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After many “spy” photos appearing in the press over the last few weeks, here's finally some official words from BMW on their 450 motorcycle (the photo is an official photo).
BMW released a press statement telling that they would take part in the World Enduro Championship E2 class on April 28th and 29th. The participation by BMW is seen as a "testing" off their new motorcycle (click here for more information on the Championship )The 450 will be run by none other than Joel Smets and Sascha Eckert. Apart from the Puerto Lumbreras, Spain race, BMW plan to race in several other races this season. The motorcycle is still a prototype, but if they're racing it, more or less seriously, then it can't be far from production. Is BMW finally going to attempt to stop the KTM world domination??So the question which many have on their minds... when will we see the motorcycle in the local dealer ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Enduro_ChampionshipPost count: 2134
Post count: 2134The 450cc enduro market has been the subject of an unprecedented boom in dirtbike popularity. Aprilia sought to cash in with their thrilling v-twin 450cc weapon and now BMW plan to grab their own share of the market with an all new enduro machine. Off road sales are inexorably linked with competition success and BMW are using the highly competitive World Enduro Championship to develop their modern day enduro pedigree. The 450cc machine has already been seen in action under the pilotage of German enduro champion Sascha Eckert and for the remainder of 2007 by motocross legend Joel Smets. The Belgian is one of the most highly regarded riders in the history of motorcycle sport and his career record in the modern era of World Motocross competition is second only to Stefan Everts. Securing his services can be seen as a major coup for BMW. It also illustrates just how serious the Bavarians are taking their new project and Smets will help to develop and refine the 450cc prototypes into a polished package before BMW start full production, presumably later in the year. Brief appearances so far have seen the prototype cloaked in plain black clothes but this weekend in Spain the machines will appear in full BMW Motorrad Motosport regalia for the first time.BMW are famous for going their own way when it comes to new designs but at first glance their new design looks to follow established trends. A conventional front suspension system consisting of inverted Marzocchi forks with 300mm of spring travel is obvious. The rear suspension system looks to mimic that seen from their Austrian neighbours over the border at KTM with a slanted progressive Ohlins spring and shock absorber (320mm travel). The engine is a four-stroke single-cylinder design along the lines of what has been par for the course in the 450cc enduro class, with the addition of fuel injection the only obvious departure from the norm. Look closer however and a few new BMW design touches become apparent.
The engine crankcases are incredibly short. BMW fitted the clutch directly onto the right hand side of the crankshaft and the engine itself has a quite extreme forward tilt. These two design features alone have allowed BMW to construct a frame where the distance between the swingarm pivot and steering head is as straight and as short as possible. The frame tubing is constructed from premium steel tubing designed for crash protection structures and rarely used in motorcycles. There is no cradle forward of the engine which gives the appearance of the engine virtually hanging in mid-air from the upper frame mounts. As the clutch assembly is mounted directly on the crankshaft it is not subjected to the torque multiplying speed reduction effects of the primary drive and thus can be significantly smaller and lighter. An intermediary shaft transfers the power from the crank to the gearbox. A swingarm that pivots in the crankcases is certainly not new but BMW’s take on the layout is certainly very different and potentially opens up many benefits. Not only does the swingarm attach to the frame but also directly to the engine and in a very novel twist the swingarm pivots directly through a hollow gearbox output. This eliminates changes in chain length through the compression and rebound movements of the swingarm. This means that chain tensioning devices and routing aids can be eliminated as the required chain sag of the machine is virtually nil. Another positive side effect is reduced stress on the chain as changes in loading through the arc of the swingarm are ruled moot. It also opens up the possibility for the chain drive to be sealed from the elements in some conditions if BMW so desires. 
It also allows the engine to reside in a position closer to the centreline of the machine while maintaining the traction benefits of a longer swingarm without the drawbacks of a longer wheelbase. Obviously the technical benefits of the design are theoretically huge, however it is yet to be seen if BMW can capitalise on those benefits without any reliability or servicing drawbacks. This is where the blooding of the prototypes in World Enduro competition will bring unparalleled development benefits. The forward tilt of the cylinder also opens up a lot of space for very straight inlet tracts and a dual throttle valve system to help with coming exhaust emissions compliance issues in Europe and around the world. It also allows the fuel tank to be placed directly beneath the rider for centralisation of mass and the airbox to reside where the fuel tank normally would with its intake much higher in the machine than generally seen on enduro machines.BMW claim that their new double overhead cam single is making comparable power to the established stars of the category and also weighs in at competitive numbers.It is remarkably brave of BMW to test the waters of the prototypes in such a high profile competition as the World Enduro Championship. If the machines fail dismally it will hurt the public image of the brand, prototypes or not. And with proven riders at the helm all performance deficiencies will be immediately attributed to the shortcomings of the machine rather than the pilots. Something tells me they must be quietly confident that they will not be left with egg on their faces and if top ten success is forthcoming in these early stages of development the opposition will be studying their designs with great interest…The BMW name is not instantly synonymous with off road racing prowess despite the recent introduction of the HP2 variant of the R 1200 GS and the 2007 release of the 650 Xchallenge enduro machines.Delving back into the history of BMW however there are numerous links to dirt competition.It was an engineer who celebrated BMW’s very first off-road success exactly eighty years ago: in competition with the leading motorcycle brands, Rudolf Schleicher won the Six-Day Race in the UK on the R 37 he himself had designed. The young motorcycle brand from Munich gained overnight fame in the wake of the enormous press response.In the 1930s, BMW factory riders achieved impressive success in international 6-day races, making the general public aware of the robustness, endurance and power of the machines from Bavaria. The serial production of the telescopic fork developed by BMW was ultimately only possible due to the merciless testing carried out at tough off-road sports events. The same applies to the straight rear-wheel suspension which was conscientiously tested at the major off-road competitions for several years.Famous BMW road racing motorcyclists such as Ernst Henne and Schorsch Meier started their careers as off-road riders on BMW motorcycles. There are the wonderful memories of success in the German Championships of 1955 to 1980 with riders such as Hans Meier, Sebastian Nachtmann, Herbert Scheck and Richard Schalber, who lined up at the start on forerunners of the GS models. Rolf Witthöft even won the European Championship. The Paris-Dakar victories in the 1980s were truly outstanding, when rally legends such as Gaston Rahier and Hubert Auriol celebrated off-road triumphs on the rally versions of the BMW R 100 GS. In 1999 Richard Sainct clinched the Paris-Dakar victory again for BMW on a modified F 650 single-cylinder machine. And even this was to be surpassed when BMW won a quadruple victory in 2000. 
In the more recent past, Simo Kirrsi achieved impressive results on the HP2 Enduro at events such as the German Cross Country Series, the Pikes Peak competition and the Erzberg-Rodeo.
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