http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2012/11/16/janus-motorcycles-hand-made-small-displacement-american-motorcycles/
Devin Biek and Richard Worsham decided to build something a little different and from what I can see, they?ve definitely done that. The team formed Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana and they?re hand building their bikes, with styling cues from various motorcycles of the 20s and 30s, though not really copying the style of any one in particular, though you might see some Brough influence in the long polished tank.
Their first model, shown here, is the Halcyon 50, powered by a water cooled 50cc two stroke running through a six speed transmission. It?s equipped with a sprung leather saddle seat and panniers, wide handlebars, and a long, low polished aluminum fuel tank. The hard tail, steel tube frame sports 18 inch wheels and the bike carries 3 gallons of fuel and 1 quart of oil. Top speed is 55mph at about 60 mpg.
Biek also runs a business, Motion Left, which tweaks, tunes and supplies parts for mopeds, so he has lots of experience with the small engines. He says the 10 horsepower 2 stroke in this motorcycle can be upgraded in just a couple of hours to produce about twice the power. Both the engine and hydraulic forks come from Italy. He contracted with an Amish fabricating shop to bend the tubing and weld the frames.
It was actually his other business that gave him the idea for this endeavor since the young people were spending a lot of money to essentially turn the mopeds into motorcycles, so why not build a real bike? Janus is a federally licensed vehicle manufacturer and each of the bikes comes with a VIN number and is titled and road-legal.
Actual production is slated for early 2013 though I saw no mention of price. Interesting.
Thanks for the tip, Keith!
UPDATE: Prices are now posted on the site:
Halcyon 50 MSRP (including delivery) $5,300
Halcyon 50 Basic MSRP $3,900
http://www.janusmotorcycles.com/this is so cool!!!!
