Motus Motorcycles

[NoGear]

In one of the magazines they stated a price in the low 20s as the entry point. I still think that is too high to attract most buyers.  I've seen when they had a stand setup. It sounded great but I won't be buying one. Now if they changed it to shaft drive I'd consider it. But I hate dealing with a chain and sprockets.  

[Yankee Dog]

They are building less than a thousand ?800? the first go round. I think if they can keep the price in the low $20s they will sell in the blink of an eye.

[JReazor]

In one of the magazines they stated a price in the low 20s as the entry point. I still think that is too high to attract most buyers.  I've seen when they had a stand setup. It sounded great but I won't be buying one. Now if they changed it to shaft drive I'd consider it. But I hate dealing with a chain and sprockets.  

You have to start somewhere. It makes sense to come to market at a low volume/high price per unit. Hopefully that will get them over the initial hump so they can afford to build a mass market product later. It's all about shuffling cash flow long enough to ensure survival.

[Croak]

In one of the magazines they stated a price in the low 20s as the entry point. I still think that is too high to attract most buyers.  I've seen when they had a stand setup. It sounded great but I won't be buying one. Now if they changed it to shaft drive I'd consider it. But I hate dealing with a chain and sprockets.  

Chain drive is an appealing feature for some of us, shaft would kill the deal for me.

[Pragmatic]

Chain drive is an appealing feature for some of us, shaft would kill the deal for me.

+1

[NoGear]

Chain drive is an appealing feature for some of us, shaft would kill the deal for me.

For me it's a matter of practicability.  I was only home for four months of riding total last year but still managed a little over 16,000 on the bike.  

[Yankee Dog]

Chain drive is an appealing feature for some of us, shaft would kill the deal for me.

I dont mind the shaft drive. I just dont like the weight that comes with it.

[Croak]

For me it's a matter of practicability.  I was only home for four months of riding total last year but still managed a little over 16,000 on the bike.  

And a chain would change that how?  

[Croak]

I dont mind the shaft drive. I just dont like the weight that comes with it.

For me it's the weight, the handling compromises, the added mostly needless expense, the total NON ISSUE of chain maintenance with a modern chain, and the lack of flexibility in changing gearing to suit conditions or preferences.  But other than that, I'm fine with shaft drives.

[NoGear]

Simple I would of had to change a chain, clean it and re-lube it.  A shaft is a lot less  maintenance and  virtually trouble free. When was the last time you saw a bike on the side of the road because the shaft broke?

[Cablebandit]

Shaft broke or final drive grenaded?

[atadaskew]

Shaft broke or final drive grenaded?

Hey now, let's keep this classy!

[ConPilot1]

The Connie is my 2nd shaftie and personally I'll have a hard time going back to a chain.

I like smearing some moly on the splines at tire change intervals and the gear oil change is a piece of cake.

[Yankee Dog]

................... When was the last time you saw a bike on the side of the road because the shaft broke?

lets see...  One in Kansas, one in Michigan and one on the back of a truck in Canada.  These are ones I personnally laid eyes on. Not hearsay.  

[Orson]

Just as when James Bond stripped off his wet suit to reveal a magnificently pressed tuxedo, a gentleman tourer doesn't want to kneel down in his tuxedo and get grimy chain lube on his hands.

Pussy Galore would not be impressed.

[Croak]

Simple I would of had to change a chain, clean it and re-lube it.  A shaft is a lot less  maintenance and  virtually trouble free. When was the last time you saw a bike on the side of the road because the shaft broke?

When's the last time you saw a modern O/X ring chained bike on the side of the road because the chain broke, or wasn't lubed and cleaned for months and months?  

I spend about 20 minutes per year on my chain (ok, maybe 30 if I want the bike to look pretty and I bother to clean off the side-plates).  

I ride about 30k a year most years, which coincidentally, is about how long I go between chain changes.  I don't use an automatic oiler.  I buy off-the-shelf DID X-ring chains, steel sprockets, put them on, and pretty much forget about them for months on end.  

If a chain does go tits up on me (which it hasn't since 1993 on a 1972 AMF HD), it's a matter of minutes to replace, no difficulty to source, and I can fix it on the side of the road with hand tools.

In return for that 20 minutes, less than $200/year, and some dirt under my nails, I get a bike that's generally 50 pounds lighter, I get the ability to swap gearing, and I get far less parasitic losses.  

"$200 a year?", you say "In just a few years that shaft drive will pay for itself!"

Right, and to counteract the weight and losses that come with a shaft, people will spend hundreds on performance upgrades, lighter exhausts, etc.  It is generally a false economy.  

[Yankee Dog]

the shaft vs. chain is a religious thing. There are no minds to be changed.  

 

[Kootenanny]

the shaft vs. chain is a religious thing. There are no minds to be changed.  

 

BELT!!!

[Cablebandit]

Heretic!

[Meemuh]

lets see...  One in Kansas, one in Michigan and one on the back of a truck in Canada.  These are ones I personnally laid eyes on. Not hearsay.  

Heresy?