The Kneeslider

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Motus Motorcycles Partners with Pratt and Miller Engineering for the Motus MST Series

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Motus Motorcycles MST-01
Motus Motorcycles MST-01
News Flash! – Motus Motorcycles partners with Pratt & Miller

Motus Motorcycles, the new motorcycle company, we introduced you to in April, has announced their partnership with Pratt & Miller Engineering for development of the MST series of motorcycles. The teaser above hints at what is to come. Though the image is quite dark, with a bit of tweaking, as shown below, the overall shape and the prominent V4 become a bit more clear. Obviously, we don’t have photos of the final product, but, to my eye, these MST-01 images looks good, very good.

Pratt & Miller Engineering may not be as familiar to motorcycle enthusiasts as they are to the automotive crowd, they’ve been THE dominant team in 24 hour endurance racing, for some years, however, they’re also involved with high end engineering work in aerodynamics and lethality simulation for missiles and other classified military projects. Bottom line, … serious, top shelf, engineering.

It seems to me, the Motus / Pratt & Miller partnership means the new MST series of motorcycles is aiming for best of breed design and engineering. Brian says video of the engine firing up will be coming soon as well as images of the prototype MST-01. This is something I REALLY want to see! How about you?

Motus Motorcycles MST-01 - enhanced
Motus Motorcycles MST-01 - enhanced image

Press release follows:

Motus Motorcycles partners with Pratt & Miller Engineering to develop a revolutionary sport touring motorcycle.

Pratt & MillerNew Hudson, MI -September 14, 2009
Motus Motorcycles’ decision to partner with Pratt & Miller Engineering for development and manufacturing of their new motorcycles further confirms their commitment to delivering highly engineered and reliable machines.

Pratt & Miller Engineering’s 20 year history of success in motorsports was a determining factor in this partnership with Motus Motorcycles. Pratt & Miller Engineering has won numerous championships in the American Le Mans Series, Rolex Grand-Am series, NASCAR and six 24 hours of Le Mans victories in the GT1 category. In addition to motorsports, Pratt and Miller Engineering has played a prominent role in automotive, commercial, aerospace, and defense projects such as unmanned vehicles and the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

Pratt & Miller racing“With their vast experience developing high performance, lightweight vehicles, we quickly identified Pratt & Miller as the perfect partner to engineer our lightweight, high-performance motorcycle,” said Brian Case, VP and Design Director of Motus Motorcycles.

Motus MST series motorcycles will incorporate many of Pratt & Miller’s race proven technologies such as a balanced and optimized 4130 chromoly space frame and lightweight carbon composite bodywork. A combination of computer aided engineering tools such as CAD, finite element analysis, and multi-body simulation will be implemented throughout the design process. All prototypes will be developed in house using the latest rapid prototyping techniques and many proprietary processes that Pratt & Miller has developed.

“These advanced engineering tools integrated with our advanced manufacturing capabilities will help set Motus apart in terms of performance, safety and durability,” said Pratt & Miller spokesman Brandon Widmer.

“When Motus first approached us about the MST project, we knew it easily fit within our capabilities, but once we learned more about their concept and their engine partner, we knew we absolutely wanted to be involved,” said Pratt & Miller Engineering co/founder Gary Pratt.

“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Pratt & Miller. They have a total commitment to excellence, a world class staff and proprietary technology that allow small companies like Motus to compete on a global basis. Because their engineering and fabrication teams are all under one roof, they can build complex vehicle packages with very few iterations” said Lee Conn, Motus President.

About Motus
Motus is strategically located in Birmingham, Alabama, in the heart of the growing southern automotive corridor with Honda, Mercedes, Toyota, Hyundai, and Volkswagen nearby. Birmingham is also home of the Barber Motorsports Park which houses a world class road course and the world’s largest motorcycle museum. Founded in 2008, Motus is a privately held company preparing to enter the market with the first V4-powered American sport touring motorcycle. The MST series motorcycles and accessories will be sold internationally through a network of existing independent dealers and distributors.

The Motus MST-01 is a clean sheet, next generation sport touring motorcycle being engineered for performance, comfort, and range. For the discerning enthusiast, the Motus MST concept is a fresh take on the popular sport touring experience, with optimum rider and passenger comfort for extended, spirited journeys, and quality components for responsive handling. The Motus MST series, including the MST-01 and the premium MST-R, are powered by proprietary, liquid-cooled V4 engines that feature proven durability and range extending technologies.

