BMW has added a the C 400 scooter range to its line-up, but has yet to add its electric scooter which was launched six years ago.
In 2013 the BMW C 600 Sport and C 600 GT scooters started at $13,990 and $15,990 plus on-road costs. Now they are $14,150 for the Sport and $14,490 for the GT.
BMW has now added a range of 350cc scooters priced from $8990 for the C 400 X to $11,890 for the C 400 GT which adds a rider backrest, passenger footboards and a higher windshield.
2019 BMW C 400 GT is fitted with a separate rider backrest and passenger footboards and a higher windshield.
That’s a lot to pay for a 350cc single-cylinder scooter, especially when BMW’s single-cylinder G 310 R and GS cost only $5790.
Maybe it’s because the latter is made in India, rather than Berlin like these scooters.
There is still no word on their electric scooter being introduced to Australia.
The BMW C 400 X and GT also come in “ion” models featuring a 6.5-inch full colour TFT screen with handlebar-mounted Multi-Controller that allows riders to make phone calls and listen to music vi Bluetooth.
2019 BMW C 400 GT is fitted with a separate rider backrest and passenger footboards and a higher windshield.
The C 400 X ion is priced from $11,290 and includes a daytime running light while the C 400 GT ion starts at $11,890.
All C 400 scooters all powered by a single-cylinder with 25kW of power at 7500rpm and 35Nm of torque at 6000rpm, married to a Continuously Variable Transmission.
Features include LED lighting dual 265mm front discs, keyless ignition, traction control and a Flexcase storage system.
This patented under-seat storage space can be extended downward via a flap in the rear base.
It is waterproof and can fit a full-face and jet helmet.
There are two extra storage compartments in the front cowl operated via a button. The right-hand storage compartment includes a 12-volt power socket. A USB adapter is an optional accessory.
2019 BMW C 400 X comes with a newly developed single-cylinder 350 cc engine that is tuned for maximum efficiency.
The mid-sized scooter comes with a side stand and a “kinematic” centre stand that is easy to deploy.
The BMW C 400 models can also be fitted with a luggage rack for a topcase.
The possibility of BMW releasing a big Boxer engine with a capacity up to 1800cc has increased with the engine appearing in another amazing custom motorcycle.
A Spanish woman who rode her Ducati Scrambler 15,000km through Africa has been honoured with the Spanish Geographical Society’s Journey of the Year 2018 award.
The Spanish non-government organisation provides humanitarian aid projects such as water supply and health care, initially in the Afar region of Ethiopia, but later extended to other African countries.
Alicia’s ride started in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, and crossed Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho before finally arriving in Cape Town, South Africa.
The only hiccup along the way for the Ducati ambassador was two punctures.
Round the world
It’s not Alicia’s first big adventure.
In 2011, she set off on her BMW F 650 GS on what would become a round-the-world ride that included Australia in 2012.
She rode from Spain to Asia, then Australia, North America down through South America and back to Europe in 2014.
Alicia became the first Spanish woman to circumnavigate the world on a BMW.
She has continued her travels through the Americas and Asia.
Other awards she has won include:
Illustrious Visitor of the City of Tarija, Bolivia;
The 2016 Penguin Honorific Award for “The Legend Continues”; and
In 2017, she took third prize at the I Madrid Motorbike Film Festival for “Adventure in India and Nepal” (below)
BMW Motorrad appears to be going ahead with a production version of the Concept 9cento that converts from a solo sports bike to a two-up tourer with luggage in a matter of seconds using strong magnets.
The clue is in these design drawings filed with property offices in Germany and Brazil.
It is difficult to tell from the drawings whether the bike has the same two-in-one features of the Concept 9cento, pronounced ‘nove cento’, which means 900 in Italian.
It’s also a little less aggressive than the concept model.
But it’s still an interesting model that we suspect will have the new 850cc parallel twin engine.
The mid-sized sports tourer concept launched this time last year featured magnetic clip-on luggage that also extends the seat from solo to dual.
9cento Concept
9cento Concept
The drawings don’t show any luggage features.
BMW’s popular R nineT was their first bike developed with a solo-to-dual-seat conversion, but it uses mechanical latches.
Rather than fiddly mechanical attachments, the 9cento uses a powerful electromagnet that easily attaches the luggage to the lower section of the rear carrier.
Heaven forbid the magnet loses current and drops your luggage and pillion on the ground!
The BMW Motorrad Concept 9cento to be revealed at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
9cento details
The German manufacturer unveiled the 9cento at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como in Italy.
BMW has still not released any tech specs.
Other highlights are a lightweight carbon fibre triangular frame, aluminium panels, long travel suspension and two symmetrical LED headlights and twin LED taillights that feature the BMW Motorrad motif.
BMW Motorrad Head of Design Edgar Heinrich says the bike brings together sports, adventure and touring as an allrounder.
“It doesn’t always have to be about ‘bolder, bigger, brighter’ nowadays: this concept bike focuses on achieving a sense of balance,” he says.
The BMW Motorrad Concept 9cento to be revealed at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
3D printed protectors
When BMW Motorrad unveiled the 9cento, they also showed leather and Kevlar jackets in similar design which is another indication of a production model looming.
They feature shoulder protectors integrated into the jacket using 3D printing.
How would you like to experience a lap as fast as the best racer just at the touch of a button?
BMW Motorrad Facebook page says they have developed an autopilot, self-riding feature called the iRace Kit for the S 1000 RR motorcycle.
They say the software “allows less experienced riders and even those who have just received their motorcycle licences to turn in an astounding performance on the race track, with the assistance of a number of autonomous riding programs”.
April Fools
Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you feel – it’s yet another annual BMW April Fool’s Day joke.
Like many of its previous April 1 jokes, it’s almost believable and not unachievable.
In this year’s April 1 joke, BMW “head of autonomous racing simulation” Dr Phillip-Magnus Schalk says:
The development of the BMW Motorrad iRace Kits was based on the experience made by our Superbike world champion riders. They provided us with valuable programming data, particularly as far as the braking points were concerned. We believe that this patented BMW Motorrad system will enable the majority of S 1000 RR riders to enter a whole new world of motorcycling. It is conceivable that we might even integrate the system in other models at some point in the future.
Who knows? Maybe one day it will be reality and you can be the racer you never thought you could be!
It is already possible to 3D-print parts and it is not inconceivable that sometime soon we will be able to print them on the run from a machine in our bike’s luggage.
The Bavarian jokesters are famous for their April Fool’s Day jokes, having begun running spoof advertisements on April 1 in the early 1980s.
BMW’s marketing department says April Fool jokes are “designed to teeter on the verge of credibility” and often focus on a new and revolutionary piece of technology, but “push the idea just beyond the plausible.”
Some of their other April 1 pranks were a self-cleaning car, remote-inflatable tyres, dog-repellent bumpers, tyres that melted snow and a self-driving car that follows you when you go for a jog. The last one is now becoming reality with self-driving cars!
We don’t do April Fool’s Day jokes at Motorbike Writer, but we’re happy to report on them.
Thailand has become one of the powerhouses in the automotive world, manufacturing motorcycle brands as diverse as BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Royal Enfield.
It’s now the largest automotive manufacturer in South East Asia and the 12th in the world, thanks to protective tariffs, corporate tax breaks and a central location wth several ports for export.
Powerhouse
Every dual-cab ute and Honda car, plus small Mazdas, Fords and MG sold into Australia are made in Thailand.
There are also more than 1800 automotive parts manufacturers in Thailand including the premium Swedish Ohlins suspension and BMW batteries for electric cars, scooters and future motorcycles.
BMW’s Thai EV battery factory
Motorcycle manufacture is also growing in leaps and bounds with Royal Enfield the eighth to announce it will open a factory in the country.
In 2015, Thailand made 1.8 motorcycles, with domestic sales of 1.6 million and exports of 350,000 units.
At the moment, the only motorcycles exported to Australia from Thailand are 80% of the Triumph range and some small- and medium-capacity Japanese bikes and scooters.
“As we explained when we announced this project in 2017, we intend to utilise it to make more of our products accessible to customers and targeted international market,” he says.
However, Harley-Davidson Australia spokesman Keith Waddell says the company has confirmed to them that “motorcycles for Australia will not be assembled in Thailand”.
That could change in years to come.
