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allrider

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Motus is a little closer to being produced, but they are not going to be cheap.

Bike to the future: Motus Motorcycles makes home in Birmingham

Published: Friday, March 16, 2012, 6:00 AM

By Michael Tomberlin -- The Birmingham News

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Motus Motorcycles will build the MST model in Birmingham (March 2012/Special) Motus Motorcycles said Thursday that its Birmingham-built bikes will sell for more than $30,000 each and that a network of dealers is already being established across the country.

At an event as part of Daytona Bike Week in Daytona, Fla., on Thursday night, Motus said its MST model will have a base price of $30,975, while the MST-R will start at $36,975. The motorcycles will be produced in Birmingham starting this fall and will be considered 2013 models.

Bike lovers in Birmingham who want to order a Motus will have to go to Georgia or Tennessee for the nearest dealer as there are no dealers in Alabama yet lined up to sell the bikes.

"We hope to have 20 dealers established by the end of the year," Lee Conn, president and co-founder of Motus, said in an interview this week.

"We don't have any dealers in Alabama, but that could change."

Brian Case, design director and co-founder of Motus, said the company already has enough orders to keep its production facility humming through year's end.

"The demand has already exceeded expectations," he said. "When we start production, it is going to take us a while just to feed the demand."

In Thursday's Birmingham News, Motus' leaders said they are actively working with Birmingham officials to find a site for a new corporate headquarters and production facility. The company plans to hire 15 employees in the first year and quickly grow to produce between 20 and 30 motorcycles per month.

Conn and Case started the company in 2008 with the belief there was a market for an American-made touring motorcycle.

Their belief was validated when they unveiled prototypes of the two motorcycles a year ago -- first at the Barber Motorsports Park and then at Daytona Bike Week, where a receptive motorcycle press praised the bikes for both their design and their innovative V-4, liquid-cooled engine.

When they begin production, Motus will join Confederate Motorcycles, which produces its own unique brand of bikes in the Magic City. The company's newest model of its Hellcat motorcycle has a pricetag that starts at $45,000.

For Bike Week, the two Motus motorcycles are on display at the patio of Daytona Ducati BMW Triumph dealership through Saturday.

Touring bikes are sporty and built for performance but, unlike racing bikes, are made for comfort and long rides. Both of the Motus models come with storage compartments as part of the standard package but also have the ability to add 30-liter compartments for additional space.

"We've designed a bike that is able to rock and roll when you hit the twisters, but can give you a comfortable ride when you are on the highway," Case said.

Some of the initial dealers stated their assessment of the Motus bikes in a release issued by the company.

Ed Cook, co-owner of AF1 Racing in Austin, Texas, praised the originality of what Motus has produced.

"The new Motus is such a high performance innovative American motorcycle and it's so different from anything out there," he said.

2013 Motus MST

Base price: $30,975

Colors: Speed silver metallic or flame red metallic

Engine: V-4 Baby Block, 1650cc liquid cooled, 165 horsepower, six-speed, dual overdrive, electronic fuel injection

Tires and wheels: Aluminum wheels with wave rotors and Michelin tires

Options: Adjustable handlebars, heated seat, heated grips

2013 Motus MST-R

Base price: $36,975

Colors: Strong white or carbon black

Engine: V-4R Baby Block, 1650cc liquid cooled, 185 horsepower, six-speed, dual overdrive, electronic fuel injection

Tires and wheels: Forged OZ aluminum wheels with wave rotors and Michelin tires

Options: Heated seat, heated grips, rear storage rack, premium low seat, touring windscreen

 
Not surprised by the price. Figured it would be like so. I wish them luck. At least they are bit different. Wish they would get to building these things as all there has been is a lot of hype so far.

 
I'm guessing none of my riding buddies will be throwing a leg over one of those, even if they won the lottery!

You could cobble together a pretty nice scoot for 36 large in you garage. :unsure: 10k more then the BMW 1600

 
I was shocked by the price of the American made Motus motorcycles. Nice looking bike though. Scrolling down a bit I noticed the higher end motorcycle has 185 HP - this lead me to think this is my next bike. My mind, being what it is, continued it's daydream. The next image in my mind was the wife on the back. The next image was me cracking the throttle. The last image in my mind was the wife was gone.

