The shocking news is that they lasted 10 years. Motus Motorcycles announced they were shutting down and I mean right now. Which is a shame because I liked the looks of their sport tourer and it apparently had a great engine. Legendary moto-journalist Jack Lewis said he liked the bike and that’s good enough for me. The Motus sold for around 30,000 dollars. That undercut some other American-made motorcycles in the rarified cruiser category but was still a hefty chunk of change for a sport tourer.
I saw Motus at Daytona long time ago, before the production motorcycles were available. There were a couple of good-natured models standing around the bike. Closer to the ground and less aloof than the Ducati models, the girls wore short black skirts and belly-exposing, Motus logoed crop-top T-shirts. I joked around with them and they let me pose for for a photograph with one on each arm. The girls really didn’t know anything about the Motus but they were packing in the crowds. I thought it was damn good marketing.
I never got to ride a Motus. I never asked the company for a loaner. They were getting plenty of coverage in the moto-press and I am not very ambitious. The V-four engine attracts a lot of attention because of its small size and torque. Loosely based on a Scat style engine, I predict a bright future selling the Motus engine as a stand-alone unit.
Old British sports car owners, guys tired of being run over in 4-cylinder Jeeps, perhaps racers in a spec-engine mini, sprint-car series are all potential customers for a reorganized Motus. Call the new company Motus Power Systems and sell bolt-in kits to repower various lightweight 4-wheelers.
Could taller, more aloof models have saved Motus? Hard to say. My advice to Motus is to forget about motorcycles. There are so many fantastic bikes available we don’t need another. The entire United States motorcycle industry would fit inside the tackle box of the recreational fishing industry. Motorcycles are such a tiny fraction, a statistical rounding error really, of the greater automotive economy that it’s not worth Motus’ trouble.
Hell, if you sold every motorcycle rider in America a Motus you’d still need to borrow money from me to get Uber fare home. The money simply isn’t there. So start work on the Jeep/Motus repower kit, boys. I’ll be first in line to mooch a test fitting in Brumby the YJ. I’ll even let you guys hire models to pose next to the old Jeep.
Well worded observations as usual Sir Gresh of Cementus. There will always be a Yoo-Hoo in my fridge for you if you’re ever passing by.
Gresh! I think you’ve hit it! When my buddy Randy stopped by on his Motus, my yootful neighbor BillyBoy scoped out that plant with the idear of swapping it out with the 1/4 hp Denso electric spinner that came on his big wheeled skate board. That’d be soooooo cool 😉
That engine begs to be in something other than a motorcycle.
My good buddy Joe Lee and I took a test ride on them at the Rock Store about two years ago. I loved the two bikes I rode. You felt in touch with every mechanical aspect of the bike. Similar to riding a Ducati. You could feel each pulse of the engine which was both good and bad. Sorry to see them go.
Hey Joe dont like the bike but the girls sure are good styling high power and high reving twin cams
It is a shame but even Captain Obvious saw this one coming…..
I would like to have put that engine in a couple of MG’s and Triumphs back in The Day.
I liked Motus. Not $30,000 like, but they at least had the balls to think way outside the box.
Damn shame, I liked Lee aand his sidekick engineer, they were good guys. Passion doesn’t always equate to $$$ in the Bank unfortunately. Hope something rises from the ashes.