The law, as stated by the High Court on the 7th of May 2004, says that you have to wear a helmet whilst driving a C1.
This issue is hotly contested and there a number of C1 owners seeking a way to drive a C1 without the perceived risk that the combination of seatbelts and helmets carries.
The ‘right to choose’ is an ongoing campaign." *
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“I think it’s legal to drive with out a helmet in all European contrys, exept Norway and GB?”*
I sure that the seat belt will save your head when it has an impact.
If you fall hard to the side, your still gonna smash your head open. Other places that allow people to ride these with no helmets have it wrong I think.
No you’re not, if you’re wearing the safety belt/harness properly then your head can’t leave the area protected by the safety cage. So the only thing wearing a helmet along with the belt achieves is to increase you chances of serious neck injury in the event of a head on collision, as your body is restrained but your head isn’t & the weight of the helmet generates extra forces on the neck.
Personally I wouldn’t buy one, but I admire BMW for thinking outside of the box & coming up with a personal transport alternative that would tempt people out of their cars in our increasingly congested urban areas when they wouldn’t normally consider riding a ‘normal’ bike/scooter. Whilst this attempt may have failed as a mass market idea, I think that once battery powered technology moves on a bit we’ll be looking at something very similar as the future.
Strange as it may seem, these two wheeled objects are actually sought after by some wierd people and their second hand value has remained quite strong. :w00t:
Especially as they are not made anymore. Not one of BMW’s best ideas.
They were specifically designed to use car type safety cage principles. I have witnessed a SMIDSY accident which would have left a rider of any other machine in hospital but the rider just unbuckled, got out, and lifted the bike up completely uninjured.
I disagree, your head would still be exposed to anuthing that comes into contact with the bike in a crash plus you could end up sticking your head through the windscreen.
A bit of street furniture interfering is all it would take for a serious head injury crashing one with no helmet I’d reckon.
Its obviously a flawed design realistically as you can’t utilise safety features on a motorcycle in the same way you can a car in the absence of proper space and side doors.
