New TVS 450cc Twin Confirmed: Could Power BMW F450 GS and Future Norton Models

Right, it’s official. TVS is getting serious in the mid-weight segment as it confirms a new 450cc twin-cylinder engine is incoming (not the one listed at the top of the page). The new motor is earmarked for the brand’s updated Apache models, but it’s also believed to be powering the BMW F450 GS, and potentially Norton’s new line of mid-weight machines.

This new 450cc parallel-twin platform is being developed jointly by TVS and BMW, with the actual engine production taking place at TVS’ Hosur facility. Think of it as the spiritual evolution of the 310 collaboration that gave us the BMW G310 R and G310 GS, and TVS’ Apache RR 310. Only now, the game has moved on, meaning we expect a bit more power and technology

Supersport Incoming – Apache RR 450

While BMW will get the adventure-ready R 450 GS from this engine platform, TVS has decided to go the other way entirely with its first 450 equipped machine. Indian media outlets are all reporting the same thing, in that the first new model to roll out of Hosur will be a fully-faired sport bike. Reports also suggest it’s going to be called Apache RR 450.

Performance from the G310 engine was modest, but adequate for new riders and those on an A2 licence. We expect the new 450cc to be churning out closer to 47bhp, but more important than that, as a twin, it should have a bit more character than the outgoing motor.

Should those numbers be correct, it could become a proper challenger to the swathe of mid-weight sports bikes from the major and minor manufacturers. But this engine may also have a trick up its sleeve - a very funky crank design. Some outlets are claiming that the new TVS twin-pot will have a 125-degree crank, something wildly different from the dirge of 270-degree cranks that have taken over the market. How that will make the bike feel on the road is a bit of a mystery, as we can’t recall a twin-pot from the past that matched that design.

New Nortons could land at EICMA

It’s expected that Norton Motorcycles (which is also owned by TVS, in case you’ve forgotten) will have a big presence at EICMA this year, as it looks to the Milan bike show as the perfect launchpad for its mid-weight machines (or at least some concepts of them). The news of these bikes is the closest we've got to actual all-new machines since TVS took over, with the Atlas middleweights (above) going the way of the DoDo once Mr Garner was removed.

With the engine platform set to underpin not just BMW’s ADV machines and TVS’ supersports but also Norton’s reborn middleweights, it’s clear TVS isn’t just building bikes, it’s building a handy little empire with range sprouting from India all the way through Europe.

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