You're buying that? Nice, congratulations!
F450GS-Wankpanzerlicht !
- Thread starter Arsey
- Start date
NopeYou're buying that? Nice, congratulations!
Have you not noticed the date ?
The last time I bought a new BMW and an all new first year model was the K1300S and the switch gear failed on me 5 miles after leaving the dealer . Not much has changed since 2009
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2004
- Messages
- 3,580
- Reaction score
- 47
Ah... First of April. Got me. 
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2004
- Messages
- 3,580
- Reaction score
- 47
When I first heard of the 450GS I thought it would be an excellent bike for my 'bumbling along' mode of riding. And ideal for London's crazy 20mph zones—even the South Circular that runs near our house is in a 20mph zone! So I ended up doing yet another online driver improvement course. But then I saw all the videos of guys and even a gal on the 450GS doing wheelies galore, and I wonder if I've chosen the wrong bike. How is it that a 'new rider friendly' A2 bike is out there doing wheelies?
Decades ago I accidentally did a wheelie in Switzerland on a 650GS twin, but I have never managed to deliberately do a wheelie and not end up on my back with the bike on top of me. This is despite riding over a hundred thousand km off-tarmac in Morocco and Spain, but I still can't lift the front wheel to clear a log. I tried learning with Si Pavey at BMW World, and with Patsy Quick of Desert Rose fame on KTM, but nada. Both wrote me off as a hopeless case.
So when I got my KTM 790 Adventure in 2019 I changed to rally mode, rode over to Salisbury Plain, gave the throttle welly and dropped the clutch. I woke up with the bike on top of me and my daughters berating a 68-year old for being stupid. Is there hope for me yet with the 450GS?
Nothing to do with the BMW 450GS, but a digression for your entertainment
Decades ago I accidentally did a wheelie in Switzerland on a 650GS twin, but I have never managed to deliberately do a wheelie and not end up on my back with the bike on top of me. This is despite riding over a hundred thousand km off-tarmac in Morocco and Spain, but I still can't lift the front wheel to clear a log. I tried learning with Si Pavey at BMW World, and with Patsy Quick of Desert Rose fame on KTM, but nada. Both wrote me off as a hopeless case.
So when I got my KTM 790 Adventure in 2019 I changed to rally mode, rode over to Salisbury Plain, gave the throttle welly and dropped the clutch. I woke up with the bike on top of me and my daughters berating a 68-year old for being stupid. Is there hope for me yet with the 450GS?
Nothing to do with the BMW 450GS, but a digression for your entertainment
Last edited:
Is there any hope for you on a 450?
Of course, ………..there’s always hope
……………this time when you wake up on your back with a 450gs on top of you it’ll be a piece of piss to lift it off by yourself.You won’t need your daughter along at all as it’s at least 25kg lighter than the 790
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2004
- Messages
- 3,580
- Reaction score
- 47
Official UK dealer launch will be Saturday 30 May though some dealers may host preview events before that. Test rides available from June.
I haven’t been drawn to any of the BMW offerings for several years apart from a brief excursion into the Urban GS, but for some strange reason this little 450 has peaked a bit of curiosity so will be interesting to hear back from you guys looking to do test rides or who have ordered one just going on press reviews.
Test ride booked at Lloyd BMW Carlisle for Sunday 31st May
Trophy Peet already has his.
Picked up and in the Haan Wheels van for a set.
Picked up and in the Haan Wheels van for a set.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2004
- Messages
- 3,580
- Reaction score
- 47
I decided to change my order from the blue Trophy model to a black Exclusive which I will be picking up next week. In the meantime, some test ride videos with notes.
BMW's top end F450GS 'Trophy' version comes as standard with a Recluse-type centrifugal 'easy ride clutch' (ERC) which was commended by riders at the press launch for its ease of use in off-pavement riding.
I carried out the tests in this video at a time when I had ridden the bike less than two miles, so my riding was tentative in places!! And I will happily concur that other test riders might have totally different opinions to mine, so please bear with me.
