BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama entrepreneurs Lee Conn and Brian Case are out to prove that American-made motorcycles shouldn’t all have to look like the laid-back cruisers made by Harley-Davidson.
The founders of Motus Motorcycles are building a sport-touring machine, designed both for traveling in comfort over long distances and for more spirited riding on prime motorcycling roads. Conn says his aim was to produce a motorcycle more like a contemporary Corvette than a vintage Cadillac.
“It is a sport bike at its core, but it has an upright riding position, and a windscreen and luggage big enough for a full-face helmet,” he said. “This is a very popular style of bike. … But guess what, Harley-Davidson doesn’t make one.”
Creating a new, American-made motorcycle designed to rival high-end machines from Europe and Japan may not have seemed like a priority amid the automotive industry’s hardships during the global economic recession.
But to Conn and chief designer Case, the downturn presented an opportunity to tap engineering expertise in engine, component and chassis design that probably wouldn’t otherwise have been at their disposal.
“You can imagine what it was like in Detroit in 2008,” Conn said. “We showed up and did the ‘Aw shucks, we’re from Alabama’ thing and said we were ready to get started today.
“What we found was a lot of doors just opened to us. If we came to them today, they’d basically laugh at us.”