Tag: Janus Motorcycles

This Just In From Janus Motorcycles

By Joe Berk

This press release just came in last week and I wanted to share it with our ExNotes readers.  I’ve been traveling or I would have posted it sooner.

TWO MIDWEST BRANDS HAVE COME TOGETHER FOR THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE

DULUTH PACK + JANUS MOTORCYCLES TO DEBUT LIMITED EDITION MOTORCYCLES AND RIDING BAGS

To celebrate the partnership and collaboration, the brands are co-hosting a launch party at the Duluth Pack flagship retail store in Duluth, Minnesota.

DULUTH, MINN –– Wed May 1st, 2024 – Two Midwest companies focusing on old-school techniques, Duluth Pack and Janus Motorcycles have teamed up to create a collection of expertly crafted riding bags and a one-of-a-kind motorcycle called, “The Rambler Edition”. The collaboration embodies the same ethos of rooted appreciation for the outdoors, and both preserving history with traditional and historic manufacturing techniques. American-Made gear and equipment that is built with purpose for the long-haul. Now the best of both have emerged with “The Rambler Edition”. To kick-off the highly anticipated collection, both brands are co-hosting a launch party on Friday, May 3rd at Duluth Pack’s flagship retail store in Canal Park, Duluth, MN.

The event will be from 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM CST with raffles and giveaways provided by Duluth Pack and Janus Motorcycles every hour during the event. Attendees will be able to be the first to shop the exclusive and limited-edition styles of Duluth Pack bags and the vintage crafted Janus Motorcycle. The collection focuses on both brand’s DNA including colors of the original olive drab colorway and a partnership logo. Families, friends, locals, visitors, and motorcycle enthusiasts are all encouraged to come to the store to celebrate at the launch party.

“Our priority has always been and will always be on our quality and meeting our customer’s needs. The focus of the Rambler Edition collaboration between Duluth Pack and Janus Motorcycles is providing the aesthetic and functionally our customers want and expect from both of our companies,” said Tom Sega, Duluth Pack’s President and CEO. “Both of our company’s products are built for a lifetime of adventures. Between Duluth Pack and Janus Motorcycles, we have a combined 154 years of American-Made history and that is something we are profoundly proud of.”

“This has been a project both Duluth Pack and Janus Motorcycles have been working on since 2021,” added Andrea Johnson, Duluth Pack’s Public Relations Contact. “The DNA of both brands breathes within this exclusive line and our entire team is very much looking forward to celebrating with our customers on Friday.” 

“The heritage of classic style and durable quality at Duluth Pack is an ideal fit for Janus’ classic motorcycles and we’re pleased to offer such a well-made product to our riders and customers. – Richard Worsham, Janus Motorcycles CEO

The Rambler Edition line will be exclusively available on Janus’ ecommerce site at janusmotorcycles.com.

For more information regarding the Rambler Edition Launch Party event at the Duluth Pack flagship store, please visit Duluth Pack’s social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), visit DuluthPack.com or call the Duluth Pack Headquarters at (218) 722-3898.

So there you have it.  This program sounds like a winner from two of the heartland’s iconic brands.  For more on our ExNotes experiences with Janus Motorcycles, including a plant visit and a Baja blast, check out our Epic Rides page.

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Janus Announces 450 Scrambler

By Joe Berk

This just came in a few minutes ago:  Janus is announcing their new 450cc Gryffin Scrambler.   I rode the street version when I visited Janus Motorcycles a couple of years ago and I thought it was great.  At 330 pounds and with a 450cc engine, the new Gryffin sounds good to me.  Here’s the Janus press release.

JANUS MOTORCYCLES ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF GRYFFIN 450 SCRAMBLER

Goshen, Indiana

Janus Motorcycles, maker of small-displacement motorcycles with hand-crafted components and highly-customizable color combinations announces the development of their Gryffin 450 Model.

