BMW CE 04
is a brand new ELECTRIC product that came out at about the same time as Energica Experia and it comes from one of the biggest names in motorcycle world - BMW - so my expectations were high
and they were not met
i was actually shocked by how affordable it is ( about $14,000 versus $26,000 for Energica Experia ) but as you delve deeper into what it actually offers you see why …
BMW CE 04 is 510 lbs to Energica’s 570 lbs so it is 90% of the weight of Energica Experia and also 55% of the cost but only has 40% of battery capacity and 40% of the horsepower of Energica Experia …
at first i almost couldn’t believe how low the battery capacity and power were - i was like - where does the 500 lbs of weight come from ?
well from here:
this is an extremely cheap frame obviously made from low quality steel and featuring essentially no triangulation. this frame is even more primitive than what you find on Vespa Scooters. Even my furniture moving dolly has a more advanced frame. this frame is where the weight is coming from - actual motor and battery are very small. that giant void is a space to store the helmet.
also the entire design is form over function, like the solid wheels which undoubtedly add more weight, or the space between seat and body which again is unnecessary complexity and weight.
so is BMW stupid ? well no - they are simply not targeting motorcycle riders with this - they are targeting the scooter market. when compared to other scooters this BMW is creme de la creme - best of the best.
they used an amount of power just enough to put CE 04 ahead of the product class ( Maxi Scooters ) and then they used just big enough battery to power that motor and then the cheapest frame that would hold it together reliably without going over the weight limit of what a Scooter should weigh. that’s it.
so why am i disappointed ? because electric technology was an opportunity to reimagine what a scooter is, just like Tesla reimagined Sedan and SUV with the 1,000 horsepower “plaid” versions … those family cars can take on traditional supercars like Ferrari and win and BMW could have done the same - they could have given us a scooter that can take on a Harley and win …
all they had to do was make an effort, like Energica does, but they didn’t.
instead they decided to offer us something that is better than any other scooter, but still just a scooter.
some BMW executive decided that it was important to keep the price down to $14,000 which would make it competitive against other scooters, whereas if they maxed it out with Energica type specs it would then also cost $26,000 and nobody would buy it.
i think that was a mistake. i think a scooter that could do 0-60 in 3 seconds would have created its own market just like Tesla created their own market with performance EV Sedans and SUVs and how Hummer EV is creating it’s own market with Performance EV Trucks.
likewise we could have had a Performance EV Scooter - instead we just have a regular EV scooter - one that is good for a scooter, but doesn’t really create a new product category.
BMW CE 04 is no match for anything from Harley Davidson even though Harley is still using World War 2 era technology in most of their motorcycles …
BMW CE 04 is also no match for anything made by Energica or Zero ( the two leading makers of Electric Motorcycles ) - not even the cheapest and oldest Zero model which is ANCIENT and costs about the same as BMW CE 04.
the only thing BMW CE 04 can compete against is scooters - at least it beats them all, though.
the BMW CE 04 is great for what it is - a scooter made for old European cities. but that’s all it is.
I was thinking about picking it up as something to learn on so i can then switch over to Energica but honestly, an entry level Zero would be a better choice for that as it’s about the same price but is more bike-like and less scooter-like.
on other hand if you want practical city transport the BMW CE 04 is pretty much endgame for that. but since i have no intention of ever living in a city it’s not for me.
