Motus, the Alabama-based boutique motorcycle manufacturer, is broke and recently ceased production. The good news is that efforts are underway to keep the SBC-based V4 powerplant available as a crate motor for kit cars, engine swaps, and motorsports applications.
Conversation Starter: What vehicle is crying out for a Motus V4 the loudest? Talk amongst yourselves.
Last Call indicates the end of the Hooniverse broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, it’s encouraged.
By Peter Tanshanomi
Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for "motorcycle(s) only." Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.
Jeff Glucker
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/def9955709df3901bfccd6ec7ebf33983d13cda0fb73fcbb8aad308190afbcdd.jpg
That would fit nicely in my ’84 Innocenti (classic Mini sized)
Oh my, would it.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IyxxGFaQFoM/UKYeBBmm0aI/AAAAAAAADnw/UNDeq5nYpJM/s1600/Innocenti-Guzzi.jpeg
Fun fact: Innocenti actually developed, and was close to launch, a Mini with a Guzzi V-Twin. The project was later abandoned.
Interesting that it is air cooled. I didn’t know that.
I’m thinking Volvo PV544.
https://www.classicargarage.com/assets/images/0/volvo-pv544-01-60317160.jpg
Swap a V4 for a V4.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3c1330c06e3124b71f8a7d96e1f62373573f72ee4fa848b7828a50f07b2899da.jpg
This was the answer I was thinking of as well.
I already gave my Tuesday answer over at CityBike
https://www.citybike.com/news-clues-rumors/motus-motorcycles-shutting-down-effective-immediately/
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2fc4a43cdebb1dc426b0499229bfb806f9b582e135076bea7ac8a1efc3873e7f.jpg
The Sky already sort of looked like a pint-sized Corvette, why not give it a pint-sized Corvette engine?
https://hips.hearstapps.com/amv-prod-cad-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/images/media/267361/2007-saturn-sky-red-line-photo-4945-s-original.jpg
Because a full-sized Corvette engine will fit?
Although I would love to confuse people with custom badges that say “LS/2”.
The V4 is something like 300 lb lighter than an LS though – 150 lb. That’s going to make a difference. Too bad they are so expensive.
Thats a shame that I only heard of them now. The bikes don’t look half bad
True, but they’re certainly not cheap!!
Put one into each inline 4 car advertised on Craigslist as a V4.
Two of them, in a V8-6-4 Cadillac. It would probably operate only as a V8-4, but middle children are fairly unimportant and high maintenance anyway.
https://i2.wp.com/gifimage.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/marsha-marsha-marsha-gif-13.gif
EZ Go
https://cdn1.cycletrader.com/v1/media/5bb3ac294b62e563a15cc446.jpg?width=512&height=384&quality=60
It’s like the anti-Hartley. Where the Hartley V8 is built by doubling a motorcycle engine for use in automotive applications, the Motus V4 is built by halving an automotive engine for use in motorcycle applications.
Both are awesome.
If there’s a Goldwing-style prop shaft output at the back of the trans, rather than a chain drive sprocket on the side, I’d love to put one in Project Justy. If this engine I rebuilt ever lets go again, it’ll need motorcycle power (and will be RWD).
Would a 3 cylinder 2-stroke snowmobile engine work?
The main advantage of sourcing the engine & drivetrain from a Goldwing or larger bike is that the transmission should be durable enough to haul around the weight of a car. I don’t think a snowmobile drive belt could handle pushing around 1800 lbs. worth of Justy reliably. A Goldwing engine is torquey and low-revving, practical for driving around town.
Also: 2-stroke engines sound like ass, especially droning at constant revs because of a CVT.
Clearly I’ve spent too much time thinking about this.
A Subaru
Put one of these on the front of the crank in the engine bay of any originally LS equipped vehicle.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3fee3ab19338f7ae0e21d83103530dc310117b942ee71b6a2824b10460ca2cb8.png
It’s funny, when I first saw the picture I thought it was a a Honda ST1300 powertrain. so maybe a Morgan style 3 wheeler would be a good host for this
Factory Five 818, although to be fair, the WRX engine isn’t the weak point in these, it’s the WRX 5 speed.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58175c3615d5dbcebad13573/586fea28579fb38a7f1249cd/59403a01e4fcb5c4586c6bbd/1497384787952/2017-06-10+09.01.24.jpg?format=2500w