WOW - Look at this! Would definitely buy this rig! http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/789/8340/Motorcycle-Article/BMW-Concept-C-Scooter-First-Look.aspx
Another 2 cylinder 650+cc "commuter" scooter. I'm guessing it'll be priced at the very top end of the scale, too. What do you think, $9000.00? I think I'd rather have a Burgman or Silver Wing.
The 2011 Burgman 650 Executive I saw last week in the local dealer showed an MSRP of $10,500...so, just guessing, but I'm betting the BMW will be well in excess of that. ALSO, it will undoubtedly be very expensive to service, I am sure...commensurate with service costs on other BMWs...
I'll stick with my Burgman. The windshield on the BMW looks more like a decoration, and the blue tires are bound to be silly expensive. Scott Fraser Calgary
That is reportedly the electric one pictured wearing BMW's usual paint scheme designed to confound viewers trying to gain a good understanding of the shape, etc. Their cars wear similar colour during road testing.
Howdy, Forgive me for asking, but does BMW make reliable bikes? I ride only scooters and interestingly enough, there's a BMW dealer next door to the new school where I'm teaching..
BMW makes excellent bikes, among the best touring machines in the world. Their engineering and manufacturing quality is legendary, and has been that way for decades. Bring cash. Scott Fraser Calgary
It's a good question and there are reasons to ask. Unlike Scott, I wouldn't be so quick to lump together BMW's past with their present. Editorial: I've watched the Germans add weight and complexity year after year to their cars to the point where they are (at best) average in reliability and (worse, read: Mercedes) far below average reliability. These pages, and other sources, have many accounts of BMW bikes failing in the most basic areas and I have somewhat lost confidence in them. I certainly don't believe one is gaining much, if anything, by buying a BMW over a Japanese or even a Taiwanese product.
I've owned 3 Bmw's. A 1978 R100-7, 1985 K75RT, and a 1995 R100GSPD. All were rock solid. I don't know about the newer ones.
I agree. Being a former BMW rider, I have lost confidence in BMW quality, due to rear drive failures of late model bikes, shortened warranty, etc.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I've also owned several airheads. Very good machines that served me many years. I won't be buying a new BMW however.
That scoot isn't my taste and it is going to be waaaayyy overpriced. I've ridden a few beemers, and I love how freakin smooth the are. I also love that 1200RC... that cruiser... it's an acquired taste but that bike is sweet.
I've had an R60/5, R75/5, R100GS, R1200C, R1100RT, K1200RS, and now have an R1150GS (10 years old, owned since new) with a Ural tug and an R1200GS. I didn't love all of them equally, but all were great bikes. My R1150GS lives outside and takes a ridiculous amount of abuse for 10 years now. I did have one of the famous stripped spline issues but even though I was out of warranty BMW covered the parts cost. I don't think it's so much that BMW has gotten worse over the years. It's more that other manufacturers have gotten better. It's really hard to find a bad machine now that Buell has gone under IMO, most of the people who gripe about BMW's current manufacturing practices are just techno-grouches who wish things were still powered by pushrods and carburetors and had no on-board electronics. And these people should go buy a new Ural -- they're great bikes and they're just about faithful in principle to what BMW was making in those 'good old days', except with disc brakes, modern electrics, and inexpensive replacement parts.
Based on my first-hand experience (about 11 years of life with 1994-1996 Urals, when quality was substantially worse) they do require regular maintenance but relatively little in the way of replacement parts. Some people pay the dealer for everything and for them the difference is subtle. I fully expect that these are not the same people who are grimacing at the explosion of parts counts, computers, and sub-assemblies in modern vehicles, but I could be wrong.
My 02 Tourist ate alternators / timing gears / fuses and other assorted parts like potato chips thank u :huh
Not to hijack the thread (whoops, I did it again) but it's well-known that late-model CMSI bikes had lousy alternators mounted on solid shafts that tended to grenade the motor. I've never seen this happen to a bike equipped with the vintage 14A unit, or to the newer Denso-equipped rides.
