2023 BMW CE 04 Review

This is my off the cuff, unscripted, honest opinion of the BMW CE04 electric scooter that I just bought three weeks ago. I can’t express enough how much I like this bike. There are many reviews of this particular model over the past two years, but, in my opinion this is my favorite vehicle I’ve ever driven in my lifetime.

[MiguelGoncalves-pt]

Just bought mine last week and already made 1500Km on it. And I’m loving it. I do delivery during the day and usually do 200km each day. 100km on the morning, charge for 3h from 14h to 17h and I’m ready to leave for a couple of hours at night. I was using a Super Soco CPX with 3 battery’s before, made 150000Km on the past 3 years without any issues and hopefully my new purchase will continue this way with just the regular maintenance has usual.

About the key and the lock piece that comes with the bike, it’s to use on the optional bag that you can install on the back. This way you can use the original key that comes with the bike to open that bag and don’t need an extra key.

[edwingarcia]

Thank you, Sir, for your detailed review. I also purchased a 04 couple of days ago...I love it

[maeso]

Very well said, mate. We are well ahead, unfortunately. The rest will need another 20 years to realize everything you explained. I'm sick and tired of explainig this in my community, that having burnt more fuel than most I recognise are another level of pleasure when riding. Also they are noiseless and fumeless for the enjoyment of everybody around.

[maxmayer]

I drove mine for 26.000km now. I would wish for an extended range version because my commute is almost the range of the battery and during winter it gets dicy with the range. I am forced to drive slower in those scenarios. But besides that I simply love it.

[TroyOneOn]

There are instructions on using the physical key in the operations section of the manual. Page 58 of the manual I’ve got. It’s a bypass in case your fob battery dies.

[ciscodoberman]

Thank you for the review. I just got my 2023 CE 04 a few days ago in Phoenix AZ. I call it my "Tron" bike. I love it. So fun to ride. Glad you talked about the charging. I want to be able to public charge. Sounds like the quick charge cable/kit is the way to go. Did not know it cost $1, 200. Yikes!

[jeffreywithrow]

Great review, kind of you to post it :)
I have a little less than 500 miles on my bike same color as yours. I got it as a demo with about 241 miles on it. Came with a level two charger built into the bike.

It was a 2022 model which I’m thinking, came with the level two chargers as standard. I switched out the BMW stock screen for a taller BMW screen and added a lip spoiler. That sort of works but not perfect. If I did it again, I would probably just get a larger windscreen for the bike. Then again, I don’t know if that would push too much air around and reduce my range.

I did get theBMW Vero, expanding trunk, I like it except it takes up about a third of the backseat. The upside of that is that I'm able to slide back and rest my back against it when I’m traveling now and then so I guess that’s OK. That, plus the fact that it expands is really cool. I would consider an aftermarket trunk if I did it over again provided that the rear subframe could support the weight and the mounting structure for it, which I’ve seen some people do on the Internet.

The left storage area in the fairing for the phone has a fan, but it’s only gonna cool it using outside air temperature. The phone does interface with the TFT screen when you plugin a USB C cable to the bike and then to your phone.

I still find a MOTORRAD app that you have to install on your phone a little bit confusing, but maybe because I just have not ridden enough nor used it enough. You can put in your destination and then it will show up on the TFT screen when you have your phone connected to the bike. I enter the address in the app on my phone then connect the phone to the bike though believe you need to tell your phone's Bluetooth to connect to the bike also. If you have an Apple phone that uses a lightning cable then you need to get a USB-C cable to lighting cable to use on that bike/phone.

The only downside to the bike is, to me, the limited rear suspension. I really feel the bumps hard when I go over them on this bike to the point that I actually slide my rear end over that seat hump to lessen the impact. They probably have a better aftermarket shock on the internet because I know BMW didn’t spend much money on their rear shock it seems to me. Then again, I have misplaced my spinner wrenchs so uncertain what it is set to presently :(

I do enjoy the level two charging feature though, at first, I failed to realize I needed to change it in the settings on the bike thus it did not charge as quickly as it should when at a Level 2 station. Once I changed that setting all was ok.

