Bicycles

Limited edition Electra e-bike looks to Café Racers for inspiration

Limited edition Electra e-bike looks to Café Racers for inspiration
The Café Moto Go! from the Electra Bicycle Company can get riders up to 28 mph in retro-cool style
The Café Moto Go! from the Electra Bicycle Company can get riders up to 28 mph in retro-cool style
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The Café Moto Go! from the Electra Bicycle Company can get riders up to 28 mph in retro-cool style
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The Café Moto Go! from the Electra Bicycle Company can get riders up to 28 mph in retro-cool style
The Café Moto Go! features a Spanninga bullet headlight and E3 rear LEDs
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The Café Moto Go! features a Spanninga bullet headlight and E3 rear LEDs
The Café Moto Go! features a mid-mounted Bosch Performance Speed motor and in-tube 500 Wh battery
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The Café Moto Go! features a mid-mounted Bosch Performance Speed motor and in-tube 500 Wh battery
The 6061-T6 aluminum frame of the Café Moto Go! is available in matte black only
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The 6061-T6 aluminum frame of the Café Moto Go! is available in matte black only
View gallery - 4 images

Though stripped back and designed for speed and handling rather than cruising comfort, the Café Racer motorcycles of the 1960s continue to inspire modern two-wheelers to this day. And it's to this retro-cool design book that California bicycle maker Electra has turned to create the Café Moto Go!

This rather attractive pedal-assist e-bike features a mid-mounted Bosch Performance Speed motor and in-tube 500 Wh battery combination that can get riders up to 28 mph (45 km/h). And a quiet, low maintenance ride is provided courtesy of a Gates Carbon Belt Drive.

Like other members of Electra's Go! family, the Café Moto Go! features something the company calls Flat Foot Technology, which allows riders to "plant your feet flat on the ground and stay upright, not bent over the handlebars like traditional bikes."

"With our unique frame geometry, the center of gravity is lower, giving you complete comfort and control," explains Electra. "Once you start pedaling, you'll experience proper leg extension because we have relaxed the seat angle and moved the pedals forward."

The 6061-T6 aluminum frame of the Café Moto Go! is available in matte black only
The 6061-T6 aluminum frame of the Café Moto Go! is available in matte black only

That frame is fashioned from 6061-T5 aluminum with hydroformed top and down tubes. Cabling is hidden away inside, the top tubs rocks a mini tank for some Café Racer aesthetics, and the e-bike also benefits form a hydroformed alloy fork.

Elsewhere, the Café Moto Go! features a Spanninga bullet headlight and E3 rear LEDs, Brooks saddle and grips, Crank Brothers Stamp 2 pedals and a Bosch Purion trip computer. It rides on 26-inch alloy rims wrapped in Vee Rubber Speedster tires, with Hayes Prime disc brakes providing stopping power.

The Café Moto Go! is being made available in limited numbers for US$4,499.99, and comes in matte black only.

Product page: Café Moto Go!

View gallery - 4 images
2 comments
2 comments
Daishi
On this topic Eric Buell launched his Fuell Fluid electric bicycle on Indigogo today. It uses a 500w mid drive motor and 2 500w batteries at 48 v for 21 Ah. The range is listed at 125 miles for the 2 battery version. That's probably a bit generous but it's still good. The bike is $2600 for the 2 battery version which is comparable to something like the Juiced Cross Current X with similar capacity (using one large instead of 2 smaller batteries). https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fuell-fluid-best-in-class-e-bikes#/
Martin Hone
A too low Cente of Gravity on a motorcycle is not a good thing. Lowering the seat height on a pushbike is about the only way known to man that you can lower the CoG as it is the rider that has the greatest effect.
As far as Cafe Racer style goes, this bears no resemblence whatsoever to those racer-inspired Nortons and Triumphs of the '60's. Maybe Bobber, but not here....