Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1544767
P118 RIDE REVIEW I 2027 BMW F 450 GS It feels alien to prod home in first gear without first pulling in the clutch lever, and then pulling away with the throttle alone, like a maxi scooter. As the revs build slightly, the GS simply starts moving smoothly forward. Once fully underway, you change up and down gears through the gearbox normally, but still don't need to use the clutch. And when you come to a standstill, there's again no need to disen - gage the clutch. If you stop in any gear, the bike will still pull away, but you will get a warning on the dashboard suggesting you backshift if you are in the wrong gear. The ERC is a flexible system. You can still dip or slip the clutch for a wheelie or to spin the rear tire off-road. You can pull in the clutch like a normal bike, but if you want to be lazy, the clutch lever is redundant. Crucially for a new rider, it's impossible to stall. Off-road, it becomes a useful tool as your now less-busy left hand can just concentrate on holding on to the 'bar. You don't need to feather the clutch; in fact, you don't even need to be in the correct gear because the system will do all the hard work for you. And when you stop during, say, a river crossing, it's impossible to stall. There is a slight disconnect with the rear tire, and you can't leave the bike in gear on a hill to act as a handbrake because the bike is likely to roll off its sidestand. But for those who feel nervous about riding on dirt, the ERC is a definite plus. Back on the street, the ERC system makes riding in traffic as relaxed as a maxi scooter. Com - muting will be a breeze on the 450. Peak power and torque—48 hp at 8750 rpm and 31.7 lb-ft at 6750 rpm—are capped by Euro - pean A2 license regulations, but BMW claims that 80 percent of that torque is available from just 3000 rpm, and that's how it feels. The parallel-twin has, as previ - ously mentioned, a 135-degree crankpin offset, as BMW says they wanted to do something dif - ferent to reduce the twin's inher- ent vibrations while also adding character, and it drives smoothly enough through its midrange and has enough torque to hoist the front wheel (with some clutch) in the first two gears. It feels perky and happy to rev, too. With one piston effectively chasing the other, giving a long wait between double bangs, there's a slightly flat exhaust note but no tangible difference to how it responds at the throttle. Off-road, the GS took on anything Sicily's river crossings and dirt trails threw at it. It was always manageable, especially once I'd gotten used to the ERC. Even when large rocks were bouncing off its crash protec - tion, its Metzeler Karoo 4 tires (Left) A claimed 48 horsepower resides in the new parallel-twin, four horsepower up on key rival KTM with its 390 Adventure R. (Right) The same 6.5- inch dash you get on the bigger GS models will also be available on the 450.