BMW CE04 - Odd Behavior

bgconley

New member
Hi all -

So far there only seem to be a few of us with this machine in the US, and as such I'm having trouble determining whether my particular unit has an issue or if it's standard behavior. First - let me start by saying I love the scooter. It's fast, fun, handles well etc. After riding for a few days, I noticed that my final drive belt "sings" quite a bit, it varies depending upon speed. Sometimes it's just downright loud - sounds like it's coming from the rear pulley or potentially the drive pulley. At first I thought the belt was too tight, but dealer has confirmed the belt is tightened properly. My next thought is maybe alignment of the belt between drive and rear pulley. I can also get considerable vibration when slowing using regenerative braking. I also get an odd vibration in the seat and handle grips when just driving normally. If I lean into a curve, the vibration all but disappears but once I'm again straight up and down perpendicular to the road the vibration returns.

I can't help but feel like something is out of whack with my drive belt and the vibrations I'm feeling are due to improper meshing of the pulley teeth with belt ribs. Dealer says "just ride it" but I can't help but feel like I'm not getting the super smooth, vibration free ride I was advertised and paid for.

Can anyone else comment as to whether they get belt noise which can sometimes sound like a very loud harmonic resonation - similar to a loud Sonicare toothbrush...if anyone knows what those sound like. Any input is helpful - looking to get to the bottom of this asap because it detracts from the riding experience significantly.
 

wspollack

Active member
This is probably irrelevant, but disappearing in the curves has me wondering if your tires are cupped. How many miles do you have, and have you been paying attention to tire pressures?
 

bgconley

New member
Hi there - thanks for the reply. I'm pretty neurotic about tire pressures - whether it's my car or a bike. Tire pressures are bang on and haven't deviated. Only 350 miles on the scoot so far. It's possible I guess. Though another bit of strange behavior is vibration on the left side of the bike only when traveling at low speed (~10-15mph). The left mirror is vibrating and distorting the reflected image while the right mirror is dead still. Left side of bike is where the drive is as well as the rear mono shock. If I reach back and put my hand on the mono shock on a straight stretch, I can feel it vibrating, and that vibration is being passed into the rest of the bike it seems. The mono shock is mounted right to the part of the swing arm to which the rear pulley is mounted - not sure how relevant that is.

Part of me is wondering if I need to increase preload on rear suspension but I've measured it with digital calipers and it meets the spring length specs (when on side stand) cited by BMW in the manual for a ~190lb driver plus "luggage."
 

Eg999

New member
Hi, Just got my CE 04 3 days ago and have that same issue, Lots of noise from the drive belt. Did not hear that in any review videos. Dealer says normal but seems odd to me as well. no vibration though,
 

bgconley

New member
Hi, Just got my CE 04 3 days ago and have that same issue, Lots of noise from the drive belt. Did not hear that in any review videos. Dealer says normal but seems odd to me as well. no vibration though,
Hi there - sorry to hear you're having the same experience with the drive belt noise. I also did not hear it in any of the review videos, nor did any of the reviewers make mention of it. I'm wondering if the belt tension spec is too high, or if BMW didn't account for climates with warmer temperatures which may result in a tighter belt at rest and an even tighter belt after things warm up. Glad to hear you're not experiencing the vibration. If it comes about that the noise is indeed normal, I can live with it. The vibration, I cannot.
 

bgconley

New member
Just gonna bump this thread a bit...is anyone else getting a vibration? It's driving me crazy. At lower speeds it's a lower frequency vibration through the seat and hand grips...at higher speeds it's a higher frequency vibration through the seat, hand grips, and occasionally floorboards. Leaning the bike into a curve in either direction eliminates the vibration. Driving straight ahead, the vibration is present. Dealer says they're going to check rear wheel balance next week but I really don't think it's a balance issue. Either one (or both) of the tires is somehow bad from the factory or I'm having a belt/sprocket meshing issue, I think. Then again I'm not a mechanic. The dealer has been very dismissive of any belt / sprocket issues and has said the bike "needs time to run in" for 500 miles before they have a more in-depth look at any of the drivetrain components. That's frustrating because I feel like the drivetrain should be smooth out of the gate...is everyone else's smooth or is there a vibration present?
 

rongrimes

Active member
Not experiencing any vibration with my bike. But, I've only just topped 100 miles (my commute is only 6 miles each way).
 

bgconley

New member
Good to know, thank you. I'm at 370mi right now and the vibration has been present since mile 7. Frustrating, because I know how smooth it should be.
 

