German And American Manufacturers To Enter Off-Road Market With Ground-Breaking 450s That Bend All The Rules
BMW GS450 Xmoto
Artist Damon Moran started sketching the BMW 450 before we had photos, so we told him to go ahead and finish it. The Dakar Rally-inspired blue/white color scheme is likely unless the rumors about BMW buying Husqvarna are true; then it could be red/white. The Buell illustration is more of an educated guess and is shown in the yellow/blue livery of the XB-RR factory roadracers.
Love them, hate them or know not who they are, BMW and Buell are two of the most innovative motorcycle manufacturers on the planet. And in a bizarre, all-the-planets-aligning sort of scenario, word got out the same month that both are working on off-road models. Not surprisingly, the two machines are mold-breaking.
The BMW rumors are strongest because they're not rumors. Spy photos of a black-painted development bike popped up on the Web and in various European magazines after the bike competed in the opening round of the German Enduro Championship on March 11th.
While official confirmation remains forthcoming, BMW has admitted its interest in expanding into the off-road market. In fact, as this was being written in early April, BMW's Press Relations Manager Roy Oliemuller was setting up an off-road ride with company president Dr. Herbert Deiss (see interview, page 28) and select members of the U.S. motorcycle press specifically to gain an understanding of the American off-road market.
Buell XB4.5MX MotoX
The BMW prototype looks trick and gets tricker the closer you look. It's obviously a fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valve four-stroke single that, if the stamping on its clutch cover can be believed, displaces 450cc. The clutch is too close to the crankshaft not to be connected, and judging by the location of the downdraft throttle body, the airbox is up above the engine and the fuel tank under the seat a la the F650GS. It's electric-start only, no kick, and a single radiator is positioned in front of the cylinder.
The perimeter steel-tube frame supports the engine from above and behind, and directly connects the steering head to the swingarm pivot in sportbike fashion. That pivot, incidentally, is mounted coaxially with the countershaft sprocket so chain torque (yes, it's chain-driven) should have no effect on rear-suspension action. There are no downtubes, which would seem to make the engine vulnerable to rock damage, though a skidplate is fitted. The hlins shock is tilted forward as on a KTM and looks to be linkageless, though there is a rocker-shaped piece attached to the swingarm-trained eyes suggest that's just to alter the position of the lower shock mount for testing. That's all we can discern for now.
Information on the Buell is even sketchier and stems from the fact that during the Winter Dealer Show in Florida on January 26th the firm flashed an artist's conception of a dirtbike on a video screen and announced it will be entering the off-road market.
BMW's new dirtbike broke cover in lsen, Germany, where test rider Sascha Eckert (top) rode an unbadged prototype in the opening round of the national enduro championship.
Our subsequent call to Buell/Harley-Davidson Communications Manager Paul James must have set alarm bells ringing, because a damage-control press release was issued shortly thereafter. The statement quoted Erik Buell as saying, "We've told our dealers about our plans to bring an off-road, closed-course competition motorcycle to market within the next two years. This will allow Buell dealers the time needed to make plans to meet the needs of this new market and customer." No small point given that Harley dealers haven't had a dirtbike to sell since the 1978 MX250.
Beyond that, little is known. The bike is said to be powered by a 450cc Rotax engine and incorporates some of Buell's trademark features such as a twin-spar aluminum frame that doubles as a fuel tank. Former Yamaha of Troy Team Manager Dave Osterman has reportedly been hired to direct the project and former AMA 250cc Motocross Champion Gary Jones retained as a consultant.
Whatever happens in the dirt, let's hope the Buell/Rotax connection someday makes its way to the pavement as well. Just imagine what Erik Buell could do with one of those liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twins...