[eon]

Now that’s a hot rod I can relate to!

As a non-American I have to admit I’m a little non-plussed by the dreams of American domination of the motorcycle industry. Dreams of bygone days seem heavily tinted by patriotic fervor and emotion. If America was ever a power to be reckoned with in the motorcycle world it certainly was not in my lifetime, at least outside of the Harley lifestyle market. And why in a country obsessed with free market are we limited to patriotic young Americans building American bikes? That article seemed very odd and self defeating, in that only a Google billionaire type could save the day. If you are looking for a good example of how to do it then look no further than Triumph. That essentially is a brand new company that copied the good business practices from Japan and slapped a historic badge on brand new bikes. Building attractive modern bikes and modern classics they have carved out quite a niche for themselves, as well as a great reputation. Didn’t take a billion dollars, mostly know how, hard work and dedication (okay, and probably a few million). That would be an attainable goal for anyone trying to start an American bike company.

Seems to be lots of people crying out for it.

[TrialsRider]

Motus Brakes are by Brembo, and suspension is by Öhlins, oops, so much for buying American. Wow, the motor only weighs 130lbs. …hmmm, add another 70 for the transmission, guess we’ll never know how that spec stacks up against the competition since you’d have to saw the transmission off most bikes to know what the motor only weighs. Speaking of competition, who would that be? …BMW and Honda Sport-Touring bikes both have world class Shaft drive systems, Motus a chain. woo-hoo “Best in Class” is a shoe-in.

OMG Check out the Motus idea of rigorous testing, 2 guys are going to ride the 2 prototypes across the country with a team of engineers following along to fix things, at the same time they will be visiting potential dealers across the country. …isn’t testing normally performed non-stop on a test track American Dream or embarrassment ! Cummon guys if you’re going to design a world class motorcycle don’t do it over beers, if Motus flys I’m going to bring back Plastic Engine Technology!

[Jeff in Kentucky]

There are a few people that might buy a Motus to sit next to the $50,000 Corvette in their garage.

It did take a multi-millionaire to restart Triumph, and I think their motorcycles are very good, just more expensive than the $4,000 to $7,200 category that Japan sells bikes for, and they have none of their sportbikes winning races, but they are fine for the street and for non-race track days.

Harleys sell well in the US and have a high resale value, but I have decided I will not buy another one (I owned one of their 65cc Italian imports from 1971 to 1973) unless I win the lottery, or they come out with a much more high tech new model that is reasonably priced (probably when hogs fly).

The Harley Davidson XR-1200R flat-track style street bike is a step in the right direction, until I see the air-cooled motor that bakes you in the summer and a high price tag for the horsepower. I am buying a Kawasaki ZZR600 with 350 miles on it for $6,000 in two months from a guy at work- it seems like a better deal to me for 98 horsepower and liquid cooling, without the antique-type technology for a higher cost. It will not beat the newer 2009+ 600cc Ninja on a track, but I am not going to race it.

Even though Kawasaki no longer has any bikes in 800cc MotoGP, they have won recently for flat track and are in the top 5 now for some of the other race series:

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/flat-track/2010/09/08/how-kawasaki-conquered-dirt-track

[Jeff in Kentucky]

Here is a throttle kit for 600cc and 1000cc sportbikes, to adjust the amount the throttle turns for different tracks or different types of street riding:

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/5/83/21757/DPITEM/Street-Bike-Throttles-Motion-Pro-Revolver-Throttle-Kit.aspx?SiteID=SLI|Throttle%20Housing&WT.MC_ID=10010

[Author]

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