Motus Motorcycles Closes Doors

In a move that saw another American motorcycle company go under, Motus Motorcycles in Birmingham, Alabama announced their closure via Facebook over the Labor Day weekend. The announcement began by stating that it “is forced to shut down operations, effective immediately.”

 

The vision of building the ultimate American sport-touring motorcycle was birthed in the minds and hearts of Lee Conn and Brian Case 10 years ago, and Motus was born. The uniquely American notion of building a bike around essentially half a Corvette engine (their vaunted “Baby Block” MV4 1650) captured the imagination of the American motorcycling world, if not their wallets- the standard MST and sport MSTR fetching a rather whopping $30K-$36K, respectively.

 

 

 

The issue for any fledgling motorcycle brand is always cash to keep going and growing. Conn and Case wrote Friday, “This week, Motus financial backers unexpectedly informed management that they will not provide sufficient capital to maintain operations and grow the business.” After thanking their “Team Motus” for dedicating “so much of their hearts and souls to Motus,” the statement declared the founders “will work to quickly find a new path forward.”

Motus joins a litany of downed American brands in recent years, including Victory, Buell, and Brammo, among others. We at Born To Ride certainly hope Conn and Case can reopen the doors of Motus in the not-too-distant future.

Rob Brooks