BMW F 450 GS Review

Playing Inside Austria’s Iron Giant

Sep 10, 2026 | 20 - BTA Magazine September/October 2026

The arrival of the BMW F 450 GS immediately caught our attention. A new 420 cc parallel twin, 48 hp, a serious electronics package, capable suspension, and those two familiar letters on the tank created plenty of expectations. On paper, BMW had assembled all the ingredients for a motorcycle aimed squarely at a growing part of the adventure world.

But paper was the easy part. What interested us was everything that happens once the specifications disappear behind a visor: hours on the highway, luggage strapped to the back, wet roads, standing on the pegs, loose gravel, rocks, mistakes, and those moments when you stop thinking about the motorcycle underneath you and simply ride.

Austria gave us the opportunity to find out. Over several days surrounding the 30th Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, the F 450 GS would have to travel, get wet, get dirty, carry our gear, and eventually enter the rocky roads of the Iron Giant. We went there with plenty of questions. Erzberg had a way of answering them.

First Contact: Garching to Austria

After months of waiting, reading press releases, staring at photos, and wondering what BMW’s new middleweight GS would actually feel like in the real world, our turn finally came. We were heading to Austria to cover the 30th edition of the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, and waiting for us at BMW’s press facility in Garching, just outside Munich, was a pair of F 450 GS Trophy models ready for the trip south.

At first glance, the F 450 GS looks compact, narrow, and immediately approachable. Swing a leg over the seat, though, and the cockpit feels surprisingly roomy. The riding position comes naturally, with enough space to settle in without searching for the right place for knees, arms, or feet. That first impression mattered because we had roughly 220 miles (350 km) between Garching and Eisenerz.

Before leaving, we strapped our Giant Loop soft luggage onto the rear rack. Everything cinched down securely and stayed there, which is exactly what luggage should do once the riding starts. Then came the familiar routine: gloves on, visor down, ignition, first gear.

Ahead of us were several hours of Autobahn, secondary roads, fuel stops, and eventually the mountains of Austria. Beyond them sat the Iron Giant and the rocky roads inside Erzberg. For now, though, the F 450 GS had a much simpler job. It had to get us there.

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The Road to Eisenerz

Leaving Munich meant spending the first part of the day on the Autobahn, which turned out to be a useful way of getting acquainted with the F 450 GS. We had expected a colder morning, but the weather played along. The small windscreen and handguards provided surprisingly effective protection without making the cockpit feel bulky, a setup that would later stay completely out of the way in the dirt.

At cruising speed, the 420 cc parallel twin felt smooth and relaxed. Its 48 hp and 32 lb-ft (43 Nm) of torque handled highway pace comfortably, and when traffic required an overtake, a small twist of the throttle produced an immediate response even in a higher gear. BMW uses a 135-degree crankpin offset together with a balance shaft to keep vibration under control, something we appreciated through the handlebars and footpegs after several hours on the road.

The seat deserves some credit too. We never reached that familiar point where a coffee stop suddenly becomes less about caffeine and more about giving your backside a break. Its generous padding worked well during the paved sections, while the narrower front would later make sense once we started riding standing up.

During those first miles we also became familiar with the controls, menus, and riding modes. By the time the Autobahn gave way to smaller roads, operating them already felt natural. Fuel stops, a quick drink, a chance to stretch our legs, and then back on the road. Somewhere during those 220 miles (350 km), the F 450 GS stopped feeling like a motorcycle we had just picked up that morning. Before we really noticed how quickly the hours had passed, Eisenerz was in front of us.

Into the Iron Giant

Arriving in Eisenerz changed the mood of the trip almost immediately. The highway miles were behind us, and in front stood Erzberg, the massive open-pit iron mine hosting the 30th edition of the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. This was where we really wanted to find out what the F 450 GS could do.

Friday morning brought plenty of rain, leaving the internal roads wet and scattered with puddles. Even so, the surface remained remarkably firm. Most of these roads are built from rock extracted directly from the mine, so beneath the water and mud there was always a solid base.

Naturally, the puddles became invitations. Instead of carefully tiptoeing around them, we started hitting them with a little more speed, partly for the photos and partly because, well, someone had to see what happened. The front wheel pushed the water cleanly toward the sides, while the engine protection helped keep much of the spray away from our boots. We expected to come out looking considerably dirtier than we actually did.

