Table of contents:
- BMW C 400 GT: premium class
- Comfort, solvency and 34 CV with better touch
- BMW C 400 GT: a lot of equipment, but nothing cheap
To paraphrase a certain competitive car brand, something is changing at BMW. The propeller signature scooters are facing a total overhaul process because the electric age has already arrived with the BMW CE 04 while the large C 650 Sport and GT are at the end of their life cycle and will not have renewal.
Meanwhile, the mid-range still has life ahead, and that is why we have risen the new BMW C 400 GT, one of the best GT scooters on the market that it has improved in those points in which it had margin. Although it is true that others have been left in the pipeline.
BMW C 400 GT: premium class
The most accessible range of BMW scooters is still fully in force. Appeared in 2018 as a somewhat risky bet within the German house, but which has been confirmed as a success, both by product and by sales within the segment to which they are intended.
Three years after its appearance, the BMW C 400 GT receives its first update with more interesting changes than it might appear at first glance. On the outside we can hardly differentiate it from the previous version. It will be necessary to spin fine to find the differences.
The simplest thing is to look at the range of colors, which has changed for this 2021. It has wanted to praise the elegance of the model with three finishes: it is dressed in Alpine White as standard, the Calisto Gray has an extra cost of 54.26 euros and the totally black Triple Black finish with GT stickers on the sides is 217.03 euros.
Aesthetically, it seems more graceful than the C 400 X. His brother plays the card of a risky design with personality and a certain DNA of the German trail family, but this C 400 GT does not fall short either. It looks more conventional but opt for a design with straight lines, angular and very modern.
On the front it stands out for a led headlight continuous that goes from side to side of the front, enclosed in the sides of the shield that go up to a large screen that in this case is not adjustable. Underneath, this modern design has been kept with the LED indicators vertically integrated into the fairing.
Traveling towards the back we have a large seat, with a good back where the embroidery appears. GT logo of the model, plenty of room for the passenger and rigid handles protruding from almost smooth side covers.
The rear is also very different from the C 400 X. In fact the C 400 GT has the rear finished as it should, with integrated pilot and turn signals at the end of the body instead of on the license plate holder. Perhaps it could be a more compact set, but aesthetically it is more attractive in any case.
Digging a little deeper into the C 400 GT we raised the seat and we found an improved lighting compared to the outgoing version. What has not improved is the load capacity. The FlexCase system it is still there and gives us a capacity that goes from 32 liters when running to 45 liters when stopped if we extend the lower part.
This means that when stopped we can leave a full face helmet stored, but we will not be able to transport it on the go. Something that leaves it at a clear disadvantage with respect to the competition that can have capacity for two integral without pulling design frills.
As a complement to the main cargo space, there are two glove compartments behind the shield with good capacity and which also now have a USB charge. A nice touch: the central locking together with the rest of the compartments thanks to the keyless system as standard.
Comfort, solvency and 34 CV with better touch
When we sit in the C 400 GT the first thing we notice is that the seat is wide and comfortable. It is so wide in fact that for 170 cm of height we will have to move towards its front part to reach the ground with both feet and move it while standing with greater or lesser ease.
The seat height is 775mm, not too high but the arch of the legs and the width of the platform force us to be quite open. Of course, it is really comfortable both for its strength and shape and for the generous lumbar support that we find in the rear.
In front we have a wide handlebar, with the same pine cones that are used in the brand's motorcycles, including the rotary control that we will use to navigate through the menus of the 6.5 inch digital dashboard which rises a little later.
This frame is not standard, but is part of the standard equipment in the C 400 (X and GT) range. Apparently it is the same as the one that the big motorcycles of the house ride, but with certain exceptions that make it different. To begin with, we see that the resolution is not the same, it gives a little less sharpness. The structure of the menus is also different.
Navigation is tremendously simple thanks to the controls on the left pineapple, and when we tinker we realize that the menus are not as extensive as in higher models not even the information offered is at the same level. The screen that we will use to drive will be reduced to a tachometer, speedometer and small partials. Yes, it can offer us more information, but we will have to look for it in other menus.
The screen itself has a good visibility, except in times of extreme lighting (sunny day in midsummer) or when it shows off its ability to accumulate dirt faster than expected.
