BMW CE 04

Welcome to the specification and showroom review of the BMW CE 04 electric scooter/motorcycle. The CE 04 is an awkward name for a new motorcycle but as a scooter it kinda fits.  

In terms of styling the CE 04 looks great. It’s what you’d expect of an electric scooter in 2022. I liken it to a 1990’s sci-fi movie prop or the Southern Korean scooter based low riders. See my Instagram for some pictures. Unfortunately I can see the carry over design elements and after thoughts. Overall it’s low and long a good looking design. 

In terms of technology there is nothing new about it. The CE 04 has a small electric motor and smallish battery. The battery tech seems quite modern, essentially half the size of the HD Livewire and also the potential range and much less performance. Due to the CE 04 weight, it seems to indicate that something is missing in the tech department. The real comparison is against electric pedal based bicycles which have equal or more performance, range and excitement while using much less battery. As a result I am struggling to come up with anything interesting and genuine innovative to write about! That said I’m sure the engineers worked hard to design this powerplant but clearly management and marketing ‘use cases’ failed them. 

In conclusion the BMW CE 04 has very little going for it.  Why the BMW CE 04 is a failure – price and lack of performance. The BMW’s performance is thoroughly disappointing for such an expensive scooter – reinforcing the stereotype on all levels. You might as well buy a Vespa GTS 300 that has more performance, street cred and range. You’ll be able to run the Vespa for decades before you’ll spend the same amount in petrol! Other claimed professional reviewers can verbose the marketing performance, material and attempt to turn this under performer in to the greatest electric bike out there but … it is insulting to compare this to genuinely innovative electric vehicles like the Tesla’s and even the HD Livewire. The best BMW CE 04 comparison to make is against an electric bicycle made by any number of brands like Trek, Specialized or Norco. This is not cynicism on my part. On the plus side it one of the first purely electric motorcycle/scooter by a major brand – it’s only real selling point.