The Gryffin 450 uses the same simple, reliable, and enduro-inspired SWM 445cc, 30hp power plant as their popular Halcyon 450. With a 21’’ front wheel and 17’’ rear, high exhaust, and adventure-minded details, the Gryffin 450 is designed to be an ultra-lightweight scrambler that is configurable for adventure riding, trails, and general on- and off-road riding. It draws inspiration from classic scramblers of the 50s and 60s.

Weighing in at 330 pounds, the Gryffin 450 is featherweight in the scrambler class, and the XR400-derived SWM engine provides impressive power-to-weight in its lightweight chassis.

Janus Senior Design Engineer, Charlie Hansen-Reed, led the design on the project. “The Gryffin 450 is a close sibling to our Halcyon 450, but with some key changes that really make it excel off-pavement. The longer suspension travel, wheel size, lower seat height, and larger fuel tank will be really welcomed by our off-road riders.” He adds, “and trimming another 30 pounds off our already featherweight 450 chassis will be a huge bonus for trailering, van-lifers, and for any adventuresome rider’s peace of mind and confidence.”

Still available to customers will be the whole range of color options, pinstripe options, and other various aesthetic and functional items that differentiates Janus’ manufacturing process. Additional new options on the Gryffin 450 roadmap include motocross footpegs, headlight cage, pannier racks, highway bars, skid plate, tire selections, and pillion seat.

All Gryffin 450s will include hand-formed and beaded fenders, hand-formed and welded stainless steel exhaust, hand-welded chassis and forks, Brembo brakes, hand-painted graphics and pinstripes, and hundreds of permutations of color, pinstripe color, graphics package, leather/canvas bag options, and other customizations.

Janus Motorcycles builds their highly-individualized motorcycles to order and documents much of their design and build process on their Youtube channel. “Our customers and riders love to be a part of the iterative process. We’ve invited them along as we developed our 250 line and our Halcyon 450, and we’re excited to invite them alongside us as we finalize the design of the Gryffin 450 and push it into production” Founder and CEO Richard Worsham shares: “We invite anyone to follow along with us this year as we test, develop, and build our exciting new model.”

Janus opened reservations of the first Gryffin 450s to the public today, February 23rd. All orders placed in the first 30 days of sale will be a part of the First Edition, with serial-numbered plates, limited edition race plates, unique engraved components, and commemorative packages. Bikes will be built in order of reservation, with the first expected to be finished in July of 2024.

Riders can place a reservation for an order fee of $2995.

The Gryffin 450 base price is set to be $13495.

CONTACT INFO:

For media inquiries and more info, please contact Grant Longenbaugh, President, at grant@janusmotorcycles.com; for dealer inquiries, please contact dealers@janusmotorcycles.com; for sales, contact sales@janusmotorcycles.com, or call 574-538-1350.   More info: www.janusmotorcycles.com

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This just in: Janus Announces Origin Line!

By Joe Berk

This just came in:  A press release from Janus Motorcycles!   Janus has a special place in my heart.  I rode with those guys in Baja on Janus Motorcycles and I visited the plant (and wrote about their new 450 in Motorcycle Classics magazine) a year or so ago.  They’re good folks and they make great motorcycles.  The latest Janus press release follows.

Happy New Year!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Janus Motorcycles announces new “Origins” line with lower entry price

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new edition of both the 250 and 450 Janus models: the Janus “Origin” model line. The basic idea of the “Origin” line is to provide a blank slate version of our existing models paired down to the essence of what defines each model. This serves to provide both a more affordable option AND the opportunity to build your own Janus just as you would like. To this end, we have removed all but the most vital elements of each model.

For example, the Halcyon 250 Origin edition includes everything that you need to be initiated into the Janus experience: a beautiful handmade motorcycle ready to ride, but without many of the options and upgrades that have always been standard on our production models such as fender pinstripe, air box graphics, and number plate (Origin edition Halcyons come with fenders pr-drilled and capped should you wish to add a number plate), a limited palette of available options for primary color, a single gold option for pinstriping, a standard seat, limited leather color options, a 1-year warranty, and no polished options.

