Cool is not necessarily a word you’d attach to the efficient motorcycles made by BMW Motorrad, but that’s reckoning without this custom BMW CE 02 by the Austrian design renegades at Vagabund. Battery-powered basic CE 02 scooter is certainly nippy as a city runaround, but in this custom BMW version, it has the look, the feel - and your on-the-go playlist - of a cheerful and very fast skateboard. Vagabund describe themselves as adding "simplicity, functionality, honesty and excitement” to all that they create. Cool? We’d say so.
Central to every Vagabund project is what they call “radical reinterpretation”. Custom BMW bikes - usually boasting somewhat more power than the modest 15 bhp of the BMW CE 02 - have long been front and central of the transformations emerging from the Vagabund studio in Graz, Austria . "Within this project we would describe our general design approach as ‘retrofuture’,” says Paul Brauchart of Vagabund. So, what looks like an exhaust pipe - redundant of course on a battery-powered machine - is an umbrella holder. Original black wheels are replaced, on this custom BMW CE 02, by white versions to lift and simplify the look.
You’ll notice extra comfort from the BMW saddle too, while - adding to the street aesthetic - skateboard tape adorns running boards. Side strap holds Teenage Engineering’s stylish OB-4 Magic Radio for that on-the-move playlist. Vagabund’s custom BMW CE 02 retains all of the innovative elements of the original machine with driving modes helpfully labelled Flow and Surf. We’ll leave you to work out what they mean. Single side-mounted swing arm takes care of suspension while maintaining a minimal style. Top speed, retained on the custom BMW version, is an impressive 60 mph.
Sad to report that this BMW CE 02 by Vagabund is, for now, a one-off. If you’re keen, you can of course contact these enthusiasts - who once extended a Citroën DS to accommodate a motorcycle in the rear - to build your own custom BMW electric scooter. Basic CE 02 is still a fun little scooter and if you’re keen on the basic machine, BMW will be all too delighted to sell you one, with prices starting at £8,450. First stop: Graz for a little BMW custom work.
Get your fix of all things automotive at The Garage.
