2016 Motus MST and MST-R: FIRST RIDE

Alan Cathcart | January 22, 2016

2016 MOTUS MST-R — *American to the core—the Motus MTS-R sports some very tasty hardware in its arsenal.*

Motown Motorcycle: Who says we only make twins?

Photography by Phil Hawkins

The first American four-cylinder streetbike in the past 70 years since the end of WWII has now reached the marketplace. Dozens of series production examples of the Motus MST and higher-performance MST-R sports tourers have already been delivered to the first of over 400 customers who’d placed deposits with the start-up company based in Birmingham, Alabama, to purchase a bike whose patient development since 2008 has resulted in a literally unique motorcycle that’s all-American in every way—without being a V-twin.

There’s nothing on wheels more typically Yankee than a lazy-revving, large-cube V8 motor, as attested by the hundreds of millions of vehicles built by GM, Ford and Chrysler over the past century powered by such engines. Contrary to what some seduced by spec sheets may think, there’s nothing low rent about using pushrods, or sticking with OHV rather than OHC, so long as you do it right—and Detroit’s engineers are past masters at this, as the men making the Motus Sports Tourers (MST) aim to prove.

You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.

Over the past four years, while finalizing development of the production model, the Motus partners established a 12,000ft² factory in the same downtown Birmingham building that once housed the Barber motorcycle collection before it moved to its present purpose-built location. Production of the V4 engine has now been transferred in house to the Alabama factory, thus making Motus a true standalone manufacturer. The aim is to build up to producing 1000 bikes annually within three years, especially once the company begins exporting sometime in 2017, according to Lee Conn, with Australia, Japan and Europe on the agenda.

Lee Conn_Brian Case — *Lee Conn (left) and Brian Case have big plans for Motus, with hopes of expanding into Australia, Asia and Europe next year.*

Sweet Home Alabama

The chance to evaluate the production version of the Motus in both MST and uprated MST-R guise came via some late fall riding along the superb biking roads of Alabama’s hill country, as well as the streets of Birmingham. I spent most of my time on a red base-model MST, fitted with the good-looking twin GIVI panniers included as standard (with an optional 30-liter top box available). These are claimed to hold a full-face helmet, but are consequently wide enough to prevent lane splitting in traffic with any confidence. Still, climbing aboard revealed an extremely comfortable riding stance that you can precisely tailor to suit your tastes and stature via the finest multi-adjustable triple-axis handlebar package I’ve yet encountered on any motorcycle, even a BMW, with a five-inch adjustment up, down, fore and aft, and you can adjust the wrist angle over a 15-degree span, too. It’s made by Maine-based HeliBars, and it’s perfect.

The 32.5-inch-high seat is very comfortable, and coupled with the quite low-set footrests delivers a relaxed and comfortable riding position, with a relatively upright posture. The flip-up footrests’ height is not adjustable, but the toe pegs for the gear and brake levers are. But, I can’t see the point of fitting the wide 190/55 rear tire to the Motus, because you ground out the footrests without coming close to using all the rubber. Much better to fit a 180-section tire, which would also further lighten the steering, albeit as less of a visual design statement.

The Motus really stands out in appearance with the red rocker covers on the MST-R’s V4 motor representing engineering eye candy for those seeking a break from convention. But that’s nothing to what happens when you thumb the starter button, and the Murphy ECU’s excellent cold-start mapping helps the engine instantly catch alight, and settle to a high 1500-rpm idle. It’s the entry ticket to a concerto from one of the most absolutely unique engine notes in modern-day motorcycling. Sometimes the lilting burble from the twin exhausts makes the Motus KMV4 engine sound like half-a-Chevy-V8, other times there’s a fruitier crack more like twin twins, as in double Ducatis—but first, last and always it’s totally distinctive, and extremely entertaining when heard from the hot seat.

Once in motion you don’t have to combat the sideways sway on the Motus that you usually get with any lengthways crank, like on a BMW Boxer or Guzzi. Okay, blip the throttle in neutral, and the Motus will indeed rock from side to side—but only until you select a gear. Then, just hold the clutch lever in even sitting at rest, and the swaying stops—and on the move it’s also completely indecipherable. The torque rotation of the lengthways crank is completely cancelled out by the perpendicular gearbox design—very clever, same as the lack of any undue vibration from the V4 engine devoid of balance shafts until you start nearing the MST’s 8200 rpm rev-limiter, when there are a few tingles through the footrests above 7000 rpm. So that really isn’t an issue, since it pays to use the bottom four ratios in the six-speed transmission (fifth and sixth are overdrives, for relaxed high-speed cruising) to live in the KMV4’s muscular happy zone between 4000 and 7000 rpm, surfing the serious waves of torque flowing from the motor in recognition of the half-a-Detroit V8 it really is. Top gear roll-on is very good, making this a relaxing mileater in freeway travel, but the MST’s clutch has a light, easy pull, making this a relaxing ride in traffic.