By reducing the number of features and options, this helps us to hold appropriate stock and streamline production efficiency all of which allows us to offer the Origin line at a significantly lower entry price. Should you wish to add additional options or upgrades, these are all available for an additional cost. Add-ons will be shipped separately with instructions for installation by the customer. Get in on the Janus rambling experience and add almost any of our upgrades or extended warranties down the road! Book racks, fishtail exhausts, saddlebags, or headlight visors also make great birthday or Christmas gifts!

The details
Get the Halcyon 250 Origin for a $6995 base price. That includes choice of two colors, gold tank pinstripe, and 1 year warranty. Build one here.

Get the Gryffin 250 Origin for a $7495 base price. That includes choice of two colors, gold tank pinstripe, and 1 year warranty. Build one here.

Get the Halcyon 450 Origin for a $13,495 base price. That includes choice of two colors, gold tank pinstripe, simplified feather graphic/emblem, and 1 year warranty. Build one here.

How? 
So much of what we do is hands on. By giving you control over how much of that “hands on” you start with on your bike, we can help reduce the upfront price for these packages.

The value of our main model lines and their THOUSANDS of configurations, handcrafted quality, industry-leading warranties, and show-stopping looks doesn’t change. If you still want to “choose everything” it’s still the best value to go with the fully-customizable standard build up front (you can do the math on the website).

Background

At Janus, we pride ourselves on our design, hand-craftsmanship, and hyper-local supply chain—all things that also contribute to the higher cost of our models compared to the mass-produced offerings from the mainstream motorcycle industry. Especially over the past three years material costs, and inflation have meant that our prices have had to climb to stay abreast of our costs. Our goal with the Origin line is to find a way to offer an introductory option to the Janus experience with the potential to add options and upgrades over time.

One of the highest costs we face is also one of our greatest benefits: the numerous and complex menu of potential finishes and upgrades. By reducing these and standardizing the process, we have been able to find just the right balance that allows us to offer the Origin line. We chose to offer a “line” of existing models because, although paired down, the Halcyon “Origin” is still completely a Halcyon. What it lacks in options and upgrades, it makes up for in potential! We have never offered a “kit” bike, but this might be the closest we will ever come…

We chose the name Origin for its associations with just this idea of potential and beginnings (a big theme here with Janus the god who presides over them!) and because it conveys the idea that these are not so much different from the stock models in nature as in degree.

Please contact us with any questions you may have about the new Janus “Origin” line, what is or is not included, and how you can build it out over time!

Richard discusses the Origin line:

Thanks,

Grant

Grant Longenbaugh

President
Janus Motorcycles

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The Janus Halcyon 450 and Motorcycle Classics Magazine

Joe Gresh’s recent blog on the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club and their magazine is, like all of Gresh’s writing, outstanding.  So much so that, as he suggested, I became a VJMC magazine subscriber.

I’d like to suggest another magazine, and as you have no doubt guessed from the title of this blog, it’s Motorcycle Classics.  I think it’s one of the best motorcycle magazines in existence.  Part of that is due to MC‘s quality…glossy paper, a great page count, great photos, and great writing.  And part of it is I get to see my work in MC‘s pages on a regular basis.  Most recently, it’s my story on the new Janus Halcyon 450.  Sue and I had a great time visiting with the Janus team in Goshen, Indiana, and the Halcyon 450 motorcycle is a winner.  Pick up a copy of Motorcycle Classics magazine and read the Halcyon 450 article.  Better yet, subscribe to Motorcycle Classics.

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Want to read more about Janus motorcycles in action?  Check out the Baja ride we did with Janus!

