BMW C1 - Car On Two Wheels

For years now David "Fishman" Rivera has been fabricating demo vehicles for various manufacturers; until now there has never been a project that has presented him with such a huge challenge, in terms of integrating audio and video equipment for a system. Enter the MB Quart MBC-1, a German BMW C1 scooter - but the term "scooter" does not accurately describe the vehicle. The C1 is a two-wheeled personal commuter currently available only in Europe with the capability of traveling 60 miles per hour. "If this is a scooter, it's the first one I've seen with windshield wipers, seatbelts and a sunroof," observes Keith Lehmann, president of MB Quart.

It was Keith Lehmann who discovered the BMW C-1 on one of his trips to MB Quart headquarters in Germany. Lehmann was on a mission since last Daytona Spring Break Nationals. After the debut of the highly publicized MB Ski, a personal watercraft outfitted with an audio system by the crew at Fishman Audio, he knew it was going to be tough to top it at Daytona this year. Explaining the philosophy behind this new venture, MB QUART President Keith Lehmann said "When MB QUART unveiled the MB Ski at the 2000 Spring Break Nationals, we realized that an attention-getting tradition could be started if we made a genuine creative commitment and got more people involved at the beginning. We intend to use this vehicle to promote the creative side of mobile electronics by showing off new installation techniques and cutting-edge products used in a vehicle that people would expect to see in a James Bond movie."

Keith Lehmann is no stranger to David "Fishman" Rivera. They have built a friendship over the past ten years in the 12 volt industry. Since the inception of Fishman Audio, Rivera has completed several projects for Lehamnn. "I've always been the one to come up with the crazy idea and sell it to Keith, but this time he beat me to it," says Rivera. When he first heard that Lehmann had something in store for him he had a great sense of anticipation. Fishman was kept in suspense till after USAC Finals last year when the first visual of the C1 arrived at Fishman Audio. It was a color brochure of the BMW scooter. Rivera's first reaction was, "This is bad," as he immediately realized that he had a huge challenge ahead of him. Flipping through the brochure, Fishman and Manny "Maddog" Machado, Fishman's right hand man, began studying all the possibilities of what to do to the C1. The suspense actually became a reality when the scooter finally arrived at Fishman Audio via FedEx, in early Februaury. The next morning Fishman began taking apart the C1, looking for any kind of space for all the audio and video equipment, which was on its way. It was decided early on that the audio equipment should strictly complement the chosen vehicle; thus an Alpine audio/video system was incorporated, using the CVA-1005 multimedia system controller; DVA-5205 DVD player; PHA-H510 Dolby Digital 5.1 digital sound processor; MRD-F572 five-channel amplifier; and MRP-F306 two-channel amplifier. Also A Stinger battery, power wire and interconnects were chosen to connect all the equipment.

Maddog recalls the first few days of the scooter in the shop. "He took apart the bike in like half an hour; there were bolts everywhere, panels everywhere, the scooter looked ugly naked. He sat back for three days just starring at the bike, studying every angle on it."