The implementation of gasoline direct injection brings the mill into the 21st century, a first for a (potentially) production motorcycle. That doesn’t mean that the KMV4 is completely low-tech. Why the low-tech engine in a world of dual overhead cams? “Modern engines are so complex now that riders can’t understand them,” Conn says, “Our engine allows the shadetree mechanic to feel confident they can fix anything that isn’t right.” Bore and stroke measure 86.5mm x 70.0mm and compression ratio is set at 11.5:1. Hydraulic lifters keep maintenance simple. Its overhead valves are met with pushrods, which are metered through a chain-driven camshaft. Some elements of the classic American V8 remain, however. Rest assured, the engine design is all original and is only a derivative of the Chevy mill. The solution is a 1645cc (100ci), liquid-cooled, V4 (internally dubbed the KMV4) that’s basically a LS7 V8 (the same engine in the Corvette) cut in half. They decided to build their own engine, and this is where Katech’s expertise came in handy. But the two upstarts weren’t satisfied with any of the current offerings from other manufacturers, and here again their desire to be uniquely American came to the forefront. When it comes to torque, V-engine configurations are renowned for just that. Chief among them was sacrificing outright horsepower in the name of a broad spread of torque. Conn and Case had some specific parameters they wanted met in regards to the engine. “When it came to the engine we went to one place: Motor City.” While they met with multiple potential partners, Conn and Case knew they struck gold with Katech Inc., the same outfit that prepares the engines for General Motors’ racing program. Naturally when designing a new motorcycle, the first question centers around the powerplant. Armed with nothing more than their entrepreneurial spirit, a background in aircraft manufacturing (Conn) and product development (Case, who co-designed the Confederate Wraith), the duo set out to design “the ultimate, modern American street bike,” and thus Motus was born. When they realized that their ideal motorcycle was a sport-tourer, it dawned on them that nothing was available to them that’s made right here in the good ‘ol US of A.Īnd that’s when the idea struck them. “We didn’t want to twist ourselves up like a pretzel anymore,” Conn said when describing the sketch on the napkin, “but we still wanted to be able to ride all day.” He explained that their ideal bike would be one that could do everything from shred miles to carve canyons, two-up or solo.
had a chance to speak with Conn and get an in-depth look at the men, the motivation and ultimately, the machine that is the Motus MST. Both are diehard motorcycle enthusiasts who have owned everything from sportbikes to cruisers, import and domestic, but realized their ideal motorcycle didn’t exist yet. In fact, they didn’t know what to expect. What ended up on that napkin had all the makings for a sport-touring motorcycle-something the duo wasn’t expecting. “We did the napkin sketch method and asked ourselves-’what would be the coolest motorcycle?’” Conn says.
Late one night in 2007, Brian Case and Lee Conn, motorcycle buddies turned business partners, were chatting over drinks when the conversation turned to their ideal motorcycle. Their story has the American dream written all over it.
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