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A Janus Halcyon 450 Teaser

Boy oh boy, I get to do some cool things.  Today’s blog is a quick teaser for an upcoming story on the new Janus Halcyon 450.  I won’t spoil the fun other than to say my last stop during a recent trip to Indiana was Janus Motorcycles, where I had an awesome plant tour and a ride on the new Halcyon 450 motorcycle.  It was great.  The motorcycle was impressive; the company even more so.  I’m a big time Janus fan, having ridden their 250 Gryffin model through southern California and northern Baja with a couple of Janus big wheels (you can read that story here).   I was pretty sure the 450 would be a wonderful motorcycle, and I was right.

Stay tuned, folks.  There’s a lot more to this story.

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Halcyon 450 Riding Footage

You will recall our recent post on the new Janus 450.  Those Janus boys are not sitting still….here’s some exciting footage of the new Janus feeling its oats in the great American Southwest:

This is definitely cool. I can’t wait to ride one. 360 lbs. That’s amazing.

Check out our earlier Janus posts here and here!

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Janus Halcyon 450 Announced

Janus, the Roman God of Transitions, symbolizes looking to the past and the future.  It is a fitting name for Janus Motorcycles, a company building ultra-high quality modern motorcycles with classic styling from the 1920s and 1930s.

The Roman god Janus on display in the Vatican.

You may remember a couple of years ago I rode northern Baja with the Janus guys.  It was a great ride (any ride in Baja is) and the Janus is a great motorcycle…a gem of a bike handcrafted in Goshen, Indiana.  I had a wonderful time and I loved riding the Janus Gryffin.

The Janus Gryffin on Baja’s Rumarosa Grade.

Well, those boys in Goshen don’t sit still.  The bike I rode was powered by a 250cc CG Honda clone engine and it was a hoot, but the Goshen guys had bigger plans.  Janus announced today that they are introducing a new Halcyon with a 450cc engine.   I’ll let the press release below, the Janus videos, and the brochure do the talking.  Watch both videos; you’ll enjoy them.

Janus Motorcycles Releases New Halcyon 450 Model

Goshen, Indiana (March 8, 2021) — After 18 months of confidential development, Janus Motorcycles of Goshen, Indiana is unveiling their newest model, the Halcyon 450. Building off the best of what they offered in their 250 line, the Halcyon 450 features a higher top speed, a rear suspension, performance brakes, and several new hand-crafted details.

“Our 250 series owners love the light weight, hand-built features, and classic lines of the 250 series. With the Halcyon 450, we’ve worked to refine those features while improving the top speed and ride comfort. We’re extremely proud of the result,” says General Manager Grant Longenbaugh.

The Halcyon 450 features an SWM 445cc single-cylinder four valve engine with EFI, Brembo brakes, Sargent seat, and a new proprietary cantilever rear suspension.

Production is slated to begin in early June, with several units completed weekly.

Co-founder Richard Worsham says, “Like the 250, the 450 is a manifestation of what we believe is the spirit of motorcycling: the connection between the rider, machine, and landscape.” “We’re very excited to share that spirit with more and more riders,” he continued.

Janus Motorcycles uses a network of craftsmen in the Northern Indiana area (many of whom are Amish) to manufacture nearly all of their body work including the frame, fuel tanks, leather storage, and stainless steel exhausts. They are made to order and can be personalized with various paint, pinstripe, and finish options.

Janus was recently featured on Jay Leno’s Garage and the New York Times.

The 2021 Halcyon 450 starts at $13,500, and customers may reserve their bike with a deposit.

There you have it, folks.  I like this new Halcyon, and the spec that stands out for me is the weight:  Just 360 lbs!  Watch the ExNotes blog; we’ll have more info on Janus and the new 450 in future posts.

If you would like to read about our Janus Baja ride on the 250cc Gryffin and Halcyon motorcycles, you can do so here!

For more info on Janus Motorcycles, click here.

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More than a machine: A Janus Motorcycle

Sometimes a motorcycle is so beautiful, so perfect, it just stops you in your tracks.  The red Janus Gryffin in these photos does that for me.

