BMW C1 due for a revival?

[Mr Gear]

defblade said:

srob said:

I give you the Quasar:

There's a part of me that's still an 8 year old boy in the 70's. And it WANTS that bike (and a Bond Bug ).

It's hard to say without it being parked next to a "normal" bike, but that looks really long.

[3doorPete]

I don't think it's a biker/non-biker thing. Most are used for small commutes to train stations and the like. They offer unparalleled weather protection and true ability to wear your work suit and not worry about protective gear.

2 park at the train station I park at and they do sound aweful. When it is raining, I am enviously though.

Interestingly, neither of the guys that commute on them use the seatbelt, kind of defeating their safety aspect. Instead you'll fall out and have a large roof and screen trying to cut you in half!

If they'd allowed them to be used without a helmet, you'd see a lot more of them.

For my few mile commute, I'm not interested in sports bike dynamics, gear changing, protective gear, quality suspension etc.

I AM interested in ease of use, saving £900 a year on parking, weather protection, how well the bike survives a small off and low running costs.

[sprinter1050]

He ^ aint got room for a helmet on that anyway so non-starter there :

what was that bike that tilted that had 3 wheels-not the piaggio thing- more like stabilisers at the back ??
There was one at Goodwood FoS a few years back......... or am I losing it?

[Mr Gear]

sprinter1050 said:

He ^ aint got room for a helmet on that anyway so non-starter there :

what was that bike that tilted that had 3 wheels-not the piaggio thing- more like stabilisers at the back ??
There was one at Goodwood FoS a few years back......... or am I losing it?

Carver? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carver_%28automobile%...

[Greg964]

I never noticed they had a rear seat option



Whenever i see one i wonder if its possible to get enough speed up to do a forward roll with it and land back on the wheels. Be a cool way to stop at the lights

[3doorPete]

Greg964 said:

I never noticed they had a rear seat option



Whenever i see one i wonder if its possible to get enough speed up to do a forward roll with it and land back on the wheels. Be a cool way to stop at the lights

All the ones I've seen have a top box where the pillion seat is.

[sjtscott]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLP0PxZkJPg&fea...

Certainly in this one I'd like to be wearing a helmet and maybe boots at least.

Watch the other crash test videos too.

[Mr Gear]

sjtscott said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLP0PxZkJPg&fea...

Certainly in this one I'd like to be wearing a helmet and maybe boots at least.

Watch the other crash test videos too.

Well, the head didn't actually hit anything, but it came awfully close.

Note, if that had been a motorcycle, ankles/legs would have been squashed, but with your feet "inboard" a scooter is safer in that respect, roof or otherwise.

[Muffles]

I've heard the argument that it might not be so good in a sliding situation where you can't separate yourself from the bike (as often would happen with normal bikes) meaning you follow the bike under the HGV wheels or whatever...but I don't really know how common that scenario is (sliding accident where the bike goes into something but you don't).

[tootsnpurple]

I had one about 6 years ago, the stand mechanism I found to be crap, they are sooooooooo top heavy, & if it's a windy day, leave it at home, But fun in it's own way.

[graham22]

Greg964 said:

Whenever i see one i wonder if its possible to get enough speed up to do a forward roll with it and land back on the wheels. Be a cool way to stop at the lights

Had the same thought myself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFCSS_cK_mY

Also many of the Quasers had Reliant Robin engines so no too fast, did see a similar thing, without a roof, years ago at Weston Beach race with a Goldwing motor. The journalist Paul Blezzard was a feet foward fan & used to have a YPVS feet forward bike.

Edited by graham22 on Wednesday 15th September 14:21

[shoestring7]

I don't think I've ever seen one without obvious damage to those crash pads by the riders' shoulder. Do they all fall over so easliy?

SS7

[rhinochopig]

Mr Gear said:

Having seen this thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... it occurred to me that there must be many bikers out there who have packed it in after having an accident or a near-miss.

It also hasn't passed me by that BMW C1 prices are absolutely ludicrous. I have put two and two together to come up with five... These bikes are sought after because they are the only bike that offers the comforts of motorcycling (free parking, congestion-busting, cornering fun etc) with the safety of a car (seatbelts, crumple zone, roll-cage etc).

