Does the CE04 range drop dramatically at sustained 70mph?

[AustinChase]

Hello
I am considering a used 2022 CE04 with 100miles on it, this is my first EV so my real world knowledge is limited.
Question for those who have a CE04:
My daily commute is about 26 miles total . Maybe 12 of those miles would be spent at 70mph+. The rest of the daily commute (14 miles) somewhere between 0 and 50mph.
Does this sound like the CE04 could handle this range and intensity if charged to 100%? I have read on this forum that high speeds kill the battery quickly.
Also, I am 160lbs - if that matters.
Thanks for the guidance!
Joe C

 

[Luisimo]

HI Austin!

My first electric car was BMW i3 with a 20kw battery range was 80 miles so I can relate to your concern. I just got the CE 04 as a b-day present last month and I drove it at 75 mph for 35 miles. computer said that if I keep driving that way, I will only get 60 miles per full charge.
Looking at the miles per kilowatt... In ECO, 80 miles around the streets should be no problem. In DYNAMIC, 60 miles on freeway will be the limit.

Your commute sounds SUPER simple, it should NOT be an issue.

Things that will make a difference
- Will the bike be garage overnight?
- Do you plan to install a level 2 charger?
- Check your local level 2 providers available around work|home (Charge Point, Blink & EVgo are big where I am at)
- Remember that you do not need to charge to 100%!!!

 

[triangletom]

TL;DR - You'll be fine. Depending on your exact speeds, you'll use up ~60% of the battery for the round trip.

The energy required to overcome wind resistance is cubic to velocity, so yeah, going 70 mph requires substantially more energy than 65mph. Similarly, 75mph requires a lot more than 70mph.

Every month or so I make a similar trip to Raleigh - 26mi/41km away, most (22mi/35km) of which is via I-40. To stay in the safest lane on the highway, I ride the CE-04 at 75-80mph. Even pegging it at full throttle leaves me with 42% range at the finish line. If I ride 70mph, it gets me there with 55% range. If it's cold (32'F/0'C), there is a penalty to your range.

To accurately model range for a given trip, use https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ - while it does know about electric motorcycles and includes temperature in the calculation, it does not know about the BMW CE-04. Here is how you can make a virtual CE-04 for modelling purposes:

1. Set your vehicle as a "Zero SDS ZF 7.2 + PT"

2. Click the "hamburger" menu (3 horizontal lines) on the top right


3. Set your reference consumption to 192Wh/mi@mph. Set your reference speed to how much you expect to speed past the speed limit as well - I typically set 105% or 110%, depending on the route.



4. Plan away!


---

It's worth noting that "DYNAMIC" and "ECO" mode will not matter much for highway riding. The different modes only adjust the acceleration and deceleration profiles. If your speed is steady, your consumption will be the same. If it's stop and go traffic, the consumption difference can be substantial (25%!). 95% of my trips are done in "ECO" mode because it feels right.

 

[AustinChase]

HI Austin!

My first electric car was BMW i3 with a 20kw battery range was 80 miles so I can relate to your concern. I just got the CE 04 as a b-day present last month and I drove it at 75 mph for 35 miles. computer said that if I keep driving that way, I will only get 60 miles per full charge.
Looking at the miles per kilowatt... In ECO, 80 miles around the streets should be no problem. In DYNAMIC, 60 miles on freeway will be the limit.

Your commute sounds SUPER simple, it should NOT be an issue.

Things that will make a difference
- Will the bike be garage overnight?
- Do you plan to install a level 2 charger?
- Check your local level 2 providers available around work|home (Charge Point, Blink & EVgo are big where I am at)
- Remember that you do not need to charge to 100%!!!

Thanks , this gives me high yield confidence . I appreciate the response.

 

[AustinChase]

TL;DR - You'll be fine. Depending on your exact speeds, you'll use up ~60% of the battery for the round trip.

The energy required to overcome wind resistance is cubic to velocity, so yeah, going 70 mph requires substantially more energy than 65mph. Similarly, 75mph requires a lot more than 70mph.

Every month or so I make a similar trip to Raleigh - 26mi/41km away, most (22mi/35km) of which is via I-40. To stay in the safest lane on the highway, I ride the CE-04 at 75-80mph. Even pegging it at full throttle leaves me with 42% range at the finish line. If I ride 70mph, it gets me there with 55% range. If it's cold (32'F/0'C), there is a penalty to your range.

To accurately model range for a given trip, use https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ - while it does know about electric motorcycles and includes temperature in the calculation, it does not know about the BMW CE-04. Here is how you can make a virtual CE-04 for modelling purposes:

1. Set your vehicle as a "Zero SDS ZF 7.2 + PT"
View attachment 4340
2. Click the "hamburger" menu (3 horizontal lines) on the top right
View attachment 4341

3. Set your reference consumption to 192Wh/mi@mph. Set your reference speed to how much you expect to speed past the speed limit as well - I typically set 105% or 110%, depending on the route.