CAN'T STALL: There is unquestionably one advantage that cannot be challenged—it is impossible to stall the bike.
ROLLING BACKWARDS IN GEAR: There is unquestionably one disadvantage that cannot be challenged—even if left in gear, the bike rolls backwards (or forwards) when stopped on a slope with the engine off or at low revs. When parked up, the side stand will hold the bike on a slight slope, and if there's a kerb, you could always park the bike with the back wheel into the kerb to stop it rolling. But if stopped off-road half way up a very steep climb, the front brake will skid on the slope so dismounting means balancing the bike by running the engine at 3000+ rpm.
STARTING THE BIKE: When the bike is started from cold, it initially runs at about 2200 rpm, then after a minute drops back to it's normal idle speed of 1600 rpm. You can put it in gear, let out the clutch, and nothing happens.
MOVING OFF IN TRAFFIC: To set off you need to increase revs to more than 3000 as the clutch doesn't start to bite until then. If in commuter mode at the traffic lights this undoubtedly works well, as you just open the throttle to 4000 rpm and the bike takes off.
MOVING OFF AT LOW SPEED: But if you are manoeuvring slowly in a circle as I was at the start of this video, you are having to control forward movement on the throttle and as you can see I found this strange. Maybe this will become easier as you become used to it, but in the meantime I would recommend using the clutch as the control. Even then, it's still strange as you have to hold the revs at more than 3000 rpm otherwise you lose momentum and the bike topples over.
ENGINE BRAKING: My next experiment was to see how long the ERC held onto the engine for braking. This was difficult to assess but was somewhere between 2200 and the idle speed of 1600, so reasonably OK. However, on an enduro bike, when descending steep sections under control, I often use brakes in conjunction with keeping the engine in gear. Off road ABS prevents the front wheel from locking, but the rear can still lock up. On a fuel-injected bike the fuel supply is cut when there's no throttle, the braking causes the engine to slows to below idle speed, but the fact it's still turning prevents the rear wheel from locking up. You wouldn't be able to do this with the ERC.
SAME REVS, ANY GEAR: The quick shifter works well, there's no need to use the clutch, no need to close the throttle when upshifting, no need to blip the throttle when downshifting (though you might see me doing all three of these in the video). What I found unsettling was that if I was at 3500 in 3rd gear, I could shift into 4th, 5th, and 6th, and the revs would stay the same. Normally I watch the rev counter to assess gear changes, but found it was the gear indicator I needed to keep an eye on.
CONCLUSION: I'm normally an enthusiastic adopted of new technology. But I found the problems in slow speed manoeuvring most disconcerting, though I am sure that in time I would get used to this, similarly the other points I make. Some of the problems with the bike rolling downhill could be resolved with a length of velcro tape fixed to the right handlebar. But ultimately I have to ask whether I appreciate any of the good points of the ERC enough to want it, and at the moment I can't say that I do.
I don't want to be accused of confirmation bias, but I (currently) don't regret my decision to switch my order from a Trophy to an Exclusive.
I found an extremely deeply-rutted logging track so had a little jaunt. The bike was fine—I didn't notice the absence of a 21-in front wheel and the standard Maxxis Maxplore tyres were OK for the dry loose conditions.
Both my other bikes have 21-in wheels, one with tubeless TKC80 tyres, the other with Michelin Desert Race and Bib mousses. I really noticed the difference on the road with the 450GS and its 19-in front wheel which turns in really easily and makes the bike really chuckable without having to use lots of obvious countersteering.
By now I was still only about 5 miles into my ride. Whilst the engine is undoubtedly running fairly lean in compliance with modern standards, it was beautifully even and the bike is a joy to ride. The quick shifter is a delight, much smoother than the one on my KTM 790 Adventure. However, without the direct connection of an ordinary clutch I found I was losing track of which gear I was in and was often in a higher gear than I should normally be. This didn't matter to much as the ERC is very forgiving and it 'copes' well with no hesitation.
