“Is it electric?” asked the teenage girl who jumped out of a lowered Volkswagen Golf and instantly started taking selfies of herself in front of the BMW. And I must say of all the BMWs I’ve ridden and, to be fair, pretty much every motorcycle, this is the first time I’ve had anything other than a baby boomer come up and start asking questions, let alone posting pics on TikTok (or whatever the platform of choice is for the young-uns).
I guess it’s not surprising, as there isn’t really anything else I’ve ridden that looks quite as futuristic as the CE 04. And the ‘whistle’ the electric motor produces – which is actually a single motor from a Mini! – gives the CE 04 a soundtrack to match the image. All I needed was a skin-tight silver suit and a helmet with an orange visor, and the Buck Rogers image would be complete.
Silent Assassin
My first surprise riding the CE 04 came when I opened the throttle fully for the first time and almost launched myself off the back of that distinctive, flat, orange seat. Yep, there’s nothing quite like the instant response of an electric motor to get the heart racing, and all those who say otherwise probably haven’t tried one. With a maximum output of 42hp, the CE 04 has a claimed top speed of 120km/h and will do zero to 50km/h in an impressive 2.6 seconds, although I must say, it feels substantially faster simply because there’s no let-up in the drive. As electric vehicles don’t have gears or a clutch, there’s an instant shove when you snap open the throttle, which doesn’t diminish until the scooter gets closer to its maximum speed.
The riding position matches the scooter’s looks, i.e. odd. The flat, wide seat and raised tunnel pushed my legs wide rather than the usual scooter seating position, which I imagine is due to a heap of batteries being located down there somewhere. The power storage is taken from another of BMW’s models, with batteries repurposed from their iX range of electric cars and positioned low to hide the weight and aid handling. At 231kilos this is a chunky scooter, yet that weight does ‘disappear’ once you’re on the move, and it’s only when getting it off the angular sidestand that you actually remember it’s there.
As with any electric vehicle, you need to get used to the fact that once you press the ignition button and the rather large 10.25-inch TFT dash has done its thing, twisting the throttle garners an instant response, and it took me a while to stop flicking the throttle at a standstill like I would on an ICE bike. Do it too much and I’d quickly find myself launched into the middle of an intersection. Thankfully, once you’ve kicked the sidestand down, it acts as a kill switch, meaning the scoot won’t disappear through the garage door should someone inadvertently grab the throttle. The dash is top-shelf, with navigation, power use, music and pretty much everything else you can think of displayed in full colour on the screen. It really is impressive and also functional.
There are three riding modes to pick – Eco, Rain, Road – which alter throttle response and regenerative braking, while this model also had Dynamic which gave the CE 04 its sportiest set-up. Regen takes a little while to get used to as closing the throttle feels like you’ve grabbed one of the brakes – front and rear are scooter-style levers – but I soon adapted and then enjoyed rolling off the throttle and using the regen to slow me for turns. There’s anti-lock braking as you’d expect, but more importantly on a bike with such instant power, there’s also traction control which I reckon would get a bit of a workout on wet roads. And there’s even reverse, so if the weight was worrying you, there’s battery power to get you out of trouble should you be pointing downhill when you park.
BMW CE 04: On the road
The CE 04 is as nippy as a scooter much smaller in stature thanks to the low C of G and sharp geometry. The seat is a low 780mm which gave me added confidence when creeping along at walking pace or weaving around obstacles, while the 35mm Showa forks and that interestingly designed almost flat rear shock do a decent job of shielding your butt from all the lumps and bumps. Yet, with the CE 04 so competent around town, we decided to push the boundaries and hit the open road and even tackled a bit of motorway work to really see what it was capable of.
Performance was never going to be an issue, and following Paul onto the up-ramp and into the flow of traffic, the CE 04’s electric powerplant offered more than enough surge to keep up with all but the fastest of boy racers and white van drivers (who always seem to be going the speed of light!)
I was a little concerned about the small wheels making the steering a bit unstable at speed, but it wasn’t a worry, with only the small (orange!) screen, something I’d prefer to be a bit larger and probably not orange! Onto some nice, twisting open roads and using the brakes to scrub speed as well as the regen meant I could leave braking to the last moment without concern, while the sleek design appeared to offer plenty of lean-angle when getting a little carried away in the turns.
As we got further from BRM HQ, range did start to creep into my thought process, and with 50% showing on the dash, we decided to head for home. Yet, even after another short motorway stint, the range didn’t seem to drop that much. With a claim of 130km on a charge looking pretty achievable (unlike most of the electric car claims, apparently), the CE 04 is practicle for longer trips as well as a daily commute. And that’s important, considering the price…
Back home and opening a large compartment on the side of the CE 04 revealed a charging cable to plug into the wall socket, giving a full charge in just over 4 hours. You can fast charge, which should see zero to 100% in 1 hour 40 minutes, although the more realistic example of 20% – 80% is a snappy 45 mins.
There’s no denying the CE 04 is pretty cool, well, the kids think so anyway. Would I ride it daily? Hell, yeah, if money was no object. But, with electric vehicles costing a premium at the moment due to the new technology, you’d really need to want to go electric to pay this much extra over the many excellent petrol-powered alternatives. But if you want an electric BMW scooter to park next to your electric BMW car, I reckon you won’t be disappointed.
Pics: Two Creative Photography