Thailand skeptics
Troy Bayliss tours the Ducati factory in Thailand (Image: Ultimate Motorcycle
When Honda announced it would be importing most of its cars from a new factory just outside Bangkok about a decade ago, there was some skepticism among Australian motoring journalists that they would be accepted by Aussie motorists.
So Honda Australia organised a tour of their factory which I attended.
I was surprised to find a state-of-the-art facility built on a greenfield site with supervisors walking around wearing white gloves and a floor so clean you could eat your dinner off it.
One supervisor told me the quality was strictly controlled, but the humid environment actually cured plastics and rubber better for a longer life than in vehicles made in Japan.
However, another manufacturer told me the humidity destroys some rubber very quickly.
To Aussie drivers, there now seems no problem with Thai-made cars. In fact, our top-four-selling vehicles are all Thai made.
The vehicles are good quality and the Thai-Australian free trade agreement makes them good value.
Likewise, there should be little concern with Thai bikes.
However, some say the recall problems Triumph has suffered in recent years are a result of Thai production.
Rather than a lack of quality production facilities, it’s more likely the rush to get new models on to the market as is the case with most motorcycle manufacturers.
BMW Motorrad is seeking a patent for a hybrid drive motorcycle with a boxer engine and a back-up electric motor that would also act as a starter motor.
At the time, BMW Motorrad Australia GM Andreas Lundgren said there was a “very thin border between fact and fiction in their pranks … the concept is plausible”.
He seems to be right, according to these recently released simplistic patent drawings filed with the German patent office on August 8, 2017.
The April Fool’s Day press release declared it would be called xDrive Hybrid and include an electric motor in the front wheel hub as developed by their automobile engineers for hybrid vehicles. That would make it a two-wheel-drive bike.
However, the patent filing is not for a two-wheel-drive bike.
Hybrid drive
Instead, it’s for a hybrid drive bike with the electric motor and boxer engine delivering power to the rear wheel.
They would be connected by a planetary gear system with a torque-limiting slip clutch on the electric motor driving the crank.
The electric motor would also function as a starter motor and generator, converting mechanical power from the boxer engine into electricity.
Being a hybrid drive system, BMW could reduce the size of the boxer engine and appease stringent Euro 5 emissions targets due in 2020.
April Fool’s Day pranksters
The Bavarian jokesters are famous for their April Fool’s Day jokes, having begun running spoof advertisements on April 1 in the early 1980s.
BMW’s marketing department says April Fool jokes are “designed to teeter on the verge of credibility” and often focus on a new and revolutionary piece of technology, but “push the idea just beyond the plausible.”
Some of their other April 1 pranks were a self-cleaning car, remote-inflatable tyres, dog-repellent bumpers, tyres that melted snow and a self-driving car that follows you when you go for a jog. This appears to be their first motorcycle prank.
Two-wheel-drive future?
But is BMW still interested in a two-wheel-drive adventure motorcycle?
There have been several other two-wheel-drive motorcycles before, most notably Yamaha’s 2WD system called 2-TRAC. They used it to tackle the Dakar Rally but it never made it into mass production.
The idea is not dead yet with Yamaha, either. Their PES2 electric bike is 2WD and the Japanese company recently filed a patent for a new 2WD system with an electric motor driving the front wheel.
Other 2WD products and concepts include the Christini dirt bikes, Suzuki Nuda concept, Rokon, Ural 2WD outfits and Australia’s own Drysdale stroker which was intended for the Australian Army.
Drysdale Dryvtech
Rokon
But the biggest hint that BMW may actually be considering a 2WD bike comes from BMW accessories company Wunderlich.
The Wunderlich invention is basically a 7.6kW electric hub motor in the front wheel that neatly fits inside the ABS ring.
It sounds very similar to what BMW proposed in their 2017 April 1 press release.
Wunderlich 2WD BMW R 1200 GS
Many online sites fell for that joke, but they weren’t the only ones playing pranks that year.
Other pranks included an Australian Government law to make all bikes water-cooled, Holden producing motorcycles, Triumph introducing a HandleWheel to replace the handlebars and the American Transportation Department requiring all bikes to be fitted with a $35 limiter that restricted top speed to 75mph (120km/h). The latter caused much angst and confusion among riders!
