| Author | Message | ||
     Union_man |
Sounds like in the near future there may be TWO American motorcycles for Sport riders!!!! Happy days! http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_roadtest/firs t_rides_articles/11q3/motus_mst-r_prototype_-_firs t_ride (Message edited by union_man on July 23, 2011) | ||
| Americanmadexb |
Love the white one!  | ||
| 12x9sl |
I am very intrigued by this motorcycle, would definitely ride the heck out of it!! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
If you'd like to see it first hand, come to Bumpus on the 29th and 30th. They are riding through from Colorado to Birmingham and plan to stop by and show it off. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
sexy and functional, bet it boogies down the road too. | ||
| 86129squids |
Sweet! Hey Jeremy- do you happen to know their itinerary/travel route? Sure would be cool if they rolled out here to E. TN... Be sure to take a crapload of pics when they arrive... | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Was that a dig on Erik Buell Racing in the second paragraph? ", just took an existing powerplant and stuffed it into a known chassis and called it their own." Who was the author slamming? Brad | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Who was the author slamming? I don't think they were slamming Buell. Neither the powerplant nor the chassis were "existing". Look at Husky's new street offering. It's more of an "off the shelf" motor. I think the point they were making is that they created a clean slate motor not based on any existing architecture or platform. It's new from the ground up and as such the chassis also had to be brand new. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"Was that a dig on Erik Buell Racing in the second paragraph? ", just took an existing powerplant and stuffed it into a known chassis and called it their own." Who was the author slamming? Brad" Sounds like someone is on their period, touchy touchy.... | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Manstration pass the chocolate | ||
| Gregtonn |
"Who was the author slamming?" Maybe Fischer? G | ||
| 46champ |
Has Fischer produced any production motorcycles? | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Has Fischer produced any production motorcycles? yes | ||
| Court |
This would be a good time to take them to task, as folks have with Erik Buell Racing, about "where are the dealers" and "who will do warranty work?". The have an "owners page" showing happy people with their Fischer bikes. But there is no mention about actually buying one . . no place to get dealer information. Does anyone know of a Fischer dealer? There are a couple "factory tour" photos as well. They are 3 years old and I'm curious as to how many of "America's ONLY Sportbike" they have sold in the last 3 years. Has anyone ever seen one? I see they outsource their engineering and design and also, like Buell and Erik Buell Racing have, use "global suppliers". I'm really surprised we haven't heard more about the "American Exotic". There were engineered "compete with the world's best handling sport bikes", it says . . does anyone know where they have been competing and how they have done. It'd be really cool, particularly with a couple years of experience behind them, if they'd logged a Top 10 finish in an AMA event against top factory teams. Has anyone ever seen one other than at a motorcycle show. It's an interesting looking bike. | ||
| Court |
By the way . . I'll be eager to hear more about the MOTUS. It's an appealing bike visually. I'll be eager to hear the impressions when they stop by Bumpus. Is this one of those Excelsior-Henderson style cross country tours? | ||
| Dynasport |
I really hope these guys can be successful. They seem to be good guys with a passion for what they are doing. They aren't trying to build a bike to compete in any racing series. To me, this bike is more like the Triumph Sprint. They have an ambitious plan in any time, but especially in these tough economic times when money for recreational vehicles is hard for many people to come by. Wouldn't it be great to read a comparo in a magazine five years from now comparing the latest Motus with an Erik Buell Racing sport touring bike? | ||
| Court |
I absolutely agree. One of the challenges they will face is that 4 year development cycle. Their hope is that they aren't hiring the people but relying on others to design their motor, chassis and dynamics. While that may save some costs it also introduces lots of variables. I think having a couple choices of American made "other than a road boat" bikes would be a good thing. Let's keep an eye on these guys . . . frankly, I'd prefer to read that compro next summer. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The purpose of the Motus "tour" is two fold. They are traveling to several locations and interested dealers to demonstrate the bike and show it off to prospective buyers at these locations. The races are also an opportunity to show it off. The second purpose is to provide data logging for engine and chassis development. One of the two bikes is fully equipped with dozens of logging sensors and a capture computer.   I don't see the cooperative development process with Katech and Pratt and Miller is that much different than other manufacturers use (Porsche, Rotax). Brian Case is an engineer and has laid out much of the bike's design. I see him like a younger Erik Buell. Time will tell whether or not he is as talented. They appear to be paralleling Buell's manufacturing process in outsourcing the parts manufacturing and performing the final assembly in Birmingham. My understanding is that they have secured assembly space in the old Barber Museum. If so, that would be very cool. (Message edited by ft bstrd on July 24, 2011) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
