Author Topic: Motus shuts its doors  (Read 5456 times)

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Richard230

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on: October 24, 2018, 02:02:23 pm
According to an article in Motorcycle Consumer News (page 9, November issue), Motus has had to cease their operations after the company's financial backers pulled out.  :( 

This is the same thing that just happened to the electric motorcycle company, Alta Motors (located in Brisbane, CA), last month, when their financial backer, Harley-Davidson, pulled the plug on their investment in the company after having invested in Alta Motors earlier in the year.   >:( 
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mrunderhill1975a

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Reply #1 on: October 24, 2018, 05:37:48 pm
My question is :
What motorcycle market was Motus attempting to penetrate? With 180 hp and an out the door MSR price of $31,000, what demographic was the intended buyer?


Stanley

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Reply #2 on: October 24, 2018, 06:34:57 pm
Arch, Curtiss, Motus and Hesketh all seem to be answers to a missing question.
I'll just enjoy my horrible prole bikes.

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Richard230

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Reply #3 on: October 24, 2018, 10:03:32 pm
My question is :
What motorcycle market was Motus attempting to penetrate? With 180 hp and an out the door MSR price of $31,000, what demographic was the intended buyer?

Rich American motorcycle collectors?  ::) If they do go out of business all of their bikes will become collectable and their auction prices will increase.  ;)  Perhaps a better investment than financing Motus.  ???
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Bilgemaster

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Reply #4 on: October 25, 2018, 12:47:54 am
Arch, Curtiss, Motus and Hesketh all seem to be answers to a missing question.
I'll just enjoy my horrible prole bikes.

Indeed!


So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


ace.cafe

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Reply #5 on: October 26, 2018, 02:03:28 pm
It's too bad. :(

The whole concept appeared to be hatched on The Kneeslider way back when we had a few early Ace articles on there. It was a very cool site back then.

The central idea of basing a m/c engine on a GM LS-1 seemed to be a good idea, but it didn't have the tech or the hp or the styling to really compete against the stuff at the price range.

I'm sure it was a very competent bike, but competent isn't enough these days.

It's very heartbreaking to lose funding. I have faced that in a very different industry back in the 1980s. All the hard work goes down the drain when the backers pull the plug before the company is ready to fly on its own.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2018, 01:53:08 pm by ace.cafe »
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Bilgemaster

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Reply #6 on: October 30, 2018, 04:35:58 pm
I dunno...Maybe I was  being a little harsh with that "Well...Bye!"  crack. I'm sure there must be at least a couple-few regular working Jamokes like me up against the wall now as a result of Motus folding down its tent. For them I feel bad. But a new $40,000 motorcycle checks all the same boxes for me as a Rolex. My $11 Wallyworld watch does everything that "Oyster Perpetual" does and more (i.e., not merely time and date, it also tells me the day of the week in English, Spanish or French, comme je le souhaite). It's waterproof to 100 feet--far deeper than me or my snorkel may ever want to stray, and it's accurate enough for that first manned mission to Proxima Centauri. This particular Plain Jane model with date AND day with a "Japan Mov't" that one occasionally finds salted sparingly amongst the other less worthy but often "blingier" and "farklier" crap in the racks is just a good simple hard-wearing timepiece. It turns out, its Japanese movement is absolutely identical to the one used in some Seiko models costing at least ten times that. So there's that going for it. Sadly, you won't find them offered online. You'll just have to get in there and rummage through the Wallyword racks like the rest of us, Keanu--Your Matrix  money's no damned good here.


Truly, if you're looking for a cheap yet thoroughly decent stocking-stuffer for a favored nephew or niece...maybe one who's just off to college, interning somewhere, or simply hitting the workplace for the first time, to help them be wherever the hell they ought to be on time, then why not give them the "Gift of Anachronism?" Get the little bastard a Big-Boy Analog Watch, so maybe he'll stop constantly bugging oldsters like me about what time it is. (Answer: "Time to get a watch, son. Now get off my fuckin' lawn.") Here's what to look for whilst also mulling over your adult diaper options:






That's basically it style-wise. They also sometimes have gold-plated versions with maybe  a nanomicron's worth of coating, but good old stainless steel's clearly the better bet for the long haul. Just look on the face for the date AND day of the week and the text "JAPAN MOV'T" down by the "6". That's your best buy right there.

As for treating yourself, go ahead and stuff that snooty glad-handing Rolex right back into the showcase. It won't help you when your phone's GPS craps out whilst you're on your Bullet somewhere in Amish Country miles from the nearest cell tower. Instead, for just about a Franklin you can splurge on one of those Timex Intelligent Quartz Tide Temp Compass Watches.  Like Enfields, they like a little fussing with and proper calibration from time to time, but it's real easy to do, and when you have to break out those charts or maps, at least you'll have some idea which way North is on a cloudy day or starless night without licking nearby tree moss or some other Eagle Scout shit. For those coastal or estuarial boaters amongst us, they're also handy for knowing how the tide's ebbing or flowing. For me, it certainly makes launching at or near high tide, when it's easiest, a lot less guesswork. I've got 'em in both black and white, and won't sail without one on:



« Last Edit: October 30, 2018, 05:03:32 pm by Bilgemaster »
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Richard230

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Reply #7 on: October 30, 2018, 09:19:15 pm
That is all very nice, Bildgemaster, but where are you going to find a youngster who knows how to read an analog watch?  And for that matter, knows what a watch that isn't "smart" is?   ::)
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Bilgemaster

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Reply #8 on: October 30, 2018, 09:48:29 pm
That is all very nice, Bildgemaster, but where are you going to find a youngster who knows how to read an analog watch?  And for that matter, knows what a watch that isn't "smart" is?   ::)

Eventually, you'll find them in the boardroom I expect. It all starts with Mickey and those white gloves. Don't get me wrong: I made a tidy little bundle with that Qualcomm bid when the Apple gear was first forthcoming, but I never liked Dick Tracy overmuch. Two Face on a roll was more my man, see? So there.

