Maybe a subjective question-To those that have the digital info screen on their 400 GT, if you were to do it all over again would you buy the same or the lesser dash model. And if I may ask why ?. I’m an old guy. I don’t really need Bluetooth IMO and I have a small Garmin Nuvi that I can use for trips.
Is the digital info/navigation screen worth the extra $$$
- Thread starter rodent64
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wspollack
Active member
BMW NA has succeeded in confusing me, and possibly you, too.
For my 2022 C 400 GT, as far as I know there was no option to choose, or not choose, to have the TFT display and the connectivity associated with it. At least here in the USA: it came with the bike. I assume that's what you're asking about: the TFT display.
Now, for model year 2024 -- which is the MY shown at https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/urban_mobility/c400gt.html -- there is conflicting information, or so it seems to me.
If you scroll down that page, you can see this:
There is no mention of the TFT's being "optional" or similar verbiage. So there's that, i.e., it seems very much like the situation I encountered for MY 2022 (I ordered mine in late May 2022, and took delivery in June 2022).
HOWEVER, ON THE OTHER HAND,
If you click on Build Your Own on that page, when you're taken to a new page, to do the actual building, you encounter this box over on the right:
That mentions the "The optional 6.5-inch TFT color display" [emphasis mine] and its "innovative Connectivity functions." So that certainly seems as if the TFT is optional, in line with your question.
HOWEVER, ON THE THIRD HAND,
If you actually attempt to build your own -- click your way through the NEXT STEP buttons and the choices -- you will not see a choice involving the TFT, i.e., you will not be able to add it as an option, not be able to add it to your custom configuration. At least I couldn't find it.
(Note that the "Premium Package" comprises heated grips and a heated seat -- only those -- according to its description, just as was the case when I was configuring my MY 2022 C 400 GT. By the way, I did order that heating package, and recommend it.)
So, based on at least my inability to somehow add the TFT/Connectivity, once again it looks to me as if this is a standard feature, just as that home page implies to me, just as was (to the best of my knowledge) the case for MY 2022 (and, I think MY 2023).
So once again, I don't think you have a choice here.
And by "here" I mean the USA, and probably all of North America. In the rest of world, choosing -- or not choosing -- the TFT may be an option. For BMW NA, I think not.
Further, we are talking about the C 400 GT. Not here in North America, but much (most? all?) of the rest of the world also gets the option of choosing the C 400 X, in place of or in addition to the C 400 GT. The C 400 X differs only cosmetically from the C 400 GT. It has different headlights, slightly different bodywork around them, a slightly different seat, and passenger foot pegs instead of bodywork for them; I think that's it ... except that ...
The other difference is the dash, which in my experience is, at least by default, not a TFT display. So perhaps BMW confused itself, and that opening box on the Build Your Own page was really intended to be present for a Build Your Own "X" page, not a Build Your Own "GT" page. That is, perhaps the C 400 X can be -- optionally -- upgraded to replace its stock dash with the TFT. And, the X not being offered in North America, that box should not have been shown here (well, it should have been reworded, to omit all references to the TFT).
(My experience with the C 400 X, by the way, consists of two Edelweiss scooter tours in May 2022, of five riding days in Tuscany and five riding days around Vienna, and its nine-riding-day "Ultimate Alps" tour about three months ago. The first two were pretty sedate touristy tours, two-up with my wife, while the tour this year was a solo trip for me, fairly hardcore riding, and I generally kept the C 400 X in the speedier part of the group; the X is not a choice among the 30 or so bikes in their regular tours, but I whined to Edelweiss over the winter that if I couldn't ride that -- they don't offer the GT -- then I wouldn't book the trip.)
I don't know about you, but I hope that explains why I'm confused. Have you talked to a North American dealer about the alleged option?
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I e-mailed dealer last week. I have not talked/spoken/phone to ( closest dealer 150 miles away) dealer about any options yet. Only e-mailed info I was given is -no units ( C 400 GT) available at this time, ( south Tx) A $1000 non-refundable order, 60-120 day turn around time ( don’t know if that means time from order placed or from time production starts. The stop hold/emission issue is over -so that was not even mentioned. This info is from late last week. No units to even sit on. Next dealer is another 100 miles farther from me. No exactly encouraging. I informed them I was retired and intended to purchase ( be nice to test /check first though). However should this fall through I will probably get a Piaggio BV 400. I know it looks different but very functional, and easy to maintain. Plus they run like a bat outta hell !. Plan on calling BMW dealer this Tuesday. We’ll see what happens.
wspollack
Active member
I have never purchased a bike that I have not at least sat upon. Preferably test-rode, but at least sat upon.
As I think I mentioned elsewhere, I was considering a Kymco AK 550 for about a year (until my wife expressed how much she enjoyed a rental C 400 X), but I never pulled the trigger because ... wait for it ... I never found one to sit on (and corporate Kymco couldn't even tell me where one was in stock). There's a Kymco dealer about three miles away, but he stocks only the littlest of their scooters. He offered to get a 550 for me, if I paid for it first.
