MOTUS: New Sport Tourer to be built in Alabama

[xtop20A]

Originally Posted by NC Scott

Maybe the technology suits their intended goals without over-complicating things. What are the valve adjustment intervals on the MOTUS?? Hmmmm...

it proly has hydraulic roller lifters,no adjustment needed if that is the case

[richarddacat]

Originally Posted by xtop20A

it proly has hydraulic roller lifters,no adjustment needed if that is the case

Yes, single cam-in-the-valley, hydraulic lifters, pushrods, and dual overhead valves that never need adjustment.

[xtop20A]

Originally Posted by richarddacat

Yes, single cam-in-the-valley, hydraulic lifters, pushrods, and dual overhead valves that never need adjustment.

yepper and at a claimed 100hp per liter it is not highly stressed,comparatively speaking

[NC Scott]

^^^Exactly^^^^

[bross]

Chains, sprockets, tires and oil changes. There's your maintenance manual right there. I haven't owned a bike with hydraulic lifters since my 2004 Kawasaki MeanStreak, that bike had a shaft drive so maintenance was pretty much oil changes and tires. Even though I only have to do the valves on my Honda CBF every couple years with my mileage, I just did them, had a couple valves out of spec so had to pull the cams and replace shims. I'd rather not do that if possible. I like hydraulic lifters.

[DAKEZ]

I wonder how long before they ask for bailout money from the tax payers to keep their doors open?

[Moronic]

Originally Posted by NC Scott

Found this ten-minute interview with Lee Conn:
http://youtu.be/Cbn_uZ2Z3EY

Very informative, thanks for posting.

And after watching it, I think we may all be in for a case of sticker shock.

There is no plan at all for mass production. As in, they are planning this as a hand-built bike.

They want it to be the sort of bike where, "you're lucky to get one".

They are hoping to build 200 or 300 bikes next year.

Before getting into designing the bikes, they examined the business case fror building them. And it sounded awfully like they are planning to make money from the few hundred bikes a year that they build and sell.

Add that up and what do we have?

- They are hoping there will be a waiting list of buyers for the few hundred bikes built.

- They will charge whatever they believe they can get away with while maintaining that wait list.

- They will avoid charging so little that the wait list is enormous (because if they did, then the real money would be made by people earlier on the wait list selling at a premium to those further down).

So (and as usual, assuming the bikes turn out to be as good as they hope), what sort of price tag would ensure they get only a few hundred people a year placing deposits?

[Moronic]

Oh, and speaking of videos, this is well worth a peek (just up, at the Motus site):

A couple of bike writers comment after riding a prototype. And some ride footage - looks very good.

And an interesting post here on another forum from a Ducati rider who it appears followed a Motus test rider through a nice stretch of road recently. Sounds like it was a case of

Edit: and having pointed out a few weeks ago that their website had begun quoting the weight as 240kg (530lbs) dry, I see today they have switched back again to 240 wet. Must have been a proofing glitch (of course we still don't know what wet means in Motus-speak).

[DynaSport]

Yes, they are in business to make money, so I too am concerned about price as it relates to my ability to possibly buy one in the future. I did get a chance to sit on the bike and talk to the guys in Daytona this year and they told me then that they expected it to be priced in the Ducati/BMW range whatever that means. If this bike costs about the same as the Multisrada or an RT then I can see myself owning one at some point. If it is significantly more expensive then I probably won't be able to do it.

I am also hopeful Erik Buell Racing comes out with a sport touring bike at some point before I am in the market again. I love my XB12XT, but I'd also love a bike similar to what I have with the Rotax motor in it.

Fortunately for me, my current bike has a lot of life left in it and I am very happy with it, so I can patiently wait and see what comes.

[Doug Pirahna]

I've gone from being excited about this bike to being more skeptical after the news they plan on 200 to 300 bikes a year. I'm doubtful you could sell it for less than $30k and be profitable, even if you only had about 4 employees! Then again, from the look of the job description on their site that they want to fill, they may only want 4 employees. That person will wear a lot of hats! It's still a massively appealing bike to me though and I hope they make it.

[kirb]

Originally Posted by Moronic

Add that up and what do we have?

- They are hoping there will be a waiting list of buyers for the few hundred bikes built.

- They will charge whatever they believe they can get away with while maintaining that wait list.

- They will avoid charging so little that the wait list is enormous (because if they did, then the real money would be made by people earlier on the wait list selling at a premium to those further down).

So (and as usual, assuming the bikes turn out to be as good as they hope), what sort of price tag would ensure they get only a few hundred people a year placing deposits?

Anyone who was hoping for a $15k bike was not paying attention. Motus early on said it would be a premium priced bike, but not exclusive. I suspect $22-28k depending on trim level. Any higher and they won't sell very many, any lower and they won't be able to keep up with demand. People who are thinking 'They won't sell very many at $20k in this market" are very wrong. I would be thinning out my fleet just to get in line at that price.

They won't be 'charging whatever they can' either. The price they charge is one they will have to live with. You can't charge too much and lower 2-5k later or you piss off the people who bought in early. You can't charge too little early or you get a bad name by raising your prices too quick. The initial offering will be a careful consideration of ROI and maintaining the brand name. 300 bikes a year at $25k is 7.5 million dollars...That's not a bad gross income in year one. I doubt they have more than a few mil tied up in R&D at this point.

They started this project at a perfect time- engineering firms need work to do with the downturn in the auto industry. MFG firms are more willing to take on small batch projects. They have timing and a good idea on their hands.

[Dilligaf0220]

Originally Posted by kirb

They started this project at a perfect time- engineering firms need work to do with the downturn in the auto industry. MFG firms are more willing to take on small batch projects. They have timing and a good idea on their hands.

I made this point earlier in the th'd when everybody was busy dogpiling them on their "timing". This is the perfect time for engineering work on the small/cheap, and that was reinforced by the short interview. You think the engineering company for the GM factory race team would've returned their call in 2006? Katech won't be making much cash off this deal, but it keeps quality personnel around that might be thinking about a move and gets them exposure until the next big deal comes along.

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

Did anybody see the "First Ride" report on it in the Oct MotorCyclist magazine? Not too bad.

[kirb]

Originally Posted by GI_JO_NATHAN

Did anybody see the "First Ride" report on it in the Oct MotorCyclist magazine? Not too bad.

Cycle World had a similar article. Heavy throttle spring, Heavy clutch. Unrefined tranny. Fueling not sorted out on the low RPM end. Not too hard to sort out for production. You have to be confident in your creation to let the media flog your machine in an unrefined state.

I am keeping my eyes open for a price, but I suspect we won't see one for at least a year.

[viajero]

Originally Posted by kirb

Cycle World had a similar article. Heavy throttle spring, Heavy clutch. Unrefined tranny. Fueling not sorted out on the low RPM end. Not too hard to sort out for production. You have to be confident in your creation to let the media flog your machine in an unrefined state.

I am keeping my eyes open for a price, but I suspect we won't see one for at least a year.

Better to wait a year and have the primary bugs all resolved than to come out too early with it and suffer the consequences of dissatisfied owners and bad press.

I hope they succeed, but given these turbulent economic times, I remain sceptical.