The Electric Scooter The World Needs
So, electric scooters seem to be gaining ground, and I would expect they will be an important force in the motorcycle world in the future. I have one big problem with the vast majority of them: they’re ugly. That changes with the Katalis EV500. Katalis is an Indonesian design company that created the EV500 for the International Motor Show.
The bike is based on a Selis Garuda. The design team kicked the frame to the curb and constructed a new one made of 6061 aluminum. Over that frame is some unique metal bodywork. Powering the bike down the road is a 500W electric motor attached to a 48V battery. This is a short-distance bike good for 25 miles. It will do 25 mph. The battery can be charged in three hours.
In short, it’s not much better in terms of performance than an electric bicycle, but dang does it look cool. There’s an almost steampunk-ish style to the thing, and the lines are modern and very cool. I would love to see one made with improved specs. It seems that it could be constructed fairly easily. If you kept the 25 mph top speed I bet the right battery could get 40 miles or more. That would be good for commuters.
I’m not seeing any plans to make the EV500 a production machine, but I think in order to do so, it would have to have improved specs. 25 miles and 25 mph simply aren’t enough. Up the range or the top speed, and there’s a possibility here.