By then, operating the bike had become second nature. Switching riding modes or adjusting the ABS required little thought, leaving our attention where it belonged: on the terrain ahead. Standing on the pegs felt equally natural, with the narrow front of the seat and compact cockpit leaving plenty of room to move. The F 450 GS had brought us comfortably to Austria. Now it was time to get it dirty.

Flo Opens the Playground

At some point during our time inside Erzberg, our guide Flo took us away from the areas normally accessible during the event and led us deeper into the mine. The road eventually opened into a huge, isolated clearing surrounded by enormous pieces of rock pulled straight from the Iron Giant. Parts of the surface were hard-packed, others covered in loose gravel, with small rises, dips, and enough open space to start having dangerous thoughts. There was nobody else around. That was probably the problem.

What started as a photo location quickly became our private playground. This was where the F 450 GS stopped being something we were analyzing and became something we simply wanted to ride. The 420 cc twin responded immediately in the lower gears, making it easy to break the rear tire loose and hold a slide across the gravel. With the electronics set for dirt and rear ABS out of the equation, braking into a corner, letting the rear step sideways, and getting back on the throttle felt wonderfully natural. Our Trophy was fitted with Metzeler Karoo 4 tires, which gave us plenty of confidence on loose ground while remaining quiet during the highway ride into Austria.

Then we started finding little jumps. They probably looked harmless from the outside. From behind the handlebars, naturally, they felt considerably more heroic. The KYB suspension offered 7.1 inches (180 mm) of travel at both ends, with BMW’s WAD travel-dependent damping system at the rear. Rocks, holes, fast compressions, and increasingly enthusiastic little jumps kept coming, yet we never managed to bottom it out.

The same confidence carried into rougher sections. There was enough ground clearance to make it through the larger rocks without unpleasant noises, while the bike’s 393 lb (178 kg) ready-to-ride weight never became something we had to think about. Instead, we kept playing. A little throttle was enough to lift the front wheel over an obstacle, or occasionally over absolutely nothing at all. Long slides turned into longer ones. Then came a few donuts, because apparently serious motorcycle journalism occasionally requires those too. Somewhere between the gravel flying behind us and the yelling inside our helmets, we realized we had stopped testing the F 450 GS. We were just having fun.

Why This 450 Works

By the time we left that gravel playground, the F 450 GS had already answered most of the questions we had brought with us. Its 48 hp suddenly made perfect sense.

Out on the trails, the power felt usable, predictable, and easy to enjoy. You could open the throttle, let the rear tire move around, lift the front wheel, correct a line, and keep exploring without feeling that the motorcycle demanded perfect inputs. That matters. The F 450 GS invited us to try things, make small mistakes, recover, and keep going. Its manageable size and friendly character made the experience approachable without taking away the fun. Experienced riders will find plenty here to play with, while riders taking their first serious steps into adventure riding can grow into the bike without feeling overwhelmed.

And perhaps that is what makes this new generation of middleweight adventure motorcycles so interesting. Around 50 hp is enough to travel, carry luggage, cruise comfortably, and still have plenty left once the pavement ends. Just as important, the power delivery feels manageable and confidence-inspiring, letting you explore the bike’s capabilities without feeling intimidated. After a few days on the F 450 GS, we were not thinking about numbers anymore. We were thinking about where else we could take it.

The Ride Back

Eventually, Erzberg disappeared in the mirrors and the road pointed us back toward Munich. That is always the part nobody likes to talk about. The luggage was strapped down again, the miles started adding up, and somewhere along the way came the realization that this little adventure was almost over. Soon we would be back in Garching, handing the keys to BMW and walking away from a motorcycle we had only just started getting to know. And that was probably the clearest sign of how much we had enjoyed it.

The F 450 GS had taken us from highways and secondary roads to rain, rocks, puddles, jumps, and more than a few questionable decisions inside Erzberg. Yet we still wanted more time with it.

One thought followed us all the way back. After seeing what this platform can already do in the dirt, it is difficult not to wonder what BMW could create with an even stronger off-road focus. A version wearing a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel would certainly get our attention. Maybe that motorcycle exists only in our imagination for now. Maybe someone in Munich is already tightening a few bolts on one. Either way, we can be patient. The F 450 GS had already given us plenty to smile about. The hard part was giving it back.