BMW Just Launched the F 450 R, and It Undercuts the Aprilia Tuono 457 by Exactly €100
BMW's new A2-class naked bike shares its engine with the F 450 GS and undercuts its biggest rival on price.
BMW Motorrad has officially unveiled the F 450 R, a naked roadster for the A2 licence class, with a German starting price of €6,490 and four trim levels. It replaces the long-discontinued G 310 R at the bottom of BMW’s naked range and shares its 420cc parallel-twin with the F 450 GS, retuned for the road.
I’d been half-ignoring the teaser campaign for this thing for two weeks — every A2 bike teaser looks the same, some headlight sliver and a countdown clock — and then the actual bike showed up yesterday looking like someone shrank an S 1000 R in the wash. I’m annoyed at how much I want one, given that I already own a bike I haven’t ridden since Labor Day and a credit card statement that would like a word.
The engine: same twin as the GS, tuned differently
The F 450 R uses the same newly developed 420cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin as the F 450 GS — a 135-degree crankpin offset design built by TVS in India — but in a road-tuned state. It makes 48 PS at 8,750 rpm and 43 Nm at 6,750 rpm, routed through a six-speed gearbox with an optional “Easy Ride Clutch” clutchless shifting system on the top trim. BMW quotes 3.8 L/100km consumption and a 14-litre tank, good for over 350 km between fuel stops.
The chassis: a welded steel trellis, not the GS’s frame
BMW didn’t just drop the GS’s running gear into a naked body. The F 450 R gets its own welded steel-tube trellis frame with forged components, say BMW’s own press materials, tuned specifically for road riding rather than the GS’s off-road remit. Braking comes from a Brembo four-piston monobloc caliper on a 310mm front disc, with cornering ABS, emergency brake assist (DBC), traction control (DTC) and engine drag-torque control (MSR) all standard. Kerb weight is 175 kg.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Engine | 420cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin, 135° crank offset |
| Power | 48 PS (47.3 hp) @ 8,750 rpm |
| Torque | 43 Nm @ 6,750 rpm |
| Weight | 175 kg (kerb) |
| Seat height | 775 / 790 / 810 mm (low/standard/high) |
| Fuel tank | 14 L (~350+ km range) |
| Front brake | Brembo 4-piston, 310mm disc, cornering ABS |
| Price (Germany) | €6,490 (Basis trim) |
Photo: BMW Motorrad
Four trims, and the price climbs fast
BMW is launching the F 450 R in four flavours: the black-finished Basis at €6,490, Exclusive (adds a sports suspension and BMW’s Shift Assistant Pro quickshifter), M Sport (white/M Motorsport livery, Pro riding modes, Shift Assistant Pro), and M Sport Innovation Package, which is the only trim that gets the Easy Ride Clutch. Austria and Switzerland pricing lands at €6,690 and CHF 6,750 respectively for the base bike. In the UK it’s listed at £6,395 (~€7,350 at current rates) — the usual gap once you account for VAT treatment and import costs rather than a straight currency conversion. BMW says European dealers should have the first bikes in showrooms for the early-2027 season.
How it stacks up against the obvious A2 rivals
The F 450 R isn’t appearing in a vacuum — the A2 naked class already has two established names it has to beat on paper before it even gets ridden. We’ve been tracking KTM’s own A2/A1 naked lineup as it fills out, and the Tuono is the other bike most A2 riders already cross-shop.
| Model | Engine | Power | Torque | Price (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW F 450 R | 420cc parallel-twin | 48 PS | 43 Nm | €6,490 |
| KTM 390 Duke | 399cc single | 45 PS | 39 Nm | ~€6,300 (est., France €6,299) |
| Aprilia Tuono 457 | 457cc parallel-twin | 47.6 PS | 43.5 Nm | €6,590 |
On paper the BMW undercuts the Aprilia by exactly €100 while matching it almost spec-for-spec on power and torque, and it’s only about €200 above the KTM single while offering a smoother twin-cylinder layout. That’s a genuinely aggressive opening price for a brand that doesn’t usually bother being the cheapest thing in the room.
What we know / What’s still unclear
What we know: - Full specs, all four trim levels, and German/Austrian/Swiss pricing are confirmed via BMW’s own press materials. - The engine is shared with the F 450 GS, in a different tune. - UK pricing (£6,395) is confirmed.
What’s still unclear: - Exact EU-wide delivery dates beyond “early 2027 season” — no country-by-country rollout schedule yet. - Whether the Easy Ride Clutch will be offered as a standalone option on lower trims later, or stays locked to the top package.
Fine, I’ll be as real about this as the скуф voice allows: I will not be riding this. I have a bike. I have a GS-adjacent fantasy that lives entirely in spreadsheets of other people’s spec sheets. But if I were starting over on a licence, this is the one I’d be doing the maths on instead of the Tuono.
FAQ
How much does the BMW F 450 R cost?
The base “Basis” trim starts at €6,490 in Germany, €6,690 in Austria, and CHF 6,750 in Switzerland. UK pricing is confirmed at £6,395.
What engine does the BMW F 450 R use?
A 420cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin with a 135-degree crank offset, shared with the F 450 GS but tuned for road use. It makes 48 PS at 8,750 rpm and 43 Nm at 6,750 rpm.
When does the BMW F 450 R go on sale?
BMW says European dealers should have it for the “early 2027 season,” though no country-by-country delivery date has been published yet.
How does the F 450 R compare to the KTM 390 Duke and Aprilia Tuono 457?
It undercuts the Tuono 457 by €100 while roughly matching its power and torque, and sits about €200 above the KTM 390 Duke while using a twin-cylinder engine instead of a single.
Official source: https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0460765EN/bmw-motorrad-presents-the-new-bmw-f-450-r
Reporting via: speedweek.com, motorcyclenews.com, zigwheels.com
