Brand Loyalty Monday: Motus

Everyone who knows me knows I'm excited about Motus Motorcycles. What's not to be excited about? They are an American startup throwing caution to the wind with their ground-up designed sport tourer, the MST.

Their president, Lee Conn, is a slick guy I've had the pleasure of talking to twice, and he's clearly a rider who loves what he's doing and believes in their product. The videos and pictures of their progress over the last few years have been a blast to follow.

No, I will definitely not be able to afford their MST when it comes out this Spring. I'm pegging the cost of the machine at $30k, based on my complete lack of expertise on estimating low production motorcycle costs :) But does a V4 sport tourer with top-shelf components, hydraulic lifters, and easily-accessible valve covers sound good to me? You bet your damn leathers it does. Here's hoping a friend of mine buys one and lets me ride it!

IMS DC 2012

After skipping 2 years, I decided to return to the International Motorcycle Show in DC this year.

I finally met an RC8!

My wife and 8-month-old son joined me, and the youngest of us pretty much set the pace :)  I didn't get as many photos as I had hoped, but I snapped a few and got the chance to sit on some pretty wicked bikes.

It was great to see Motus Motorcycles showing DC some love and bringing their MST to the show (at Battley's tent)!  The other small-time start-ups that I follow didn't seem to consider DC a necessary stop (I'm talking to you, Zero and Brammo).  I'm totally excited about what Motus is bringing to the table, and it's great to see their president in-person when they take to the road.

I was really surprised to see the Erik Buell Racing 1190 at the show.  The Dream Pavilion, which featured a handful of you'll-probably-never-see-one-of-these bikes, had Erik Buell's latest 2-wheel jet on display in all its carbon fiber glory.  I only managed a picture of the front squeezer...

Good times - 2012 is not going to be a sleeper on the motorcycle front!

Inspiration in Gaithersburg

Motus Motorcycles made a stop in Gaithersburg, MD to show off their goods to a dealership and the local riders.  They did not disappoint!



Their MST and MST-R prototypes were gorgeous.  The fairings flow from the front of the bike toward its belly, where a massive ~1.6L V4 points its cylinder to the skies.  The framing of the valve covers is a pretty sexy example of form and function.  And the hardly-noticeable, tubular steel frame (and swingarm) hold together what amounts to a 500lb, 160hp monster that will put out gobs of torque at low RPMs.  Actually, there's probably nothing this bike can't do at low RPMs.



The seat, and frame at the point of the seat, is unbelievably narrow compared with most bikes I've straddled.  This makes for a very easy reach to the ground and even shorter riders will probably find this to be a very comfortable bike.



Motus's turn-around from inception to fruition has impressed the hell out of me - I remember not too long ago seeing the original napkin-style sketch of the bike.  And already they've got a few that apparently ride like a dream.  They expect to have these to market by the middle of 2012.  You know somethin'?  If money was no object, I'd by one and it'd be my street and track bike.

No love for the Northeast

Motus is taking their sweet MST prototypes out for a long touring run. And you can even meet them along the way to have a look at their machines! But the Midatlantic/Northeast is out of luck :(