Eg999

New member
I have no vibration but do notice a bit of a rattle from the front when turning slow sometimes. Well, that’s what warranties are for. Going to ride more and see what happens with that and the belt noise, Up top 150 mi so far.
 

jimalden

New member
I've had mine for about two months now here in Los Angeles. I don't know about any vibration, but I think I can explain what you are hearing. Think of your belt a bit like guitar strings which are of different thicknesses to resonate stronger at certain frequencies. Your belt is reasonably taught and will hit certain rotational speeds which causes the belt to vibrate, or "resonate" with a whining sound. You'll know it's a resonant sound because you can go slightly up or down in speed and the sound changes or goes away. The point is, it's completely normal. A nearly identical belt is on the BMW F 800 GT. It's probably making the very same sounds, but you'll never hear it on that bike over the engine. I personally love that whining sound.
 

c-bot7

New member
Can anyone else comment as to whether they get belt noise which can sometimes sound like a very loud harmonic resonation - similar to a loud Sonicare toothbrush...if anyone knows what those sound like. Any input is helpful - looking to get to the bottom of this asap because it detracts from the riding experience significantly.
Mine just started developing this vibration/noise. I've done some testing and am pretty sure it's coming from the drivetrain, with what feels like a mismatch between a cog/belt or something related. Noise is most noticeable at 50kph, and vibrations up through the forks most noticeable at 10-15kph. I don't think it's related to resonance of the belt, as when you go forward very slowly (2-3kph) you can notice the bumping mismatch feel that grows into vibration and noise at higher speeds. Interestingly, the "bumping" feel at low speed only occurs if the motor is engaged, pushing the scooter without it is smooth and normal.

I'll take it to the dealer but it seems a tricky issue as they may not view it as a critical mechanical problem, but the bike before the vibration started was much quieter and smoother.

Has anyone gotten to the bottom of this or gotten feedback from BMW? Has your vibration issue continued unchanged? Many thanks!
 

pilsu

New member
Mine just started developing this vibration/noise. I've done some testing and am pretty sure it's coming from the drivetrain, with what feels like a mismatch between a cog/belt or something related. Noise is most noticeable at 50kph, and vibrations up through the forks most noticeable at 10-15kph. I don't think it's related to resonance of the belt, as when you go forward very slowly (2-3kph) you can notice the bumping mismatch feel that grows into vibration and noise at higher speeds. Interestingly, the "bumping" feel at low speed only occurs if the motor is engaged, pushing the scooter without it is smooth and normal.

I'll take it to the dealer but it seems a tricky issue as they may not view it as a critical mechanical problem, but the bike before the vibration started was much quieter and smoother.

Has anyone gotten to the bottom of this or gotten feedback from BMW? Has your vibration issue continued unchanged? Many thanks!
i'd feedback from BMW. In fact, bmw doesn't feedback to me. I feedback to bmw. my bike had same noise and vibration. it's start at 12kph, very loud at 24kph. maybe this vibration is caused by belt tension. I order to BMW Motorrad that decrease the belt tension. but ce04 don't have any tension dial box(?). so if you want to decrease belt tension, you need deconstruct the ce04's rear parts. and you have to move rear gearset to front (2~3mm). in my case ,after adjust the belt tension, the vibration decrease half, and after 2~3 week most vibration are disappear. and when i touch the belt know , the belt be more smoother then i receive the bike first.
 

c-bot7

New member
i'd feedback from BMW. In fact, bmw doesn't feedback to me. I feedback to bmw. my bike had same noise and vibration. it's start at 12kph, very loud at 24kph. maybe this vibration is caused by belt tension. I order to BMW Motorrad that decrease the belt tension. but ce04 don't have any tension dial box(?). so if you want to decrease belt tension, you need deconstruct the ce04's rear parts. and you have to move rear gearset to front (2~3mm). in my case ,after adjust the belt tension, the vibration decrease half, and after 2~3 week most vibration are disappear. and when i touch the belt know , the belt be more smoother then i receive the bike first.
Thanks for your comments, just took mine to the dealer today and they've reduced the belt tension a little. No obvious change in noise and vibration yet but will hope for an improvement and will report back in case any other CE-04 owners have the same issue. FYI they did say the belt was a bit too tight when they checked it.
 

bgconley

New member
Far too often, people post on a forum looking for help or input but never return to post the ultimate solution when they finally (hopefully) find it. In my case, I think (knock on wood) 95% of my issue has been resolved - and it was easy, albeit expensive.

