Globe writer Mark Richardson rides the 2024 BMW CE-02 in Portugal. He says it is quick, but not fast.DANIEL KRAUS/Courtesy of manufacturer
BMW’s new CE-02 two-wheeler is too small to be considered a true motorcycle, but don’t call it a scooter – you’ll need to sling a leg over the seat to ride it. And it’s completely electric. It’s quick but not too fast, technically advanced but simple to operate, and not cheap. BMW calls it an “e-parkourer” and it is arriving now in Canadian showrooms.
Parkour is the sport of moving efficiently around obstacles – think of James Bond chasing the bad-guy bomber through the Madagascar construction site in Casino Royale – and that’s where the CE-02 is intended to fit in the hierarchy of vehicles.
It’s supposed to be a machine that gets you around the city as easily as a bicycle or skateboard or any number of today’s other variations on the theme. You ride it as you might an electric bicycle or scooter and it’s simple to do so: Just push the starter button, twist the throttle and go. There are no gears and the brakes are applied with a squeeze of the handlebar levers, just like a scooter, but the CE-02 is a lot less twitchy, thanks to its telescopic forks and single-sided rear swingarm and its beefy tires.
The 2024 BMW CE-02 has an 11-kilowatt motor and the battery can recharge from a standard outlet in about five hours.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
In short, anyone can ride this thing and it’s a lot of fun to do so. I went for an hour-long toot around town and rode comfortably through traffic, barely touching the brakes, thanks to regenerative braking that slowed the bike through the motor when I backed off the throttle. Acceleration was instant – electric motors make maximum torque from a standstill – but not aggressive. BMW claims it can dash to 50 kilometres an hour in three seconds and has a top speed of 95 kilometres an hour.
There are two ride modes, named Flow and Surf, that vary the response of the throttle and the strength of the regenerative braking. If you pay an extra $1,203 for the Highline package, you’ll get a third ride mode called Flash, which has even quicker response and stronger regenerative braking. It also has heated grips and the multicoloured seat and the gold anodized forks you see in the photos, and most important, it has a smartphone holder, so you can follow maps and see more information on your phone.
The bike itself is well thought out, with LED lights, a steel tube frame, two stability controls, an anti-lock front brake and a small display screen that shows your speed and state of charge. It even has a reverse setting, for easier parking and backing-up, though it weighs only 132 kilograms. To compare, the 500-cubic-centimetre Honda Rebel weighs about 190 kilograms. The batteries can be removed, but it’s best to charge them when they’re installed so they charge evenly – it’ll take about five hours to go from flat to full if you plug into a regular wall charger. If you buy the Highline, you can pay extra for the optional faster charger that will bring that down to about 3½ hours.
The 2024 BMW CE-02 has a smartphone holder, so you can follow maps as you drive.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
BMW sells a much less powerful version of the CE-02 in Europe that has a four-kilowatt motor and single battery, intended for 15-year-old riders in those countries that permit it. It won’t be sold in North America. There is also the much more powerful CE-04 electric scooter that’s been sold in Canada for a couple of years; it costs $18,595 and is more the equivalent of a higher-speed and longer-range motorcycle.
The funky CE-02 makes a lot of sense for running about town, and you can’t deny that it’s fun to ride and a quality piece of equipment. But that could be its downfall. You’ll pay at least $12,000 for it, while you can buy a Honda Navi gas-powered bike for a quarter of that, or a Honda Monkey bike for half, or a 500 cc motorcycle for $9,000. You can also buy a Chinese electric bike that looks like a motorcycle from Walmart for $3,300, or an electric scooter or bicycle for less than a grand.
BMW doesn’t see its electric CE-02 as being in the same market as any of those vehicles, and to be fair, it really isn’t. It has the same goal of moving you around cleanly and efficiently, but the similarities stop there. Ultimately, BMW hopes to attract new riders who don’t like the image of either scooters or motorcycles.
The 2024 BMW CE-02 is in between a bike and a motorcycle, with 15 horsepower and a top speed of 95 kilometres an hour.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The major problem, however, is that the CE-02 still needs its rider to have a motorcycle licence. An electric bicycle doesn’t. In fact, at this level of short-hop urban transportation, provincial regulations are often non-existent if the machine can’t be clearly defined as a motorcycle and the CE-02, for all its e-parkouring aspirations, is undeniably some kind of motorcycle.
Will prospective buyers be willing to go through the process of getting a licence and insurance to have more fun on their CE-02s – just the same as riders of Harleys and Ninjas – or will they settle for something a lot less expensive that’s sold at the corner store? BMW will find out soon enough.
Tech specs
2024 BMW CE-02
- Base price/as tested: $10,095 / $11,298, plus $2,400 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus tax
- Motor/battery: 11 kilowatt / Two 48-volt 1.96-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion
- Horsepower/torque (lb-ft): 15 / 40.4
- Drive: Belt drive
- Charging capacity: 900 watt (1,500 watt with fast charger)
- Curb weight: 132 kilograms
- Range (claimed and observed in kilometres): 85 / 50
- Alternatives: Honda Monkey, Kawasaki Z e-1, Vespa Elettrica, Venom x22R MAX
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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Mark Richardson