At Motorbike Writer, we report the news and don’t play pranks with our readers.
This is from the BMW Motorrad April 1, 2017, press release on the “xDrive Hybrid” bike:
All-wheel drive can be operated automatically or manually by the rider via the 2WD (Two-Wheel Drive) switch located on the left handlebar operation unit. It activates the wheel-hub e-Drive system which functions both as electric motor and generator. With the additional output of 33 kW (45 hp) and overall 125 kW (170 hp) system performance, the innovative all-wheel drive system opens up a whole new dimension of performance and off-road suitability.
A new generation of batteries, derived from BMW i battery technology, stores the energy recuperated during braking. The e-Drive system on the front wheel is supplied with this energy and the R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid rider can use it for accelerating in addition to the power delivered by the combustion engine. Thanks to sophisticated management technology the power is always supplied to the front wheel in the right amount and appropriately depending on the riding situation. This means that the front wheel only receives the amount of power as the traction conditions permit – for example in wet or deep snow conditions. The rider can use a number of riding modes to customise how the all-wheel drive system operates and adjust the hybrid system’s recuperation strategies to suit his needs. Everything can be controlled using the innovative LCD display.
Optimised braking performance and balanced weight ratio thanks to intelligent recuperation and single disc brake.
Apart from the significant advantages achieved with regard to ride performance, the xDrive Hybrid all-wheel drive also benefits braking greatly. Thanks to the recuperation process, which has been integrated into the BMW Motorrad ABS system, braking performance has been improved even further.
This intelligent combined solution also made it possible to reduce the conventional double-disc hydraulic braking system at the front to a single-disc brake system thereby saving approximately 2.9 kilograms of weight. In combination with the wheel hub e-Drive, which only weighs 880 grams, the bike’s agility was also optimised. Thanks to the bike’s positive weight balance, the weight level of the current R 1200 GS Adventure could be maintained in spite of the additional hybrid all-wheel technology.
This bike will get you anywhere, on any surface – even to the North pole.
In the past months the test version of the new R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid covered countless thousands of kilometres in the toughest of riding conditions. The most extreme demands were placed on the bike last winter, when Reiner Scherbeck, the head of winter testing at BMW Motorrad, rode it to the North Cape on a first stage and from there across the frozen Barents Sea to the North Pole and back again.
Scherbeck: “We were absolutely amazed how problem-free and reliable the all-wheel drive worked even at minus 56 degrees. Thanks to our functional BMW rider equipment, the cold temperatures were no problem for the rider, too. Probably the most thrilling conclusion we can draw from our test runs, is that for the first time we can offer a motorcycle that makes riding a motorcycle a pleasure at snow depths of 1.25 metres in high winter with the new R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid. Special front section components have also been developed for this purpose as well as high-speed suitable M+S all-season tyres. This was also necessary in order to meet the necessary requirements for high-speed winter operation.”
The new BMW R 1200 GS xDrive Hybrid will be presented to the public in a suitable location very soon. It will be available from the second half of 2017. BMW Motorrad will announce special tyre combinations and optional equipment features as well as the official sales price at a later date.
The heads are chromed on the outside and have a similar fin design to the 1960s boxer engines from BMW. Although that could just be for aesthetics and could be masking liquid-cooling tech.
The custom R18 project is pretty wild and we don’t expect BMW to produce a bike with such a small tank to go with an 1800cc engine.
However, we remain ever hopefully of a big 1.8-litre Boxer!
Other confronting design elements include 21” and 26” wheels, solid aluminium girder forks, steel pipe swingarm or concealed Softail-style suspension.
Motorcycle sales might be in a two-year slump in Australia, but there is no cause for general panic about the global motorcycle industry just yet.
Several motorcycle manufacturers are reporting growth in profits and even record sales, while many markets continue to increase in sales.
Perhaps the biggest saviour of motorcycling is the continued exponential growth in the Indian market.
Last year, more than 20 million motorcycles were sold in India. That’s up 2.6m from the previous year and almost double the sales of just seven years ago.
And don’t think that’s all scooters and 125cc motorcycles, either.
More and more motorcycles sold in India are what they call “superbikes” which are over 750cc in capacity.
