BY: Stretch

There was a lot of muttering around the office the day it was announced that I would be going to Australia as a guest of BMW. I, of course, was delighted, as up for grabs was three days in the saddle, trying out the all-new G 450X and the BMW F800 GS That said, my flight was heinously early in the am, but on arrival at Melbourne Airport, several other lucky journos and I were wrangled into the luxury of the Airport Hilton for light refreshments and a brief on the all new F 800 GS.

Company marketing man Miles Davis gave us a rundown on both the new models before we excitedly climbed into our riding gear and played ‘follow the leader’ on board a bevy of brand new F800s up into the Yarra Valley via some gravel roads.

Bottom line. If you are into motorcycling and adventure is your thing, then you’ll be checking out the BMW F800 GS. It has an 85hp (that’s 63kW Stretch! Ed) liquid-cooled twin cylinder engine, weighs in at just 207kgs and is super-agile.

ADVENTURE-READY
Standard Aussie and NZ features include heated grips, on-board computer, centre-stand and a low seat option. With a 21 inch front wheel and a 17 inch rear, tyre choice for road, adventure or even trail is going to be easy. Our launch bikes were fitted with Contis, which I have to say were well and truly put to the test and survived to fight another day. Front suspension is by Marzocchi USD forks (offering 230mm of travel) with the rear end looked after by a single shock (215mm of travel). Wheels are spoked units to take the punishment that a cast, one piece would not endure in harsh adventure riding conditions.

Moving on, the transmission is a six-speed affair and final drive is by way of O-ring chain. One of the key features is the lowslung fuel tank, all 16 litres of it, which is under the seat. Seat height, in case you (like me) were wondering, measures 880mm standard, or 850mm if you go for the lower no-extra-cost option. I spent the best part of two days riding the F800 GS in a variety of road and adventure conditions, and I’m sold on it. Stand by for a full test when the lads in Australia organise a demo bike on this side of the Tasman.

ENDURO-SPEC
Day two saw my fellow motonoters and I introduced to the all-new G450X enduro bike, one I’d been hanging out to throw a leg over since I first saw pictures of the thing. The 450X has been designed explicitly for racing and really only comes in roadregisterable form because that’s the way they have to sell ‘em in Oz and, no doubt, markets elsewhere. At the heart of this bad boy is an all-new liquid-cooled DOHC 449cc single cylinder engine with the cylinder angled quite a long way forward.

She’s a serious piece of kit alright with 41 hp (that’s 30 kW Stretch. Ed) produced by the fuel-injected mill at 7000rpm in ‘standard (i.e. as delivered) form and a holeshot-guaranteeing 52 hp at 9000rpm (...38kW Ed) with BMW’s trick little power-up plug fitted. The 450X runs a 4-valve head, dry-sump and a five-speed tranny. It weighs in at 121kg with a fuel cell (again under the seat with access via a ‘cap’ towards the rear of the slim-line MX-style seat) of 8 litres, which gave me a range of 110kms in the Aussie bush. Seat height is a quadstretching 955mm but a lower seat is also available (phew!).

We’ll have a full test for you when a demo unit turns up here but to whet your whistle, take it from me, the clever folk at BMW haven’t been sitting around twiddling their thumbs and drinking steins. If this is their first attempt at a serious Cross Country/MXer then one can only imagine what’s coming in the future of off-road motorcycle racing. Watch this space.

BY: Racing Dave

When I saw publicity pictures of the 450, I thought that it would need to meet four criteria to become a sales success.

That is, to have similar weight, power, price, and rideability as the established road going models from, say, Yamaha and KTM.

The retail price is $14,800 + orc, which includes a two-year conditional warranty, providing the maintenance schedule is followed. On my scales, it came in at 130kg with a partial fuel load, just less than my own WR450. Another test passed.

The last two criteria, power and rideability, are more speculative and thus subject to opinion, so I test rode Canterbury Rides’ demonstrator on Banks Peninsula’s more remote and technical grass, rocky, and clay tracks, some gravel roads, with a few sealed transport sections to join up the fun parts.

QUALITY COMPONENTS
The G450X is fitted with quality brandname components. The Brembo brakes (twin-piston sliding-pin caliper gripping the slim wavy front disc and single on the rear) are perfect, with very low effort and great feedback from one finger or one toe, to control the speed. However, for my weight, riding speed, and the roughness of the terrain, I found the Ohlins suspension far too harsh, with the bike skittering over ruts and cattlepugged dry clay, rather than floating over them.

A few minutes with a screwdriver and the hand-turned knobs softened the damping to completely transform the handling of the BMW, from fighting the rider to a supple thing of joy.

Confidence restored, I could now tackle all the obstacles at a faster pace that no longer rattled my teeth. Given more time, I’d have moved the tapered aluminium handlebars forward on their adjustable clamps.

