BMW’s Upcoming Adventure Bike Taps Into Motorcycling’s Hottest Trend

Design filings provide a sneak peek at the scrappy new GS the brand hopes will soar to the top of the lightweight ADV segment.

By Steve Mazzucchi

Published August 7, 2025

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With its legendary GS line of motorcycles, BMW has dominated the adventure bike space for literally decades.

Yet the Germans must be looking over their shoulders because a host of challengers have entered the fray and made hay by filling a red-hot 450cc-sized niche.

bmw f 450 gs hero — Emerging from recent design filings, this rendering is much closer to reality than last fall’s Concept. Note the nearly straight line from the beak up through the windshield and the lower position of the muffler.

Royal Enfield’s Himalayan 450, CFMoto’s Ibex 450 and Moto Morini’s Alltrhike, are just a few of the bikes embracing the industry’s overall shift toward smaller, more affordable motorcycles.

BMW’s current ADV lineup, meanwhile, starts with the underwhelming G 310 GS then jumps to the F 800 GS and several bigger off-road bikes that would be super intimidating to newer and smaller riders.

Lucky for the brand, they’ve been developing a bike to serve that potentially huge market.

Unveiled at the massive Milan moto show known as EICMA last fall, the Concept F 450 GS is now approaching reality.

Concept vs. production

Credit where credit is due: the dogged sleuths at motorcycle.com first surfaced news of BMW design filings with the UK’s intellectual property office that shed light on what the actual production bike will look like.

The rendered images provide a unique opportunity to compare what BMW workshopped in development with the real deal.

bmw f 450 gs concept beauty — The previous image’s caption likely makes much more sense once you look at this one. Gonna miss that high silencer.

Right off the bat, the latter of course gets production bike essentials such as mirrors, turn signals, reflectors and pillion footrests.

One big change is likely a cost-cutting concession that’s a bummer to see on a bike meant for off-roading: swapping out wire-spoked wheels for cast alloy ones.

Another big shift I don’t love, aesthetically, is dropping the silencer down next to the rear wheel.

bmw f 450 gs angled — Naturally the production bike will have key elements the concept lacks, such as lights and pillion pegs.

It’s understandable given the need to accommodate passenger pegs and saddlebags but damn, the Concept’s high-riding Akrapovič exhaust pipe looked hot.

Other notable tweaks include a reshaped windscreen and tank shrouds, more refined rear bodywork and possibly pannier mounts.

Numbers game

Rumor has it BMW will officially announce the production F 450 GS (including specs and pricing) this fall, quite possibly at EICMA.

Till then, deep details remain under wraps, though a number of key elements appear to mirror the Concept.

bmw 450 gs concept climb — The F 450 GS’s horsepower falls neatly within the A2 license range while beating out some bikes in its competitive set.

The production model looks to retain the steel trellis frame and parallel-twin engine that BMW says makes 47 horsepower — which happens to be the maximum power allowed for European A2 license restrictions.

Unlike in the US, where you either have a moto license endorsement or you don’t, Europe has multiple categories that apply to different types of motorcycles and scooters (with some age restrictions).

bmw f 450 gs top down view — While the seat height is not yet clear, the F 450 GS’s narrow waist translates to easier straddling and one-footing for shorter riders.

The upshot here is that staying within the A2 range opens the bike up to a wider range of riders, including younger ones.

At the same time, that horsepower level is competitive with other lightweight adventure bikes, easily beating the Himalayan 450 (40hp) and narrowly edging the Ibex 450 and Alltrhike (both 44hp).

bmw f 450 gs female rider — Assuming the production model lands somewhere near the Concept’s size and weight, it should be approachable for a wide range of rider shapes, sizes, genders and experience levels.

BMW has said the inverted fork is fully adjustable and that the Concept tips the scales at 385 pounds, which is considerably less than the F 800 GS’s 500 pounds.

If the production model nears that 385 figure, you’re looking at one super-approachable ADV — not to mention a gateway drug to the big bad GS bikes that have dominated the space for so long.

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.