China, Brazil and other developing countries are also recording massive growth in motorcycle and scooter sales.
No panic in mature markets
But it’s not just the developing nations that are doing well.
Mature markets such as Europe are up about 7% including the UK, up 2.9%.
The big concern is that the biggest big-bike market in the world, America, is marginally down last year.
However, there is no need for panic yet. US sales had been growing steadily since the big collapse from the 2008/09 GFC.
Maybe it’s a one-year blip. Let’s hope so, as it has a huge bearing on motorcycle manufacturers’ ability to turn a profit and keep bringing out new and exciting models.
Profit and panic
Meanwhile many manufacturers are continuing to post profits and/or record growth.
BMW Motorrad recorded its eighth straight year of global sales growth, up 0.9% with 165,566 bikes delivered;
Triumph was down slightly from 63,404 to 61,505, but still reported its second-biggest profit last year; and
Although slightly down, Ducati sold 53,004 bikes last year, its fourth straight year of more than 50k.
Ducati updated its popular Scrambler range in 2018
Japanese manufacturers are yet to post their 2018 figures.
All eyes will also be on Harley-Davidson who are expected to post a double-digit global slump in domestic sales, but good performances in developing markets.
Challenges
There is no doubt the motorcycle market is going through some changes and challenges:
A crash that left a rider with serious injuries after his BMW’s spoked front wheel collapsed has prompted a wider probe into the issue amid calls for an official safety recall.
Gavin Chapman went over the handlebars when the front wheel of his 2016 R 1200 GS Triple Black collapsed.
“Although I don’t remember much, I was riding with others and as I braked for a corner the spokes on the front wheel collapsed, causing the disk brake to hit the ground,” he says .
“This catapulted the bike and myself into the bush.
Forks have gone through the spokes
“The bike was a write-off and I was seriously injured and air-lifted to Roma Hospital.”
Gavin was taking part in a charity ride about 100km west of his home in Gladstone, Central Queensland, in September, with about 50 other riders.
“It was a combination of road, dirt road and tracks, nothing too difficult,” he says.
“During the course of the day we rode across numerous cattle grids, potholes and washouts, but no rocks.”
BMW Motorrad Australia confirms there is an “international service campaign” where spoked wheels are inspected when bikes are scheduled for service at an authorised BMW dealership.
The issue affects 286 models of R 1200 GS, R 1200 GS Adventure, R nineT Scrambler and R nineT Urban G/S built between February 2018 to June 2018.
BMW R nineT Scrambler
Probe widens
Mark contacted the Department of Infrastructure to call for an official safety recall.
We contacted the department about the second incident and a spokesperson confirmed they had conducted a probe into Mark’s report about loose spokes on his bike.
“The department has considered all information contained in that report,” the spokesperson says.
“The additional information you have provided relates to another recent event and will be considered to assess whether any further action is appropriate.”
RACQ Head of Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding says the issue is a safety concern and needs a further probe.
Steve Spalding
“This is the second incident we have become aware of in about a month and raises concerns about whether there is a more widespread problem putting other riders in danger,” he says.
“We would expect the bike manufacturer to investigate the causes of failure, whether there is a link affecting this model and, if there is, initiate prompt attention to rectify other bikes before more crashes occur.
“Manufacturers have a responsibility to make sure safety-related defects are fully investigated and to take prompt action when they identify a correction is necessary.”
BMW Motorrad Australia says the international service campaign has been “initiated in conjunction with the BMW Motorrad head office in line with Australian regulations”.
“In addition, we wish to advise that all motorcycles with spoked wheels are automatically checked and tested at every scheduled service.
“This has been standard practice since well before the R 1200 GS model was introduced,” she says.
The BMW service campaign was no use to Gavin as he says his closest authorised BMW dealer is about 450km away on the Sunshine Coast.
Broken Beemer off to the workshop about 500km away
Gavin had his spokes checked by a local mechanic two days before the charity ride.
BMW Motorrad Australia says the owner’s manual advises riders to have their bike checked after riding off-road.
Gavin says there was no damage to the wheel rims from the crash, only the spokes.
Mark says his bike’s spokes were tightened at the dealership at 3000km. He rode a further 2500km on bitumen and 22km on a dirt road before his incident.
