MOTUS: New Sport Tourer built in Alabama

That's mostly true if you compare engines of equal displacement. But they built a relatively large engine to get the alleged 160hp from the Motus. When you compare it to OHC Japanese 4's of roughly equal output I'm not sure there's much difference. The engine doesn't appear all that short to me or all that compact but I haven't seen one IRL to say for sure.

My thoughts on the engine's output are above. I agree on the maintenance aspects. I'm not looking forward to the upcoming valve adjustment on my Ninja. The interval is 15K miles though so it's not a show stopper for me. That's about 2 years of riding.

If I recall the Motus is rated at 160, or 185 hp.
Aside from a 'drag bike' like the ZX14, doesn't BMW's 1400 six make about 140?

Pushrods exist in racing series mostly because the rules say they have to. NASCAR in particular is a drivers series running what amounts to spec racers. Different manufacturers have their own engines but what's allowed is restricted enough that all the brands are withing a few HP of each other.

Plenty of Americans do seem to be fine with Steampunk but I'm not sure they're the same Americans that will buy this bike for $30K+. I mean that literally, I have no idea if the bike will sell once it's in production.

I like the idea of the bike and I'd like it to sell even if I do find some things about it disappointing. For $30K I'd like a little more technology than a pushrod engine and off the shelf suspension and luggage hung on a steel tube frame.

This link says 160HP. Hard to say though since very few people have even ridden one let alone put one on a dyno.

http://www.motusmotorcycles.com/kmv4.html

A current model stock ZX14 is about 180HP at the wheel from everything I've read and it's a tractable engine. The power isn't up high like a ZX10R or the other Literbikes. I suspect a current Hayabusa is similar.

The BMW is similar in power but it's a large touring bike that doesn't pretend to be sporty.

Drag bike? I thought of my ZX as more of a daily driver/tourer.

Motus is claiming over 100 hp per liter from a naturally aspirated, 2 valve, pushrod motor. That's doable but it denotes a pretty high state of tune, much higher than the corvette exhibits. That claim actually puts them in NASCAR territory for specific output. I doubt that they can build a reliable engine that's drivable, durable and meets emissions and produce that level of output.

The Z06 produces 505 HP from 7.0l, so around 72hp/l. Of course that's a production car engine, where torque is so important and it has to survive GM's durability testing.

Buell made 102hp from 1.2l (85hp/l) from a two valve air-cooled sportster based engine.

100hp/l doesn't seem too difficult to achieve from a water cooled, Corvette based design that will be used on a motorcycle. The valve area/cc of a 1.6l V4 is much greater than a 7.0l V8 and the reciprocating mass is much much less, so it should rev and still be reliable.

Since there's no actual Motus engine yet in the wild....

Here's some NASCAR data from the always accurate Wikipedia:

Engine Displacement: 5.86 L (5,860 cc) (358 in³) Pushrod V8.
Transmission: 4 Speed Manual.
Weight: 3,200 lb (1,451 kg) (without driver, fuel); 3,400 lb (1,542 kg) (with driver, fuel).[32]
Power Output: 865 hp (645 kW) unrestricted; 445 hp (332 kW) with restrictor plate (2007).[33]
Torque: 720 N·m (530 ft·lb).
Fuel: 98 octane E15 provided by Sunoco.
Fuel Capacity: 17.75 US gal (67 L) most tracks.
Fuel Delivery: Port Fuel Injection
Fuel Injection type: McLaren
ECU Provider: Freescale Semiconductor
Compression Ratio: 12:1.
Aspiration: Naturally aspirated.

My abacus reads 147 hp per liter from a Nascar engine.

Cakeeater

Yada, yada, yada..........I might be in an assisted living facilty before this bike makes it's debut......if it ever does.

One MOTUS to lead them all
One POTUS to bless them
One SCROTUS to tease them all
and in the darkness SMOTUS them

Wow, I didn't know that hp dropped by HALF on the plate tracks.
Shows the importance of aerodynamics if anything.

It's funny how opinions get formed. If you look at the specs on the 2 bikes they're not as far off as the hype makes them out to be.

http://www.motusmotorcycles.com/mst-01.html

http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/product-specifications.aspx?id=711&scid=24

The obvious difference is the ZX14 weights about 50lb more than the claimed weight of the Motus. Dump the Enterprise sized exhaust on the ZX and install Akra pipes like are shown on the Motus and the difference is probably under 30lb. The Motus chassis doesn't appear anymore sporty from the numbers and I doubt there's any question which bike will have more performance.

Amazing what you can do to form opinions with enough press coverage, a slick enough website, and no bikes to prove or disprove anything...

I'd be amazed if the Motus comes in near 500 lbs.

What Buell made an actual 102 hp. from a 1200.and I don't count sales brochures.

85-90hp at the wheel would be around 102hp at the crank. No manufacturer quotes rear wheel horsepower, they quote SAE Net (J1349) which is at the crank with all engine driven accessories connected.

While I want to see Motus succeed, I also want to see dyno numbers. No matter what manufacturer (or industry) you look at, there is a physical law, which states: The numbers quoted by engineers are adjusted by a variable percentage as they are passed through the PR department.

My Buell Ulysses spun the dyno at 82hp which was strong from what I was told. Some only managed 72-75. It was a fabulously fun motor though.

The Motus engines strong point is in what it isn't. It's not a fancy high zoot multi this, double that, etc. It follows the golden rule of "No replacement for displacement" and I'm sure it will be an absolute hoot to ride. Can't wait to try one out.

I'll be amazed if 140 of those 160HP show up at the rear wheel...

The HP level maybe realistic. The R version is claiming what the old ZX14 had(185hp). It's lower tech but 300cc's bigger. But until we see a full dyno sheet, and real world MPG numbers (not just 'the guy's say around 40mpg) then it's all speculation. In my experience, when bigger motors make the same power as smaller more sophisticated motors they end up burning more fuel. MPG matters with a sport tourer, no matter how deep the owners pockets are.