2023 BMW CE 04 Review | Daily Rider 

Learn more about the 2023 BMW CE 04 on Common Tread! rvz.la/3hzG74z Time for new tires? Check out what Michelin has to offer! rvz.la/3FxJr8n

Even though charging is slower than getting gas, the idea of plugging it in every time you get home and always leaving with a full tank is pretty nice.

I purchased a 2023 CE 04 from Riverside BMW in California for $8900 for a demo version with 240 mile and Every available option and I Love it. Comfortable, fast, conversation piece and the Fast Charger is extremely useful.

I purchased mine in mid August. As noted they all are imported loaded. I have it in the Silver, which I like a lot more than the white. I managed to get my range up to 76 miles by driving slower and not gunning it at green lights. FYI Google the EPA in the state you live in. I did and found a $1,500 rebate on electric motorcycle’s. Received it in about 2 months. The BMW dealer was not aware of it. This bike is a lot of fun to ride. I can’t go anywhere without people complimenting the bike and asking about all the details.

It is perfect for city riding, pretty much what I would use it for. For the price though, too much a small 50 cc scoot will do

I test rode the previous version. That thing was a lot of fun. If I had a need for a scooter this would be the one I’d buy. Very easy to ride and almost no maintenance other than tires, brakes and brake fluid. Perfect scooter for city travel to work and home and errands. Previous version went to 85mph no problem and just stayed at that speed.

As much as I love you Zack, I just cannot NOT comment on one sentence you made duriong this commute: "Not as convenient as rolling up to a gas pump". Man, if plugging it into a wall in your garage and just leaving it there, waking up the next day to a full charge and NOT having to do a petrol station trip is less convenient than having to go to a pump every week or more often depending on the commute milage/motorbike thirstiness, then I don't know what you classify as convinient...

Waking up on a Saturday morning and watching daily rider to kill the time before it's warm enough to go riding is so awesome. Thank you Zack and thank you Revzilla.

Hey I'd suggest changing the thumbnail to one showing the bike itself. At first glance I didn't realize it was the ironing board BMW scooter. I usually don't like scooters but this one looks pretty cool!

You've absolutely hit the nail on the head for what this bike's purpose is - for motorcycle enthusiasts like us its best suited as a secondary bike used for daily commuting, running around town on errands, etc., which is also why I have one on order. What it enables me to do as well is replace my current bike (which has kinda been my one "do it all" bike) with something bigger and more focused, because I don't have to consider things like "can I fit this between two cars when lane filtering through tight city streets" and "will this not use a ton of fuel when riding around at an average speed of about 30km/h". The whole aspect of not needing to stop for fuel on my way to or from work and also having next to no maintenance required is hugely appealing for a daily commuter bike as well. It's definitely not for everyone though, and I look forward to manufacturers expanding their range of electric two-wheelers into new and interesting directions.

Drinking coffee and watching Daily Rider my favorite Saturday morning activity. I'm honestly surprised at the very short range, maybe in Europe it's more acceptable, but in the states it seems like everything is a bit more spread out. Hell my last job I used to commute 42 miles each way, and with the drive being 90/10 Freeway/surface I doubt that bike would make it there let alone back. I do think it's probably the best looking scooter in production, looks sweet and not embarrassing to ride.

I think this thing looks awesome. Quirky is a great way to describe it and I love quirky. Sadly the 14k price tag is going to stop me from buying one. That's more than every motorcycle I've ever owned combined.

I purchased same Back in July and absolutely love it. In addition I downloaded the charge point app and now can go on longer trips as charge stations all usually pretty convenient. I also have a BMW 1250RT so i get the best of both worlds. Terrific fun to ride.

I rode a BMW K75 for many years and over 100k miles. I developed spinal issues and my riding ended. I did switch to bicycles and recently bought a stand up electric scooter. It's so much fun! I use it for a 5 mile commute. EVs are punchy and fun that one looks like a blast for a daily commute.

The kickstand/brake is brilliant.