The light, precise gearshift has well-chosen gear ratios, and, thanks to the ultra-torquey nature of the engine, has the luxury of an ultra-long first gear, then three evenly spaced ones before the overdrive fifth and sixth for long-legged high-speed cruising. The engine’s only turning over at 3500 rpm at 85 mph in top gear, so less than halfway to redline according to the good-looking and very comprehensive Murphy TFT dash that’s ultra-legible in sunlight, and is benchmark kit I’d be happy to find it on any bike I’d be riding for the long haul.

Down There For Dancing

The Motus handles really well, with an intuitive feel to the steering that’s more sport than tourer—both the MST and MST-R find their way through a series of turns almost on autopilot, with huge feedback from the front tire via the well dialed-in Öhlins NIX30 fork. I was particularly impressed by the Progressive Suspension rear shock on the MST, which, while adjustable only for preload and rebound damping, compared to the MST-R’s all-singing more expensive Öhlins TTX36 shock delivered better damping over rough surfaces and a superior ride quality to the stiffer sprung shock from the Swedish suspension sultans. The variable-rate spring helped the Progressive shock live up to its maker’s name, with better compliance over real-world road surfaces. Okay, the Öhlins may be better for sport riding—but while the MST-R has an extra top-end performance kick, and its flatter Rizoma ‘bar gives a sportier stance at the helm, I much preferred riding the less costly MST. The R-model is a sportbike that you can fit luggage to, but the MST is a true sports tourer, and a very enjoyable real-world all-rounder of a motorcycle.

In fact, that says it all about the Motus package—the bikes aren’t cheap, but except for the soon-to-be-mandatory ABS (which Lee Conn says they’re working on, and will introduce in 2016) they’re very fully spec’d, plus the MST and MST-R have a unique engine design, invigorating performance, are extremely comfortable for long journeys, and are well-finished judging by the build quality of the well-used pair I was riding. Make no mistake, the Motus is a very serious and well-conceived attempt to service a segment in the marketplace that’s been completely ignored until now by American manufacturers. The bikes were obviously developed by people who ride big distances themselves and know what they want – and that’s something far more sporting than a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide or a Victory Vision. Imagine you won the lottery and had the financial resources to develop your own sport-touring motorcycle from the ground up. Would it be so very much different than the Motus MST?

The Beating Heart

For the KMV4 1650cc OHV V4 Baby Block motor powering the Motus, with pushrod actuation of the two valves per cylinder, was conceived as one half of a typical Detroit-built V8, duly downsized, and was created in the Motor City by auto-engine R&D specialist Katech Inc. After Motus Motorcycles owners Lee Conn, 43, and Brian Case, 38, founded their company in 2008, they inked a deal with Katech to develop a motor to power the Motown motorcycle they’d decided to create to plug the gap in the marketplace they’d felt existed for an American-built sport tourer.

So the liquid-cooled OHV V4 Baby Block 100ci motor powering the Motus is positioned lengthways in the frame like on a Honda ST1300, with the two cylinder blocks set at a 90-degree angle. Measuring 88 x 67.8mm for exactly 1650cc, the cylinders employ Nikasil liners, with bolted-up forged-steel Carrillo conrods mounted on the three-bearing one-piece crankshaft via plain bearings, each carrying three-ring Mahle forged pistons delivering an 11.5:1 compression ratio. There’s a 75-degree angle between the crank throws, which delivers a unique trademark engine note for the Motus. The single roller-bearing camshaft is mounted in the block between the cylinder vee, Detroit-style, and is chain-driven off the crank, with steel pushrods actuating each cylinder’s two stainless-steel valves set in at a 24-degree total included angle—a soup-plate-sized 46.5mm inlet and 38mm exhaust—via maintenance-free GM hydraulic lifters and roller-bearing rocker arms. Despite the closed-up crank throws, the twin contra-rotating balance shafts previously fitted to the proof-of-concept prototype motor to smooth out second-order vibration, have been discarded for production with no ill-effects.

The Motus runs a closed-loop top spray port injection system with RBW throttle co-developed by Motus with Oklahoma-based Murphy, with a single AC Delco injector per cylinder mounted above the quartet of 40mm downdraft throttle bodies. The Gerotor oil pump mounted at the front of the liquid-cooled wet-sump engine is driven off the camshaft, same as the integrally-cast internal water pump, while bolted on to the rear within an aluminum bell housing is the six-speed cassette-type gearbox with chain final drive, driven by a right-angle gear set off the end of the crank, with fifth and sixth gear both overdrives for long-legged mile-eating. The transmission employs a specially designed FCC multiplate oil-bath clutch, and the engine and transmission together weigh a claimed 225lb/102kg. The separate twin 2-1 stainless-steel exhausts are equipped with a three-stage catalyst, and connected via a balance pipe under the gearbox.