I wanted to see what the bike is like at motorway speeds, especially the effectiveness of the standard screen in terms of windflow and buffeting, and also the reported vibration. There's certainly lots of power available, and I have no concerns about keeping up with high-speed motorway traffic even two-up with luggage.
SCREEN SHAPE: The screen on the Trophy version is both taller and narrower than that on the other three models, and is also tinted. So my experience with this screen might be totally different from the Exclusive model that I am taking delivery of. There is also a touring version of the screen available as a retrofit at £127. In the past I've found replacement screens rather hit and miss, so I normally use a Darkojak wind deflector (250 PLN or £50) fitted to the top of the standard screen that is adjustable for both height and angle. This has two connecting brackets so wouldn't fit on the top of the Trophy screen, however you can buy deflectors with just one central bracket.
WIND DEFLECTION: I was happy with the wind deflection. Using my hand as a guide I found the wind blast was kept off my body and lower face, and was hitting the helmet about eye level. Some people prefer the helmet to be in clean air (helps prevent buffeting) and this would probably be the case with a taller rider, especially with the high seat. It might also be the case with the lower screen on the other models.
BUFFETING: Air coming over the top of a windshield can leave a low-pressure area directly behind the helmet that is then violently filled by turbulent air coming up from the tank/forks. This causes helmet buffeting and head shaking which as well as being unpleasant at the time, leaves you with pain in the neck muscles at the end of the day. This has been a real issue on some other bikes, however, I was VERY happy with the low amount of buffeting on the F450GS.
VIBRATION: I totally forgot to mention the vibration and that is because I didn't notice any. Maybe it would become more apparent at consistent speeds of over 80mph (130 kph).
BMW's top end F450GS 'Trophy' version comes as standard with a Recluse-type centrifugal 'easy ride clutch' (ERC) which was commended by riders at the press launch for its ease of use in off-pavement riding.
I carried out the tests in this video at a time when I had ridden the bike less than two miles, so my riding was tentative in places!! And I will happily concur that other test riders might have totally different opinions to mine, so please bear with me.
CAN'T STALL: There is unquestionably one advantage that cannot be challenged—it is impossible to stall the bike.
ROLLING BACKWARDS IN GEAR: There is unquestionably one disadvantage that cannot be challenged—even if left in gear, the bike rolls backwards (or forwards) when stopped on a slope with the engine off or at low revs. When parked up, the side stand will hold the bike on a slight slope, and if there's a kerb, you could always park the bike with the back wheel into the kerb to stop it rolling. But if stopped off-road half way up a very steep climb, the front brake will skid on the slope so dismounting means balancing the bike by running the engine at 3000+ rpm.
STARTING THE BIKE: When the bike is started from cold, it initially runs at about 2200 rpm, then after a minute drops back to it's normal idle speed of 1600 rpm. You can put it in gear, let out the clutch, and nothing happens.
MOVING OFF IN TRAFFIC: To set off you need to increase revs to more than 3000 as the clutch doesn't start to bite until then. If in commuter mode at the traffic lights this undoubtedly works well, as you just open the throttle to 4000 rpm and the bike takes off.
MOVING OFF AT LOW SPEED: But if you are manoeuvring slowly in a circle as I was at the start of this video, you are having to control forward movement on the throttle and as you can see I found this strange. Maybe this will become easier as you become used to it, but in the meantime I would recommend using the clutch as the control. Even then, it's still strange as you have to hold the revs at more than 3000 rpm otherwise you lose momentum and the bike topples over.
ENGINE BRAKING: My next experiment was to see how long the ERC held onto the engine for braking. This was difficult to assess but was somewhere between 2200 and the idle speed of 1600, so reasonably OK. However, on an enduro bike, when descending steep sections under control, I often use brakes in conjunction with keeping the engine in gear. Off road ABS prevents the front wheel from locking, but the rear can still lock up. On a fuel-injected bike the fuel supply is cut when there's no throttle, the braking causes the engine to slows to below idle speed, but the fact it's still turning prevents the rear wheel from locking up. You wouldn't be able to do this with the ERC.