I've read some nice things about the BV, so, sure, go get something, find what works for you. I also have a Royal Enfield dealer about three miles away, and I made use of that place two+ months ago, by buying a new Meteor 350.
Good luck.
Yes its worth it. I have a fully loaded 2023 C400GT callisto grey metallic with gold colored front calipers.
wspollack
Active member
Are you saying that, for your bike -- the model year 2023 C 400 GT (and I notice that you're from Canada) -- the TFT was listed as optional, or you had to specify it when ordering or configuring your bike (if you ordered your bike, as opposed to picking one out from a showroom), or something along those lines?
As I say, I am under the impression that the TFT (and associated connectivity) is standard equipment on C 400 GTs, at least those sold in North America. Am I wrong?
wspollack
Active member
Thanks for the response and for the info.
Me, I'm still confused. It's possible, I suppose, that things have changed for MY '24 or for Canada, but:
1) If you look at the current C 400 GT page -- https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/models/urban_mobility/c400gt.html -- there's no mention of Connectivity being an option:
2) Further, if you click on Build Your Own:
A) There is no choice about TFT or Connectivity. The choices are about color and heated grips and seat.
B) When you get to the end of Build Your Own -- page 5 -- you're shown a build Summary, and Connectivity is listed as Standard equipment:
C) If you click on that "i" for additional information, you get this pop-up, once again this equipment is listed as Standard:
So I'm wondering -- and this is for both @STiago and @rodent64 -- who is asking these questions, who told you this stuff is (or was) optional? That is, was a salesperson asking you to make a choice? Or was this from a brochure or a web page, or something else? And did anyone mention an additional cost -- actual money -- to allegedly add Connectivity to an order? Does anyone have a bill of sale, for instance, that has a line item for Connectivity and some (US or Canadian) dollar figure next to it?
That is, I still have those types of questions. I swear I'm not trying to be a jerk here, not trying to beat a horse, alive or dead. It's just that I simply cannot find any indication on BMW's actual pages of the C 400 GT that you can specify the inclusion of either the TFT or Connectivity. If I'm overlooking something, either on the description page or on the Build pages, would someone please correct me, point it out, etc.?
Of course, I believe this is a North American site, the BMW pages that I'm looking at. And it's for MY 24, and things certainly could have changed from last year.
Thanks.
Sorry if I had misled anyone. The way I read sales pitch was “you can get the navigation/connectivity,etc if you want it”. That kinda wording to me means it is not something extra and not standard. Probably just a misunderstanding ( probably on my behalf). I still haven’t called the dealer to actually talk to a real person. I think I should make my list of questions to check off once I get someone. I have several at this point. Sales person will probably think I’m a PITA after speaking with me, but hey I’m old, I want to make sure about things before I put a grand down $$$ that’s non-refundable. If I lived closer to the dealer I could just go and Get answers.
wspollack
Active member
Don't expect a salesperson to know much about the C 400 GT (or the CE-04). A dealership in the USA sells probably one or two of each scooter per year, and my guess is that many salespeople may not have even have seen one, let alone know anything about them.
I was making idle conversation with my salesperson during the process of taking delivery, and I mentioned that I was disappointed that the C 400 GT doesn't have cruise control. She said, "sure it does" -- probably thinking that almost all Beemers have that. I said, "Let's go look through all the screens," after which she admitted that it doesn't.
As a test, feel free to ask any Beemer salesperson you talk to:
1) Does it have cruise control?
As I say, it doesn't.
2) Does it have (stock or optionally) TPMS (like most Beemers)?
It doesn't. If they get that answer correct, ask if you can add external TPMS sensors, such as a FOBO (which I've added to the last couple of bikes). The correct answer to that is tricky: yes, on the rear wheel; no, on the front. This is because of the placement of the Schrader valves in the "spoke" area of the cast wheels, and the number of brake discs on given wheels.
3) Or ask if the butt-rest is adjustable (the way it was on a Burgman 650).
The correct answer is no, but I wonder what a response will be.
4) Or ask if the windscreen is adjustable.
Correct answer: no.
5) How about: how many CCs is the engine?
Correct answer: 350.
6) How about the front and rear rim sizes.
These types of questions will give you an idea whether he or she knows diddly-squat about their low-volume scooters.
If you find that it's difficult or impossible to get a salesperson with actual reliable and detailed knowledge of a C 400 GT, and you're willing to spend some time and effort, feel free to call BMW NA -- 800-831-1117 -- or email them -- [email protected] -- and see if you can get answers to whatever questions you have. That's in addition to looking at the official web site, which I've been referencing in this thread.
I bet these options are standard now and I also think the prices have gone up. That's how they roll.