UNUSUAL FEATURES
Amongst the BMW’s various unusual features, two stand out. The first is the clutch which is mounted on the end of the crankshaft, instead of the near-universal position on the gearbox shaft. Using a diaphragm rather than coil springs, and turning at three times the normal speed (and thus transferring a third of the torque), the action is creamy smooth and engages over a wide lever travel, with on-the-fl y free play adjuster allowing for very accurate control.

This was particularly important where I rode, as the standard gearing is just a little too high for the tight nadgery volcanic trails, and careful use of the clutch meant that forward momentum was maintained. In BMW’s defence I must point out that the 450 is delivered with extra one and two teeth smaller front sprockets, so gearing can be altered to suit the terrain. Not quickly altered, however, as the other unusual design feature, that of concentric swing arm pivot and drive sprocket placement, requires the removal of the swingarm to effect the change.

The advantage of this design is that for a given wheelbase, a longer swing arm provides some handling benefits, and chain tension remains constant through the range of rear wheel travel. And interestingly, at speed, on a shingle road, the 450 is more stable when standing, rather than sitting.

SMOOTH & POWERFUL
The engine drives so smoothly that it barely feels like a single cylinder. The accuracy of the fuel injection never gives any chain slap or jerkiness, and top (5th) gear is good from 60 km/h onwards. On the open road, even on the hilly and winding Banks Peninsula, I seldom changed down, even on steep sections.

The BMW has plenty of power, although without lining it up against another brand’s bike it’s hard to compare, but the power delivery, even with the ‘high power’ plug fitted, is particularly smooth and even, promoting the finding of traction rather than wasted wheel spin. In fact, if anything, this all-new Beemer feels more like a robust 250 than a thundering 450, such is the ease of throttle control.

Wheelies, standing or sitting, can be initiated in third gear, and although the engine response is still that of a light–flywheeled and purposeful enduro machine, it’s easy to control. Skids are freely available. Other than the limited steering lock and a small fuel tank (and thus range), awkwardly accessed through a water and mud-collecting cap in the seat, there’s little to dislike, and much to enjoy.

The BMW G450X deserves to be a sales success.

I copped a bit of flak over my story on BMW’s new 800cc F650GS, as it was claimed that I concentrated too much on its off-road abilities. Well, BMW make two road-only models, the F800S and F800ST, and the GS, promoted as a dual-purpose steed, is nearly up to their tarmac manners, copes surprisingly well with moderately rough terrain, and is good enough overall to be my choice for Bike of the Year (er….couldn’t that have waited until the January issue RD? Ed) So as I’m sure you can imagine I was really looking forward to the even more adventurous model, the F800GS, as its many improvements should make it the perfect all-rounder.

To my delight, it is, except for one reservation. The tyres. My test loop on Banks Peninsula was ridden in early spring, after a very wet winter, and the Bridgestone Battle Wings fare no better than the proverbial cut slicks on anything other than seal or shingle.

Disappointingly, it was impossible to try the very purposefullooking GS on some of my favourite paper roads – it would only have ended in tears, probably those of fellow adventurer Rodney Faulkner’s, as it was his bike shop’s (Canterbury Rides) demonstrator on which I was mounted. So, yes, I was more than a little envious when I heard that the bikes at the press launch in Australia were fitted with Continental’s excellent TKCs.

STRONG THRUST
Like the 650 (800), engine torque is available smoothly from very low revs, but due to the stronger thrust (64kW compared to 53kW) and obviously more responsive engine, skids in gravel are just half a twist of the wrist away, and the bike will wheelie off the throttle, sitting or standing.

Although taller, the longer travel suspension doesn’t make the bike awkward to mount or ride, and the seat’s lower than that of my R1200GS Adventure. Somewhat lighter, and of course narrower, the 800GS feels like a much smaller machine, yet really delivers when revved out in any gear.

I didn’t think the brakes, now twin discs on the front, were noticeably better than the 650’s single stopper, and although I tried to like the ABS, one trip over the Western Valley Road convinced me that it must be switched off for any unsealed surface.

With the tapered aluminium handlebars rolled forward in their mounts, the stand-up riding position was fine for an extended time, and the narrowish foot pegs don’t have the 650’s rubber inserts that need removing before venturing onto slippery ground.

STUNNINGLY COMPETENT
Seldom using sixth gear, as the Peninsula’s roads are twisty and hilly, I was pleased to record fuel consumption of 4.8 litres per 100km, or just under 60 mpg. On open road touring, of which the 800 is very capable (the larger screen giving better weather protection), a figure in the 70 mpg region will be easily obtained. I expect BMW to sell many of this model, both for keen adventure riders and for general all-round use.

With the addition of hand and lever guards, a decent bash plate, and a change of tyres to proper knobbies, the F800GS would be a stunningly competent motorcycle – if I didn’t already have a 1200 in my garage, I’d buy one.

KR

The momentum
continues at BMW
Motorrad Australia with
KR invited to cross the
Tasman for a first ride
on both the G 450 X and
F 800 GS.

WORDS:
Stretch & Racing Dave

PICS:
BMW (Australia) RD (NZ)