BMW has developed a habit of revealing new concept bikes at the Villa d’Este concourse that it sponsors and this year’s event is no exception. The firm has revealed its Concept Link.
After a series of stylish, high-performance and retro bike concepts – some of which have led to production models – this year’s show bike is a bit different. It’s an electric scooter design that perhaps previews a future replacement for the firm’s C Evolution.
Edgar Heinrich, head of design at BMW Motorrad, said this: “The BMW Motorrad Concept Link stands for a new understanding of urban mobility. It links the digital and analogue world and places the focus on the rider and his mobility needs. In the way it links functionality and digitalisation it performs both as a means of transport as well as a communication device. For me the BMW Motorrad Concept Link, with its timeless and reduced style, is more than a concept – it is rather a symbol for a new era.”
Right. Lots of buzzwords there, but they really don’t tell us much about it, though, do they?
Let’s see if Alexander Buckan, head of vehicle design at BMW Motorrad, can explain it more clearly: “The BMW Motorrad Concept Link is not based on today’s concepts, but rather meets the basic functionality needs, the technical architecture and the digital reality of today’s users. The technical realities of electric drive – such as the flat energy packs in the underfloor and the compact drive on the rear wheel – allowed us to create a highly distinctive design which shapes a new segment. The resulting expressive power of the vehicle is absolutely new for BMW Motorrad and breaks with all conventional viewing patterns.”
That’s a bit better. So there’s a low-slung battery under the floor, pretty much like the C Evolution. And it’s rear-drive only despite a heavily faired front wheel that could include a hub-mounted motor.
The firm goes on to explain that the bike also has a reverse gear, which is pretty simple on a direct-drive electric vehicle. And it claims fast acceleration and ‘easy’ handling. The weird-looking, semi-transparent seat is also claimed to be adjustable fore and aft and there’s storage underneath it behind a sliding door. The firm also talks of ‘customisation options’ including different screens or panel colours, perhaps a hint that this bike includes some ideas that are destined for production.
On the tech side, BMW has gone all-in for the idea of integrating smartphone functions with the bike. So it can look at your calendar, plan routes between appointments and even, apparently, choose suitable music…
There’s a HUD on the screen showing speed, navigation info and battery level, while secondary information is displayed below on a separate touchscreen display. Buttons on the bars can be programmed as shortcuts to particular functions.
BMW has even integrated its clothing with the concept, suggesting that a particular arm movement in the jacket will activate the bike’s slide-open side panel.
Underneath all the concept gloss, though, there’s an indication of BMW’s growing interest in the scooter market. The firm is known to be developing a smaller-capacity scooter – around 125cc – to sit below its C650 models, and a smaller electric city bike drawing on the C Evolution’s lessons makes sense, too. It might even look a little bit like this.