Making electric fun: Katalis’ Spacebar urban scooter
With all the government policies and arguments surrounding EVs, the billions of dollars of electric investment by legacy car brands and crazy share prices of EV startups, let’s turn the noise off briefly and focus on some electric fun.
Electric scooter fun to be precise. And best for that is heading to Jakarta in Indonesia and seeing what Katalis has come up with next.
After showcasing the customiser’s WW2 fighter plane-inspired EV.500 and EV.1000 scooters last year, the brand’s latest effort – pre-orders have already sold out – is called Spacebar.
In collaboration with Indonesian “multi-discipline” designer Kamengski, the titchy Spacebar with 1200 Watt electric motor features military and industrial styling on its slab-sided 1.2mm-thick aluminium body. The look apparently inspired – rather wonderfully – by a computer keyboard’s spacebar.
The handlebars fold down for greater practicality and easier storage, and specification doesn’t look bad. All in, the 1420mm-long Spacebar weighs 60kg with its 48v lithium battery, offering approximately 60-kilometres range and a top speed of 50km/h.
Its frame, swing arm and front arm are hollow aluminium tubes, suspension is from a mountain bike, there are disc brakes front and rear and 10-inch spoked wheels. The specification states its carrying capacity is 120kg, giving most riders plenty of weight in reserve for cargo.
With racks mounted front and rear, should your Uber Eats rider turn up on one of these, be sure to tip handsomely.
Besides the cool letters, numbers and graphics enhancing the body, the Spacebar’s tan single seat and twin 2.75-inch round headlights are design standouts. The knobbly tyres won’t help with comfort or road noise, but, really, what price style?
And in a lesson to public relations departments everywhere, here’s how to properly promote your product. “It (Spacebar) is small but fierce, like a piece of chilli,” said Julian Palapa, head designer at Katalis.
Katalis’ website says its first Spacebar production run of six units has already sold out, but that it would announce if a second pre-order book opens.
