Earlier this year, BMW dropped the Concept F 450 GS. It was a very near-production concept, and it presaged bringing the entry-level G 310 GS more in line with the top-shelf R 1300 GS by giving it sleeker styling, a more off-road-focused design, and even a two-cylinder engine to replace the 310’s little single. That concept received a rapturous response, so BMW is now giving us the real deal. The production-spec F 450 GS is here.
BMW announced the F 450 GS ahead of EICMA, the Milan Motorcycle Show. There are barely any changes from the concept, with everything from the styling to the engine remaining mostly as shown. The production bike looks to be a bit lower to the ground than the concept, and the muffler sits in a much lower mount than the concept’s subframe bracket, but the overall bike looks like a fantastic way to get started with adventure motorcycling — or motorcycling in general.
The baby GS gets a twin
The centerpiece of the new baby GS is its parallel twin engine, matching the cylinder count of the R 1300 GS and layout of the F 900 GS. With the G 310 GS leaving BMW’s global lineup at the end of 2025, every GS in BMW’s lineup now has two cylinders. That’s a good move for the Gelände/Straße line, as a buzzy little single cylinder isn’t exactly great for the road trips at which the GS is meant to excel.
BMW claims the new 420-cc engine is good for 48 horsepower at 8,750 rpm and 32 pound-feet of torque at 6,750 rpm. Its crank offset, though, is far less typical: BMW designed the engine with a 135-degree crankshaft, something I can’t recall ever seeing on a motorcycle before. It’s half the angle of a 270, meaning its character should feel somewhat more like a single. I had to draw so many diagrams and arcane sigils just to understand this firing order, and I can’t wait to try it out for myself.
Chassis upgrades
The base F 450 GS gets the requisite ride modes that every dirt-ish bike has in 2025, Rain and Road and Enduro, but stepping up to the GS Trophy trim (the only trim offered in the U.S. for 2027) adds BMW’s Enduro Pro as well as some very interesting tech to the bike’s drivetrain. That higher trim gets BMW’s Gear Shift Assist Pro quickshifter, but it also gets the company’s new Easy Ride Clutch tech — similar to Honda’s E-Clutch, BMW claims the ERC system removes any need to touch the clutch lever while riding. For those times where you want to slip the clutch in the dirt, though, the lever’s still there to be used.
The F 450 GS also gets lean-sensitive ABS and traction control to rein in the chassis, though the bike only has a single 12.2-inch rotor up front with a four-piston caliper and a 9.5-inch rotor in back with a single piston. The bike sits on a 43mm KYB upside-down front fork with rebound and compression adjustability, as well as a KYB rear shock that can be dialed for preload and rebound. It doesn’t seem to have the remote adjustment of its bigger brothers, so you’ll have to bust out the wrenches if you plan on taking a pillion.
Tech too
The F 450 GS gets a 6.5-inch TFT dashboard, with controls on the left handlebar in typical BMW style. That dash has Bluetooth to link with your phone and comm system, to allow riders to control music and phone calls through the dash rather than navigating the buttons on a headset. Personally, though, I’m less interested in Bluetooth than I am in the Style GS Trophy’s in-dash “detailed information on DTC, braking power, and lean angle” — I like the idea of a full MotoGP data setup in my dash.
I’m very, very excited for the F 450 GS. I’m a big proponent of adventure bikes as first motorcycles, so beginners can get a taste for everything the two-wheeled world has to offer before getting something more specialized for their next bike. With the F 450 GS, it seems like BMW’s taken my beloved G 310 GS and made everything better — then added the wildest engine configuration I’ve seen in a while. I can’t wait for the press launch.