One thing that I've learned as an EV owner for about five years is that you don't need to charge to 100% all the time. If you need to pop into a L2 charger and get to ~60% charge you can often get to where you need to be for another short charge.

I love a silent vehicle, especially a motorcycle, it allows me to enjoy my ride so much more. Just gotta get a highway capable 100+ mile range bike for < $10K and I'm in.

Thanks for having this available on Saturday morning! Awesome way to start my day!

i ride an electric vespa like scooter. the thing about range is that it is a good idea to never run the battery completely dead (to preserve battery). so really you should knock off about 20% of your battery's total amp hour. the 2nd thing about range is you should actually gauge the battery voltage not the percentage for the range estimate. knowing how to read your battery voltage as it goes down will help alot more with how much juice is left in your battery.

I love how they managed to make it so futuristic looking and uncompromising in terms of lines and still make it functional. Awesome.

I'm glad you don't stick strictly to "motorcycles" It's always nice to see how the exceptions handle the task. I recently got a 2020 CB300R that I'm using as my daily driver and I definitely took a lot of inspiration from your videos and considered many of the things you talk about as good and bad. My choice is hardly ideal, but meets my other needs and wants while still accomplishing the core task well. Not every bike needs to be a performance monster or mile muncher. Sometimes it's enough to get the daily ride done with a little flair.

I can sense this man’s control and experience over the motorcycles

I find this extremely interesting. For a daily ride the range won't be an issue for many people. Plug it in when you get home just like we all plug in our electronics.

"look at those dweebs on their electric bi... SON OF A B" lol that got me

Zack trying to pop a wheelie on an electric motor scooter will go down as a golden moment in Daily Rider history.

I saw so many of these in Paris this summer. They are so incredibly cool looking in person. One of the few bikes I'd buy just on looks alone. In a congested city (especially one with emissions restrictions), it seems the perfect commuter.

Hey Zack! Would love for you to review more scooters, like the Forza 350, ADV350 or similar bikes. Thanks for all the rides!

I love this chart. You are being to answering the question about "daily riding". The anomalies that are fun to see is something like a BMW S 1000 RR next to a Honda Rebel 500. I get it. Totally makes sense. But totally a way you could start a conversation with someone as a protagonist.

A daily ride of the new parallel twins joining the ranks of the MT07 coming soon? Very interested in the Honda offerings (hornet and transalp). Would really appreciate a perspective comparison on video.

MY first thought, beamer design & engineering department, is that much of the scooter riding world - including my time in Thailand, involves lots of rough-road surfaces, train tracks, dirt and gravel, etc. Absolutely needs to be a f CE04 gs with a 150 mile range and 50hp before anybody really needs one. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. This is a glam scooter for fashion designers who live in urban condos in dense, clean metro areas - where the housing costs are such that a $15,000 scooter with a short range is fully acceptable.

I had the old C evolution as a courtesy bike while my r ninet was in for service. Granted not the same bike but I imagine very similar. I can honestly say it was one of the most fun bikes I've ridden. The roll on acceleration was addictive and the handling was great. The thing that surprised me the most was how well it handled with a passenger on it, I suspect that's down to the mass of the bike and that it's all low down. If I had the funds I'd have one in a heartbeat as a commuter bike but it's way out of my budget. I love the looks of this new model too!

Zack: very impressive review: comprehensive, informative, no ax to grind. I especially liked the part near the end where you suggested that we focus on what the bike can do, as opposed to what it cannot do. Me, I'm too suburban and my riding is too rural to make much use of the CE-04: I'm retired, and my typical goofing-off backroad day trips are 150 - 250 miles. But it seems like an interesting and enjoyable machine. I recently purchased a C 400 GT as my sole bike, and you might be surprised at how well that suits day-tripping. That followed an R850R, a Valkyrie Interstate, a Victory Cross Country Tour, and a couple of Burgman 650s mixed in there.

I love how the dash basically looks like my i3. Also, after going electric, gas stations feel like more of an inconvenience than having a full charge every morning.

