Video: BMW's 450 enduro in action

BMW’S next-generation 450 Enduro, tagged the Sportenduro, will be available to buy in BMW dealers next year, but you can see video of the bike in action here.

MCN has been told the 450cc single, which is being put through its paces at the moment in the German Enduro Championship, will be unveiled as a new model in the German manufactures range at the latter end of the year, possibly the Paris show on September 28.

The bike will feature a revolutionary back end with a co-axial chain drive and swingarm. The system works so the chain moves with the suspension rather than independently.

Off-road bikes traditionally suffer from reliability problems due to the massive amount of travel with the suspension putting the chains under huge amounts of stress – the BMW design is developed to keep the chain at its optimum tension at all times.

The new system will also allow for a longer swingarm for improved traction, and mean the engine can be mounted further back in the frame. The fuel tank is mounted under the seat rather than above the engine, just like the manufactures current F-series, which also means improved mass centralisation.

The move to release an off-road focussed machine comes about at the same time BMW has bought Husqvarna, a company historically known for producing top off-road machinery.

Tony Jakeman, BMW Motorrad UK’s Marketing Manager, told MCN the market for a BMW Enduro bike isn’t as big in the UK as it is elsewhere where off-roading is more popular, and in the long term future BMW would be looking at creating something to fill the UK’s most popular market, supersports.