View attachment 4342

4. Plan away!


---

It's worth noting that "DYNAMIC" and "ECO" mode will not matter much for highway riding. The different modes only adjust the acceleration and deceleration profiles. If your speed is steady, your consumption will be the same. If it's stop and go traffic, the consumption difference can be substantial (25%!). 95% of my trips are done in "ECO" mode because it feels right.

Thanks for the clear details. I have been following your posts throughout this forum, really informative. I decided to pick one up based on some of your testimony. Regards.

 

[XMET]

I have a CE 04 which I have owned since October. I travel in to work on back roads and typically will take the Interstate home. I definitely use up more battery on the Interstate and the cold temperatures of late have reduced the range down to 66 miles on a full charge to begin with. My commute is roughly 40 miles total, so I have at least 16 miles in reserve, which is plenty. I took my CE 04 to a doctors appointment a couple of weeks ago and used up 52% of the battery getting there via the Interstate, but fortunately there was a charger available a mile away at a Publix Supermarket, so I was able to bring up the range to get home while I had a coffee. I really love the CE 04 and do not regret my purchase. I do wish the range was greater, but plan my rides accordingly. I have discovered where the reliable charge point stations are for my needs and have not run out of juice yet. The lowest I have got down to was 16%. I have my own Chargepoint station in my garage now, so if I was having to do some running around from home, I would have a reliable source for quick charging if I needed it. The regular 110 v charge was ok for overnight use but far too slow for what I wanted.

In the cold temperatures I am showing between 66 and 70 miles available. Hopefully, once it warms up, I will be back up to 80 miles range.

One issue I have found is that some of the apps show charging stations located on private property, which are marked as available to the public, but are actually not so. Some others are restricted, so even if one can physically drive up to them, they will not operate. There is always the issue of a non-charging EV taking up the space, an internal combustion engined vehicle taking up the space, or just the charger being out of order. As more and more EV charging stations become available, this will be less of an issue but it does show the need to plan a trip in advance if one is going to an unfamiliar area. I also invested in a Tesla Tap so that I can use Tesla Destination chargers as an option.

As for your commute, as others have stated, you will be absolutely fine. This is well within the capabilities of this machine.

 

[jorgebri60]

Hello
I am considering a used 2022 CE04 with 100miles on it, this is my first EV so my real world knowledge is limited.
Question for those who have a CE04:
My daily commute is about 26 miles total . Maybe 12 of those miles would be spent at 70mph+. The rest of the daily commute (14 miles) somewhere between 0 and 50mph.
Does this sound like the CE04 could handle this range and intensity if charged to 100%? I have read on this forum that high speeds kill the battery quickly.
Also, I am 160lbs - if that matters.
Thanks for the guidance!
Joe C

70+ MPH does eat up your battery at a significant pace, but you should be fine. I'd carry the charger with me if you want to run more around. I can go all day with a full charge when I use it for work. For me, it's 12 miles each way with either 5 or 8 miles at 70+, but I typically do some more errand running visiting parents, and such. Either way, I've never dropped below 35%. I've gone well over 60 miles on a single charge, but that was using ECO all the time, and it was mostly stop-and-go traffic. Oh, that's another thing: use ECO mode as much as possible. I use Road only when I know I'm not going to be going too far, and I know I'll have plenty of charge to get me back home. Otherwise, ECO mode is all I use. It's plenty powerful and quick, even with ECO turned on. As a side note, I, too, lost about 10 miles of range during these cold days we're having. Still, this thing is the most convenient and fun bike for local riding.

 

[AustinChase]

hey thanks for the info @jorgebri60 and @XMET
i did buy one , its arriving on Feb 1st. really appreciate the collective intelligence between everyone.

 

[triangletom]

That's great news @AustinChase !

I agree with @jorgebri60. My rule of thumb for packing a charger cable is to bring the cable if I absolutely have to charge to get through my day, and I'm not going to be around a city with multiple charging options. That said, I've never used my own charger cable in a situation where it wasn't the plan at departure, but have used it for overnight and multi-state trips where options get thin. I pack it maybe 1 out of every 50 rides. This guidance is different in countries where you are expected to bring your own cable for L2 charging.

In the US, you can get a good sense of your likely success at a charger by reading the last 3 couple of reviews on https://www.plugshare.com/ - you can also just go by the score, which represents the likelihood of a successful charge. Out of the 100 or so stations I've charged at, my only failures have been at ones where folks recently indicated problems.