Now, I know the C1 was short on fun even as far as commuter bikes go, but does having a rollcage and seatbelts make it impossible to make a fun and exciting bike? Would any manufacturer ever be able to make such a bike pay if they made it? Are there enough bikers out there asking for extra safety?

No.



Ceramic double-rotor two-wheel disk drive

[Dontlift]

I have decided I want one

[giant catfish]

3doorPete said:

Greg964 said:

I never noticed they had a rear seat option



Whenever i see one i wonder if its possible to get enough speed up to do a forward roll with it and land back on the wheels. Be a cool way to stop at the lights

All the ones I've seen have a top box where the pillion seat is.

Is the design completely bespoke, or is it a parts-bin job? Specifically the engine and gearbox? Was wondering whether an engine swap would be a complete re-engineering of the machine, or something trivial. It looks like a scooter at the back, and Piaggio in Italy pretty much make all the scooter engines (most of the Italian scooter brands are just badges on Piaggio engines / gearboxes, IIRC). If the engine / gearbox is all integrated into the swingarm as per scooters, then perhaps it'd be relatively easy to swap for one of the newer maxi-scooter motors? IIRC when BMW brought these thingies out, the biggest scooter out there was the Gilera (Piaggio) 180 two-stroke. Now there are 500cc scooters, and a 500cc C1 would appeal - imagine the easy wheelie practice - overcook it and you'll roll round safely!

[Pothole]

hornetrider said:

Mr Gear said:

It also hasn't passed me by that BMW C1 prices are absolutely ludicrous.

Is £1250 ridiculous? That's the price of one on biketrader.

that's the cheapest one there and for a 6 year old 125 I think that's a lot...the rest are £2k plus which is ridiculous when you can get a TMax 500 for the same money.

[Pothole]

giant catfish said:

3doorPete said:

Greg964 said:

I never noticed they had a rear seat option



Whenever i see one i wonder if its possible to get enough speed up to do a forward roll with it and land back on the wheels. Be a cool way to stop at the lights

All the ones I've seen have a top box where the pillion seat is.

Is the design completely bespoke, or is it a parts-bin job? Specifically the engine and gearbox? Was wondering whether an engine swap would be a complete re-engineering of the machine, or something trivial. It looks like a scooter at the back, and Piaggio in Italy pretty much make all the scooter engines (most of the Italian scooter brands are just badges on Piaggio engines / gearboxes, IIRC). If the engine / gearbox is all integrated into the swingarm as per scooters, then perhaps it'd be relatively easy to swap for one of the newer maxi-scooter motors? IIRC when BMW brought these thingies out, the biggest scooter out there was the Gilera (Piaggio) 180 two-stroke. Now there are 500cc scooters, and a 500cc C1 would appeal - imagine the easy wheelie practice - overcook it and you'll roll round safely!

engines were made by Rotax.

[Mr Gear]

How about... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX86tcpzW6g

[telecat]

Mr Gear said:

defblade said:

srob said:

I give you the Quasar:

There's a part of me that's still an 8 year old boy in the 70's. And it WANTS that bike (and a Bond Bug ).

It's hard to say without it being parked next to a "normal" bike, but that looks really long.

It has a web site of it's own run by Mark Crowson.

http://www.quasarworld.com/

[Laurence82]

I have owned 3 of the C1's. I used to smile all the way into manchester city centre when i commuted in a parker and jeans. I didnt get wet at all. Its very rare rain can travel sideways at 30mph. And that was my average speed past all the miserable car commuters sat in traffic.

I filtered through lanes very easily.. And shock horror i never wore a helmet once. I had the argument with 4 police officers. 3 of which didnt know anything about them and the fourth didnt understand why i didnt want to wear one! I ended up just laughing at him and asking for my ticket! @ no points btw just a fpn.

They are not a motorbike replacement, just like a scooter isnt. They are a scooter!! Its a stupid argument to say they were intended to steal motorbike sales. They were designed for people with an open mind who wanted to avoid traffic while keeping warm and dry and parking for free anywhere they wanted.

If only we lived in a society where people embraced the individuality they represented instead of mocking them through ignorance.

I wish they would bring them back and put a 500cc scooter engine in.