Get what? That thier old target demo is dying off, so they need to target the Vision/E-Glide geezers? :eek1
I used to have a customer that had a Big Dog custom. It was about three or four years old (at the time) and had about 500 miles on it. He called each spring for us to come out and pick it up. Take it in to the shop and have its oil changed and battery charged/replaced. One time, I was the one who was tasked with going over to the guy's house to pick up the bike... He lived in a suburban Faux Chateau. Garage that was three cars wide and two cars deep. His Big Dog was in the garage with his dually, his cigarette boat, and his RV. They were all painted alike. White, with some swoopy/splashy '90s-looking graphics. He was the type of guy who willingly pays $30k for butt jewelry, but could care less about a machine built for riders. He'd never take a second look at a motorcycle like the MOTUS. Based on what I saw at our recent "biker rally", "Bikes, Blues, & BBQ", here in my area, there are LOTS of guys just like him.
This is factual. Though, some guys are building pretty neat baggers in their garage w the 120 motor, without lowering the bike. They look like fun.
I really like this motus design. I'd love to see them do a more "adventure" style bike a la stelvio or GS too....I need to be able to go on at least gravel roads. If they will get some of these out for people to test ride, I'm seriously considering one,
I would NOT buy such a bike. I would not pay that much money for any bike period. Not a Harley, not a Harley clone, not a Motus. As for the Chevy small block, I have built dozens of them, from stock to full blown drag race engines. It has been in public domain now for decades, if you are referring to the "old" '80s and older design. The new engine is a whole different animal. You can build an old style SBC from the ground up, starting with a Dart block, and not use a single GM part. GM has given up on that engine and moved on, just like Harley did with the EVO. I still consider it the best engine any car company has ever made. NASCAR gets over 800 HP out of them, and built right they will easily last past half a million miles (you will either have to use a gear driven cam, or change the timing chain several times) As for the Motus, why hasn't there been a funeral for that thing yet. Dig a deep hole for Motus. Bring back Buell.
The current Erik Buell Racing street-legal superbike 1190RS retails for ~$40k, but they plan to introduce 3 new models next year each retailing for less than $20k. Source: http://www.motorcyclepowersportsnews.com/Item/104903/erik_buell_racing_expands.aspx
I hope those models don't end up as vaporware. Since Erik is a known quantity hopefully the capital will flow freely his way, unlike Fischer.
I'm pretty sure they're not vaporware. Besides whatever other investment cash they've collected, EBR received $20M in foriegn investment this summer: http://www.bizjournals.com/milwauke...-is-back-20m-in-foreign-capital.html?page=all Back on topic, I do hope Motus is successful with their bike and they're eventually able to come out with a reasonably affordable version.
Where are all of the Motus motorcycles?............thought that they would be on every street corner by now?
Didn't see one at the Long Beach IMS thingy today... I guess that doesn't mean much though. Also absent were the Guzzi's, MV's, Aprilia's, and probably many more.
I was kinda hoping to see one there today too, but I didn't really expect them. I understand the show. Promoters charge a pretty penny to be there. This is KTM's first year there, and even Triumph was a recent add because of the high entry price.
I'm guessing the number of Motus dealers makes Guzzi look like Walmart by comparison. But honestly, yeah - I love the look of the Guzzi motors, and that's what makes this bike so cool IMO.
I thought this thread had died along with Motus I keed I keed..... I am wondering when these bikes are actually going to become real, buyable, ridable machines tho. When are they supposed to be for sale to the public? And when will we start hearing some feedback from the streets?
I was one of the people who put down 1000 bucks after they visited Houston in August of 2011. It looked great, fit me ergonomically and just excited me like Buell did back in the early 90s when I discovered them. Having been an adopter of Buells early on and even with all the problems that came with them, I wasn't too worried about Motus being an upstart. Then when they released the final price, I asked for the money back. I was will to pay up to 18k and maybe up to 20k if I thought the final configuration was worthy of it.
I just can't see $40 grand in that thing. It looks just like a Honda ST1300, including the engine layout. The Honda (which it looks like they dropped for 2013) is better made, higher quality, will last longer, has shaft drive, and will have parts and service availability for a long time. And at less than half the price. But for $20 grand I would still go for the new Goldwing FB6. It's almost guaranteed to last 300,000 miles.