Nearly two years ago, BMW gave us a look at a futuristic light electric motorcycle known as the CE 02. Welcome to the future, folks, because now the BMW CE 02 has officially launched as the brand’s latest electric motorbike.
While there’s no single delineation on where scooters stop and motorcycles start, the CE 02 likely falls right in that gray area.
The company says so itself: “It’s electric, designed to appeal to young people and it’s neither an e-motorbike nor an e-scooter. It’s an eParkourer, created for the urban environment.”
It should be noted that eParkourer is not a thing, no matter how hard BMW tries to make it happen. The company can have its marketing mumbo jumbo, but what we’re actually looking at is a light electric motorbike.
With a top speed of 59 mph (95 km/h), it should be sufficiently fast for pretty much any urban or suburban riding requirement but not quite potent enough for highway use.
And at an MSRP of US $7,599 (before destination charges), it’s also BMW’s lowest-priced electric motorbike to date. It doesn’t compare favorably to comparably performing electric scooters with larger batteries at lower prices, but riders are also getting the backing of BMW Motorrad in addition to just a BMW emblem on the side.
Head of BMW Motorrad Design Edgar Heinrich explained that the 291-pound (132-kilogram) CE 02 is designed largely as an urban play bike as opposed to a utility bike:
With the CE 02, we are striving for something new at BMW Motorrad and want to be pioneers once again. Thanks to its unusual proportions and striking graphics, the new CE 02 is an uncomplicated, youthful form of single-track mobility. The reduced design language stands for lightness and fun. The focus is not on utility, but on emotional appeal, riding pleasure and uncomplicated, almost intuitive use.
It might be here for a good time, but perhaps not for a long time. With a pair of just under 2 kWh batteries for a total of 3.92 kWh, the bike has a maximum range of 56 miles (90 km). The bike is also fairly powerful with an 11 kW peak-rated motor, meaning that the real-world range is likely to drop significantly below the max of 56 miles when traveling at higher speeds or using the higher-power riding mode.
Top comment by Gabe Ets-Hokin
If $7500 is too rich for your blood, I just bought a Telaria XXX through Luna cycles. It's 120 pounds, has a top speed (after an easy "modification) of about 50 mph, a range of 30-40 miles and a swappable battery. The suspension is fully adjustable and it comes with pretty grippy 17-inch street tires; you can swap them for knobbies to go off-roading. It was less than half the price of this BMW, but it's also not exactly street legal, although that depends on where you live.
Small, light, inexpensive motorcycles are where the market should have started; it's unfortunate that Zero, Harley-Davidson and others spent so many years developing expensive, heavy products that are inferior in almost every real metric to their gas-powered cousins. My little Telaria is smaller, lighter, cheaper and faster than most small-displacement ICE scooters; we should have had this 10 years ago.
Recharging occurs with a Level 1 off-board charger, similar to an electric bicycle. A full recharge from empty will take around 5 hours with the standard 0.9 kW charger or closer to 3.5 hours with the higher power 1.5 kW charger option. BMW states the 20-80% charge times are 2.8 hours and 2.3 hours, respectively.
The BMW CE 02 offers a single-sided rear swingarm, inverted front fork, disk-style cast wheels, keyless start, adjustable reach hand brake levers, reverse gear, and a USB-C port for charging devices like cellphones.
BMW’s newly unveiled ConnectedRide smart glasses will also be compatible with the bike, allowing riders to see real-time data overlaid in front of their eyes with a heads-up display.
The BMW CE 02 will soon join its larger sibling, the BMW CE 04 electric maxiscooter. That bike’s higher power and faster top speed make it highway capable, but it also carries a higher price tag of nearly US $12,000.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments