Katalis Spacebar – A modern take on the iconic Honda Motocompo?

Indonesian design and branding studio, Katalis collaborates with fellow-Jakarta based designer Kamengski and creates an extraordinary foldable electric scooter called the Spacebar.

Katalis Spacebar

Motocompo fans out there here is a piece of good news! The Indonesia-based design house, Katalis is here with another impressive electric bike for 2021. If you still remember, back in 2020 Katalis rolled out two electric bikes named EV 500 and EV 1000 which got a lot of attention from electric bike enthusiastic because of its outstanding design.

Built-in collaboration with Kamengski, the new project is called the “Spacebar”. The Spacebar is a foldable electric scooter which we remind us of the petrol-powered Honda Motocompo from the 80s.

Honda Motocompo Ad

Katalis Spacebar

Starting with the name of the scooter, it took us some time to understand the meaning behind. Head of Strategy of Katalis, Joseph Sinaga says, that the electric scooter is hoped to be able to open up spaces that were previously not reachable by riders, therefore, the name “Spacebar” was given.

“For example, when we are typing on a computer or laptop; the way we open up space in between texts is by pressing the spacebar. That is what inspired us. It also explains why the scooter is shaped like a rectangle,” adds Joseph.

The Design

In the case of the design, the unique rectangular body is made from aluminium. To create this masterpiece, the selection of the body-colour to decals, visual accents and material selection were carefully handpicked by Katalis and Kamengski.

The idea of the rectangular spacebar was expressed Principal Designer of Katalis, Julian Palpa which was then discussed designer Kamengski to create the final eye-catching visuals.

“It is amazing, I don’t know how to put it into words. I wanted to collaborate with Katalis because they have unique designs and have gone international. Through Spacebar, we proved that collaboration is certainly more fun than competition,” says Kamengski .

The Spacebar is small but it is equipped with a powerful 1200w electric motor which makes it fierce and suitable for urban riding.

“Spacebar can manoeuvre through the busy streets of the capital city, to support its rider’s daily commute. Yes, it is small but fierce, like a piece of chilli,” says Julian.

“We designed Spacebar specifically for youngsters who desire agility in their daily activities. Then after brainstorming with Said (Kamengski’s real name), together we created a visual concept suitable for Generation-Z,” 

“With the release of Spacebar, we hope we can inspire more Indonesian youngsters to develop mobility solutions for the future. Spacebar is our way of making way,” Joseph Sinaga added.

So, can you buy one?

Sadly the answer is a no. Although we hope to see it on the road, there is no information on whether Katalis would make the Spacebar into a production run model. It’s interesting to see designers like Ktalis and Kamengski blending in design concept/idea from the retro-era with modern-day tech. All we can say is, we love the Spacebar and we just cant wait to see more unique execution like this in the future! What do you think of the Spacebar? Does it open up space?

Source: EVNerds