About Pratt & Miller
Pratt & Miller Engineering is a world-class engineering company and a respected industry leader in the automotive, commercial, aerospace and defense industries. Providing clients with leading-edge engineering and low-volume manufacturing solutions, our range of design, engineering, manufacturing, and vehicle program management capabilities are among the most sophisticated in the world.

Link: Motus Motorcycles
Link: Pratt & Miller Engineering

Comments

  1. Nice looking bike. So refreshing to see there is at least one designer on earth who has broken the tyranny of the V-Twin Cruiser cliche. Would just love to see an actual proof-of-concept with a working motorcycle – just drop in an ST1300 motor and GO!

  2. oh oh well i hate to be the ‘cold’ water boy here but there are three things that would concern me, first the principle argues he’s building a motorcycle that he wants for himself but could’nt find in the marketplace, that kind of personal engineering has little purpose in a commercial operation, second they have partnered with a race team principally not a factory or true engineering concern from what i can see. last the obligatory blurry photoshop with half a car motor
    sorry this won’t happen excelsior henderson anyone ?

  3. So let me get this straight — you guys think that partnering with a firm experienced in car racing, rocket building, and aeronautical engines makes it the best of breed in motorcycle engineering?

    That kind of sounds like a slap in the face to all those other guys who have been building motorcycles for all these years who thought they were pretty good (ie Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, H-D [cough], Ducati, Moto Guzzi, BMW).

    You really shouldn’t use the term ‘best of breed’ unless there is some reason to think that these newcomers to motorcycle design and engineering really are better than all the rest.

  4. Just going by the concept, it looks like it’s going to lean a lot more to the sport end of sport touring. The partnership should make for some interesting ideas, it’ll be great when this bike finally hits the market.

  5. Jon, no “slap in the face” intended. The point is, this is an effort to go with the very best talent available to a small startup. As Brian Case has previously stated, the slowing economy means a lot of really talented people and extremely capable companies are able to offer their services to projects they previously had to pass by. The established manufacturers are certainly very good, but their guys are, … well, … their guys. A new company chooses from other engineers and Pratt & Miller is definitely on the high end.

    Motus isn’t a “let’s throw something together in our garage” company. They’re going with a very carefully selected team and doing their best to do it right. I think the whole process, to this point, says a lot about what we can expect.

    Your point is well taken and I’ve changed a few words in the post to reflect your concern.

  6. I understand the sporty sport/touring bike is their best hope of success. Hopefully somewhere down the road we will see a touring bike for those of us that ride two up. The motor looks intriguing. On my wish list would be a 100 plus torque and horsepower lightweight bagger.

  9. I wanted to comment that the styling looks very much like a bike-design from the end of the eighties/early nineties but HW Pfabe beat me to it 😉

  11. This engine layout is definitely enticing. Jugs in the breeze and probably shaft drive (makes a lot of sense, especially for touring).

    Pabs – Why do you deem this engine to be “half a car motor”? Due to this layout? Honda (& to some extent Guzzi) has built a *motorcycle* engine in a similar configuration.

    Best wishes Motus

  12. Whilst this looks interesting, from a technical perspective, I find it hard to understand the business case behind it. To me, it looks like it is going to go up against some very strong incumbents, with lots of choice (think ST1300, FJ10300, BMW K1300ST, Triumph 1050ST, not to mention the new VFR (assuming it is real)).

    This bike is likely to be expensive, as are almost all low volume specials, being sold into a market that is mature and saturated, into a country that doesn’t really respect this kind of bike. Perhaps they think they will sell lots in Europe-land? If so, they are going to be even more behind the eight-ball with a weak USD and shipping costs. I just don’t get it.

    And then there are the engineering challenges. Making something pretty is not too hard, but making a bike that people want to ride, from scratch, is very hard. Think of the Buell 1125R: it is hardly taking the world by storm.

    I wish them luck, and I think they are going to need all the help and luck they can get.

  13. I say good luck to them,hope they do well.And to the keyboard experts that have done no more than change thier own spark plugs,why don’t you just wait and see.

  14. I personally like a lot of the lines in the rendering. Perhaps a little BMWish, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Depends entirely on price point. Good luck to them!

  15. Looks promising. Has there ever been an V4 configuration like this? I know Honda had a two cylinder and, of course, Moto-Guzzi still has theirs, but I can’t remember ever seeing a V4 with that lay-out. Can anyone else remember one?

