BMW scooters arrive in October

Motorcycle boss Tony Sesto believes that 11 of their 24 dealers who are also car dealers will scatter the BMW C600 Sport and C650 GT maxi-scooters throughout their car showrooms when they are released in October.

"Car dealers will see it as extra selling opportunities," he says. "Car people may like these maxi-scooters. They are a two-wheel vehicle that will appeal to car people more than a sportsbike. A handful of our car customers already have bike licenses but don't own a bike. I think this will be attractive enough to them to own one."

It will be the first time BMW has made scooters available in Australia. BMW produced the enclosed C1 scooter from 2000-2003 for the European market and is rumored to be reintroducing it as an electric scooter. Sesto says he expects to sell about 40 of the maxi-scooters this year after the launch in October and up to 120 in a full year.

"I think the GT will sell better because the K1600 GTL (touring bike like the Honda Goldwing) sells better than the GT. The people who buy it will want luxury not sport," he says. "They will be returning riders and older people who find it harder to throw a leg over a bike. It may also be a second bike in the garage. It won't be a huge market and will be an older rider."

Sesto doesn't believe the scooters will dilute the brand despite the older demographic. "It won't spoil the brand but give us another dimension," he says. However, the former "grey cardigan" bike marque has undergone a transformation in the past few years with new products such as the S1000RR Superbike.

"Three or four years ago the average age of BMW owners was 54, but since the S1000 it's brought the average age down to 49," he says. "People in their late 20s and early 30s are buying it. For most of them it's their first BMW." Sesto expects sales of the Superbike to boom after their first win recently in the World Superbikes.

"Win on Sunday and sell on Monday definitely is an impact," he says. "We saw that last year when Glenn Allerton won the Australian Superbike championship." Despite the success of BMW's swing to performance bikes, Sesto will not rule out a return to cruisers. "Cruiser is definitely a segment of interest," he says. "One in every two over-500cc bikes sold in Australia is a cruiser."

If BMW does go ahead with a cruiser, it is likely to again use the boxer engine as it did in the short-lived and now highly collectible R1200C. Regardless of which new products BMW brings to the market, they are bound to be ridden and not stored away in the garage. Sesto says BMW riders clock an average of 10,000km a year which would make them one of the most travelled of all bike brands.

BMW C650 GT and C600 Sport
Price: about $12,000-$17,000
Engine: 647cc parallel twin, 44kW/66Nm
Transmission: auto, chain drive
Thirst: 5-5.8L/100km, 16L tank
Body: 2218mm (l), 822mm (w), 1411mm (h), 795 (seat)
Dry weight: 241kg
Tyres: 120/70ZR 15; 160/60ZR 15