon, vehicle project manager of the Concept F 450 GS, essentially said its coming, though didn't say when or for how much. "Following the very sporty off-road focus of the Concept F 450 GS, we will implement the bike as close as possible to this concept," said Simon. So yeah, soon you'll have the ability to get this killer-looking off-roader, sometime next year.
God, I can't wait.