  16. . . . also, it could just be the sketch, but it looks like something interesting may be going on with the relation of the cylinders. The valve cover looks “slanted” relative to the bike and the ground. What’s going on there? I can’t imagine an arrangement that would give that look.

  17. Wow, what a lot of cynical nay-sayers. I thought TheKneeslider was a site for positive people. Some of you are in the wrong place.

    Go, Case, go. Build something wonderful.

  18. coho… you are right. The Kneeslider should be a spot for positive people. If you want negative, check out the V-twin bolg spots like Cyril’s. Great blog, but stay away from the comments. Unbelievable negativity.

  19. The internet, in general, seems to be a fairly negative place. If you read any discussion, on almost any topic, you will see people jumping in and crapping all over it . . . and those who try to stay positive about a subject they enjoy are chastised as: “Drinking the Kool-Aid”.

    It’s sort of sad, really. I was always taught if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything. Some old-time manners would go a long way toward making the internet a more pleasant place to interact.

    *Sits back and waits for all the angry rants directed at my post*

  22. Why would we think that an engineering firm, tasked with designing a motorcycle, wouldn’t hire motorcycle engineers? Likely Pratt & Miller is hiring up all the laid-off Honda, Yamaha, etc engineers – maybe attracting the ones that didn’t get laid off.

    The ST1100 was a V-4 too.

    I’m anxious to see what the “proven durability and range extending technologies” are that they are using. This will set the tone for the tech-i-ness of the brand. There’s any number of ways to interpret that statement.

    I say all the best luck and success to this venture. There’s a lot of competition out there and it’s a tough market place. How will they convince the public that this isn’t just a Chinese bike with an American front company like Vento deals with? Nothing wrong with Vento, just a problem with public perception

    -todd

  23. The renderings remind me a bit of the first generation Ninja 250… maybe a little hint of old Hans Muth/Target Design… all good things. I think James Parker (RADD) had sketched up a sport bike with a similarly oriented V4 and chain drive. In the pic, the motor is tilted nose down which would result in a nasty CV/U-joint angle for shaft drive, so, I’d guess it’s chain or belt drive. Hopefully knees won’t bang or get toasted by those cylinders.

    I wish the builders luck. I’m skeptical about that market segment, too. This sort of reminds me of the Morbidelli V8, which also aimed at the sport touring market with a longitudinal crank greater than 2 cylinder V engine, and promising engineering and technology from proven race winners. Morbidelli was done in by its cost. It turned out to be too expensive to produce. Maybe contemporary business practices allow getting started with a lighter footprint and much less capital.

  24. Not to be a negative guy here, but why are American designers so hung up on V configurations? Inline motors WORK. Take a page from BMW, they finally realized it with the S1000.

  25. gearbox trickery that would enable belt final-drive would help maintain lighter weight.

    There are also more light weight wheels on the market that are setup for chain than shaft drive. Durrani Wheels would add to the content of American-made parts of this bike.

    (still looking for a shaft-cush drive wheel for Durrani to measure & eventually produce so that Guzzi riders can have some light weight options)

  26. Guitar geek. Because V-twins work as well. Simplicity, reliability, looks. Of course I could bet 90% would disagree due to the vitoral hatred of anything air cooled, push rods (The Corvette ZR1 uses them too! And LS series motors. Some of the best V8’s around) or H-D. I can understand the H-D bit. Its a brand over the actual motorcycle. Even though the motorcycle created the brand. But do you really thing that BMW is going to part with it’s falt twin? R1200GS with an inline 4 (I guess) would be blasphemy to BMW die-hards.

  27. It looks like the firm is bringing military stealth technology to the party if the dark pic is anything to go by.

  28. Hmmmm, so BMW realized inline 4’s are the way to go. Seems like Aprilia tried a different way and did okay.

  29. I am not sure what all the “hating” is about, but I know the work of Pratt & Miller and I can assure you, these guys mean business. Not only have they been leading Ferrari, BMW, and Porsche in the Le Mans series, they do a lot of secret work for DARPA and the DOD with their own software company. They can build a bike that will be competitive. Concept needs to be fleshed out, obviously, but I am pulling for Motus!

  31. Sure the sport tourer market segment has a lot of choice, but this segment is inherently all about choice, more than any other segment. Guzzi’s Norge has just as much merit as the techno wizardry of the Kawi (and vice versa). Every model can both tour and be sporting enough to satisfy the buyer. Journalistic spec sheet nausea doesn’t mean as much to this demographic and neither does the “HD copy cat” syndrome that afflicts the cruiser segment.

