BMW C1 - the scooter that almost was. May 08

On its debut in 2000, the C1 represented a new direction for BMW Motorrad, having never built a production scooter before. Of course, being BMW, they took a new and quite different approach to the concept of designing and building a scooter.

The first and most obvious feature of the C1 was the canopy over the rider. Unlike most previous attempts at this feature, which were little more than weatherguards, the C1's canopy was an integral part of the scooter's structure, in effect creating a 'safety cell' around the rider. The front end was designed to crumple upon impact, while shoulder-high side intrusion bars, a head restraint and a four point seatbelt harness made the C1 streets ahead of any previous scooter in terms of rider safety. BMW claimed the C1 was so safe, in fact, that a helmet wasn't required. All BMW's testing had been done without helmets, the crash-test data supporting their assertion that the other safety features more than compensated.

While most European nations agreed, granting the C1 a helmet law "derogation" (exemption), safety-conscious Sweden refused, while the UK dithered on the matter for so long that the C1 was effectively history before the issue was ever truly resolved.

While the C1 did see service - especially with Police Forces - in a number of European countries, it never gained the widespread acceptance that BMW had hoped for. So why did it fail?

From the outset, the C1 was underpowered - the safety cell added a lot of weight to the bike that the original 125cc struggled to haul it around with any vigour. The C1 '200' (although it actually used a 176cc engine) followed in 2001, offering 18hp (compared to the original 15hp) and different gearing for the CVT automatic transmission.
Variants and options to suit businessfolk and families (!) were added, but failed to stop the slide. After selling over 10,000 units in 2001, sales plummeted by almost 80% in 2002, forcing BMW to pull the plug in October of that year.

It seemed the market BMW had been pitching the C1 to - those who wanted scooter convenience without the dangers - decided they'd rather stay in their cars.
Maybe the C1 was a little ahead of its time, too. A canopied Piaggio MP3 and Benelli's Adiva "convertible" scooter have shown that a market for scooters with a roof may only just be emerging.