Bmw bike with roof

Blanchy90

I saw one of those bmw bikes with the roof on my way into work. The guy riding it wasn't wearing a helmet. I thought these were treated as motorbikes?

gerrowadat

They are. I saw a lad riding one wearing a bicycle helmet a while back as well.

The good weather brings out some awful road rash cases waiting to happen.

zubair

They'll be lucky if all they get is road rash with no lid on!

D3V!L

The BMW C1 was brought in with the idea of not having to use a helmet at all in it . For some reason you have to wear one when driving it in Ireland but not in Germany and other EU states.

Lumen

I think I read that helmets weren't required for these on mainland Europe, which was the primary market they were targetting.

I guess the left hand drive version is safer.

D3V!L

Lumen wrote: »

I guess the left hand drive version is safer.

They do a conversion kit for it.

gctest50

zubair wrote: »

They'll be lucky if all they get is road rash with no lid on!

be grand

Blanchy90

I though it was mad not to have a helmet

He was very tanned so maybe he was from the mainland and didnt know :pac:

Lumen

gctest50 wrote: »

be grand

Yeah, try it again at 90 degrees and see how that works out.

Blanchy90 wrote: »

I though it was mad not to have a helmet

He was very tanned so maybe he was from the mainland and didnt know :pac:

Must try that when pulled over.

"Ai come from Barthelowna! Meester Fawlty make me run errand!"

galwaytt

helmet required in EU, not in the US. There's no derogation for it here.

Lumen

galwaytt wrote: »

helmet required in EU, not in the US. There's no derogation for it here.

Are you sure about that?

UK coverage from 2004...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1461288/Bike-with-roof-rider-must-wear-helmet.html

Torygraph wrote:

As well as having a roof, the two-wheeled vehicle has a roll-bar, a windscreen and windshield wipers.

This led magistrates to decide that he had been "driving" the C1, rather than riding it. The court's decision was in line with the position in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, all of which treat the C1 as a two-wheeled car.

Before launching the C1, BMW had consulted the European Commission and believed that it had fulfilled the safety requirements that made the wearing of helmets unnecessary. However, while other areas of Europe accepted the Brussels position, the Department of Transport did not and several people have been stopped by police and prosecuted.

D3V!L

I think another very valid point about the C1 is that it has a 4 point seat belt which when worn holds the rider inside the safety bubble.

Cienciano

Another important point is that Pat Kenny drives (or drove) one. So possibly the least cool bike in the country

gizmo555

D3V!L wrote: »

I think another very valid point about the C1 is that it has a 4 point seat belt which when worn holds the rider inside the safety bubble.

BMW's argument was that since one is restrained by the seatbelts inside the safety cage, not wearing a helmet is actually safer. The extra weight of the helmet increases the risk of whiplash type injuries to the neck.

I commuted to work for almost five years on my C1 and wore a relatively lightweight and 100% non-street legal hang gliding helmet to avoid attracting attention from the guards. (Still have the C1 in my shed but haven't ridden it for a few years as I'm not doing that commute any more.)

Cienciano wrote: »

Another important point is that Pat Kenny drives (or drove) one. So possibly the least cool bike in the country

Without a doubt the safest one though!

GBX

With seatbelt system can it be bypassed by not wearing and riding on ?

gizmo555

GBX wrote: »

With seatbelt system can it be bypassed by not wearing and riding on ?

You can sort of bypass it by fastening the belts before you sit in - so the belts are behind you, against the seat back. Not a very sensible thing to do though!