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BMW unveils fast, funky electric motorbike designed for teens and young adults

by Micah Toll

September 2, 2021

BMW has released several electric motorcycle and electric scooter concepts over the last few years. To the company’s credit, they’ve actually brought some of their wild ideas to production. Now BMW has a new electric motorcycle concept known as the CE 02 that could actually make it to the streets.

Just revealed yesterday, the BMW CE 02 concept is designed as an urban electric motorbike that falls somewhere between an electric scooter and electric motorcycle.

This isn’t just some slow, urban 28 mph (45 km/h) bike though. It’s actually fast enough for anything an urban rider can throw at it, featuring a top speed of 56 mph (90 km/h).

It also touts decent range for an urban ride at 56 miles (90 km). Again, that’s probably more than enough for most city riding. And based on how comfortable that seat looks, I imagine the bike will be used for mostly short city hops anyways.

The CE 02 is powered by an 11 kW (15 hp) motor, putting it in a similar class to other lightweight urban electric motorcycles such as the upcoming SONDORS Metacycle.

The BMW CE 02 concept may be a stark departure from most other electric motorcycles, but it fits nicely in the design scheme of BMW’s most recent concept electric motorbikes. The company’s CE 04 electric scooter and the Vision DC Roadster electric motorcycles have embodied similarly funky, ultra-modern designs and colorways.

The CE 02 unveiled yesterday includes disc wheels, bright graphics, and a chunky frame sporting a single-sided rear swingarm – all hallmarks of recent BMW concept electric motorbikes.

And in another ode to the teenage and young adult demographic BMW claims to be aiming for, the CE 02 even sports a skateboard mount. I guess the idea is that you can park close to where you need to arrive and then skate the rest of the way there. I don’t see any other foot pegs on the bike, and so the skateboard might also be required equipment to ensure you have somewhere to rest your feet.

It looks a bit like what Harley-Davidson was trying to do with its own electric moped concept project that seems to have either stalled or is continuing along at a snail’s pace. Both even incorporated skateboard elements into the foot rests.

With electric bicycle and motorcycle sales still skyrocketing thanks to a number of pandemic-fueled changes in the transportation ecosystem, a youth-oriented electric motorbike like this could land in the right environment to take off.

And considering BMW actually brought its last funky concept to production, the CE 02 may not be destined to a life in concept bike purgatory. If BMW does decide to pull the trigger on it, we’ll be sure to let you know.

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