Scooter – C 650 Sport test: the BMW scooter recovered to the max – Moto-Net.Com tests the C 650 Sport

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C 650 Sport test: the BMW scooter recovered to the max

Scooter - C 650 Sport test: the BMW scooter recovered to the max - Moto-Net.Com tests the C 650 Sport

Beaten down by the Tmax, the C600Sport was taken over in 2016 by the C650Sport. Equipped with the same chassis and engine, the new BMW maxiscooter relies on subtle updates to counter-attack the Yamaha reference. MNC tested it for you. Test.

Site tests the C 650 Sport

By starting "his" C650Sport, MNC realizes that the new 2016 silencer covers better the mechanical beats of the engine "still produced in the Kymco factory, but entirely designed and developed by BMW", insists BMW product manager Peter Maier.

A little less rocky, more serious and more subdued than that of the C600Sport, the sound of the new scooter will certainly not be able to compete with the padded – watted vocalizations! – King Tmax, but BMW is on the right "voice"…

The C650Sport continues to give an excellent welcome to tall riders: the legs relax almost to the maximum, the arms are straight and the lumbars are perfectly wedged in the small bulge of the passenger seat..

Smaller riders will always have to deal with the relatively high (800 mm, 780 mm optional) and wide (even front) saddle on the one hand, and on the other hand with the notches too limited at the floor level which shear the calves.

Before lowering the big scoot ‘from its power station ("oh hiss, die sauciss!"), MNC carefully regulates its mirrors – good rear view – as well as its levers. Curiously, to drop the two controls under the same phalanges, the rear brake must be set to minimum (5) and the front brake to maximum (1)…

From the first hectometers traveled in the city center of Valence, Site realizes the progress made in terms of transmission. Always lively, the C650Sport indeed seems a little less brutal than the C600Sport.

At the same time, the starts are a little more muscular: the latency time when opening the throttle is reduced, so that the "six-fifty" should be more efficient than the "six-hundred" between 0 and 30 km / h … Where the Tmax was precisely better !

Once launched, the BMW scooter offers ever so impressive recoveries. Whether in town or on the road, overtaking is achieved with a simple rotation of the right handle. By remaining welded, the meter can be blocked. You said athletic ?

At high speed, the Behème scooter always shines with its excellent stability and good protection. The fairing fully protects the lower body and the bubble in the low position already isolates the shoulders and chest of the pilot.

To pass the air flow over their helmet, the little ones will be able to raise their bubble a notch while the older ones will have to position it on the third and last notch. But as on the C600Sport unfortunately, the maneuver cannot be done while driving…

Intended for "commuters" (followers of the motorcycle-work-sleep) traveling every day long distances, the C650Sport still has the laborious adjustment by double screw which forces the – reasonable and careful – driver to stop. Not practical when entering the highway !

The German engineers should have taken advantage of this 2016 evolution to equip their sports maxiscooter with a simpler system, with a wheel like on the R1200GS for example, or with clamp, or even electric like that of the C650GT !

On Spanish highways limited to 120 km / h, this weak point is the only one identified by MNC. However, we discover a second by stalling at 140 km / h meter: vibrations tickle the hands … A good clue not to commit speeding on the French motorway ?!

The seat on the other hand is completely irreproachable: of the 105 kilometers traveled by MNC on the handlebars of this new C650Sport, about sixty were done in one go without the buttocks or the back of the driver being inconvenienced or tired..

Unchanged in shape and depth, the saddle is lined with better suspension comfort. "The 10% reduction in spring stiffness results in a more sensitive response over the entire travel stroke, without negative impact on the stability of the two-wheelers", promised the German engineers. They did not lie !

In urban areas, the fork and shock absorber – otherwise identical to those of the C600Sport and C650GT – absorb retarders without flinching, whether they are small and dry or high and deep, and even negotiated a little fast..

On the road, the new sport / comfort compromise of the suspensions is all the rage. The C650Sport clears up uneven surfaces better than its predecessor without being disunited or unstable in turns..

The dives in the pins or the entries in the roundabouts are always as regular. Although not light, the front axle is pleasantly neutral, which speeds up the period of acclimatization of the rider to his new – first ?! – maxiscooter.

Interventions on the right lever interfere only slightly with the planned trajectory. We note in passing that the braking is exactly the same as before: powerful and dosable, but lacking bite to be qualified as sporty and requiring a little effort on the lever..

In the winding, the rigid frame and the heavy weight of the animal require as much involvement as in the past. Appreciated for its stability and far from being an anvil, the Behème scooter will not be able to compete with the Tmax, more agile in slow portions and as efficient in the fast.

At the end of the curve, however, the C650Sport will be hard to go for! The 60 horses released – delivered – by the German twin are perfectly transmitted to the ground, even when the latter is quite bumpy. In passing, we salute the excellent grip of the Pirelli Diablo Scooter !

When the asphalt is too worn or dusty and the grip is lacking, the Italian tires do not work miracles: it is then the turn of the ASC to intervene and control the traction of the "gross" scooter. Germanic…

If future customers will ensure never to accelerate like left on wet zebra crossings or roundabouts sprayed with diesel fuel, on a pile of dead leaves or on a family of living – and therefore sticky – slugs, MNC has taken the lead. take care to test the on-board traction control for them.

For that, the Journal moto du Net had only to open wide the throttle to a few traffic lights in the center of Valence, on a shiny tarmac. Based on the signals of the ABS, the intervention of the electronic system is multiple…

"If necessary, the engine torque is reduced by shifting the ignition point and cutting off the injection and / or the ignition.", explains BMW. In fact, MNC observed that the scooter could graze a fraction of a second in a tiny way or, if the grip is really nonexistent, be further cut in its tracks..

In both situations, the pilot is never rushed and the return of power – torque! – is done smoothly. It is therefore certain that users will welcome the ASC with open arms, which can alone justify the slight price increase: +250 € compared to the C600Sport at its launch..

The C650Sport will therefore be displayed in December in BMW dealerships at € 11,350 in its classic Black and White colors. To benefit from the flamboyant Orange paint "Valencia", it will however be necessary to pay an additional 105 euros..

But even at 11,455 €, the new BMW sports scooter remains interesting because it is better than its predecessor: a little better finished, at the same time more lively and soft, better cushioned and more secure … Will it be at the level of the Tmax? It is less certain. To check in a future MNC duel: stay connected !

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