Our good buddies at Janus Motorcycles make stunning motorcycles.  I rode their olive green Gryffin across northern Baja and it was a perfect machine, one I thought could not be topped.  Then I saw this red Gryffin that my good friend Richard posted on Facebook.  Folks, this is how a motorcycle is supposed to look.  This machine is more than a motorcycle. It evokes emotion. It’s art.

The motorcycle you see here is Gryffin No. 69 and it is magnificent.  Janus GM Richard tells us that “No special detail was left untouched…from the red painted side panels, red wheel pinstripes, and black handlebars, this Gryffin just hits different.”  Indeed it does.

For more information on Janus Motorcycles, check them out at JanusMotorcycles.com.  If you’d like to read about our Baja ride with the Janus boys, give a click here.

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Land O’ Goshen: A Janus ride!

Janus Motorcycles has a series of videos on their motorcycles, and this is the latest with Jordan and Josiah.  There are few things that sound as good as a single-cylinder motorcycle accelerating, and that comes across loud and clear in the video.  Enjoy, my friends.

Watching the Janus video reminded me of the Baja ride I took with Jordan and Devin (you can read about that adventure here).  It was cool, riding the jewel-like, CG-engined, Janus motorcycles across northern Baja.  We may do that again at some point in the Covid-free future and that would be fun.  We sure had a great time on our Janus Baja adventure.

You can read about our other rides here, and more on things to see and do in Baja here.

Janus Motorcycles headed to Washington!

Good buddy Grant Longenbaugh over at Janus Motorcycles just sent this to us:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2019

Janus Motorcycles to Represent Indiana in Made in America Product Showcase at the White House 

Goshen, Indiana – On Monday, July 15, 2019, Janus Motorcycles will participate in the third annual Made in America Product Showcase at the White House.  

Companies from across the country will join President Donald J. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of the Administration to showcase their products. Janus Motorcycles will showcase three of their 229cc motorcycles during the event. Richard Worsham (co-founder), Devin Biek (co-founder), and Bruce Korenstra (partner), plan to represent the company. “We’re honored to represent our city and state, as well as the rich manufacturing heritage we’re a part of in northern Indiana,” Janus co-founder Devin Biek said. 

“We are excited to once again host businesses from all 50 states at the White House to highlight and celebrate American-made products,” a White House official said. “In today’s booming economy, President Trump and his Administration are proud to tout businesses that create jobs and support our local communities.” 

ABOUT JANUS MOTORCYCLES:

Founded by Devin Biek and Richard Worsham in 2011, Janus Motorcycles builds made-to-order production motorcycles out of their Goshen, Indiana headquarters. Their classic designs have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Discovery Channel, and in multiple industry publications. They strive to create motorcycles that riders of all experience levels can enjoy and understand. 

Janus Motorcycles draws on the rich pool of manufacturing and fabrication shops in northern Indiana. Their three models of lightweight 229cc motorcycles feature hand-formed tanks, locally welded components such as frames, hand-bent stainless handlebars, hand-painted trim, and a proprietary anti-dive suspension developed by the Janus team. They are fully registrable in all fifty states with EPA and California ARB certification. All three models start at $6995. They plan to produce just 250 units out of their Goshen facility this year.

Press Inquiries:

Janus Motorcycles: Grant Longenbaugh, grant@janusmotorcycles.com, 574-538-1350
The White House: Weston Loyd, weston@who.eop.gov 

Guys, that’s impressive.   Janus has been hitting it out of the park consistently on several fronts…great motorcycles, great leadership, and in particular, great public relations.  These folks had the foresight to advertise here on the ExNotes website, they took a flyer on a fabulous Baja trip with us, they recently had our story about that trip in ADVMoto, they had a great article in the NY Times, and now, this.   Our good buddy Grant is doing a fantastic job, as is everyone at the Janus plant.  Our congratulations to Janus and our best wishes for continuing success!

Devin Biek, mixing it up in the desert on our Baja ride…Devin Biek and Richard Worsham founded Janus Motorcycles.