Zach, please call us two wheeled friends. It makes us happy

For being largely a "parts bin" bike, it looks extremely clean and I never would've guessed. All the common parts work very well with the design. And considering the long battery taken from the car makes the wheelbase long, that was probably done by design anyway, since many scooter riders aren't purely "motorcyclists" in the sense many of us are, so there isn't really sport riding in mind, more so roadworthiness, stability and comfort than anything.

I could see this being a great addition to my garage, as I see most electric motorcycles…where they lose me is the pricetag (Africa Twin at $14,449) and the range. I’m a sailor, and I’m used to compact 100Ah LiPo4 batteries and electric drive motors. I struggle to understand how they’re not able to achieve greater range and a more comparable price relative to gas options.

My issue having this as a second bike is that it’s double the cost of my first bike. Also, as scooters go, an equivalent gas scooter like an Xmax or a bv400 or even bmw c400gt are at least 6k less with the Xmax being 8k less and offering everything the ceo4 offers minus the electricity

Can’t believe you put the mini moto Grom over this 500lbs stable, passenger carriage with outstanding safety features, just because of range 😅, as a heavy senior I would buy this before a Groom, but in the end a 500cc full bike beats both 🎉. Thanks for the great review as always

I think you hit it on the head with this one. Great second bike as I don't like the look, but they have time to see it through in the coming years to electric. Nice job!

Cracking review! I've had two BMW i3's and the CE04 seems like a two wheeled version of that superb piece of kit, I'm gonna have to get one!

Longtime T-Max 500 owner here. Looks intriguing and it would likely work for 99% of the riding I do. I can't see dropping $14k for one though! I think I'm going to buy a Wolf King GT e-scooter to fill the EV around town gap. Probably more fun, more efficient, it will still do 60mph, no tags or insurance, and a LOT cheaper!

This was the great CE04 review I've wanted to see. Why can't manufacturers do product releases like this? I'm a fan of BMW Motorrad but I hate their marketing department. They usually barely show the bike in a video with sexy young people enjoying their lifestyle in a dynamic urban environment with post-modern architecture. Kudos to BMW for focusing on what current electric bikes are - urban commuter bikes. I hate that companies are pushing battery powered bikes as ADV bikes because ADV bikes are all the rage. I'm not big on scooters but I like quiet efficient bikes and I could see myself riding a CE04 if I had a daily commute. It'd be a great primary bike for most of the riding we do, and an ICE bike could be the bike for long rides. There are two things keeping me from buying a CE04. I'm not paying $14K for a scooter no matter how cool it is, even though the cost of ownership is so low that much of the purchase price can be recovered throughout the ownership, and I don't like vehicles that tattle back to the manufacturer as most modern vehicles do. It's nobody's business when I ride, where I ride, and how I ride. I'd be better served by an electric dual sport as a commuter bike... something similar to the Zero FX, as a hoontastic urban assault vehicle. At least BMW isn't doing the weasel Zero thing and charging people for hardware features and then charging them again with in-app purchases to unlock those features. Kudos to Zack for trying to wheelie the CE04, which is obviously not possible.

BMW Design Team: “…we are tired, let’s just use a Honda Civic spare tire for the rear…done!” 😂

Zack, tell us about the bloody headlights more often! For so many of us, a commute before the sun is up is a part of our daily ride. Headlight performance is important!

With the charging question, it is not good to always just state how long it takes from 0 to 100%. Cause that is not how you live with electro vehicles. (Except maybe in emergency situations) If as a "daily Rider" you go to work, come home; then you might have used 50 or 60 % only depending on the distance you have to drive. (I know there are people with huge commutes, but most people who would use a scooter petrol or electro are not going to be driving 90 miles one way! ). So just plugging it in at home is more than enough for 90% of all journeys AND remember that it is a European bike. We do not have the wimpy electric system of you Americans. Everyone has 240 volts in all household sockets across Europe, so the household charging time is already twice the speed of the American version without having to use a fast charger. So, as Zach was claiming 8 to 9 hours overnight to charge from almost 0 %, most average people would maybe only have to charge from 40, 45 or 50%, so that already drops the charging time to about 4 hours, or in Europe (and Asia, where most of these will be sold), the 240 v system will reduce that still further to around 2 hours.

