There’s a problem with big leaps forward in tech and styling: for every person who loves something futuristic, there’s someone else who hates it. You only have to look at the market for electric motorcycles to see this.
Cutting-edge scooters like the BMW C400 X are similarly afflicted. The styling is straight out of a Transformers movie, and you can buy a new Triumph Trident 660 for less money. But the C400 does make it easy to store shopping or a helmet, and some folks find scooters more comfortable to ride.
A year ago, the Russian company NMoto caused a stir with its C400-based ‘Golden Age’ concept. The machine is finally in production, and despite the high tech underpinnings, the styling has taken a big leap backwards—in a good way.…