« Last Edit: October 30, 2018, 10:10:07 pm by Bilgemaster »
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Stanley

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Reply #9 on: October 31, 2018, 07:03:44 pm
Bilgemaster
Your nostalgic post reminds me of those days when I realized the futility of my slide rule, floppy backups, timing light, oil can nozzle collection, coastal navigation compass skills, sailmaker's palm, Rapidograph pens and my windup Timex watch.
I still have antenna TV, RE iron lung and a $12 flip phone.

The two-way wrist TV is far-fetched.

I wonder what Gen X will jettison when transporter beams are perfected.
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hpwaco

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Reply #10 on: October 31, 2018, 07:09:48 pm
Well, Jay Leno probably has a Moths,  but not a Timex!


hpwaco

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Reply #11 on: November 01, 2018, 12:58:18 am
Motus goes away and HD comes out with 2019 CVO limited at $44,000!     


Arschloch

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Reply #12 on: November 01, 2018, 09:13:47 am
The V4 is a very interesting engine, a bike however in the 40k$ range and today's wages.  ::)


Bilgemaster

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Reply #13 on: November 01, 2018, 03:31:32 pm
Bilgemaster
Your nostalgic post reminds me of those days when I realized the futility of my slide rule, floppy backups, timing light, oil can nozzle collection, coastal navigation compass skills, sailmaker's palm, Rapidograph pens and my windup Timex watch. [Snip!...]


I spotted an oil can nozzle just the other day at a thrift store, and I experienced a sudden sense of joy not unlike that of finding a flintlock musket. I didn't buy it, but wouldn't have chided you if you had. I've got a huge Hallicrafters radio rig from the '40s that only hardly works and weighs about the same as the Lincoln Memorial, yet every time I move it just keeps following me. And yes, I have a slide rule. I entirely get it.
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Richard230

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Reply #14 on: November 01, 2018, 09:27:39 pm
I spotted an oil can nozzle just the other day at a thrift store, and I experienced a sudden sense of joy not unlike that of finding a flintlock musket. I didn't buy it, but wouldn't have chided you if you had. I've got a huge Hallicrafters radio rig from the '40s that only hardly works and weighs about the same as the Lincoln Memorial, yet every time I move it just keeps following me. And yes, I have a slide rule. I entirely get it.

I also have a K&E composite slide rule, complete with leather holster and a thick, blue, hardbound instruction book. I think it sold for around $100 in 1962, when I bought it from my college bookstore. That was real money back then.  ;)
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Arizoni

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Reply #15 on: November 01, 2018, 11:38:29 pm
K&E Deci-Lon slide rule here.
Served me well in College.  8)

Speaking of flintlocks, I have more than a few of those that I built too.  ;D
Jim
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Bilgemaster

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Reply #16 on: November 02, 2018, 12:32:24 am
I also have a K&E composite slide rule, complete with leather holster and a thick, blue, hardbound instruction book. I think it sold for around $100 in 1962, when I bought it from my college bookstore. That was real money back then.  ;)

Well, that slide rule could still have some utility in an elaborate and profoundly disturbing "Got your nose!" scenario with the grandkids, great-grandkids, other passengers on the bus...at least until they took you into custody.
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Bilgemaster

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Reply #17 on: November 02, 2018, 12:41:28 am
K&E Deci-Lon slide rule here.
Served me well in College.  8)

Speaking of flintlocks, I have more than a few of those that I built too.  ;D

Wow! Those are just "loverly"...Really like those long rifles, doncha? Are those built from kits?
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Arizoni

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Reply #18 on: November 05, 2018, 12:12:27 am
Well, they are called "kits" but they come as a box of raw castings, a unbreeched barrel without dovetails for sights or underlugs to attach the stock. The only things that actually are close to being finished is the lock and set triggers and even those need work to attach them to the stock and to remove the rough cast finish.  The stock is just a roughly shaped piece of curly maple with the barrel channel cut (but not finished).
Each one of them took over 150 hours of work to finish.
Jim
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1999 Miata 10th Anniversary


Bilgemaster

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Reply #19 on: November 05, 2018, 02:10:17 am
Well, they're beautiful. If I'm ever out your way, a road trip I'm already  kind of mulling over once the last kid's off to college, I'd love to have a looksee.
So badass my Enfield's actually illegal  in India. Yet it squeaks by here in Virginia.

 


Richard230

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Reply #20 on: November 12, 2018, 01:28:15 am
I saw my first Motus MST today.  Looks nice. Pictures attached.
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Richard230

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Reply #21 on: November 12, 2018, 01:29:50 am
Here are three more photos of the Motus.
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gizzo

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Reply #22 on: November 12, 2018, 03:44:38 am
Looks like the CX500 "Twisted Twin" grew up some....
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