Top-selling BMW CE04 (2022)
This screenshot of the headline and opening photo from the French website Cleanrider.com is about the astonishing success of BMW's CE04 as soon as it was launched in 2022. The headline reads: 'BMW CE04: the electric maxiscooter is a huge success in France'. Underneath the photo the subheading reads: 'With more than 1500 registrations, the new BMW CE 04 has largely dominated sales of 125-class electric scooters in France during the first semester' (in other words, the first six months of 2022). The article below reveals that the 1547 machines sold is more than the next four best-selling models of electric scooter put together. And this was only for the lower-powered A1-class version of the machine, with the smaller battery. (In France, car licence holders can ride A1-class machines of 11kW or 15bhp 125cc petrol machines without having to take a motorcycle test; they can also be ridden by 16 year-olds who take a rudimentary test equivalent to the UK's Compulsory Basic Training.) PNB
Image: Screenshot from Cleanrider.com, July 2022 Translations: PNB
.preview.jpg "Top-selling BMW CE04 (2022)")
Who Knew?
Who knew that a major vehicle company, like BMW, couldm't imagine how to do the tail section of a modern two wheeler? It's not like they don't have a wind tunnel and designers who know what "Ergonomics" is. And let's face it, they got shown a complete lightweight FF, with tail and seatback an' all, in 1985.
Then there's there's the jornalists who appear to be completely ignorant of all the FF development that's gone down (See Youtube - no-one looks at bikeweb, obviously)) in the last half century or so.
Maybe we're just knee deep in idiots and haven't noticed?
Obvious opportunity there for an outift (Watsonian?) to offer seat/tail units. It'd be an easy win as a carge scooter - apart from the price of course!
Fit some off-the-peg panniers?
Your comment reminds me of the French-made TCV all-in-one top-box-cum-panniers that I brought back from France in the late 1980s and still have to this day! Probably wouldn't be too hard to fit to a CE04. See here: https://bikeweb.com/node/815
And here: https://bikeweb.com/node/1188
Also, see the much more common (and narrower) top-box-cum-panniers unit that I attempted to fit to the Vultus. As I've said in the text, I'm sure it would straight onto a CE04. I shall have to get hold of one again and offer it up! See here: https://bikeweb.com/index.php?q=node/3876