2024 BMW CE 02 Technical Review

Price: £7,450 | Power: 15bhp (5hp for moped version) | Weight: 132kg (119kg for moped version) | Overall BikeSocial Rating: TBA

BMW calls the CE 02 an ‘eParkourer’ and leans heavily on skateboarding imagary but look past the cringy marketing and there’s no denying that the decision to create a concept-bike-for-the-showroom is a more appealing approach than just another cookie-cutter electric scooter. When it comes to appealing to young, urban riders it’s an approach that might just pay off – provided there are enough customers out there who are prepared to stump up the steep £7,450 cost of entry.

Review – In Detail

2024 BMW CE 02 Price

Starting at £7,450 the CE 02 is far from cheap but pricing in the electric motorcycle market is still all over the place – so while it’s expensive in comparison to some alternatives, it’s a bargain compared to others. Line it up against learner-legal offerings from the likes of Zero and the BMW is substantially less expensive. But something Chinese-made, like the Super Soco TC Max, can be had for half as much as the German machine and offers similar top speed and range despite less peak power.

You’ve got some time to save up, anyway, as the CE 02 isn’t due in dealers until April 2024. When it arrives, the basic version will be in just one colour option – black with grey metallic covers for the mechanical bits – unless you spring for the ‘Highline’ package that adds gold forks and graphics that mimic the original concept bike from 2021 as well as a host of desirable options including a third power mode, heated grips, a smartphone holder and a quick charger that slashes the charging time from 5.2 hours to 3.5 hours.

2024 BMW CE 02 Engine & Performance

The motor is an air-cooled, synchronous current design that puts out a peak 15hp (11kW) at 5,000rpm in the full-power version of the CE 02. That’s bang-on the limit for learner-legal bikes, but BMW doesn’t take advantage of the loophole that allows electric learner bikes to be more powerful than their petrol equivalents. Officially electric bikes are rated at their ‘continuous’ maximum power – a number that can be sustained for extended periods without overheating – rather than their outright maximum. The CE 02’s rated continuous power figure is 6kW/8hp.

As usual for electric bikes, the torque figure is much more impressive than the power, peaking at 55Nm (40.5 lb-ft) from 0rpm to 1000rpm. From there, torque decreases as power rises, until the motor runs out of steam at 6,700rpm.

The standard, 15hp version of the bike has two batteries, each 48-volts and rated at 1.96kWh, which can be removed for maintenance but aren’t intended to be swapped out to give an instant range boost.

Between them, the battery and motor combination offer a top speed of 59mph, with a 0-31mph acceleration of three seconds dead and a rang of more than 90km (56 miles) under WMTC conditions.

Riders who want to use the CE 02 on a moped licence can opt for a restricted power version that peaks at 5hp, with a continuous rating of 4hp. It uses just one battery, reducing weight from 132kg to 119kg. In this form, the top speed is 45km/h (28mph) to match the legal limit for mopeds, and range drops to 45km (28 miles). On the plus side, the single battery means charging times are reduced, but you can’t combine the moped version of the CE 02 with the ‘Highline’ option package and quick charger.

The transmission is a two-stage belt drive. One belt takes drive from the motor to an intermediate shaft, concentric with the swingarm pivot, that transfers power from the right-hand side of the bike to the left-hand side. From there another toothed belt drives the rear sprocket.

As standard the CE 02 gets two riding modes, and BMW follows its slightly irritating form – established with the R 18 cruiser – of using cutesy names for them instead of ones that describe what they do. So there’s no ‘sport’ or ‘street’ mode, but instead you choose from ‘Flow’ or ‘Surf.’ ‘Flow’ is the standard urban setting, with soft throttle response and medium energy recuperation – which equates to engine braking. ‘Surf’ is a more dynamic setting with zero energy recuperation to allow maximum coasting, plus a more direct throttle response.

Frustratingly, you have to splash out on the ‘Highline’ option package to get a third mode, ‘Flash,’ which approximates a sports setting.

