[Pontiac]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Unfortunately as per what I was told by the BMW staff at the launch event, the battery is removable only by the service centre personnel at Motorrad authorised workshops and not by customers at their homes. This could probably be a case of the CE 02’s batteries being removable in other countries and not India, but maybe BMW re-used the same catalogue wordings on their Indian website too .

If the battery could not be removed and charged at home, then I don't see how they will sell any of these. It sounds stupid if the battery needs to be charged using the household socket and yet is not removable. It’s quite possible that the staff is ignorant or are not trained on this. They often launch the product first and later give training. Once the staffs are trained, the batteries might become magically removable by consumers .

[ach1lles]

The struggle is real. The dealerships have the bikes for display and sales but do not have any for test ride, and they're "unlikely to in the near future". It is kind of lame, even though not totally unexpected for India, or Delhi & NCR. I called them all.

Decision makers at BMW Motorrad in India, if you're reading this, please make one available. A single bike can be shared between dealerships of an area for this purpose.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by ach1lles

A single bike can be shared between dealerships of an area for this purpose.

Usually, dealerships can arrange media BMW bikes for demo.

If I may ask, what will be your use case?

[ach1lles]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If I may ask, what will be your use case?

Sure. Just a fun ride about town. That’s what I’ve been looking for.

[Sensible_Speed]

How does this compare to the TVS X? I'm curious as I haven't seen it anywhere on the roads. Even youtube is completely empty when it comes to road tests of that scooter. The only videos that show up are the track test that TVS hosted at launch. Is it really that poorly priced that nobody bought it in a year of it being on sale?

[ach1lles]

What's more important? Going fast, or the feeling of going fast?

A long, purposeful test-ride happened. The bike travelled from Gurgaon to GK, to Kirti Nagar, to Naraina, to GK, and back to Naraina. In the day, and after dark. All on one charge.
My interest in this vehicle is as a fun run about town, that would enable my commute in a small town more fun, free, cleaner, quicker, and easier.

Salients, in no particular order:

• It's a motorcycle in that it has two wheels and the propulsion mechanism is a motor. It does not feel like a scooter. It does not feel like any motorcycle.
  
• It's not slow, but it is not quick.
  
• It is not that small, as it might appear to be in pictures.
  
• The chassis feels super capable.
  
• The seat, even though narrow at first glance, is not too accommodating, specially for someone who, like me, has been blessed with large & muscular adductors (inner thighs).
  
• I am not tall, yet in my position, my behind was almost at the end of the seat. A two seater, it is not.
  
• I preferred the rear-set pegs.
  
• The handlebars felt a bit too high for me.
  
• The biggest issue I felt was in slow speed riding as there's no tank-like leg grip available, which can create the feeling of union with the machine. As such the handlebars felt too light and would "flop-about".
  
• The feeling of taking a corner, at a round-about, or such was a lot of fun. The bike is super comfortable at medium speeds and loves to lean about.
  
• Since there's no "X" type shape to the vehicle (as viewed from the top), and when you have to use your leg to balance when slow/stopped, it feels like your leg is quite a bit away from the bike, and can be hit by others on the road.
  
• The CE02 does garner attention. Plenty of people were asking me about it on the road. When told that it's electric, the most common response was "best hai". The vibe, it has changed.
  
• The mirrors were nearly useless, they're positioned too far to the side for my field of view.
  
• The one-button go system is good. Get on the bike with the key, press the "ready" button and the brake, and ride off. I feel another step could be eliminated here, of pressing any button. Get on, and go. It should really be that simple.
  
• The second biggest challenge for me was using the brake and accelerator by the same hand, specially, again, when stopped at a signal, or traffic. Using a foot brake feels easier and more natural.
  
• Speaking of, the absence of ABS on the rear brake feels like a design choice, rather than cost omission. Skidding the rear tyre under braking is fun!!
  
• The power feels inadequate in two instances: while overtaking longer vehicles like buses, and while trying to accelerate on flyover inclines. Genuinely feel a bit more power would help the CE02 as a vehicle.
  
• The three riding modes are minimally different, with noticeable difference in regen. Flash (variant exclusive) has the most aggressive regen.
  
• A flat, lower down handlebar would make the CE02 a lot more fun.
  
• After riding CE02 for about a couple of hours, when I got on my Ninja again, it felt like I was on a goddamn missile. Not because of the power difference, really, but because of the seating position, and the sound.

All in all, am I going to buy it? What's more important, going fast, or the feeling of going fast?

P(CE02) > 0⋅75


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