With an 8kwh pack you should almost be able to achieve that 2 hour charging speed from just a regular 3-phase 3.7kW home outlet, if you have a wall box you could get fast-charger speeds at home. 10-80% speed would probably be a lot faster than the 10-100% in 1 hour 50 you mentioned, I don't know if you mentioned it anywhere in the video and I missed it, but It'd likely be under an hour, those last 20% are usually pretty slow.

I can't wait for these bikes to get cheaper I'll definitely get my hands on one 🙌

You were struggling for words at the end there, Mr. Courts. Let me help you. It's the MAGIC of a Grom. You can never go wrong with a Grom.

i like it, but 13K for a BMW with J.Juan brakes is a bit cheeky

I've had the predecessor (C-Evolution) to this scooter for 3 years and I have 36k miles on it. I feel like this scooter is a step backwards from my scooter. This one is rated at 75 MPH and mine does 85 MPH. The drive belt on the c-evo is completely undercover unlike this one. The c-evo mirrors are designed for the scoot and fold in really easy and the CE-04 has what looks like off the shelf universal type mirrors. Also, the range on the CE-04 is less than the c-evo which doesnt make sense. One thing I like is the under seat storage that you can access without getting off the seat. I've never seen that on at scooter ever. Thanks for the review.

Zack, what was the battery SoC (state of charge) when you started out and what was it when you arrived at the office?

To be honest, I'm not a rider. I'm intrigued, however, and such a bike seems like a very easy way to get into, er, "motorcycling." Anyway, I always enjoy Zach's commentary; he's easygoing, informative and I enjoy his sense of humor (including the occasional hoops and giggles ;-)) Best of all, I have a much better idea about what this bike is about. Keep up the good, entertaining and informative work!

50 miles of range is a joke for 13k

1984 called and its scooter back. All it needs is a turbo sticker and then it'll be perfect!

I fell in love with my City Grip 2's instantly.. The look of this bike is gonna take some time to appreciate.

You should do a daily rider on a newer ktm 690 smc r! I really just wanna see you rip around on it lol

How is the ride? Smooth? Suspension? Is this a good urban bike? Not suburbia? How is the weather protection? You need to test ride the Yamaha XMAX and compare it to the ZE04.

Very interesting scoot. I drive an EV and though I can’t shift gears in it like I would like, it takes away more things I don’t like about driving than what I do, while still being entertaining to drive. Interested to see how this would fair for me. Also, it looks like what a motorcycle cop from Demolition Man would ride.

No mention and have not heard of any governmental subsidies towards purchasers of two wheeled EV's. You answered my query regarding brake lights activated during regen. Of course regenerative braking using: air pressure; rubber twisting; grandfather clock springs and the like could be used for ICE vehicles, but no one seems to want to save the good ole internal combustion power plant.

I'm surprised that motorcycles don't come in hybrid. My prius gets 55-75 mpg, depending on how I drive. And lot's of times it'll get 60+ doing 80 mph down the interstate. Imagine a motorcycle possible mpg in a hybrid configuration. And I'm really surprised about the range of electric motorcycles. Are they just cheaply made? I have an electric bicycle that can do 35 mph, I put a 2kw battery on it and it has a 150+ mile range going 35 mph. At 18 mph, it's over 200 miles range

Looks like a snowmobile. Love it!

I guess it's just good for commuting if you live close to work (as long as you can plug it in at work) - what would be the other uses? Maybe a delivery vehicle for short deliveries (Uber eats, etc, but a very expensive vehicle for such a thing) or a grocery-getter for the well-heeled retiree? Not sure who this is targeted towards.

