BMW’s ‘F’ range has sometimes been overlooked in the past, which is a shame. The Bavarian bike-mongers was ploughing a lonely furrow in the parallel-twin world nearly 20 years ago with the original F800 models, and now everyone’s in on (arguably) the dullest of the two-cylinder layouts. It must be fuming. But not too much, since it unveiled a trio of new F-models at the Milan and NEC shows. First up is what it calls a ‘concept’ (these generally end up as production machines) F450 GS, which is a small-capacity twin-cylinder adventure machine, a step up from the truly entry-level G310 single, but a level down from the likes of the F700/750/800 models of yore. It’s the famed A2-compliant machine that we all know and hate so much these days, with the associated 47bhp peak power output (though we’re still hoping BMW will make two versions, one with more ponies). The release also mentions an A2 licence lower weight limit, which suggests 175kg dry, which is encouraging enough on an off-road beastie.
The engine is an all-new jobbie, designed by Munich from scratch, rather than a rejigged version of something else, which is encouraging. BMW says it’s extra compact and light (not that you’d expect them to say anything else…) and uses magnesium and other lightweight solutions. The chassis looks fairly standard for BMW’s GS machinery, with a steel trellis main frame, aluminium swingarm and bolt-on subframe. Long-travel conventional suspension, wire-spoked wheels and a Brembo brake at each end rounds off what we can see of the design. There’s little in the way of solid detail from BMW at the moment but going on past form, we’d expect a full release in the new year, and bikes in showrooms late summer 2025, all being well.
• What we do have full facts on is the new F900 range, with a new XR road-based adventure tourer and R naked roadster hitting the showrooms next year. Both get a new fully adjustable 43mm USD front fork replacing the old unadjustable unit, and they also get lighter wheels, saving a claimed 1.8kg over the old parts. Other mods, including an 800 gramme lighter battery, mean a total weight saving of 3kg – not bad. The 895cc 270° engine has the same peak power output – 105bhp – but is now Euro 5+ compliant, and there are detail upgrades to the electronics, riding position and equipment levels.
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