2024 BMW CE 02 Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight & Brakes)

On the chassis side, the CE 02 uses a steel double-loop frame with upside-down forks at the front and a single-sided swingarm to the rear. It’s a tiny machine, less than two metres from end to end and with a compact, 1353mm wheelbase, so the forks are fairly slim, 37mm units.

At the rear, a monoshock is directly connected between the swingarm and frame – there’s no rising rate linkage – and it has the only element of adjustability in the form of a movable spring base to alter preload.

The rake is 24.5 degrees, promising sharp steering in combination with that short wheelbase, and the wheels are tiny 14-inchers, shod in 120/80 rubber at the front and a wide-looking 150/70 tyre at the back. There’s Automatic Stability Control (ASC) and Recuperative Stability Control (RSC) to make sure you don’t lose traction under acceleration or when you close the throttle.

There’s a single disc at each end – 239mm at the front, 220mm at the rear – combined with a two-pot front caliper and single piston version at the back. ABS is standard, but it only operates on the front brake.

Weight is 132kg for the standard, dual-battery version and 119kg for the restricted, moped-spec model with a single battery.

2024 BMW CE 02 Comfort & Economy

When it comes to rider comfort, the tiny proportions of the CE 02 mean the seat is a low 750mm, so nobody is likely to have much trouble reaching the ground. Unusually, the bike is designed so when you’re riding alone you have the choice of putting your feet forwards on a front set of footpegs for a scooter-like riding position or moving them back to the rear footpegs to get a sportier stance. When there’s a passenger, those rear pegs are theirs, so you’re stuck with the front ones. Of course, with no gear shift to worry about and both brakes mounted on the bars, there are no foot controls to worry about.

When it comes to economy, the CE 02’s power consumption is rated at less than 6kWh per 100km, giving a range in excess of 90km (56 miles) for the dual-battery version and 45km (28 miles) for the single-battery model.

As standard you get a 0.9kW charger, plugging into a standard household socket. It takes 312 minutes for a full recharge, or 168 minutes to go from 20% to 80% charge on the dual battery model. The single-battery version is quicker to charge, of course, taking 182 minutes for a full charge and 85 minutes to go from 20% to 80%.

The Highline package – which BMW clearly hopes most riders will opt for – also includes a quick charger, still powered by a standard socket, which performs a full charge on the dual-battery bike in 210 minutes and takes it from 20% to 80% in 102 minutes. It’s not available for the single-battery version, though.

2024 BMW CE 02 Equipment

Atop the bars sits a colour TFT display showing speed, state of charge and all the other information you’re likely to need. A USB-C socket allows smartphone charging, while BMW’s Motorrad Connected app lets you keep track of the CE 02’s charge status while it’s on charge. On the base version, this is via Bluetooth so it only works when you’re nearby, but the Highline package adds BMW Motorrad Connected Services to give you information about the bike’s status from anywhere. The same package also adds a bar-mounted smartphone holder.

All the lighting is LED, including both high and low-beam headlights as well as the DRLs, indicators, brake and taillight.

The standard model is pretty spartan, but the Highline package adds heated grips and BMW is also offering a wide range of optional extras including a luggage carrier, 29-litre top case, side bags in a variety of colours and sizes ranging from 16 litres to 60 litres, plus two screens and a ‘comfort’ seat.

2024 BMW CE 02 Rivals

The electric bike market is starting to grow but BMW is at the forefront of established brands getting in on the action. That means most of the alternatives are either from electric-only start-ups or from Chinese companies. The CE 02 also sits in a no-mans land between scooters and motorcycles – perhaps as and when CFMoto’s Papio Nova electric Grom-rival reaches the market it will be a closer rival to the BMW, but in the meantime the alternatives include:

Super Soco TC Max | Price: £3,699

Power/Torque: 6.7bhp/133lb-ft | Weight: 100kg

Honda EM1 e: | Price: TBA

Power/Torque: 2.3bhp/66lb-ft | Weight: 95kg

Maeving RM1 | Price: £5,995

Power/Torque: 5.9bhp/118lb-ft | Weight: 124kg

2024 BMW CE 02 Verdict

We’ll give a verdict once we’ve ridden the CE 02

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2024 BMW CE 02 - Technical Specification

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