BMW 600 Sport Test Ride.

[macamxthe1st]

Had a brief test ride on the BMW 600 Sport today. It was brief as I took it back after about half an hour. Now this is a very personal view and I am quite sure others may think it is the best thing since "Sliced Bread" but I found it to be profoundly disappointing. The overriding feeling that hit me right from the off was "this cannot be 10 grand". It's performance was very good, it's handling and stability were excellent but to me it did not feel like a "Premium product" certainly not something that came close to justifying the ticket price. I recently tried the new Burgman 650 and whilst I concluded that the 400 was a better bet for many reasons the 650 felt like a quality product and made me feel a bit special ridding it. In short while the 650 Burgman would not be my first choice I would be a lot happier handing over 9k for the Suzuki than 10k for the BMW. Funny old world ain't it.

Geoff.

[Data]

mac, that's an interesting report back. At least you have tried one and that gets it out of your system. The only thing, if you were to ride one for much longer, how you may feel about it then.

[macamxthe1st]

Good valid point Data and one which often applies to BMW products more so than many other brands. I have been riding for 45 years and owned 40+ bikes of all types and not done less than 20k miles in the vast majority of those years and have also ridden in a professional capacity for some years and I did question myself on this very point. But no, if I had ridden it for ever it still would not have felt worth the price plus the ergonomics were just wrong for me and at my time of life that is a situation that's only going to get worse not better.

Geoff.

[MrGrumpy]

Though if your current fave is a Burger 400, I wonder if the BMW GT would be more up your street than the Sport? I haven't ridden the GT but the mags say that they are more different than you expect.

To an extent my experience of the C600 mirrored yours - for £10k and a brand new design I expected to be blown away, but I wasn't. I didn't dislike it - I thought the suspension was great (though for some reason it didn't encourage me to try out its cornering abilities), and I really loved the noise it made!!! There are some odd details that I don't think are that well judged - the side-stand parking brake and the flexy luggage system which to me ought to be utterly brilliant, but somehow isn't as practical as it could be. But when I jumped back on my (then) mk3 Tmax, it didn't seem any worse in any significant way, and actually had a slightly nicer fluid feel - so the BMW wasn't for me, though several owners on here like theirs.

[Bluebottle]

Funny how sometimes things just don't fit and that is that.

It sounds like it was more the ergenomics but was there anything in the solidity or materials that put you off?
I found it solid enough but wasn't so keen on that "green sand" finish on the casings.

[macamxthe1st]

I know it is extremely subjective but whereas the Burg felt a bit of a stretch to be worth 9k the BMW would be a "Quantum Leap" to get anywhere near it's asking price.

Geoff.

[Ferret]

I seriously looked at getting a BMW c600 and did have a couple of hours with the machine and also went with the intention of getting one . Yet yes it handled great etc but it did not live up to my expectations especially in the engine department and it defiantly did not feel like it was worth 10k . In a touchy feely way it felt cheap compared to the t max which I rode the same day. However if I was to buy one there are a lot of 7k ones for sale with no miles on which to me is a more realistic and competitive price .

[wozza]

I must admit when I was looking at the BM's at the NEC motorbike show last year the plastics on the dash looked cheap and definitely not worthy of a £10k machine.

[007tmaxer]

How are they selling ? its seems that BMW dealers are struggling to sell their demo`s at £7000! I also do not see many Tmax 530`s selling dealers still have new MK3 bikes still not selling! I to had a demo on at c600 when I was running a MK3 Tmax
and i could not see me spending 10k... so i found a rare second hand 530 a year old with 750mile for £6000 now thats what i call a more realistic price same price of my MK1 back in 2002 !!!!!!
I am going to keep the 530 until its 3yrs old then i might get a second hand c600 just for a change,I am not a Burger fan I am more of a sports scooter fan.

[tmaxrobbo]

Had my C600 sport for 3 months and did not Gel with it like my 5 previous T Max 's . Traded it for a GSA so am scooterless for now . My next will be a 530 T Max . The T Max feels better built and more go from zero to 30 mph . I think the C600 needs a bit more development .