BMW Motorrad officially presents the F 450 GS, the trail bike aimed at A2 licence holders

The GS family of BMW Motorrad has managed to establish itself, after years on the market, as the queen of trail bikes, although the bar keeps rising and is harder to clear due to the growing competition that has eroded its market share as this segment has expanded. Even so, the GS remains one of the favourites among users and prospective buyers of trail models, and BMW, with a keen eye, decided a year ago to target it also at A2 licence holders.

And not only A2 licence holders, because let’s be honest: if you’re looking for this kind of trail bike to cover more gravel than tarmac, you’re likely to get yourself into more than one tight spot, a term well coined for these situations by the great Charlie Sinewan, and a motorcycle of the F 800 GS’s size can be too big and heavy to handle in certain circumstances, so the new F 450 GS would prove even more effective in many cases.

Let’s recall that BMW Motorrad previewed the F 450 GS with a first prototype that we got to see in December 2024, and now, almost a year later and during the EICMA show in Milan, BMW is presenting and announcing the production model, which, by the way, is very similar to that eye-catching prototype. But that’s not all, because the new F 450 GS presents itself as a versatile motorcycle for daily use, touring and even off-road riding thanks to its balanced power-to-torque ratio, its low weight and its characteristic GS ergonomics.

Despite being one of the smallest members of the family, it can’t be denied that the F 450 GS has a purely GS styling inspired by its bigger siblings, especially with the eye-catching LED headlight featuring the iconic “X” daytime running light signature, around which the four versions it will be available in revolve: standard, Exclusive, GS Sport and Trophy; the latter with a “Dakar-inspired” look that suits it like a glove. In any case, the riding position seeks the greatest possible comfort for both rider and passenger, with features such as the raised handlebar, the 14-litre fuel tank where the knees can grip, adjustable levers as standard, and two optional seats that raise the seat height in two positions relative to the standard one.

All of this wraps around a chassis built from scratch around a multitubular lattice frame made of welded steel tubes and forged parts, which embraces the newly developed twin-cylinder engine of 420 cm³ with an output of 48 CV at 8,750 rpm and a maximum torque of 43 Nm at 6,750 rpm, characterised by its smoothness and low consumption, with figures of 3.8 l/100 km and a range of up to 350 kilometres, not forgetting standard 10,000 km service intervals like the rest of the BMW Motorrad range. In addition, except on the basic version where it is optional, it features a six-speed gearbox with Shift Assistant Pro for quickly upshifting and downshifting without using the clutch.

As standard, the engine offers three riding modes (Rain, Road and Enduro), along with other safety systems such as ABS Pro, dynamic brake control, dynamic traction control and engine drag torque control. Its chassis is also equipped with a KYB inverted telescopic fork in gold finish with torque-adjusted action and a 43 mm inner tube; the Sport and GS Trophy versions incorporate adjustable compression and rebound damping, and at the rear, a KYB central spring shock absorber with adjustable preload and rebound. Finally, there are 19-inch wheels at the front and 17-inch at the rear and, alongside them, a 310 mm floating single disc brake with a Brembo 4-piston fixed caliper at the front and, on the rear wheel, a 240 mm disc brake with a 1-piston floating caliper.