2024 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
The City Skateboard Goes Electric
The CE 02 doesn't fit any of the usual boxes. BMW built something that sits between a small motorcycle, a scooter, and a BMX bike, then gave it a real chassis instead of a novelty one. The air-cooled electric motor is rated at 8 hp, but the number that shapes the ride is 41 lb-ft, all of it there the moment you twist the grip. One gear, a belt to the rear wheel, no clutch, nothing to shift. The electronics are grown up as well: ABS, traction control, ride modes, a TFT screen, keyless start, phone connectivity, USB power.
On the road it carries its 291 lb lower and better than the figure suggests, and the 29.5-inch seat puts most riders flat-footed without a second thought. The 14-inch wheels and the inverted fork keep it composed over the broken pavement city riding is made of, and there is very little on it that ages badly or costs much to keep running. This is a machine for someone whose riding happens inside town limits. The honest caveat is the obvious one: 59 mph is the ceiling and real range sits around 55 miles. Freeway commuters should look elsewhere.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 8 hp (6 kW) @ 5,000 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 41 lb-ft (55 Nm) @ 0 rpm |
| Engine | Electric |
| Cooling | Air-cooled |
| Gearbox | 1-speed |
| Final drive | Belt |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front brake | 239 mm |
| Front tire | 120/80-14 |
| Rear tire | 140/70-14 |
| Wheelbase | 53.3 in (1354 mm) |
| Seat height | 29.5 in (749 mm) |
| Wet weight | 291 lb (132 kg) |
| Top speed | 59 mph (95 km/h) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Lighting
Safety
The first thing you notice is everything that isn't there. No engine heat against your knees, no buzz through the pegs, just a faint whine under you and the sound of your own tires on the asphalt. You sit upright and open, bars wide and close, knees loose, and the flat bench lets you slide around until you find your own spot instead of being locked into one. The mass sits low enough that at walking pace you steer it with your hips more than your arms. Out in traffic the wind pressure does the job an engine note usually does, and at 45 mph with clear road ahead it already feels quicker than the speedo says. The screen reads clean in daylight, your thumbs land on the switches without hunting, and after twenty minutes you've stopped thinking about operating the thing at all.
Everything here comes from riders, not from my own notes. Two decades of paddock conversations, club-night talk, owner chats, and the messages that land in my inbox every week give a fairly consistent read on this one. Owners split their reports cleanly down the middle: the riding earns the praise, the practical side draws the complaints.
The launch dominates every conversation. Riders describe torque arriving the moment they open the throttle, and they bring it up more often than anything else. Handling follows close behind, with owners reporting it threads through traffic without effort and stays settled at city speeds. The styling gets its own share of comment, drawing looks wherever it's parked. A smaller group says the suspension handles rough pavement better than expected.
Storage tops the list. There's no space under the seat, and owners raise it regularly. Price draws steady comment too, riders noting it asks more than comparable machines. Range sits alongside both: the claimed figure holds when ridden gently and falls off when it isn't. A few mention the seat turning hard around the hour mark.
No widely-reported issues on record.
Where this BMW CE 02 11kW pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Wet weight
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the CE 02 11kW is actually built for.
This is the rider the CE 02 genuinely serves: city miles, easy parking, and plenty of attention outside the coffee stop. Skyline runs are another matter, since 59 mph and 55 miles of range don't reach that far.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
Straight answer: this isn't your bike. Your riding is long technical roads a long way from a plug, and a 59 mph ceiling with roughly 55 miles of range can't get you out there or keep you there.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
Hill Country weekends mean real distance between towns and higher road speeds. The CE 02 has neither the top speed nor the range for that. Good around Austin midweek, wrong tool on Saturday morning.
Made for Austin / Texas Hill Country · Twisted Sisters · Austin / Handbuilt Motorcycle Show