The size of the battery is not a way to judge the battery. The voltage and the capacity combined tells the actual story. Cheers

Somewhat this reminds me of the BMW i3 which I did love. I love the design choice and how it is much different from what is out there. I think in the next 3-5 years we are going to see a smorgasboard of different designs because of the electric drive-train and because cost of the battery will come down significantly because of working with large economies of scale. I think the reason its not higher on the list is because you haven't acclimated to the trend that is electric. It's going to take over not just because of environmental benefits, but it is just all around better significantly than ICE vehicles and just to think this is just still the first inning. Wait till we get to the 3rd and 5th inning or iterations. Going to be Berri No-ICE.

Great review Zack! I would suggest having a separate list for electric bikes/scooters since this would be a second bike for most riders. Cheers!

CE4 is a great rig. But it runs into the same problem lots of other potential customers - who live in apartments in the city - run into, which is where the heck to charge the thing. I know here in NYC that usually means paying hundreds of dollars a month for a garage spot near home or near work, which negates the savings from not having to buy gasoline. And now NYC wants to start a congestion fee in which motorcycles and scooters are NOT exempted, which again makes it not worth it. It’s a real shame because again the CE04 itself is awesome.

Sir could you please test the BMW c400gt scooter please your opinion is highly appreciated thank you!

This thing is awesome! As a reference, I have over $14,000 into my electric mountain bike! 😂. 💪 everyone has their opinion but all I know is I am riding on the funnest damn toy I have ever had in my life so I could care less what other people think.

hey Zac @revzilla, if this bike is more then meets the eye. Which transformer is it?

I purchased one about 2 weeks ago, and the charge last a week for my riding. I let it get down to 20%, and charge to 85%. Never top it off at every charge. Top off every three months. Be good to the battery, and the battery will be good to u in longevity

I'm still waiting for battery tech to improve cause the day I can ride 250 miles on an electric bike that doesn't weigh half a tonne then I'll happily have one instead of an engined bike

Really good review and the comments fall in line with my experience in owning my CE 04 and daily riding it for the last three months. I love mine and it's a ton of fun for 90% of the around town stuff that I need to do (the rest being groceries and Costco runs, which I have the car for).

If this was the state of 2 wheeled transportation when I was growing up I would never have bought my first bike. I find it thoroughly unappealing.

Zack have been looking online and found these scooters are for sale here in Australia. For a basic BMW CE 04 it’s around $20,450 AUD excluding on road costs and government charges which means you’re looking at about $26k on road here in Australia. When you look at the HD Livewire was selling at $50k plus about $6k to 7k AUD to get one on road and the layout of this country and the lack of EV recharging outside of our major cities I really can’t see the new BWM like the Livewire making a huge sales impact.

Burgman is $8599. I could put about 100k miles on the Burgman for the difference in price. Did I mention this and all of the other E-Bikes are ridiculously overpriced. But if it floats your boat go for it.

Love watching daily rider! Even if it's a bike that's not a bike I'm interested in. Keep up the good work!!

I have a Burgman 650 & constantly am lectured about the cost (I bought it new in 2012)..in the same neighborhood. Great.review

If I had money I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Love it.

For safety there should be an add on sound module of a motorcycle engine & exhaust.

A note on pricing that should be said in EV reviews: The initial cost might be higher, but it all comes back at the plug and time/money not spent doing maintenance. That said, being a short range EV meant for getting around town and commuting, a huge $14k E-scooter is a strange proposition when its main competition is going to come from small E-bikes that do not require a license to operate. There are tons of E-bikes for a fraction of the cost that can get more range than this CE 04 can, and they can be easily brought inside your home to charge. When it comes to city streets, 30-40 mph top speed won't make a difference from this BMW's 75 mph. I just don't see why anyone who depends on a short range E-bike for commuting would buy this. If I were BMW, I would make an electric GS.

