A Filipino-made electric motorcycle, the Green Falcon Banatti, is the star of a Top Gear Philippines video released on BBC and You Tube.
The Ducati-looking bike turns out to be made with Philippine bamboo grown in great numbers in the country.
The Green Falcon by Banatti is made by an all-Filipino team led by CEO and designer Christopher Paris Lacson.
“The concept was to use bamboo because that is one of the mandates of the country is to grow bamboo,” says Lacson in the video.
Banatti is derived from the Filipino term “banat” which means, to go fast, to hit it or to push it.
The icon is from the Baybayin, the ancient Philippine script.
Lacson describes the bamboo motorcycle as having an “organic feel, that is not paint, not fiber glass…It doesn’t make any noise.” Instead, the Green Falcon Banatti has a built in sound system ready to hook up to your smartphone to let you enjoy music as you ride.
The Green Falcon Banatti is geared to go up to 60kph, the city speed limit. Because it is geared low, the designers say it has better acceleration, and does not use as much power from batteries. The estimate is about 45-50km run before the bike needs charging.
Top Gear PH says of the Banatti, “This Filipino-made electric motorcycle is a two-wheeled work of art.”
A Top Gear article heaps more praises on the bamboo motorcyle: “It’s a refreshing thought and concept, and one Pinoys should take to heart. More so, considering the booming automotive industry and the country’s sudden push for cleaner, more sustainable transportation.”
Lacson adds, “It is not about making maney but it’s about wanting to provoke and inspire our country that we can have our own Ducatis, we can have our own Ferraris.
We should be doing that, we’re creative, we’re smart, we’re intelligent.”
Banatti’s Lacson along with his engineer and builder, Jess Alimbo and Eduardo Canete who did the body and paint, conceptualized, fabricated, and got the bamboo motorcycle up and running and gave it a tag stating it is dedicated it to God and country.
Check out the Top Gear Ph Video
