USA Bienville Legacy

[Fire-medic]

https://autos.yahoo.com/photos/meet...y-motorcycle-first-look-1414611909-slideshow/

300 hp claimed. Is this the Motus w/a different name? It doesn't look like the Motus except in the engine. The styling is steampunk meets 'different because I want it to be'. I'm sure this is another $70,000+ bike destined for a small sales run.

I just saw the Motus emblem. Guess it's a "Captain Nemo, your moto-cycle is ready" item.

If you don't like the seams on the underside of Japanese bike motorcycle tanks, don't look at the rear fender!

 

[Damon]

That engine was under development a few years back, if I remember correctly it uses a push rod type valve train.

 

[Itgoes]

I'm trying to pick out something I like on the bike.................... :hmmm::confused2:

I'll keep working on it.

 

[Itgoes]

The rear part with the tail light. Like that a lot. :thumbs up:

That's it.............

 

[Rollie]

I do like that Motus 185 H.P. motor , 300 with supercharger.

I would like more info. on the single carbon - fiber leaf spring .

Excellent design on the combo headlite / speedo w/ gauges built in unit.

 

[one2dmax]

About the only thing I like is the V4.

 

[Redbone]

About the only thing I like is the V4.

+1, and maybe the wheels but hard to see with those god awful fenders. And what's up with those fluffy bits of suede engine case "protectors"? Bizarre!
Is the radiator the piece that runs under the bike?

 

[Itgoes]

+1, and maybe the wheels but hard to see with those god awful fenders. And what's up with those fluffy bits of suede engine case "protectors"? Bizarre!
Is the radiator the piece that runs under the bike?

The wheels look like they could be a set Of BST carbon fibers.

 

[Fire-medic]

I think the ankle leathers are there so you won't scuff your riding shoes/boots, which may be a good functional thing but the whole package is just so-different in appearance, I don't think too-many people will be attracted to them. You can do something similar to a ZX-14 or a Hyabusa, in terms of the hp achieved. Still, I suppose there are those people who want something few others can afford, because it is expensive and different.

I do like individual components, as was mentioned, the instruments are a good-looking, functional piece, I like the needles, and the info contained, I'm more of an analog guy than a digital readout guy.

As to the unique suspension, there is a bike built in Grand Rapids MI called a 'Slingshot,' it is an offroad bicycle without any tubing from the steering stem to the pedal crankset bearing housing. It has a wire attached to some (I think) 3M material to provide controlled tension of the frame for a suspension effect. They looked like they should collapse upon any significant hard use, but they work, and are an alternative frame design for all-terrain bicycle competitors. http://slingshot.myshopify.com/


This motorcycle has so-many ideas going-on, it really requires a thick wallet to stand-out, and that's enough for some buyers. Enough to keep it in the market? Wait & see.

One of my favorite of the orphan bikes is the Hesketh (1000 cc DOHC V-twin from the early 1980's, built in the UK), financed by an English Lord (Hesketh, of-course) whose story was recently immortalized in the Formula 1 movie about James "Shunt" Hunt, Driven. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a viewing. The story of Hunt and Niki Lauda of Ferrari is a real tale of competitive rivalry and friendship. I think the bike is still available on a subscription basis, if you want one , they will build you one.
http://www.realclassic.co.uk/hesketh.html
http://www.realclassic.co.uk/heskethride.html

Here is another orphan bike, who recalls these? An interesting story behind their decision to not-continue to build motorcycles. The company made tires for Honda, and it was suggested that if they wanted to keep selling tires to Honda, they would withdraw from the motorcycle manufacturing business! I lusted-after one of these in the 1960's. Cycle magazine did a hop-up on them complete w/porting and expansion chamber specs, I believe, and I think theirs ran at Daytona, courtesy of Cook Nielson and/or (the late) Gordon Jennings, not really sure on which one or both. http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/asp/museum/exhibits/heroesofharley/biopage1.asp?id=379

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/001114b.htm

 

[The Beekeeper]

Had a Bridgestone in the mid 70's, single cyl 2 stroke, don't remember the cc but pretty sure it was under 100..........................Tom.

 

[Fire-medic]

Had a Bridgestone in the mid 70's, single cyl 2 stroke, don't remember the cc but pretty sure it was under 100..........................Tom.

One of my neighbors by Lake Ontario had a Bridgestone 60 cc two-stroke he got new in about 1967. It ran well, and he could take a passenger though it wasn't a speedster. It looked good and ran well. Another friend got a Benelli Fireball 50cc two-stroke, he dumped it a couple times and couldn't afford to replace the throttle housing, so he made a loop in the throttle cable and just pulled on that for awhile. That was one of the first bikes I ever rode. To this day, the Benelli tank emblem is one of my favorite designs. About the same time one of my older brothers got a Honda C110 which was a motorcycle & not a step-thru. That was really the bike on-which I learned how to ride because I think I rode it more than he did! One of my friends had a Bultaco 175 Campera and that was my entry into offroad riding. Schoolmates' parents owned a British and Spanish bike dealership outside Rochester NY and we used to go to their shop and ride the trails behind their building. Their oldest son was one of the first Americans to go to Europe to run motocross, for Bultaco in the early 1960's. The kids all rode bikes to school, even the girls.

 

[old timer]

Call me old school but I'm still partial to this...