he Moto Parilla Carbon comes to life as a heavily motorcycle-inspired electric off-road bike with claims of being the "SUV e-bike." The stunning but beefy fat bike doesn't precisely make us excited to start pedaling uphill, but it certainly makes a statement and turns heads. Plus, it is available having a throttle so those aching calves can take the day off. Following a fling with British carmaker Caterham, its designers are pressing ahead alone.
The LED display provides method and ride information We think the Carbon appears even better in Moto Parilla red and white than Caterham green ... The girder fork relies on a gas shock The frame is made from carbon and aluminum alloy
Back in 2013, Caterham was toying using the idea of promoting the Carbon as part of a trio of motorcycles and electric bikes. Not surprisingly (its expertise is in vehicles, after all), Caterham had some severe help in making the bike, from a couple of motorcycle/scooter business veterans, engineer Zeno Panarari and designer Alessandro Tartarini.
Following Caterham scrapped its Carbon plans in 2014, Panarari and Tartarini moved forward on their very own, developing the bike under the Moto Parilla name, which motorcycle enthusiasts will recognize as the mid-20th-century Italian builder. Moto Parilla PLC was founded final year in London, and has since developed a second Carbon prototype. The company is now trying to raise crowdfunding money to get production started.
Outside of the loss of Caterham livery, the Carbon looks a lot the same as it did in 2013 - a big, motorcycle-like carbon and aluminum frame secured to "balloon" tire-shod wheels by a front girder fork and rear swingarm. Elements include oversized 400 mm Magura front hydraulic discs (210 mm in back), an eight-speed Shimano Nexus hub, 26 x 4.8-in fat tires, and an LED display for info like battery status, speed and distance. You will find also front and rear lights, alloy rims with stainless spokes and a Moto Parilla Sport saddle.
Electric bikes can run pretty heavy generally, however the believed of pedaling a 60-something pound (Moto Parilla tells us it hopes to keep weight below 66 lb/30 kg) mini-motorcycle forward does not appear enticing, pedal help or not. We definitely just like the idea of a throttle and more energy for throwing that large, beefy body forward.
Moto Parilla imagines the Carbon navigating rough roads and open spaces in remote components of locations like Africa, Alaska, the Australian Outback, Iceland, Russia and South America. Offered the bike's 49-mile (80-km) variety, the riders will not most likely be venturing out to these locations in the saddle and will have to drive the bike in with a much more conventional car or truck. However the Carbon does offer a way of exploring narrow tracks and tight areas that these larger vehicles can't access.
We reckon the Carbon will discover much more use as a trendy city cruiser, although, and even Moto Parilla alludes to this concept in citing the SUV definition as "a big vehicle that's designed to become used on rough surfaces but that's often utilized on city roads or highways."
If all goes to plan, the Carbon will probably be manufactured at an Asian plant exactly where "carbon-made goods of other significant brands are also produced." Moto Parilla says on its Kickstarter campaign that it plans to supply daily oversight.
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