SAME REVS, ANY GEAR: The quick shifter works well, there's no need to use the clutch, no need to close the throttle when upshifting, no need to blip the throttle when downshifting (though you might see me doing all three of these in the video). What I found unsettling was that if I was at 3500 in 3rd gear, I could shift into 4th, 5th, and 6th, and the revs would stay the same. Normally I watch the rev counter to assess gear changes, but found it was the gear indicator I needed to keep an eye on.
CONCLUSION: I'm normally an enthusiastic adopted of new technology. But I found the problems in slow speed manoeuvring most disconcerting, though I am sure that in time I would get used to this, similarly the other points I make. Some of the problems with the bike rolling downhill could be resolved with a length of velcro tape fixed to the right handlebar. But ultimately I have to ask whether I appreciate any of the good points of the ERC enough to want it, and at the moment I can't say that I do.
I don't want to be accused of confirmation bias, but I (currently) don't regret my decision to switch my order from a Trophy to an Exclusive.
I found an extremely deeply-rutted logging track so had a little jaunt. The bike was fine—I didn't notice the absence of a 21-in front wheel and the standard Maxxis Maxplore tyres were OK for the dry loose conditions.
Both my other bikes have 21-in wheels, one with tubeless TKC80 tyres, the other with Michelin Desert Race and Bib mousses. I really noticed the difference on the road with the 450GS and its 19-in front wheel which turns in really easily and makes the bike really chuckable without having to use lots of obvious countersteering.
By now I was still only about 5 miles into my ride. Whilst the engine is undoubtedly running fairly lean in compliance with modern standards, it was beautifully even and the bike is a joy to ride. The quick shifter is a delight, much smoother than the one on my KTM 790 Adventure. However, without the direct connection of an ordinary clutch I found I was losing track of which gear I was in and was often in a higher gear than I should normally be. This didn't matter to much as the ERC is very forgiving and it 'copes' well with no hesitation.
I wanted to see what the bike is like at motorway speeds, especially the effectiveness of the standard screen in terms of windflow and buffeting, and also the reported vibration. There's certainly lots of power available, and I have no concerns about keeping up with high-speed motorway traffic even two-up with luggage.
SCREEN SHAPE: The screen on the Trophy version is both taller and narrower than that on the other three models, and is also tinted. So my experience with this screen might be totally different from the Exclusive model that I am taking delivery of. There is also a touring version of the screen available as a retrofit at £127. In the past I've found replacement screens rather hit and miss, so I normally use a Darkojak wind deflector (250 PLN or £50) fitted to the top of the standard screen that is adjustable for both height and angle. This has two connecting brackets so wouldn't fit on the top of the Trophy screen, however you can buy deflectors with just one central bracket.
WIND DEFLECTION: I was happy with the wind deflection. Using my hand as a guide I found the wind blast was kept off my body and lower face, and was hitting the helmet about eye level. Some people prefer the helmet to be in clean air (helps prevent buffeting) and this would probably be the case with a taller rider, especially with the high seat. It might also be the case with the lower screen on the other models.
BUFFETING: Air coming over the top of a windshield can leave a low-pressure area directly behind the helmet that is then violently filled by turbulent air coming up from the tank/forks. This causes helmet buffeting and head shaking which as well as being unpleasant at the time, leaves you with pain in the neck muscles at the end of the day. This has been a real issue on some other bikes, however, I was VERY happy with the low amount of buffeting on the F450GS.
VIBRATION: I totally forgot to mention the vibration and that is because I didn't notice any. Maybe it would become more apparent at consistent speeds of over 80mph (130 kph).
Sounds like they’ve made a meal of that ERC !
Obviously I’ve not ridden one but I had a Honda with an e-clutch and that was very intuitive and you didn’t need to rev the bollox off it to get going !
It sounds like a 2CV when you setting off
Thank you for the comprehensive review, I was seriously considering the Trophy, but have now thought again!