    Does that mean there will be enough buyers to support another addition? Probably when the legions of sportbike riders move onto other types of bikes. Will they move to a cruiser ? Keep in mind the baby boomers, who spurred the cruiser boom, returned to the same general bike they started riding on, whereas a good % of the next generation of 35-50 yr old riders started on performance bikes, not cruisers. So, they may want more than a cruiser can offer when the time comes.

    Plus, the American motorcycle industry has not reached its potential for decades. It would be interesting to know what E. Paul DuPont, who ran the Indian Motocycle Company from 1930 -1945 and also promoted the Indian 841 (longitudinal Big Twin), would think if he were alive.

    Go Motus.

  32. Some of you inline lovers are as narrow minded as you claim V lovers are.Why does it matter to you what someone builds with there own money?Are you aware of how competitive little Ducati is with thier Vtwin and V4 race motors?

  33. Pratt and Miller have engineering capabilities that are second to none and their custom Corvettes are more than capable of doing all that the factory supoed up Corvettes from GM are capable of plus a lot more. There is no reason why those skills should not help with their new interest in motorcycles. However, I too, like some of the other posters here, find the styling choice interesting – dated back to the 1980s. Perhaps, they want to evoke a sense of nostalgia with their designs.

    Thanks to The Kneeslider for sending an alert aboput this post. I do wish that this would happen whenever there is a new post up on one of my favorite blogs!

  34. Thanks for the comment Mehul, but I wanted to point out that Pratt & Miller Corvettes are the factory Corvettes! They run the factory race team and design and build the cars. A lot of what they prove on the track ends up in the showroom too. Stay tuned…

  35. Way to go; Brian!
    Anyone who has ever heard a V4 on full throttle knows that it’s THE SHIT!
    There can never be too many interesting motorcycles out there.
    I wish them all the luck, and yes there is a possibility that they might need it but no one remembers a coward.

  37. Great! Maybe that means we’ll sell more of our premium MSTR’s in France rather than the base model MST. Or maybe our slogan in France can be: “The MST you can’t catch!”

    MST also stands for Mountain Standard Time, as well as many other things. Most importantly to us, it stands for the Motus Sport Tourer and it can’t possibly be all things to all people.

    And yes, Doug, there is some gearbox trickery. But then, you totally get what we’re doing, so thanks, much appreciated.

    Great comments! Thanks Kneeslider!

    -Brian

  38. B. Case,

    The Pratt and Miller C6 RS uses a Katech custom 8.2 liter engine as per http://prattmiller.com/c6rs/ I didn;t know that factory Corvettes ran those. In any case, I can’t see why their skills shouldn’t do the same thing with motorcycles. Honda and BMW do build both excellent cars as well as motorcycles, after all. The knowledge can be transferred from two to four wheelers.

  39. Forget the Bike. What is up with Birmingham? That place must be the new motorcycle capital. They now have Confederate Choppers, Barbers Motorsports, Sullivans & Iron Horse Helmets? I visited 3 out of the 4 last month and it is a pretty cool city.

  40. Very exciting news-Birmingham is indeed motorcycle heaven on earth. Mr. George Barber is to thank for most of this activity. He is a mover and shaker of the highest order and is a good guy too! I cannot wait to see the prototype and the finished product. I can tell you I will be waiting for one. Hope I can afford it.
    Good luck to MOTUS-go for it!
    R Hoffman
    Leeds,AL
    PS: If you need any test riders call me!!

  41. To me, that engine looks like a Small Block Chev V8 with the 4 middle cylinders cut out. Lots of proven technology around for them. And if the Pratt and Miller C6 RS uses a Katech custom 8.2 liter engine (thanks Mehul) then P & M probably know a thing or 2 about both HP & reliability. The X-Wedge engine from S&S Cycle uses GM V8 engine technology (maybe even pieces?), as has Confederate’s Renovatio Concept Motorcycle (though I think it may still be vaporware).

    No harm in reconfiguring & reusing existing hardware. Someone else has already done a lot of the expensive development work!

    Incidently, car racer Ken Miles made a V4 Chev for his R1 home made sports car. Back in the late 50’s I think. I’ve also heard that several showed up on the dirt ovals in Sprint cars.