At the turn of the century, BMW thought they could get more people on scooters by eliminating some of the weather and safety concerns. Their idea was the C1, a scooter with a roof and seat belts. With sufficient crash testing, BMW was able to convince most countries (except Sweden and the United Kingdom) that C1 riders did not have to wear helmets. Thought it had some potential, consumers did not fall in love with the C1, and it sold for just a couple of years. The bike was not officially offered in North America, but now that it’s been 25 years we’re starting to see some imported.
The C1 was available with a 125cc or 200cc motor, but neither motor size made many friends. MCN called it slow, heavy (407 pounds), expensive, and weird. Still, it had plenty of luggage space, it was very comfortable, and it had lots of options – ABS, stereo, even a heated seat. For more information, check out this story on BMW Blog.
The big story here is obviously the roof, so let’s take a look at how that helped with crash safety (apologies in advance for the music):
The seller states that this example was imported from Italy and that he has the passenger seat which can be installed in place of the trunk. It has a recent service including the idle position sensor, injector, throttle body, brakes, fuel pump, fork seals, tires, and battery and it’s offered on a clean US title.
Find this BMW for sale in Manassas, Virginia with bidding up to $5,000 here on Facebook Marketplace.
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