It's finally spring here in New England and, having neglected taking the bike in for its 600 mile "run in" service prior to winter, I decided to take it in. Prior to taking the bike in, I took it for a quick ride and sure enough, the nasty vibration was still there but this time the ambient air temperature was only 60F...so the belt couldn't have been too hot / expanded at this point. Verified tire pressures, then elected to look more closely at the tire tread. I'd never been that impressed with the Maxxis tires that come on the US variant of the CE-04 but figured "hey, BMW must know what they're doing..." Wish they'd shipped the US bikes with the Pirellis they ship with overseas but oh well. Anyway - the front tire looked like it was wearing strangely and so I decided to have the dealer replace both front and rear tires as a last ditch effort at eliminating the vibration.

Dealer looked up tires that could be used with the bike and we settled on the Michelin Pilot Road 4 Scooter. Got the bike back and have ridden ~100 miles since. Vibration is completely gone. Smooth as butter. Exactly what I'd expected the ride to be like from day 1. If you're experiencing weird vibration problems with your bike, I recommend replacing the stock Maxxis tires with something better. I only had 1600mi on the Maxxis but the vibration showed up around ~75 miles and only got progressively worse.

Only concern I have now is that one of the front forks looks like it sits higher in the triple clamp than the other. I could be wrong, but it looks like it sits a little weird. Has looked that way since delivery, bike has never been down. Dealer thinks I'm crazy, and maybe I am. I just hope I'm wrong and there isn't something up with the front geometry of my scoot that is prematurely destroying front tires and inducing a nasty vibration over time. Guess we'll see, but wanted to leave this here for anyone else experiencing a vibration they can't quite pin down.
 

jimalden

New member
Hi all -

So far there only seem to be a few of us with this machine in the US, and as such I'm having trouble determining whether my particular unit has an issue or if it's standard behavior. First - let me start by saying I love the scooter. It's fast, fun, handles well etc. After riding for a few days, I noticed that my final drive belt "sings" quite a bit, it varies depending upon speed. Sometimes it's just downright loud - sounds like it's coming from the rear pulley or potentially the drive pulley. At first I thought the belt was too tight, but dealer has confirmed the belt is tightened properly. My next thought is maybe alignment of the belt between drive and rear pulley. I can also get considerable vibration when slowing using regenerative braking. I also get an odd vibration in the seat and handle grips when just driving normally. If I lean into a curve, the vibration all but disappears but once I'm again straight up and down perpendicular to the road the vibration returns.

I can't help but feel like something is out of whack with my drive belt and the vibrations I'm feeling are due to improper meshing of the pulley teeth with belt ribs. Dealer says "just ride it" but I can't help but feel like I'm not getting the super smooth, vibration free ride I was advertised and paid for.

Can anyone else comment as to whether they get belt noise which can sometimes sound like a very loud harmonic resonation - similar to a loud Sonicare toothbrush...if anyone knows what those sound like. Any input is helpful - looking to get to the bottom of this asap because it detracts from the riding experience significantly.
I know this is an older post, but wanted to chime in. My forks were also not exactly even and it created cupping in the front tire and the dealer ordered new tires for me. I haven't changed it yet, but that seems the issue, not the brand of tire.
 

bgconley

New member
I know this is an older post, but wanted to chime in. My forks were also not exactly even and it created cupping in the front tire and the dealer ordered new tires for me. I haven't changed it yet, but that seems the issue, not the brand of tire.
Thank you! This is a huge help to me and validates my concerns about the forks not being even. I knew I wasn't crazy. When you pointed out the uneven forks to the dealer, were they receptive to looking at it and evening everything out? I mentioned it to my service department and their response was "everything looks good" but, to my eye they do not look even. The fairing looks like it's slightly shifted off center when looking at it from the front when parked, and the handlebars are cocked ever so slightly to the right when riding straight down the road. I mentioned these items to them as well, and they looked at me like I was nitpicking.
 

Low On Cash

Active member
What you're feeling in the belt is the windings / magnets of the electric motor, it's perfectly normal. As you change power it will create different sounds in the belt. you're only hearing them because you have an electric bike. My electric bikes and my Zero all made the same belt noises. Just make sure the belt is riding correctly on the rear pulley

Mike
 
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