A Closer Look At The BMW Tokyo Connect GTX Jacket For The CE 04

In 2021, riders looking for more casual-looking motorcycle gear have more choices than ever. When you’re headed to the track, race leathers are great—but not everyone wants to wear a bike jacket that screams “bike jacket” on their daily commute. At the same time, if your commute involves lots of traffic—you definitely want to make sure you get seen by other road users so you can get to where you’re going in one piece. 

When BMW introduced the CE 04 electric scooter on July 7, 2021, it also briefly touched on the accompanying Tokyo Connect GTX jacket. Although it didn’t mention the jacket by its model name during the presentation, it figures heavily in both the launch video and press photos. If you’ve been following the CE-04’s development since it was the Definition CE-04 “near-series” version back in 2020, you know that BMW has been talking in vague terms about its connected urban commuter parka since that time, too. Here’s more info for the curious. 

At first, it just looks like a navy-blue jacket. If you activate it using the unobtrusive touch pad on the sleeve, or else via the BMW Motorrad smartphone app, the back and sleeves both feature active lighting that illuminates to make sure you’re seen on the road. What’s more, riders have their choice of colors for that illumination. The cables inside the jacket are both washable and waterproof, so no need to worry if you get stuck in the rain, or when your jacket needs a good cleaning.  

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Speaking of the sleeve-mounted touch panel and its app connectivity, riders can also assign other functionality to that touchpad. It’s unclear exactly how many functions can be sent to that control panel, but the possibility seems promising—at least, if you like the idea of controlling things from your sleeve in the first place.  

The jacket is powered by an integrated power bank of unspecified capacity—and you can also charge your smartphone using this power bank via an interior pocket. Granted, most modern bikes also have USB sockets (at the very least) to charge your phone while you ride, but if you’re a person with both a work and a personal phone, having two places to charge could come in handy. The same holds true if you like to use a separate GPS unit. External pockets offer storage space large enough to carry an iPad, in case you like to have most of your devices on you at one time. 

BMW says that the Tokyo Connect GTX jacket is both windproof and water-tight because it’s constructed with three layers of GORE-TEX Pro material. However, there’s also ventilation and a removable jacket liner so you can layer up or down as the weather demands. The hood is also both detachable and adjustable.  

What about impact protection? The Tokyo Connect GTX comes from BMW with NP Flex elbow and shoulder protectors installed, which meet CE EN17092 (no year given) specifications for Class A protection. There’s also a pocket for a back protector, if you’d like to add one. It’s not clear what abrasion protection in this jacket is like, but unobtrusive impact protection is nice to have, especially if you commute most days on your motorbike.  

The Tokyo Connect GTX comes in Night Blue, from sizes Small to 2XL. The U.K. price is listed as £889 (or about $1,230). It’s not yet listed for sale on the U.S. site. As with other items offered by OEMs that sell around the world, most prices aren’t set via a direct conversion, and vary greatly by market.