Motus Motorcycles, spend 38k and loose your wife even if you don't crack the throttle. Does it come with a divorce lawyer as an option?

I should have been in Marketing.......

.

 
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I think it's a cool bike, but not $30,000 or (holy shit) $36,000 worth of cool. That's just crazy.
Have you priced Harley's lately? Or Ducatis of the limited edition variety?

Sure this thing is over-priced, but it's unique and a low-volume production model. This bike was NEVER going to be for 'everyday' guys like us.

 
I think it's a cool bike, but not $30,000 or (holy shit) $36,000 worth of cool. That's just crazy.
Have you priced Harley's lately? Or Ducatis of the limited edition variety?

Sure this thing is over-priced, but it's unique and a low-volume production model. This bike was NEVER going to be for 'everyday' guys like us.
The only time I see Harley prices is when my Rider magazine talks about them, and I like Ducatis, but some of the prices are outrageous. I'm just a little shocked because I honestly expected the Motus to be in the low $20's. I know right now they are limited production with limited dealer network, and prices will reflect that, but think of this: A $30k bike has a limited number of customers. A $30k sport tourer has an even smaller number. Hell, Yamaha's having trouble selling FJRs for half the cost.

I'm just wondering if they are gonna price themselves out of a market for being greedy. I know it's not the same thing, but even when Buell started, I don't remember them ever being super expensive. I think it was the opposite. Try to get as much product out into the market, get the name recognized and build profit by volume. What do I know though...I'm not in marketing and right now, I couldn't (wouldn't) afford one even if it was low $20's. Oh well...

 
Did anyone check out the videos? That "Baby Block" motor sounds awesome....for about 5 seconds. I couldn't imagine listening to that drone for hours on end, like you would be on a touring bike.

 
Me likey.

I love V4's.

Hopefully some come into the used market at a BikerGeek-affordable price in a few years..

 
I think that Motus motor in a "Naked Street Fighter" set up! :yahoo: They are designed to be Bored, Stroked and Blown if you get my meaning, and I'm pretty sure the rider will too after a nice spring night out on the streets!!!! :p

 
Great looking and wonderful idea to bring another American bike to market...$30K seriously? :blink:

At that price, the market is so small only the Jay Leno types will have these in the garage. Really too bad.

--G

 
I love the idea, really.

And 30k, for me, now, is not feasible -

Then again, in 1991 I paid 17k for Miss Ultra then immediately added 5k worth of engine/suspension mods (no tassles tho).

Of course I was making real money in 91, unlike now.

 
Aye say, you Google up a Motus motorcycle parts database and see what you get before you or any of your buddies throw any significant cash towards this entry.

I've got/had a couple of...hmmmms? in the past. :unsure:

 
You guys are missing the point. It's not priced the way it is because of it's marvelous engineering and performance. It's priced that way for the exclusivity factor. And they don't want this to appeal to a lot of motorcyclists. Just the few ones rich enough to drop 30 large on it even if it isn't technically "worth it".

 
You guys are missing the point. It's not priced the way it is because of it's marvelous engineering and performance. It's priced that way for the exclusivity factor. And they don't want this to appeal to a lot of motorcyclists. Just the few ones rich enough to drop 30 large on it even if it isn't technically "worth it".
That's fine...I just doubt that's a sound business model.

 
You guys are missing the point. It's not priced the way it is because of it's marvelous engineering and performance. It's priced that way for the exclusivity factor. And they don't want this to appeal to a lot of motorcyclists. Just the few ones rich enough to drop 30 large on it even if it isn't technically "worth it".
That's fine...I just doubt that's a sound business model.
I don't think they have a choice. You just can't start up a brand new motorcycle company and attempt to mass-produce a motorcycle much less compete with the big-boys. I bet they sell every one they make for the next several years unless it turns out to be a total POS.

 
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