A ride on the Motus

[Nitro]

The goal is to spin the rear wheel.

The mean is a fast oxidization known as combustion, a form of explosion.

For this to happen you need a fuel (carbon-hydrogen chains), a mixer (oxygen), and a catalizer (spark plug for gas, heat for Diesel).

You use Boyle's Law: PV=nRT

So you compress the oxygen, squirt fuel, burn the s h i t out of it, and repeat.

The final motion is rotatory (the wheel) so you convert the oscillatory motion of the pistons via the connecting rods and counter shaft.

Attach your clutch, tranny, final drive and done you are.

The more oxygen you can burn the more fuel you can burn as simple as that.

The more you burn the more usable power is generated and ultimately torque measured (the wheel spinning).

At sea level you got about 21% of oxygen in the air.

The higher you go, the less the pressure, molecules spread apart and slow down (entropy) and thus per volume of air, eventually there's not enough oxygen to burn.

So you add an air compressor driven by the force of the exhaust gases (turbo-compressor) or via a belt, gear, or chain (supercharger).

Now you are compressing air before it enters the combustion chamber; more air more fuel more of just more.

The bigger the piston, the more air you can suck and compress; the more air the more fuel the more awesomeness.

If you go too big with the piston, it becomes an inertia issue; the engine won't spin too high. Airplanes engines use this principles to produce large amount of torque via huge displacement at the expenses of high RPM. This works out because you can attach a propeller right on the flywheel and be still at subsonic speeds at the propeller's wingtips @ full power.

More pistons for the same displacement = smaller pistons = higher RPM.

More pistons = more explosions = less traction.

Keep things simple with motorcycles: 1 piston for dirt, 2 pistons for street.

You can two-stoke it or four stroke it. Honda had strong convictions towards the four-stroke; I am not so sure.

Nowadays a 4-stroke can spin almost as fast as two-stroke of same displacement.

Two stroke = more explosions per RPM = more of more.

Two stokes are simpler systems.

Four-stroke valve actuation is accomplished via different methods: Direct cams, cams and rockers, cams and lifters actuated via hydraulics, gear, chain, belt, or levers. There are excellent examples of all of them and not so excellent of all of them.

We are combining oxygen and nitrogen with hydrocarbons yielding water, CO2, CO, NO2, NO, heat, entropy, and more.

Burn, burn, burn because one day you ain't gonna burn nothing no more.

[JonyRR]

I love exothermic internal combustion in all it's forms...the smell of nitromethane in the morning is sweeter to me than Chanel No.5 could ever be, RFNA and UDMH are wondrous liquids, hypergols are heavenly.
BUT
Despite what a certain backbaybostonbuttboi petuantly insists, the times, they are a changin'
Maxwell and Heaviside and Hertz can finally rest easy....
Keshe, Maxwell, Hertz and the key to Gravity, Electromagnetism and Physics | Veterans Today

[Nitro]

And another one bites the dust:

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/motus-motorcycles-closes-business/

Manufacturing in America seems like an impossible task nowadays.

"The wealth of a nation lies in its industry and distribution of labor" John Adams

If we cannot figure out how to re-manufacture in-house while still retaining profits, this nation will be doomed within the next 20 years.

It still puzzles me that countries like Germany and Japan that also have huge labor costs and over-regulations, they are still able to manufacture locally.

Something is awfully wrong with our current state of post-industrialization.

[jduke]

Capitalism will always go to the least costly labor. Unless governments, like Germany and Japan have, regulate business so the workers and the citizens participate in the profits.

[BikerMiker]

I really think their big mistake was not taking advantage of that sideways 4 and
using a driveshaft. I'm not saying that driveshafts are better but....

a) The configuration complimented it.
b) They were marketing it as a touring / sport touring bike.
c) They could have cashed in on a lot of curious BMW riders or other tourer / sport
tourers that preferred a shaft.

I contacted them and even inquired about them producing a shafted design in the future,
but they told me they had no plans to ever do that and went on and on and on
about how good their chains were. A chain in that configuration makes no sense to
me.

[Tirefriar]

I am disappointed in the closure of Motus even though I have never been a fan of the brand. I liked the idea but, the execution, ehh not so much. Motus positioned itself as a boutique brand, based on the price but it really had nothing to offer its clients that would set them apart in the bike crowd. Ok, the engine noise was groovy, but so is the TL1000R with Arrow exhaust.

Reading some of the comments below the article, I couldn't disagree with much of what was being said especially about being marketed at twice the price of the competition with little or no dealer support, etc. Again, I don't see myself being a potential Motus owner but I sure hope all that engine development doesn't go to waste and someone will bring the brand back. Someone should call Keanu Reeves...

[sgoodwin]

George, have you been following the conversation of AF-1? Apparently they weren't so impressive when showing their prototypes to dealers. Bad motors leaking oil & electronics failing plus stupid high pricing really shut them out.

[Tirefriar]

Originally Posted by sgoodwin

George, have you been following the conversation of AF-1? Apparently they weren't so impressive when showing their prototypes to dealers. Bad motors leaking oil & electronics failing plus stupid high pricing really shut them out.

That will do it

[swen1200]

A couple years ago there was a Motus front and center at the Barber Museum with a pool of oil on the display stand.
There was a party and open house at the factory, got to wander around. Was unimpressed, very heavy frame and swing arm, welds like those on a Walmart bicycle. An employee in the engine shop couldn’t or didn’t want to answer questions about the origin of some of the engine bits.
The concept was cool, the execution not so much and the cost...

[swen1200]

Of course I could have been jaded, that was the year 9 of the 10 Britten were in Birmingham...

[BikerMiker]

Originally Posted by swen1200

A couple years ago there was a Motus front and center at the Barber Museum with a pool of oil on the display stand.

Any pictures of this?

[swen1200]

Lots of photos of the museum and the Britten dinner, never thought to take a picture of an oil leak..

[Tirefriar]

2017 quail

[Tirefriar]

[BigDav]

I was pretty close to buying a Motus. The MSRT

Ugly? No....Beautiful? Not really. But I ride for function and the Motus is quite an experience.

But like BikerMiker said....no shaft on a sport tourer? I've had enough chain maintenance to last a lifetime thank you. Oil leaks I saw no indications. Chevrolet LS engines don't leak. Why would the Motus?

No electronics? OK, there is engine management and a digital dash but for the price it should have a full electronics package. Turn it off if you don't want it.

[sgoodwin]

Go to the AF-1 website & read the evaluation by Ed. They were set to become a dealer & decided not to after their test rides on the prototypes. If anything should work well it's got to be the bikes they're demoing to potential dealers. Those didn't & failed miserably.

[BikerMiker]

Originally Posted by sgoodwin

Go to the AF-1 website & read the evaluation by Ed. They were set to become a dealer & decided not to after their test rides on the prototypes. If anything should work well it's got to be the bikes they're demoing to potential dealers. Those didn't & failed miserably.

What is the AF-1 website?

[sgoodwin]

It's an Aprilia forum. Here's a link to the Motus conversation.

https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?345861-Motus-done

[BigDav]

Is it fair to compare a pre-production prototype model to bikes made two or three years later?

[sgoodwin]

Never said it was the same just giving an example of why they failed. I would think if I was trying to build a dealership out of nothing I wouldn't be bringing junk to demo. Obviously they failed to interest enough dealers or buyers to sustain themselves whether it was bad design, execution or pricing. Almost every article I read on them said something along the lines of good idea, mediocre execution.