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[Mike Werner]

BMW have improved their electric scooter, the C-Evolution, with the Long Range model (although Long Range is debatable going from 100 km to 160 kms). But the new BMW i3 batteries will deliver more bang for the bucks, and most interesting, they plan to start selling it in the USA.

Here is the press release:
https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0263449EN/the-new-bmw-c-evolution

[Richard230]

That is going to send my BMW dealer, located in Silicon Valley, into a state of panic.  They said that they never wanted to sell electric motorcycles or scooters as they didn't want to pay for the technician training, who would then just be poached by the nearby Tesla dealer once they got trained. (I am pretty sure that Tesla dealers pay their technicians more than do motorcycle shops.) Plus, they felt there was no market for electric scooters in their area as their customers want powerful $22,000, 600-pound ADV motorcycles that will travel at over 120 mph, have 8-gallon fuel tanks, can accommodate 150 pounds of extra "farkles" and can jump over large rocks on "big dog" jeep trails, while the rider wears $5000 worth of BMW ADV clothing.   

I definitely will be passing that link along to my BMW dealership.   

[Mike Werner]

That is going to send my BMW dealer, located in Silicon Valley, into a state of panic.  They said that they never wanted to sell electric motorcycles or scooters as they didn't want to pay for the technician training, who would then just be poached by the nearby Tesla dealer once they got trained. (I am pretty sure that Tesla dealers pay their technicians more than do motorcycle shops.) Plus, they felt there was no market for electric scooters in their area as their customers want powerful $22,000, 600-pound ADV motorcycles that will travel at over 120 mph, have 8-gallon fuel tanks, can accommodate 150 pounds of extra "farkles" and can jump over large rocks on "big dog" jeep trails, while the rider wears $5000 worth of BMW ADV clothing.   

I definitely will be passing that link along to my BMW dealership.   

Local BMW techs are not allowed touch the bike apart from brake fluids, tires and brake,pads. The rest is done by a central unit. Scoots is sent there...

[Alan Stewart]

The Green Car Congress article:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/09/20160912-bmwmotorrad.html

[protomech]

I don't believe the former model ever made it to the US.

It's a natural transition for BMW - the scooter literally uses 3 modules of the 8 modules used in the i3, so any upgrades to the i3 will also benefit the Evolution scooter.

I believe the next capacity bump from Samsung is scheduled around 2019, 120 Ah or similar in the same form factor. That would bring the scooter up to 16 kWh and ~120 miles of range.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

This is good for everybody, even if BMW dealerships make a mess out of it. It'll be interesting if the result where BMW's C-Evolution outsold Zero in France carries over somehow. Brand recognition and scalable support does make people feel differently about a purchase.

[Richard230]

That is going to send my BMW dealer, located in Silicon Valley, into a state of panic.  They said that they never wanted to sell electric motorcycles or scooters as they didn't want to pay for the technician training, who would then just be poached by the nearby Tesla dealer once they got trained. (I am pretty sure that Tesla dealers pay their technicians more than do motorcycle shops.) Plus, they felt there was no market for electric scooters in their area as their customers want powerful $22,000, 600-pound ADV motorcycles that will travel at over 120 mph, have 8-gallon fuel tanks, can accommodate 150 pounds of extra "farkles" and can jump over large rocks on "big dog" jeep trails, while the rider wears $5000 worth of BMW ADV clothing.   

I definitely will be passing that link along to my BMW dealership.   

Local BMW techs are not allowed touch the bike apart from brake fluids, tires and brake,pads. The rest is done by a central unit. Scoots is sent there...

I am aware of that, but I don't believe that system will work in the U.S. as the shipping distances are too great, as is the cost to ship motorcycles around the country. 

The only way I see the repair system working is if the scooters are serviced by the nearest  BMW car dealership that has staff that work on the I3 cars.  But it has been my experience that BMW car dealerships hate people who ride single-track vehicles and don't want anything to do with their owners - unless they are willing to also purchase a nice new BMW car to go with the C Evolution.     BMWNA is going to have their work cut out convincing their dealers to market the scooters, as well as supplying parts, servicing and knowledge about the vehicle when the C Evolution hits our shores.

