BMW Motorrad has teased a new 450cc roadster that will be unveiled on October 1. The motorcycle is expected to be called the F 450 R and will become the second model built around BMW’s new 420cc parallel-twin platform after the F 450 GS.
The teaser does not confirm an India showroom launch date, so October 1 should be treated as the official unveiling rather than a guaranteed start of deliveries. What is clear is the role: this is the road-focused member of the new 450 family and a likely rival to the Aprilia Tuono 457 and KTM’s 390 Duke range.
BMW’s 420cc liquid-cooled parallel twin makes 48hp at 8,750rpm and 43Nm at 6,750rpm in the F450 GS. It uses a 135-degree crankpin offset, a six-speed gearbox and ride-by-wire. BMW may alter the throttle mapping or final gearing for the roadster, but a major change in headline output is unlikely.
That gives the F 450 R a useful middle ground. It should be smoother and more flexible than a large single-cylinder roadster while staying within the 48hp output ceiling used for Europe’s A2 licence class. The engine is also locally produced as part of BMW’s TVS manufacturing partnership, which should help pricing compared with imported BMW roadsters.
The silhouette in BMW’s teaser shows a much lower, sharper motorcycle than the F 450 GS. The tall windscreen, 19-inch front wheel and adventure bodywork are gone. In their place are 17-inch alloy wheels, road tyres, a compact headlamp area, a muscular tank and a raised tail section.
An underbelly exhaust appears to replace the GS’s more visible silencer layout, which cleans up the right side of the motorcycle. The roadster should also use shorter-travel suspension and road-biased steering geometry, though BMW has not published dimensions or kerb weight yet.
Much of the electronics package should carry across from the GS. That means a 6.5-inch TFT display, Bluetooth connectivity, traction control, ABS Pro and multiple riding modes are all likely. Shift Assistant Pro may be offered on higher versions, while the GS’s off-road specific modes and long-travel suspension would obviously not be required.
BMW recently raised F 450 GS prices to Rs 4.95 lakh for the base version, Rs 5.15 lakh for the Exclusive and Rs 5.60 lakh for the GS Trophy. A roadster normally carries less bodywork and simpler suspension than an adventure model, so the F 450 R has room to start below the GS.
Early estimates around Rs 4.1 lakh should still be treated cautiously because BMW has announced neither variants nor pricing. Even so, a starting price in the low-to-mid Rs 4 lakh range would place it close to the Aprilia Tuono 457 while keeping it well below BMW’s larger S 1000 R, which starts above Rs 21 lakh.
That matters because the discontinued G 310 R was once BMW’s accessible roadster. The new F 450 R would replace that idea with a far more powerful twin-cylinder platform and a much deeper electronics package.