New BMW scoot headed to US

https://newatlas.com/bmw-c400x-scooter/52196/

Looks like it will be released in Canada first.

"Only in Canada you say? Pity." Old Canucks will get that. It's not my cup of tea (nyuk nyuk)... especially when it's a "400" model that actually has a 350 cc engine (I hate that).

I see from your other thread that you a new owner of the one above's big brother... How are you liking it so far? Since I got a bike again last season (after ~25 years), my BIL has been pining to also get a bike again.... But he's got bad hips and can't swing a leg over a bike. He can't even take mine for a spin... I was telling him to check out one of the big scoot's.... they look like they'd give ~80-90% of the fun of a bike while having some major advantages (easy access to get on to it, storage, insurance cost etc etc). I think BIL has to get over the mental hump.... he's not quite there yet. I suspect he may first try see if he can make some kind of cruiser work.

Limited seat time because of the rain here in S. Il. But I can say that it is surprisingly quick off the line and fast. Because the engine noise stays constant as you gain speed it's easy to not realize how fast you are going.

Has 15" inch rims and handles much better than I expected. Doesn't want to fall in or stand up in the curves. Great wind protection, may not be so nice during the warm humid summers we hae here in the Midwurst.

W/O the step thru on the scoot, I wouldn't be riding either due to the hip.

Went to town yesterday to buy some stuff at the hardware store. The owner is a HD rider and I showed him a pic. He said that's not a scooter, that looks like a crotch rocket!. I don't think it does but it doesn't look like what most people expect when you say scooter.

I think your BIL would be surprised. Hope he gets a chance to try it out.

I'm planning on taking a longer ride and doing some camping in the next few weeks. Will let you know how that turns out.

I like the scooters especially the big touring scoots like the BMW and Burgman but I recently read on the MOA site about the costs of some of the services on the BMW being north of $2000!! Then when at my local dealer the Service manager pretty much confirmed. Had not heard that about the Burgman.

The new BMW 400 scooter looks slick but I hope the service does not require a mortgage.

Ed,

The BMW service recommendations are crazy. They recommend replacing the belt every12,000 miles and chain every 24,000 miles. The chain is enclosed and in an oil bath. BMW charges $300 for the belt and you can buy the identical belt from the mfg in Italy for $100 shipped to the USA.

If I still have mine at that time, you can be sure that it will be a DIY project.

I like the scooters especially the big touring scoots like the BMW and Burgman but I recently read on the MOA site about the costs of some of the services on the BMW being north of $2000!! Then when at my local dealer the Service manager pretty much confirmed. Had not heard that about the Burgman.

 

The new BMW 400 scooter looks slick but I hope the service does not require a mortgage.

The big Burgman's belt is like the one in a car CVT - there's no replacement short of a full rebuild of the transmission. One of the big variables of ownership is how long the belt will last. One of my Burgman forums has seen lifespans as short as 35,000 miles, and as long as 118,000 miles. The later models seem to hold up better as Suzuki has tuned the way the CVT works. FYI, the 650's CVT uses a computer-controlled electric motor to control the front pulley, and a spring mechanism for the back. And the final drive is a series of gears, rather than a chain. When I was looking for a big scooter, I steered clear of the BMW version as the chain replacement was ungodly expensive and required a lot of mechanical work.

Thanks for the info. I really don't know that much about the Burgman's but, from a short search around the web, owners seem to think highly of them. When looking for a scoot, I contacted a guy in GA who had a late model, low mileage 650 that he was selling at a very attractive price, before I could even think about it a buyer from New Hampshire bought it sight unseen. You snooze you lose.