Autoblog picked up the story, but didn't add any additional information.
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/12/bmw-c-evolution-electric-scooter-i3-battery/

[mrwilsn]

This is good for everybody, even if BMW dealerships make a mess out of it. It'll be interesting if the result where BMW's C-Evolution outsold Zero in France carries over somehow. Brand recognition and scalable support does make people feel differently about a purchase.

I agree...even if BMW totally fails in execution it's still a good thing because it will raise awareness of electric 2-wheel transportation, it will increase the number of electric riders since BMW is targeting a different form factor and customer and companies like Zero will get a lot of hits to the website (and some sales) if the mainstream press talks about the BMW Scooter.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Mike Werner]

That is going to send my BMW dealer, located in Silicon Valley, into a state of panic.  They said that they never wanted to sell electric motorcycles or scooters as they didn't want to pay for the technician training, who would then just be poached by the nearby Tesla dealer once they got trained. (I am pretty sure that Tesla dealers pay their technicians more than do motorcycle shops.) Plus, they felt there was no market for electric scooters in their area as their customers want powerful $22,000, 600-pound ADV motorcycles that will travel at over 120 mph, have 8-gallon fuel tanks, can accommodate 150 pounds of extra "farkles" and can jump over large rocks on "big dog" jeep trails, while the rider wears $5000 worth of BMW ADV clothing.   

I definitely will be passing that link along to my BMW dealership.   

Local BMW techs are not allowed touch the bike apart from brake fluids, tires and brake,pads. The rest is done by a central unit. Scoots is sent there...

I am aware of that, but I don't believe that system will work in the U.S. as the shipping distances are too great, as is the cost to ship motorcycles around the country. 

The only way I see the repair system working is if the scooters are serviced by the nearest  BMW car dealership that has staff that work on the I3 cars.  But it has been my experience that BMW car dealerships hate people who ride single-track vehicles and don't want anything to do with their owners - unless they are willing to also purchase a nice new BMW car to go with the C Evolution.     BMWNA is going to have their work cut out convincing their dealers to market the scooters, as well as supplying parts, servicing and knowledge about the vehicle when the C Evolution hits our shores.

Autoblog picked up the story, but didn't add any additional information.
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/12/bmw-c-evolution-electric-scooter-i3-battery/

They'll probably have regional centres (I think mine gets shipped to Germany in case of problems); But remember that there's little or no maintenance to do done apart from tires, brake pads and brake fluids. So far, my local BMW wrenches have done the bare minimum during checks. I've even decided to ignore the regular maintenance checks. It's electric and requires little maintenance...

[Burton]

Per the request of Brian I will post this here for those who are outside the Facebags.

Here are some of my rambling thoughts as an owner of a fairly modified Zero 2013 S(R)

It looks cool both inside and out. Battery seems kind of small at 8kWh but it does have a 3kW integrated charging system which is better than stock Zero's.

They have taken the option to split battery duties between 12vdc and the motors 133vdc by using a separate alternator (I think) and a 12v battery @ 8Ah ... not sure why they went this route but it is interesting.

The motor seems kind of tiny when compared to a Zero @ 53ftlbs and 48hp. The 0-60mph is about 6.2s so it isn't a clunker but isn't a stunner either. And ... it is water cooled so no overheating in hot weather (I hope). BMW claims with gearing you are getting about 442ftlbs at the wheels. To keep this "monster torque" under control BMW has added a TCA ... aka torque control assist which works similarly to a ASC ... automatic stability control. This prevents the tires from locking up on powerful regen and from slipping out on first accelerations.

It weighs about 540lbs unloaded and "fully fueled" ... with the weight being so low this likely isn't a problem but the Zero S is not only lighter but feels lighter than a ninja 250 :/ Would have to ride it to really see if the proximity to the ground makes it feel different.

The forks are 40mm, and the rear suspension is adjustable. And as with most things BMW we have ABS all round. The ABS is based on the two channel Bosch system used in the other two maxi-scooters but has been updated to work in conjunction with the regen of the motor. The front suspension has 120mm of travel, and rear 115mm ... not too shabby.

The chasis is typical BMW ... over engineered, complex, and very clean looking. (Take a look at attached link for the technology video) This bike would look great naked if you removed.

The storage area has a 12vdc socket in it ... this is great! There's a stock "reverse assist" feature built right in. The display is pretty basic and it being digital would seem to lend itself to a future "upgrade" which would feature built in GPS (this would be great if it could happen). Sadly out of the 4 modes given none are fully programmable but the range is pretty good.

