Photos of BMW’s new parallel-twin adventure bike have hit the Internet.
There are a few different rumours focusing on the bike; some gossip has it dubbed the F850, other rumours say the platform will be dubbed the F900 series. Whichever it is, everyone seems very convinced the bike will have a new parallel twin platform to replace the current F800 and F700 powerplant (which has been made by Rotax for many years).
If we had to guess as to the reason behind the move, we’d likely point the finger at emissions standards first, as the first of the F-class BMW motorcycles hit the market in 2008, when tailpipe pollution standards were much more lenient.
BMW could also be motivated by growing competition in the middleweight adventure motorcycle class. With the success of the Honda Africa Twin, the rumoured impending launch of an 800-class KTM adventure bike, and hints of a new Yamaha ADV bike (unveiled in concept form at EICMA)Â based on the FZ-07, BMW probably doesn’t want to continue returning to market with an aging design. As we noted in our 2014 Adventure Bike Comparo, the F800 motor gets the job done, but it’s buzzy at extra-legal speeds.
If you want to see more photos of the bike, head over to MoreBikes.co.uk. While the site doesn’t list any official specs or information for the new Beemer, some changes are obvious. The chain drive and exhaust have switched sides, and styling has changed. Now, it looks more like a big-bore adventure bike, and less like an off-road-friendly enduro.
It will be very interesting to see if BMW’s design philosophy is reflected in the machine’s performance. The F800 GS machines weren’t svelte, but they were much more manageable off-road than the 1200s. Hopefully, that usability in the dirt hasn’t been lost.