Top Shelf, Please

This innovative powerplant is housed with a 15-degree forward inclination in a 4130 chrome-moly tubular-steel trellis-style spaceframe conceived by Brian Case. The fully adjustable 43mm Öhlins NIX30 upside-down fork on both versions is set at a 26-degree rake with 108mm of trail, delivering a 158-inch wheelbase. This is matched on the MST-R to a fully adjustable Öhlins TTX36 shock, while the MST carries a Progressive Suspension monoshock adjustable for rebound damping only, each with a progressive-rate rocker-arm link, and an easily accessible remote preload adjuster for the spring—a key feature for convenience in tailoring the suspension for luggage and/or a passenger. There’s a choice of seat heights, with a 32.5-inch-high default version or a lower 31.5-inch extra cost option. The MST-R comes as standard with BST carbon-fiber wheels fitted with twin 320mm front Braking discs gripped by radially mounted four-piston Brembo Monobloc calipers, and a 220mm rear with twin-piston caliper (the MST has hardly less snazzy OZ Racing forged aluminum wheels, and conventional Brembo two-piece calipers working the same discs). Each version comes shod with Pirelli Angel GT tires, with the rear one measuring a meaty 190/70-55, a further statement of the fact that the Motus MST is tailored toward the sporting side of the sport-tourer divide.

As mileating motorcyclists themselves, Case and Conn haven’t forgotten that their customers will need extra power for all the equipment they’re likely to carry over the long rides, which the touring side of the Motus equation will engender—plug-in GPS units, heated grips, phone chargers, etc.

“We knew we wanted an extensive charging system to be able to power all the electrical add-ons our customers will want to have,” says Case. “So we’ve incorporated a 720W alternator powering a 60-amp charging system, and we’re confident that with three separate power ports the MST has plenty of capacity for plug-in accessories.”

Equipped with carbon-fiber bodywork and wheels, the MST-R weighs 565 pounds with a full 5.5-U.S.-gallon fuel tank, with a 52/48-percent static forward bias (580 lb. for the MST). The MST-R features the same engine platform as the MST, but with a high-lift cam for more duration, revised engine mapping and a 400 rpm higher rev-limiter than the MST’s 8200 rpm redline, thanks to which it delivers 180 bhp at 7800 rpm at the crankshaft (165 bhp on the MST) with 126 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm (123 lb-ft). Prices start at $30,975 for the MST, running to $36,975 for the MST-R, plus tax, with a choice of three different colors for each model, and including a two-year unlimited mileage warranty.

Specifications	2016 Motus MST-R (MST)
Engine:	Liquid-cooled all-aluminum 90-degree V4 four-stroke w/ crankpins offset by 75 degrees, two pushrod-operated OHV valves per cylinder, chain-driven camshaft in-block and hydraulic roller lifters
Bore x stroke:	88 x 67.8mm
Displacement:	1650cc
Power:	180 bhp at 7800 rpm at crankshaft (165 hp at 7800 rpm – rear wheel)
Torque:	126 lb-ft at 5000 rpm at crankshaft (123 lb-ft – rear wheel)
Compression Ratio:	11.5:1
Fuel/Ignition System:	Closed-loop multi-point fuel injection and engine-management system, w/ Murphy ECU, RBW digital throttle, and 4 x 40mm Motus downdraft throttle bodies w/ single AC Delco L92GM injector per cylinder
Transmission:	Six-speed extractable cassette-type w/ gear primary and chain final drive
Clutch:	Hydraulically-controlled multi-plate (10 friction/11 drive) oil bath
Chassis:	4130 chrome-moly tubular-steel trellis spaceframe
Front Suspension:	43mm fully adjustable Öhlins NIX30 inverted telescopic fork
Rear Suspension:	4130 chrome-moly tubular steel swingarm with fully-adjustable Öhlins TTX36 (Motus MST-R). Progressive Suspension adjustable for rebound damping only, monoshock with progressive-rate link and remote spring preload adjustment (Motus MST)
Rake:	26 degrees
Trail:	4.25 in.
Wheelbase:	58 in.
Weight/Distribution:	565 lb/fully wet (claimed), w/ 52/48-percent static forward bias (580 lb.)
Front Brakes:	Dual 320mm Braking discs with four-piston radially mounted Brembo M4 Monobloc calipers
Rear Brakes:	1 x 200mm Braking disc w/ two-piston Brembo caliper
Front Tire/Wheel:	120/70-17 Pirelli Angel GT on 3.50 in. BST carbon fiber (Motus MST-R). OZ Racing forged aluminum wheel (Motus MST).
Rear Tire/Wheel:	190/55-17 Pirelli Angel GT on 6.00 in. BST carbon fiber (Motus MST-R). OZ Racing-forged aluminum wheel (Motus MST).
Seat Height:	32.5 in. (option of 31.5 in.)
Fuel Capacity:	5.5 U.S. gal.
Top Speed:	169 mph (Bonneville 2014)
Test Bike:	Motus Motorcycles Inc., Birmingham, AL, www.motusmotorcycles.com
Price:	$30,975 (MST), $36,975 (MST-R), plus tax
Warranty:	Two years unlimited mileage, with 20,000-mile warranty on drive chain and unlimited mileage on drive sprocket

You can read the original magazine story by clicking HERE.

For more Cycle News Sport Touring motorcycle reviews, click HERE.

For more Motus motorcycle reviews, click HERE.