Scooter – BMW C 650 GT scooter test: big innovation and small developments – Side View Assist: innovative and reassuring

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BMW C 650 GT scooter test: big innovation and small evolutions

Scooter - BMW C 650 GT scooter test: big innovation and small developments - Side View Assist: innovative and reassuring

For 2016, the C650GT undergoes several modifications: improved transmission, traction control, enhanced finish, recalibrated suspensions … The BMW maxiscooter also innovates, with the SVA option which is used to monitor blind spots. ! First try.

Side View Assist: innovative and reassuring

Betrayed by the bulge of the license plate holder and its two mysterious holes, the presence of the SVA (Side View Assist) system on our test scooter results in the appearance of a tiny dot on each lower fairing and, above all, by indicator lights mounted on the mirror brackets…

"In the spirit of the principle of ‘360 ° Safety’, the new Side View Assist option offered for the C650GT now offers a significant increase in safety by warning the driver when other road users are in the vehicle. so-called blind spot ", explains BMW.

Located at the four corners of the scooter, the ultrasonic sensors continuously monitor the surroundings of the scooter within a radius of 5 meters. The system then takes care of locating vehicles which are moving "at a differential speed of 10 km / h at most"….

"We consider that it is not necessary to take into account the cars or two-wheelers which go much faster than you because they pass quickly from your retro to your direct field of vision", specifies to Site the product manager C650, Peter Maier.

"The real danger comes from vehicles which overtake very slowly and thus remain in your blind spot for a long time", considers – rightly – our interlocutor. Until now, only a furtive glance over the shoulder could spot these rolling traps….

Now, thanks to the SVA, it is possible to know that road users are in blind spots without taking their eyes off the road, thanks to the luminous triangles which light up continuously in the base of the mirrors of the new – and "optioned"! – C650GT.

The system even goes a little further since the warning light – left or right depending on whether the other vehicle is on one side or the other – starts flashing when the scooter driver activates his flashing light to change lanes…

If the pilot activates his flashing light even before having carried out the essential "direct visual check", his gaze is inevitably drawn to the light signal. This VAS may seem trivial, but like any good gadget, it could well save some – dizzy or tired – from finding themselves in a perilous situation….

However, "this system is a pure assistance system which does not replace the glance cast in the mirrors or over the shoulder and in no way relieves the pilot of his obligation to be vigilant or of his responsibility", allows itself to insist BMW on its future … American customers ?!

Unchanged otherwise, the mirrors of the C650GT continue to offer a good view of its rear. Efficient, they are also practical: they go above the mirrors of cars and below those of vans.

On the practical side, the hold does not change and still houses two helmets. Easy to fit in the front part, our Shoei GTR full-face suit did not fit in all positions at the back of the boot: you’ll have to look a little the first time! Too bad the GT does not integrate the clever Flexcase system of the C650Sport…

Passed the controls of the two maxiscooters the same day (reread our), MNC does not understand either why the push buttons of the storage compartments of the GT are less elegant than the painted latches on the sports model….

Future users will also rail against the single cigarette lighter type electrical outlet (kein USB ?!), lost in the depths of the left empty pocket: not at all convenient to plug in your GPS or recharge your smartphone … And not safe either, since no lock locks this storage space.

On the other hand, we can congratulate the German engineers for their work on the kinematics of the central stand: the extended lug offers a better lever to the driver who swings his scooter much more easily on its power plant (30% according to the learned BMW calculations).

The side stand is for its part still easy to grab, and still as practical for parking as it automatically activates the "handbrake" of the scooter. Back from its 100 km loop around Valence, Site just puts down his scooter and makes a last little observation tour….

The aesthetics of the C650GT have been less reworked than that of the C650Sport. If the Motorcycle Journal of the Net only identifies the less grainy finish of the swingarm, it takes a member of the BMW technical team to point out the new design of the rear fairing sides. Nothing special.

"The rear light is borrowed from the K1600GT", then tells us Frederic Stik, the. "Note also that the handlebars benefit from a new black lacquered central covering which evokes the carefully decorated interior of our cars".

The presence of the new CEO at the launch of this second generation of C650 is also fraught with meaning: "we are convinced that the scooter is an excellent remedy for relieving congestion in cities. The success of our, already sold to, is proof of this. . But thermal scooters also have their place! "

"In general, two-wheelers are a good solution. But if manufacturers want to increase the attractiveness of motorized two-wheelers, they will have to resolve the safety problems", continues the boss of the two-wheeler branch. BMW in France.

"It is precisely to release this brake that we are collaborating on, that we install the ABS and ASC as standard on our BMW machines and that we are developing new systems such as Side View Assist on the C650GT", continues Frederic Stik interviewed by MNC.

Offered on six top-of-the-range motorcycles (series, and,), the "Dynamic Brake Light" system is another example of the attention BMW paid to the safety of its customers … and to improving the image. motorized two-wheelers among the general public.

"The C650GT does not have accelerometers so no, the Dynamic Brake Light cannot be mounted on it, even as an option. On a next generation maybe!", Answers a German technical manager to Site..

In the meantime, the second version of the C650GT will try to make a good career. It has the means: safer than its predecessor, it is more pleasant to drive and is also practical. Unfortunately, its price remains very high.

The 11,650 euros required for the basic version (black or white, count 105 euros more for the bronze color!) Represent a sum far too high in the segment of GT maxiscooters, segment dominated by the Suzuki Burgman 650 displayed below the bar 10,000 euros !

Compared to the old C650GT on the other hand, the price increase of 100 euros does not seem excessive. The arrival of ASC even makes it possible to justify it. Ditto for the extension requested compared to its twin C650Sport: the additional 300 euros are legitimized by the presence of an electric bubble.

For BMW customers always, the C650GT finally represents an interesting alternative to the, more imposing, heavier and even more expensive than the maxiscooter…

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