I spotted the new American Made motorcycle about a month back. Today I contacted Lee Conn President of Motus Motorcycles and arranged an interview to answer questions a biker like me wants to know.
EvoJoe: Being unique is key to surviving all the competition. Being unique for a technical/ mechanical benefit keeps the bills paid.
Motus:Agreed. It seems that the key is to be unique & show a benefit,whether that is improved technology for reliability/ efficiency/ weight savings,or just for aesthetic. Some products that come out these days seem to be unique for the sake of uniqueness.
EvoJoe: Chromoly frame was used to keep the weight down, the only disadvantage of the close grained metal is the cost. Why the more expensive cost choice of metals for the frame?
Motus: There are several reasons we chose to use aircraft tubing(CRMO 4130) and you stated the most important one- strength to weight ratio. Most massproduced motorcycles are just too damn heavy because of the need to build them cheaply. The race to the bottom in terms of price has consequences in terms of value, quality,character, etc.
One of our design goals(Motus) was to make the MST lightweight (near 500lbs.) which will increase range,reduce rider fatigue, offer better overall responsiveness/ performance and generally make the bike more fun! While the MST-01 will be affordable to a wide range of buyers,we would rather make a spectacularly fun,exiting and high quality machine than an inexpensive and cheaply made commodity product.
EvoJoe: Motus uses a V4 powerplant, does this added width affect the primary balance of the bike?
Motus: The width of the KMV4 is only 18", so it is really compact and does not affect the primary balance. The 90 degree V configuration is inherently balanced anyway and we designed twin counterbalancers for secondary balance. A V4 is a cool solution because you get the wide torque band of a V, but also the smoothness of a multi-cylinder engine. Perfect for sport-touring. Because we have positioned the KMV4 "sideways" in the frame,it gets even cylinder cooling and a direct route for the RAM air. You don't have a hot rear cylinder under your nuts either. Plus, you can rebuild the whole engine without taking it out of the frame! Plus the sound is just indescribably cool. The KMV4 is the world's first common rail direct injected motorcycle engine and the first V4 ever made for an American motorcycle (or car). Here is a bit of info about GDI: Gasoline direct injection (GDI) increases power and reduces emissions by digitally atomizing fuel as it is sprayed directly into the engine cylinders.Using a powerfull engine management system, the air/fuel ratio can be precisely monitored and optimized hundreds of times per second allowing the KMV4 to instantly adapt to changing conditions. GDI is used in many modern production cars and reduces tailpipe emissions on start-up (when most noxious gases are created) up to 25% while at the same time increasing power and torque up to 10%.
EvoJoe: Is the adjustable windscreen similar to the type on a BMW touring that can be adjusted by a push of a button cruising on the interstate?
Motus: The wind screen will be adjustable.
Evojoe: Bikers like me have rode a cruiser style for many miles. Will Motus have a demo fleet available to possibly get a chance to ride at a rally like Sturgis or Daytona?
Motus: I hear you,Joe! I've had 6 H-D's,Moto Guzzi's, Honda's, Yamaha's, Aprilla's, Indian's and others so I understand that dynamics of changing from one style of riding to the other. While I loved most of them dearly,I just never loved any of them so much that I wasn't receptive to trying another out. Then, I fell in love with that one too! Isn't that why they invented multi-car garages?
While Motus is a really small company that will likely never have 50 MST's in the back of a transfer truck to offer demo rides at Daytona, we will offer test rides through our dealers and our own Motus Factory Store in Alabama. I think that begs another question- how are we gonna convince V-twin guys to take a look at what a Motus can offer? In many cases, we won't. HD makes some great products and have created an incredible loyal and cool following. The guys (and gals) we are after will be looking for something different. Maybe they will be cruiser/chopper guys that want something they can ride a lot more aggressively when the mood hits. Maybe they are aging sportbike riders that want to kick ass in the canyons,but don't want to seek a chiropractor everytime. Maybe they are the guys that start on HD's and end up on BMW's or Triumph's. Maybe they are American muscle car enthusiasts or NASCAR fans that understand the big block architcture. Hell, we'll take all kinds!
EvoJoe: Owning a older H-D allows us to carry a small amount of tools to handle many emergency fixes on the road often in the middle of nowhere. Will the owner of a Motus have this same ability or does high performance/ high tech mean everything needs to be calibrated with a tool box the size of a Mack truck?
Motus:Ha! No huge tool box needed for riding the Motus,Joe. High performance/ high tech does not necessarily mean high maintenance or poor reliability. We selected our engineering partners because they are experts in making vehicles that don't break in extreme conditions. For example,Pratt & Miller and Katech have 60 championships between them, mostly in endurance racing. For example, as partners,they won the 24 hoursof Le Mans 6 out of the 10 years that they competed there together. Imagine running a Corvette full throttle around the track for 24 straight hours. So, where we have baked in some proven high tech fueling, the architecture of the engine and the chassis is bulletproof. I can't divulge everything at this point, but I can tell you that many parts will be readily available in ways that motorcycle parts usually are not. Also, since we have used traditional small block architecture(although scaled down), just about every shadetree mechanic in the US can understand the KMV4 and work on it as opposed to most modern bikes. Isn't that one of the problems with cars and many bikes out today? Riders and drivers have no idea what is going on "under the hood" and are therefore completely isolated from their machines. The KMV4 is easy to understand.maintain,fix,modify,bore out, turbocharge, etc.
EvoJoe: Will Motus sell thru dealerships? How does one get to be a chosen dealer?
Motus: Yes, we are talking with high quality, rider oriented dealerships all over the US. We will try to average about 2-3 per state.
EvoJoe: How does the consumer purchase a Motus when available in 2011?
Motus: We are taking refundable deposits now for our first year of production. Thank You Joe! I look forward to doing some riding witcha, So let us know if you have any plans to be in Alabama anytime. Great roads,pretty girls,and good BBQ...! Plus we are right Down the road from the Barber Motorsports Park.