My hope is that long term their packaging becomes more compact and aesthetically pleasing. It's a great power plant that appears too "automotive" still. I'm assuming much of this comes from their development partners. The performance numbers look very promising. And then there is the sound: They say that there is enough material in the casting to bore the engine out to 1850cc. They have also tested it with a turbo charger. With the 1850cc displacement and the turbo, they expect to be able to top 300HP. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I think the automotive looking engine is a big plus. Being "half" a V8 engine is a great marketing tool. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
From an engineering standpoint, the automotive style alternator is a BIG plus. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, it's best hidden under a hood. | ||
| Bartimus |
As an owner of a Honda ST1300, I am very much in love with the V4 powerplant and hope these guys succeed. They need to lose the chain if they want to compete. I don't want to worry about lubing and tensioning a chain while I'm sport touring around the country. Honda, Kawa, and Yamaha all use shaft drive. Triumph still uses a chain and while I loved the bike, I passed and ended up going for the Honda. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I really like the looks of that thing. The more I see, the more I like. The automotive (Denso?) alternator tucked in there makes me happy. I love the sound of the thing too. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I'd rater have a belt than a chain. Probably not hart to remedy. I think a complicating factor is the transmission design. The output shaft currently is transverse. Since the transmission is unitized (think Baker 6-speed unit to S&S), a shaftie unit could be designed. It would require a final bevel drive to mate up with the drive shaft. I believe the design criteria was one of simplicity and cost containment. As price per unit drops, enhancements are sure to follow. | ||
| Rfischer |
The Katech motor is 4 cylinders lopped off the race 'Vette V8 they designed & built for GM Racing up until a few years ago. Entirely derivative; really not much more of an engineering challenge or accomplishment than Buell 'mod-ing an existing Sportster motor sourced from H-D. Quick, dirty, cheap [relatively]. What you do when starting up with very limited capital. (Message edited by rfischer on July 25, 2011) | ||
| Swordsman |
Man, that Motus sounds like a sweet machine! Curious what the price tag will be when it's all said and done. I feel bad for Fischer. I think they have a cool looking bike, and if the spec sheet is to be believed, it's probably a good bike. But their marketing absolutely blows. The website is ridiculous... it sounds like an infomercial, and they bold type all the component brands. Seems to me they have a good product, but simply no clue how to sell it. I read somewhere the fit n' finish wasn't the greatest, but the same could easily be said for my Ss (I always thought my plastics fit poorly), and I loved my Ss. ~SM | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I agree that the KMV4 motor is a derivative of the V8. It doesn't make it any less attractive. In fact, I believe it increases the attraction for buyers seeking an "American" motorcycle with both the chassis and engine being designed in the US. How many people complained about the 1125 platform using the Rotax built motor? Although, the 1125 was a new motor, it was built including all the knowledge Rotax had to offer regarding engine construction. That is a good thing. People were heartened by Rotax's successful history of designing and building good, reliable engines. I believe that having a US company like Katech backing the Motus project provides great attraction much like having Rotax involved in a project would. | ||
| Rfischer |
Rotax designs and builds world-class power sports engines. Katech has not, and does not. A race-winning car engine does not a world-class bike engine make. There are few, if any, engineering commonalities beyond sharing internal combustion. This is a typical band-aid solution to the biggest issue facing any start-up: limited capital. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Rotax is the leading producer of aircraft engines and produces more aircraft engines than motorcycle engines. Rotax also produces more marine motors and off road vehicle motors than motorcycle engines. For the engine that Case and Conn wanted to create, one that was novel and different with a automotive V configuration, why would an auto engine manufacturer not be used? If a band-aid solution were actually sought, why not just buy an off the shelf Rotax motor? Sure would have been cheaper than designing and developing the KMV4 motor. An existing off the shelf Rotax motor would already have most of the development work and emissions certification complete. If doing it on the cheap were the intent, wouldn't that be a better way to go? | ||
| Swordsman |
Hunh. I had a car with a motorcycle engine. What does that mean? I for one am glad to see a different take on an engine approach. Why not? Otherwise you're just looking at revamping the same old thing over and over and over. ~SM (Message edited by Swordsman on July 25, 2011) |