All in all I am excited to see it and even to ride it. I am a little disappointed as I haven't been able to find range @ speeds for comparison to other technologies but it seems reasonable for what it is. That stated ... it is a BMW ... this thing is going to be expensive over in the States

If someone gave me one as a gift I wouldn't turn it down or sell it

http://www.bmw-motorrad.com/com/en/index.html?content=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmw-motorrad.com%2Fcom%2Fen%2Furban_mobility%2FC_evolution%2Fcevolution_overview.html&notrack=1

[Richard230]

I just received kind of an odd response from my BMW dealer's sales manager.  She says that she hopes BMWNA imports the C Evolution scooter as she had a customer visit the shop a couple of years ago (when the scooter was first announced) and they put a deposit down on the Evo. (Well, at least one customer was interested, and one is better than none.)  I assume that any service or parts issues will not be the sales department's problems.   

My guess is that the hi-power version of the C Evolution will be the one imported into the U.S.  BMW already has two IC scooters selling in the $11K range, but they sure don't sell very well around here.  The dealership also carries Vespas and it looks to me like they sell 10 (or more) of those for every BMW scooter.  Most maxi-scooters are really good vehicles, but just not very popular, as they are perceived to be too practical for most customers - based upon what I see around here.  I have ridden the IC BMW scooter and it has plenty of power, a top speed of over 100 mph, noticeable vibration, decent (but not great) suspension and handling, very good brakes and it sure weighed a lot.  The real problem for me was that the scooter was very wide, making it hard to get both feet flat on the ground and was tough to push around when stopped. It seemed very well engineered (naturally), but just didn't get me all that excited.

The two BMW 650cc twin IC scooters have a chassis that looks very similar to the one used by the Evo and I think they weigh about the same.  It would be interesting to see how the performance compares between the IC and EV versions of the scooter.

[Burton]

It would be interesting to see how the performance compares between the IC and EV versions of the scooter.

The link I included, though burred deeply within, does mention the EV will be quicker off the line than the IC version. The acceleration figure from 0 to 50 km/h is 2.8 seconds and 0-100km/h in 6.2 vs the IC version which is  0-50 in 3.06 km/h and 0-100 in 7.1/7.5km/h (sport / non sport)

Not to mention the maintenance cycle for the IC versions are as follows: (items in bold likely apply to EV?)

Maintenance Schedule BMW C 650 GT & Sport

1,000 km (Running-in service)
Engine oil + filter + set strainer.
Estimated parts $190.00 (after converting to USD). Too expensive to just change the engine oil + filter!
Estimated labor $39.00.

10,000 km (Engine oil service)
Engine oil + filter.
Estimated parts $167.00.
Estimated labor $39.00.

20,000 km (Minor service)
Engine oil + filter, CVT belt + roller bearings, air filter and etc.
Estimated parts $1,940.00.
Estimated labor $77.

30,000 km (Engine oil service)
Engine oil + filter.
Estimated parts $167.00.
Estimated labor $39.00.

40,000 km (Major service)
Engine oil + filter, gearbox oil, rear axle oil, air filter, spark plug, CVT belt + roller bearings, chain + sprockets, gaskets + oil seals + O-rings and etc.
Estimated parts $1,574.00.
Estimated labor $248.00.

[Richard230]

Those minor service and major service costs appear to be reversed.  But no matter what, those costs are similar to servicing of the 6-cylinder BMW K1600GT.  That has got to hurt when you bring your scooter in for the 20K and 40K service.     I guess that automatic transmission needs more maintenance and tender care than I had imagined.  Another pat on the back for direct-drive. 

[Richard230]

Here is another article about the C Evolution:  http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/bmw/2017-bmw-c-evolution-scooter-coming-to-us.html

It is going to be a tough sell if it has to compete price-wise with the BMW RT and GS.   

[oobflyer]

I would be interested if I didn't already have a Zero SR ;-)
I still have my Vectrix Maxi-scooter (Li-ion) - I commute to work on it once/twice week. I have almost 20,000 miles on it and it still runs great. It's very comfortable and convenient, with a large 'trunk' under the seat, and a glovebox in the dash.

If you're a two-bike motorcyclist - a scooter makes a good second/ back-up bike :-)