Whether people get the story straight or not, it doesn’t really matter, as long as they’re talking about it. The Motoczysz story has certainly affected people. I hope it continues to do so. -Best wishes.

Documentary trailer –
The clip available on MotoCzysz Documentary production company site is actually a trailer compiled by them just after the first days of shooting, thus the very dated content. This was used by Discovery International to measure the amount of interest the program may have internationally. The response was good and project was green lighted. As you may expect Hollywood rarely does motorcycle content justice.

Media coverage –
MotoCzysz has only contacted two magazines to date and only after having a finished complete running bike. Manufactures commonly show concept bikes, often non runners years before production, Ecosse is a dramatic example of this, claiming wild performance improvements from a block of wood. Over the last 6 months we have declined at least 10 interviews and more than 6 event appearances, as we try to keep a very tight reign on the hype and flow of coverage. We did of course agree to the Discovery documentary as we felt it could only help in the difficult process of launching a motorcycle company.

“After 5 years of talk”-
The proof-of-concept was first presented to the public January 05. I started designing the prototype, the bases for a production model mid 05 and we started substantive engineering January 06 and unveiled the bike 7 months later in July. The remainder of 06 was spent addressing all the problems you would expect to encounter with a clean sheet engine design. As an example- John Britten spent 10 years designing and building his bike before it races at Daytona. Buell spent 3 years creating and developing their latest bike and Buell has significant advantages over us, primarily they out sourced the engineering and manufacturing of their latest engine.

800cc –
It has been well documented (http://www.motoczysz.com/club/?p=43) that we would not drop our 990 engine in favor of an 800cc. There are two main reasons: we believe our first street bike should be a 1,000/990 as it will be compared to and need to compete with the current class of liter performance sportbikes, secondly- we felt an 800cc would need to utilize pneumatic valves. A pneumatic design not practical in a street bike and we could not afford to take on two such differing designs simultaneously.

Where to race –
From the inception MotoCzysz started out as Superbike project to be homologated and raced in the AMA. However once I started the design it became apparent this first bike by definition was a MotoGP bike, a cleans sheet prototype motorcycle, not a mass production motorcycle. Concurrently the homologating requirements for the AMA were 300 units which at the time seamed like a significant barrier.

Some of my earliest memories are from time at a race track, typically AMA events. The fact that there is no American Superbike campaigning in the American Motorcycle Association depresses and frustrates me and is a genuine motivating factor for the entire team. MotoCzysz authored the new homologation rule that the AMA adopted this year for small manufactures. We are dedicated to racing. Everyone who knows me will contest to my intense passion for racing and burning desire to see MotoCzysz race. We have several race strategies in place but first is to build and sell 150 motorcycles.

Working in a garage –
The project started in my garage, but fortunately has evolved in a small professional start-up. I was given 1 motorcycle when I was 10 and every motorcycle after that (excluding the one my wife and best friend gave to me for my 30th birthday) I earned and paid for 100%. My second bike was a clapped out yz100 I bought when I was 15, we lived in a mobile home on a dirt road my shop was a Friggin chicken coup, far from a advantage upbringing. Once I learned I could buy motorcycles by working hard I never stopped. I worked all the time, usually the worse jobs at local farms to buy my next bike. I now have what anyone else who has worked 60- 80 hours a weeks for over 25 years has. The reason MotoCzysz is still not in a garage is because I have risked nearly everything for this project, If it fails I know I have given it my all, I left nothing in reserve.

Since it was mentioned- Though hugely inspired by the Britten motorcycle, my upbringing could not have been in greater contrast to John’s, his family initially did not support his motorcycle aspirations and John did not need to work, he fortunately inherited significant wealth. This should have no bearing on how anyone perceives someone’s work and more importantly- there is no entitlement for following your dreams.

Racing VS Developing-
Contrary to what you may think, you do NOT (efficiently anyway) develop a product while racing, you develop while testing. We have been testing front ends utilizing several different bikes for 2 years. Here is the last test on a stock Honda with DOT tires and our 2-D suspension.

http://www.motoczysz.com/main.php?area=media

We are currently concentrating on developing and testing the entire holistic dynamics of a complete machine. Putting our front end on a GSXR and club racing now would be nothing more than a distraction to the larger task at hand.

Here is what one rider/writer said last month-

“I have a sense that the Czysz crew won’t be content until they win a WSC race, but first things first: my ten laps at Las Vegas went tremendously well and over the course of two days the bikes turned almost 70 laps. The bike’s smallness comes through in the way it stops, turns and accelerates, yet it offers impressive (and reassuring) stability. I know the MotoCzysz crew had about three gazillion items they weren’t happy with, but from behind the bubble, this project couldn’t be more impressive. Hey MotoCzysz…damn good job! ”

Nick Ienatsch 10-31-07

Once the bike is developed and we make and sale 150 motorcycles we can and will go racing.

Rich boys toys-
The initial runs of any product is expensive. This is fundamental economics and has a lot to do with amortizing significant initial costs or a small quantity of parts. But are initial high costs are not just a function of volume but of quality. The C-1 is made up of parts that are the highest quality many that cannot be purchased or even found on motorcycles outside of a MotoGP garage. The amount of structural carbon fiber alone on our machine costs more than an average bike. With higher volumes and constant industrialization we will work to lower the price.

$2,000 Suits-
Whatever… Rest assured, the most expensive suites I own- are my riding suites.

Accurate information-
The best source for accurate information and getting questions answered:

web site
http://www.motoczysz.com/main.php?area=home

blog
http://www.motoczysz.com/club/index.php

Enjoy the Holidays and ride safe,

Michael Czysz

yeah, John Britten & his staff seemed to be in a league above everyone. Imagine what they would be capable of today.

Anyway, I agree about the hype. It’s really annoying.

Too much hype too soon can create negative or anxious buzz from the public and sponsors, which can result in wrong internal decisions. In turn, those decisions can impact the engineers’ effort.

If you are reading, there are many inspiring stories to be covered in a documentary in addition to the Moto Czysz story…

how about a documentary that also includes:

coverage of the early years, then move into the current generation of smaller firms taking on the giants such as:

Ilmor Engineering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmor
http://www.ilmor.co.uk/motogp.php

and Drysdale

http://www.22000rpm.com/index2.html

perhaps the Ecosse partnership will be advanced far enough by the time this compilation is completed to include them, too [?]

This film would be fitting to culminate with a tribute to John Britten