My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

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Seiermann
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My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

Here are my first experiences with the C-evolution. As I drove the Vectrix for 3 Jears, I compare both vehicles here:
The C-Evolution is a great ride, no doubt. Awesome acceleration, very good range (with a reliable indication), very good workmanship and all necessary features a motor bike should have in 2015.
The C-Evo drives more than a bike than a scooter. Unfortunately (or consequently) it hasn´t the practical value like a Vectrix e.g.:
That begins with the missing rear fender. The open rear wheel with it´s 160/60 R15 tyre looks awesome but when driving on wet roads the mud splatters up to the top box that the key scratches into the lock / between the motor and the frame... The front fender is very short, so short that mud splatters directly into the ventilation conduit of the battery chassis...
The original BMW topbox is very small in comparison to the very big Givi topbox my Vectrix had. Furthermore the max. weight of the original BMW bracket is only 7kg... Not to be used for daily shopping.
But that´s no problem because there´s a helmet-space under the socius seat I thought... But this is really a helmet-space. A round, deep whole, not usable to transport a french bread like the big space under the Vectrix seat. Moreover it has to be opened by a seperate lock just the same as the little lock box under the handlebars. Two more locks and not so convenient as it was at the Vectrix...
Maybe this two locks are so expensive that there was no more budget for a tag light that could be called as a tag light: A small box with a 3W bulb in it, enough to illuminate the first row of the license plate number... (This may be a typical german problem ;-) but BMW is a german make...)
The C-Evo is an expensive toy but not an expensive vehicle if it´s used for your daily working commute in cities e.g. (I think). In Germany it costs appr. 15.700€ new (including compulsory shipping costs). I got my C-Evo as official vehicle from the Munich headquarter for 14.000€, 150km at the clock, looking like new. But I needed a bigger windshield for winter, the topbox for transportation of my working bag (on the Vectrix I put it under the seat) and the higher seat cause the original seat is a little too low for my 180cm. Costs overall 1000€... BMW prices...
But now to the driving qualities: The C-Evo is a big "steamboat" compared with the Vectrix e.g. But when the wheels rotate you don´t realize it. Even in the german "street-war" with it´s Porsches, BMWs, Audis and other racing cars and often stupid drivers it´s possible to be the first from the traffic lights or to maneuver chilled between the cars. ABS and TCA does one more things. The 15" wheels let you drive over potholes not drive into them... There´s no creaking, wiggling, flattering or some other chinese driving quality... Only when shunting the C-Evo the sloping position shouldn´t be too high because of the 265kg...
For countries with colder winters the grip heating is very useful, as well as the powerful LED daytime running light / low beam for the darker time of the year. Anyhow the front of the C-Evo looks more serious so you get your priority more often, even in germany…
Very good outworked is the recuperation. It works like the engine braking effect when the throttle goes down. Even when braking the engine recuperates energy depending on the current state of charge. One point more that the C-Evo drives like a bike...
The real range of the C-Evo varies between 80-120km depending on the driving mode. This range is provided in summer and winter (my own experience at temperatures between 0-10⁰C.) The charging time depends on the charging current that can be adjusted at the external charger between 6/8/10/12 Amps. A bad point is the very loud charging fan. Nothing to charge the C-Evo under the neighbours window or at night. Moreover the fan of the motor´s water cooling system runs all the time. It´s not very loud but sometimes annoying.
A big minus point for me is that BMW couldn´t provide a really reliable scooter although they tested it for 2 years I think (?). After 1700km I got after a short pause a battery and motor error message in the display and the scooter didn´t start anymore. After many attempts to start it again it came off but the manual says “call the BMW service immediately and don´t drive anymore” in case of this failure. I did it, the C-Evo was collected and after 2 weeks I got the message that BMW knew about this problem (!) and now they did a software update. Since this all works fine again but this was one week ago…
As if this wasn't enough BMW called all C-Evos back to the dealers cause there´s a problem in the planetary gearbox. Three screws are too thin and must be changed. Therefore the complete powertrain and gearbox must be disassembled…
OK, now all has been done and I hope that my C-Evo works well now. If someone has further questions don´t hesitate to ask…
Greets
Seiermann

MEroller
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Joined: Monday, September 26, 2011 - 09:24
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Re: My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

Thanks for this first report! I am rather shocked too at the "teething" problems even this very well developed elctric bike has, I think it was more like three full years of development time that it had...

My rides:
2017 Zero S ZF6.5 11kW, erider Thunder 5kW

antiscab
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Last seen: 9 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 23:55
Points: 1686
Re: My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

looks like even the big guys can't get it right

nothing quite beats putting a large number of bikes out in the field to shake out the faults

Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km

Kocho
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Joined: Friday, March 21, 2014 - 21:05
Points: 488
Re: My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

Tell me about it... I occasionally go over to the Zero Motorcycles forums over at http://www.electricmotorcycleforum.com and folks there have a lot of issues with their bikes. Admittedly, pretty much no one seems to be suffering from bad batteries or poor BMS like we do with the Vectrix, but they have a lot of electronics and mechanical failures that incapacitate or degrade the performance of their bikes. Unlike Vectrix though, Zero is significantly updating and improving their bikes almost every year. If Vectrix has done that (and created more marketable bikes which sell in the US and abroad - scooters don't sell well in the US), with all the head-start they had, they would be leaders today (not bankrupt 2x)...

Seiermann
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Last seen: 8 years 11 months ago
Joined: Monday, February 6, 2012 - 09:32
Points: 69
Re: My first experiences with the BMW C-Evolution

Yes, the battery of the C-Evo has enormous power! Yesterday I drove it down to 50% (at 20 °C). Then I accelerated with full power (35kW) up to top speed (120km/h). During this the voltage only dropped down from 140V to 128V and went up again( working voltage 133V). This is quite a good value I think. But I shouldn´t forget that the scooter has only 1800km at the clock...
(The warranty BMW gives for the battery covers 5 years or 50.000km over 70% SOC.)
More difficult seems to be the propulsion. Although BMW patented the new Motor unit swinging arm it´s not the great success I think. It makes unpleasant noises and get hot at the gearbox housing. The drive belt swings and whistles uncomfortable at appr. 20 km/h. (But maybe BMW wanted this to warn pedestrians ;-) )
The gearbox already has been be overhauled by BMW (3 screws were too thin...) so I should better buy the warranty extension for other 2 years...
But when it runs it makes much fun to drive it!
Greets
Seiermann

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