We’re firm believers that electric drivetrains work best for smaller motorcycles that blur the lines between bikes and scooters. One look at the hip new BMW CE 02, and it’s crystal clear that the Bavarian marque feels the same way.
The BMW CE 02 is the company’s second electric motorcycle release in as many years, following on from the CE 04. A smaller machine than its sibling, BMW is pitching it as neither a motorcycle nor a scooter, but something in between. They’re calling it an ‘eParkourer’?which, although it isn’t a real word, implies that its geared towards traversing urban environments.

To convey this message, BMW’s marketing material places the CE 02 smack bang in the middle of the urban jungle?surrounded by concrete, graffiti, skateboarders, and impossibly cool youths. It all feels a bit try-hard, which is ironic, because the CE 02 actually looks good enough without all the frou-frou. Styled like some sort of futuristic mini-bike-slash-motorized BMX, and rolling on cute 14? cast aluminum wheels, it looks compact and fun. The base model is a mostly black affair, but a higher-spec version (called the ‘Highline’) sports a much livelier livery. With a bench seat and high bars, it looks like the perfect setup for zipping through traffic and down side alleys.

The chassis uses a double-loop tubular frame, with telescopic forks up front, and a mono-shock connected to a single-sided swingarm at the back. Ther...