Maybe if it had twice the range and was half the price. Maybe. But I love the looks. BMW should make a petrol version with this style.Thanks for the review 👍🇦🇺

For those buying this I see them using this as a daily commuter which is plugged in at night. Most of us rarely travel more than 40 miles in a day around town.

love these daily rider vids every one of them is fun and informative

Finally someone says Michelin correctly 🙏 MCN take a note 😝 especially Michael Neevsy

Thank you, Zack. Guess I would need to ride an electric motorcycle before deciding if it is a future I will like or not.

For a more direct comparison: The Zero FXE weighs 210lbs (41%) less, has 1.7 kwh (19%) less battery, has more power, more acceleration, more range, and costs slightly less (in the United States.) As far as performance goes, the Zero is the clear winner, but the BMW does have those creature comfort options.

can't wait until Zach gets his hands on that Energica Experia!

This reminds me of my Nissan Leaf that I had for a year. It was great fun but you couldn't go anywhere on it. There was always range anxiety, I could get about 30 miles into a ride but then I had to turn around and head for home and hope that I had enough juice to make it. Then I always had to hook up the charger each time that I pulled into the garage. It got old real quick.

can you strap a rotopax of jiggawatts to the back? be interesting to see how costs compare from charging it to filling a burgman400 over the course of a year. iam sure on paper KW/mile vs gal/mil it may look good... in *ideal situations.. but they never seem as good in practical use.

It’s quite simple: there is a particular intended use and market for this type of vehicle. Ideal for someone fairly well off with a half hour commute who has garage space with an adjacent power outlet. If not, or you want to do long recreational rides, then move on and don’t waste time commenting. It’s not for you.

In my world this would never happen. First of all the price, $14,000 BIG TO THE HELL TO THE NOPE. For $12,000 I can and I am riding A 2021 Kawasaki Z900 RS café. I think scooters are awesome but I like gasoline powered maxi scooters. I would never pay BMW money for BMW problems especially for an electric scooter that can deliver 10% of the value that my Gasoline Kawasaki can deliver Honestly I would just buy a 600 cc gasoline powered maxi scooter Long before I would do anything like this. That being said, your videos are amazing and I love your reviews! Please keep up the good work :-)

I watched this video twice and at the end of the video you made more compelling arguments not to buy this bike, than to buy it. One it's too expensive, two the range is too short. Your money would be better spent on the Honda Grom, Rebel 500, or a Ninja 400. After buying any of the mentioned bikes you'll still save about 5 to 6k.

thank you for for ride, also 19:30 it’s funny because “cutting the line” is the only purpose of riding bike in some countries)

So many stop signs :o, I think i know of one here in Oslo. With that many it seems very few actually stop anyway.

I got an electric scooter for my daily commute. For fun I got my Moto Guzzi. Thats the future of electric vehicles, they will take us from and to work, the shops and picking up the kids. Then the range is more than enough on most electric vehicles. For weekend trips, vacations and fun we will use petrol powered vehicles for a long time to come I think. But think of how wonderfull it will be for the enviorment if everybody did there daily commute and shopinng in or on an electric powerd verhicle. I think al lot of city's will get a lot cleaner air to breath. Also electric ridding is a lot of fun because of the way the power is delivered.. ;-)

Always cool to see the new ebikes. Would very much like to own electric bike some day. Still feels like its maybe early adopter territory.

Not sure the range is what I’d want for a city bike (but super close). Even if it’s not this one I want these to work. My commute is 15-20 miles each way, so it’d do it but not with pretty much zero to spare unless I can find charging at work. Still cool

Like Moore's Law, the range will increase by a certain factor each year as battery tech advances. People ask how far my Sunbeam Alpine EV will go (when it's done). My response: I am not worried about range because every 5 years I will swap the batteries for a pack that is half the weight and goes twice as far (just a guess, but given solid state and other tech coming out, I wouldn't doubt it).

San Pedro/long Beach bridges. I miss that a little.

At 15 on my first scooter, I was in the dirt a lot of the time. 1986 Honda Elite 50cc. My buddy had a Yamaha Razz 50cc. He took a jump, and it bent like a taco. Not mine. I was doing table tops off doubles at 30mph! haha not really. But I could get some air!