does work great, as suspected – flicking
turbulence up beyond my helmet.
Storage wise there are developments too.
Under seat storage is shallower than usual
but a drop-down flexible compartment,
operated by a lever gives room for a full-
face helmet under the seat without an
additional box. Nice.
The scooter will not move when this
‘flexbox’ is extended however, and a
warning is displayed on the TFT dash. A
simple lift and it clicks into place and out
of the way again. I had thoughts about
material longevity given the abrasive nature
of road detritus over years, but perhaps
that’s being churlish.
There are two small cubic glove boxes to
110 KIWI RIDER
either side of the dashboard area that each
open with a pushbutton mounted above.
No key proximity? No entry. These held
keys, gloves and glasses, and a cellphone
and wallet, and I liked having all that to hand
and not buried in an inner jacket pocket or
under the seat.
Tech wise BMW has a good thing going
with that TFT screen. The menu switch gives
choices and the ring and selector unit on
the left hand allows use on the go. Pushing
the menu button down opens the options
within the selected option. It is connectable
to your helmet with Phone, Music,
Navigation and more available. I’m told it
can operate with Sena units as well as BMW
helmets, but my own unit was playing up
during the test, and I was unable to connect.