I offer, for anyone considering a CE04, that they consider one that comes with the Level 2 charger built into the bike if they can afford that option. Though too maybe some don’t need/want to charge at Level 2 stations and/or feel it is not worth the up-charge. Forget the charge time from say 20% to 80% something like 1hr and 15 to 30 minutes which is not too bad for my needs. Believe manual suggest one recharges when down to 20% and stop when it reaches 80% for best battery health. Granted if doing a long trip that might not happen now and then.

I don’t recall if the dealer even knew mine came with that build-in Level 2 option at first. In the USA is option 04U2 Quick Charger btw.

Enjoy your ride and appreciate the write-up. The more we can share bout the CE04 the better.

Btw, here is a good CE04 user forum resource.

[bwkern]

I just purchased one of these 2 days ago and i love it. As far as the key fob and the switchblade key. I believe that they just have that 1 style key and instead of making a fob without a key they know you may put a top case on. Then they supply the cylinder that way if you do get a top case you can use the key to lock and unlock it.

[MrBTRDAYZ]

Great review and great thoughts on EVs in general! Thanks!

[robonaut-nyne]

A few points to note in your video:

The key on the fob matches the plastic grey key and barrel you had in the plastic bag. You can insert the barrel into the lock chamber of the BMW Vario top box, or the 30-litre top box used on the BMW F900 XR and S1000 XR motorbikes, similar to the top box on the Paris Police CE 04 in the video link above.

Be careful with the spare grey key though, as it is thin plastic and not the strongest thing to use in a stiff lock.

While servicing is less than a petrol scooter/motorbike, the electric motor is liquid-cooled. There is a small radiator behind the front wheel. The filler cap for the expansion tank for the radiator is under the black panel above the lights on the left if standing in front of the bike. See page 172 in the user manual.


Charging: Not sure how it is in the USA, but I also do not have the fast charger on my CE 04, but still use public chargers. We have a lot of free 7kw public chargers. I also charge free at work if I need to. I went 11 months before paying to use a public charger, and even that was a 1-hour charge for £1.77 (about US$2.25).

Apologies for the long post, but I hope it helps.

[edwingarcia]

I believe the key is for the optional cargo box that probably where the box keyhole that they gave you with your owner's package is. however, I am not 100 % sure.. Update I was a100% wrong lol

[MARKUS]

Great scooter. But too expensive for me. So i chosed the Horwin EK3 with to batteries. This model is good for its price but sometimes I wish for a real 105 km/h and a bit more range. It drives between 90 and 98 km/h and range is betwenn 70 and 95 kilometres depending on the driving style.

[alflucas]

The key is the same as the lock key for the suitcase if you buy it.

[LaLaiZ]

I love the look of the bike, but 80 mile range is bad. I'd love this as a petrol machine, or with a better battery. Still it looks like a fun ride

[kfor]

Le chiavi servono per un eventuale bauletto posteriore 😊

[Romiman]

Also have one since March '22.
I can confirm everything!

[greggwilliams]

Consider purchasing the Schuberth C5 Helmet.

It’s made to fully connect the bikes volume wheel and allows you to adjust the volume. It made my ride so much more comfortable and enjoyable.

I also purchased from Amazon the moto pro ear buds. They are absolutely amazing. The sound is perfectly clear and you can talk and hear if you choose to use your phone.

It’s all connected perfectly with this C5 Helmet.

I’d never go back to my older helmet.

If you want your bike and all the extras to be 100% in tune, I’d recommend the helmet

Gregg from Carlsbad Ca

[phillippugh]

Trying to sell me on a 16k electric scooter that's got about a 59 mile range if you don't get on the highway at 70 mpg now your range goes down ....a lot . Bmw 400cc scooter gets 79 mpg for 11k hum

[kfor]

Semplicemente fantastico, ho percorso già 36000 km in due anni, un prodotto fantastico ❤, complimenti per l’acquisto !

[cool_breeze_actual]

I like one, i live in a large city in south america. It looks like a perfect scoot, i never go further than 100km per week. I have a land cruiser for long trips a honda navi for my mini moto soun d, but this ce 04 looks very usable