The system allows us to use the BMW Connected Ride With which via app (Android or iOS) we can manage music, calls or view the GPS indications on the screen. Its operation has seemed to us that it slows down more than necessary and, in addition, if we are not going to use it, it is not that this screen provides great advantages over a traditional frame beyond aesthetics. The price of the Connected Ride package is 678.21 euros.
Once we are familiar with the C 400 GT we get going and we find a behavior very similar to that of the model we already knew before. It is easy to handle in tight environments despite being relatively large. The 214 kg in running order they can be done both while standing still and dodging cars at low speed.
The engine is still the same 350cc four-stroke single cylinder (yes, it's not a 400cc even though I put it in its name. BMW says it performs like a 400) with 34 hp and 35 Nm of torque. The same as before? Yes, but with notable differences in behavior.
If we look closely at the technical sheet we will see that the power is the same at the same 7,500 rpm and the torque too, 35 Nm, but now at 5,750 rpm instead of 6,000 rpm. This Advance torque delivery at 250 rpm indicates that internally there have been changes, and there are not few.
The arrival of the Euro5 regulation implies changes to lower emissions, but BMW has also fine-tuned the operation of the block. So use a new butterfly box for admission, a cylinder head with a specific profile and is accompanied by a new control unit to control everything, as well as a gas recirculation circuit and a fine-tuned idle system to surround pollutants.
But the changes do not stop there because taking advantage of this a new electronic throttle (before cable). And this above all will be the most notable change from day to day, because the C 400 GT now offers a better, more direct response between the right grip and what happens at the rear wheel. In addition, the new distribution of the torque curve leaves us with a motor that pushes something better and in a cleaner way, something in which the new variator adjustment cobabora.
All of this leaves us with an average scooter that defends himself with self-confidence on medium terrain and it would only need a little more muscle to shine also in fast track recoveries, but we must not forget that we are facing a 350 cc. Its range of action is very wide and allows us to face more or less long journeys without stress, thanks to an engine that gives the Kymco Super Dink 350 more than 5 CV on paper.
The stability control has also received a new parameterization, but to tell the truth we cannot give an assessment on it because we only noticed it working on one occasion and due to a sudden loss of grip. There all the controls cut off abruptly. And thanks.
Also aerodynamically it is very well resolved. The screen covers the whole body very well and the shield surrounds the conductor. The feet are well collected inside the platforms and we only miss that the screen had electrical regulation as the Honda Forza do.
Another interesting change for this 2021 model is the addition of a reinforced braking system. It used to have four-piston radial calipers, but previous ByBres have been replaced by some J. Juan with better mordant.
It brakes well and allows you to brake very hard, as well as to do jump abs more easily than we thought and it leaves us with the impression that the brake system is now much superior. What could have changed and have not done have been the handles, which still have no possibility of regulation.
The rest of the cycle part remains intact. The chassis is the same tubular steel frame to which a 35mm telescopic fork in the front and a double shock absorber in the rear. Neither the morons nor the geometries have been touched, so his noble character is still there.
The BMW C 400 GT has a behavior in which it prevails above all the stability, with progressive cornering ability without dropping inward and a slightly quieter handling than the C 400 X. This is not motivated by its configuration or by its engine, but by the simple fact of having a different geometry that you puts a little more weight on the front end of the X.
BMW C 400 GT: a lot of equipment, but nothing cheap
With all this, the BMW C 400 GT is postulated and continues to be one of the best GT category scooters on the market. It is comfortable, it is well equipped at a mechanical and cycle level, its finishes are good and it can also be very, very well equipped.
Of course, all this equipment has a direct impact on the price, so the BMW C 400 GT goes up to the 7,990 euros, that is, 1,000 euros more than its brother the C 400 X, and adding the optional equipment our unit touched the 9,500 euros.
With this price it is well above its competition where the closest rivals are the Kymco Xciting S 400 (6,399 euros), Yamaha XMAX 400 (6,799 euros) or the Honda Forza 350 (6,050 euros).
Besides, the biggest but that we can put the BMW C 400 GT and more looking at its competition is that despite being the most technological and advanced of all, of the best engines in the category and aesthetically interesting, we cannot ignore the handicap of the space under the seat. It seems that BMW has preferred to distinguish itself by ingenuity rather than by load capacity, and for some customers that may be a negative point.
