BMW’s CE 04 electric scooter underpins manufacturer’s green ambitions

Indeed, the design is so futuristic that even a ‘real’ diehard motorcyclist would look twice at one. It’s fully electric, using no fossil fuels whatsoever, and it integrates fully with the rider’s phone or MP3 player. Well, there had to be some advantages to having a luxury car manufacturer for a parent.

But back to being a real motorcyclist. The 42hp CE 04 has a strong motor. For those of us who like the ‘traffic light GP’, this thing pulls from standing still to 50kph in a little over two seconds.

There is, of course, a reduced power option available, but they both top out at 120kph. So they’ll both work as well on the M50 as they do on Fairview strand.

It also has a healthy range, with 130 kilometres available from a full charge. This makes it perfect to ride in the city where it can be recharged at work or, more likely, at home after multiple commutes. Power comes from a more than ample 8.9 kWh battery, which is housed in the frame of the bike.

This lithium-ion battery is charged using the bike’s own inbuilt charging device. This can be done at an ordinary socket in the wall of your shed or at a more specific wallbox as well as at any public charging station.

It’ll take four hours and 20 minutes for a full charge fro, a completely flat battery. The quick charger, which is an optional extra, reduces that time all the way back to one hour and 40 minutes. Using the quick charger on a battery that only has 20pc life left only takes 45 minutes. A standard cable comes as standard with the CE 04.

A traction control system identical other bikes in the BMW Motorrad range is used on the CE 04. ASC controls rear wheel slip by managing engine torque. Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) is available as an optional extra. It basically stops the bike from ‘stepping’ out under acceleration.

There are three riding modes; Road is standard, Rain allows for more traction and ECO is the one that you hope will get you home when you’ve forgotten to charge the bike. The list of factory extras includes a Dynamic option which allows for even faster acceleration.

All of this is controlled via a generously sized 10.25-inch TFT colour screen. It’s easy to read and can be used for navigation and connecting wirelessly, via a comms kit in the rider’s helmet to a phone.

There are more extras involved when it comes to choosing the CE 04’s lights. While they are all LED as standard, cornering adaptive headlights, referred to as headlight pro, are also available.

The new CE 04 is available from both Kearys Motorrad in Cork and Joe Duffy Motorrad in Dublin.