Friday, November 08, 2013

Caterham Announces They're Building Motorcycles Now

Caterham, the maker of fine Lotus 7 replicas, has decided to start building motorcycles. They have a new division now, named Caterham Bikes, and they've come up with some intriguing designs. It seems like they're targeting three different niches: People who want a faster Rokon, people who want a stylish electric moped, and people who wish their mountain-bike had an electric motor.

Let's take a look. Up first we've got the Brutus 750. Honestly, I want to ride this machine around a little bit. It just looks like fun with those big tires. It's got a continuously variable transmission though, which makes me a little leery. Maybe it's less of an issue with a 750, but I usually end up irritated on a bike with a CVT - they never seem to do what I want them to do.



Up next is the Classic E-Bike. I have to say, I love boardtrack-styled bikes, and that's what this reminds me of. But then they went and slapped a fake aluminum v-twin motor in the frame. Which makes it look like a bike for children. Scaled up PowerWheels are not cool. It's a bummer, because apart from the cheesy "motor," it's a cool looking bike. Well, and the fenders could be a little cooler. OK, I have to admit, I wish this was a better example of a boardtrack racer overall. I guess this bike really just makes me want to build my own boardtrack racer.



And last is the Carbon E-Bike. Again, this bike looks like it would be fun to ride. I like the girder-looking-thing they did with the front forks. It makes me think of the Confederate Wraith. And no cheeseball fake motor.


What are your thoughts?

5 comments:

Sash Johnson said...

Lucky,

I like that first monster, although I'm sure I'm too short for it. (28" inseam) That looks like fun.

The other two? Meh.

Smooches,
Sash
www.SashMouth.com

Trobairitz said...

I think the first looks a little Mad Max like. With those tires it makes me wonder if they were thinking off-road. Might be fun with the CVT, but then it might not.

mq01 said...

hmm, well, imho, they look like the toys i used to play with in the dirt, at age 5.

resa said...

George Jetson comes to mind on the last one; "Jane...get me off of this thing..." but, i'm not ready for the future, resisting it all the way.

Lucky said...

Tina - I agree, it looks like a fun bike.

Trobairitz - I have a saying: there's no such thing as "too Mad Max".

mq01 - Lucky kid, you had cool toys! Now that I think about it, they really do look like the toy dirt bikes I played with as a kid.

Ell - It definitely has a "love it or hate it" look.