Ever wanted a machine that oozes sex appeal? No? Well here you go.
BMW had some strange years in the 90’s and 2000’s. The closest comparison is Porsche and the 928. While BMW intended for the K engine to eventually replace the R engine, they couldn’t get consumers to stop buying the boxer. The company that had only ever had 1 product line, now was forced to keep both. While I have no definitive proof, it seems to me that at some point in the 90’s, BMW decided that it had to start addressing parts of the market that they had never competed in before. This ultimately led to two bikes, the F series and the R1200C, that were total departures from anything BMW had done to date.
However, there was also a scooter. It’s no secret Europeans have a love affair with the scooter. Heck, so do many Americans, including myself. There’s something inherently practical and fun about one. However, what BMW decided to do was come up with a scooter for people that wanted do downsize from cars, so the BMW C1 had many features to make it feel less scooter-like such as a roof, seat belts, a strange center stand system, audio system, and a bunch of features never seen in a scooter before or since. The C1 and it’s Rotax engine that made 18 raging horses (in this sportier 200cc model), never came to our shores, and it’s extremely rare to see one in the United States. It’s actually been in a collection of the owner of 441 Cycles in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a BMW dealer. The C1 was only produced for three model years, 2000-2002, which makes this all the more collectible. It would look great in the garage next to your vintage Isetta. Here’s a video review of the C1:
Find this C1 for sale in Plantation, Florida for $6,900 here on Cycle Trader.
