Our Janus Experience, Chapter 2

As a wanna-be writer, with skills that I'm sure aren't as good as I think they are, I write for the sheer pleasure of writing. Mainly because nobody is paying me to do it. Maybe, I suppose, that is a good thing, as it keeps my writing pure. With that said... I'm writing this blog post for the second time, as the first piece (which was done and about to be published) was eaten by the internet and has now disappeared into the dark abyss, never to be read again. I won't dwell on this, extremely frustrating, setback... instead, I'll tell my little story... again.

Our Janus Experience, Chapter 2

I originally planned on telling my story in a multi-piece blog post series with cool little "chapters", but as it turned out... between working an unhealthy amount of time at my paying job and some minor setbacks throughout the whole process, it just wasn't meant to be. So, I'll tell the story in the best way that I can, so that I can share this experience with you and still salvage the little bit of Saturday morning that I have left.

At the end of Chapter 1, I left you with our build sheets being sent to the production team. Well, the next part of that journey should have been getting our production numbers (I'll explain later) and our VINs so that we could get our financing in order and then getting the link to our photo albums. Yes, I said photo albums... as in, the team at Janus photographs the bikes as they're being built, so that you can watch your new Janus motorcycle become more than the sum of its parts... so to speak. 

If I've never mentioned this before- I have, what would best be described as, "dumb" luck. My best explanation is this- I wouldn't consider myself to be "unlucky" per se, however... when it comes to me, if something can go wrong, it typically will. I guess you could say that Murphy's Law lives strong here in the ole MotoWriter. Without getting too far off topic, let me give you a hypothetical example: Let's say I was in a line of 500 people, getting an ice cream cone (it's hypothetical, after all). The 499 people before me would experience a delicious frozen treat, smooshed happily inside a delightfully crispy container... but that 500th cone, my cone, would undoubtedly have a hairline crack in the bottom of it and I would end up wearing more of the sugary frozen treat than I actually ate. Now, some people might say that sounds like "bad" luck, but in my case, the rest of the story would go like this: after wearing said ice cream stained shirt for the next hour, someone at a cool store would end up seeing me, and in a random act of kindness, end up giving me 50% off a new shirt. So, basically... it's not bad luck... it's just, well, "dumb luck." 

With that explanation out of the way, our experience with buying a Janus wasn't exactly the same as what most folks were reporting. Shortly after signing off on our build sheets, unbeknownst to my wife and I, one of the team members at Janus HQ got sick and was out for several days. Now, you might think that this shouldn't be much of an issue, but at a small operation like Janus, one critical member of the team going out unexpectedly can greatly affect the overall process of the build. With that being said, though... in our case, it didn't actually affect our builds, only our communication about the builds. 

When the good folks at Janus realized that my wife and I had, sort of, fallen through the cracks... they immediately made up for it. While at work one day, I got a call from an unknown number. I almost ignored it until I saw the call location was Goshen, IN. I immediately answered and, to my surprise, the guy on the other end of the line was none other than Janus Co-Founder and Owner, Richard Worsham! That's right, the Head Cheese, the Big Kahuna, the Big Boss Man himself! Now, I don't care how big or small a company is- for the guy at the very top to take time out of his day to call a customer and offer his condolences for things going a little sideways, then offer to answer any questions or address any concerns, is a major boss thing to do. THAT my friends, is the core of customer service from a guy that truly cares about giving his customers a positive experience along with a quality product. By the end of the call, Richard told me that we'd have our photo albums by the end of the day and, sure enough... we had them before I left for work that day. 

The builds

Now, I'll just say this, while we didn't get the albums of the builds while the builds were happening, that didn't change a thing for me. I'm still enamored by the fact that we have albums of our bikes being built. Imagine, if you will, someone at Harley-Davidson taking pictures of your bike as it was being built. At Janus, they not only take photos, but before the frame ever gets set on the build stand, the technician knows where that motorcycle is going and who it is going to. That is simply unheard of in this fast-paced production focused world we are in. The guys on the production lines at the major manufacturers are simply building bikes for a nameless, faceless customer to be bought from a dealer, somewhere out in the world, but at Janus, they knew that Halcyons #908 and #909 were coming to the Gulf Coast to Mr. and Mrs. MotoWriter and that, my friends, is friggin' awesome. 

When we got our albums and we could see the bikes coming together, part by part, it was exciting to see. You also may be wondering, if you caught it, what I meant by our "production numbers." Well, one thing that is really cool with Janus, is that they (much like every other manufacturer) keep up with their production numbers of their different models. The biggest difference being, they proudly display it on their bikes. On the Halcyon 250's, for example, they have an "old school" registration plate on the front fender that has the

 production number painted on it. Why, you might ask? Simple- they are proud of their motorcycles and, in the Janus Owners Community, the production numbers are a point of pride. For example, the guy that has Halcyon JM-001 may not necessarily have a more valuable bike than the guy with JM-500, but it's certainly cool to say he has it. Plus, it's just cool to have a "pedestrian slicer" as it's commonly known, on the front fender of your bike... it's a really neat throwback detail.

Janus really delivers... literally

Once your bike has been built and your financing is in place (or you've paid the balance on it), you have two options- pick it up from the factory in Goshen, IN, or have it delivered. Being that we are a full day drive away from the quaint little town where our motorcycles came into existence, and the fact that we were both working long hours over several days, my wife and I opted for delivery. Just over a week ago, I got a phone call from Mitch McLane, telling me that he and Kyle Norwood were southbound, heading to our house. The next morning, right on schedule, the Janus van pulled into our driveway.  My wife and I watched in eager anticipation as Mitch and Kyle unloaded our bikes. The guys were actually on their way to Barber Motorsports in Birmingham, AL so they had a few bikes in the back of the van. Due to the limited space, Kyle had to leave the mirrors and the engine guards off our bikes, so I let him use my garage to get them all buttoned up as we went inside with Mitch to get all the legal stuff taken care of. Did I mention that Kyle was one of the guys who actually built our bikes? How cool is that? Before finding Janus, I couldn't have imagined that any company could offer that kind of personal connection with their customers. These are production bikes with the one-on-one personal touch of having a one-off custom built bike. You won't find that anywhere else. Period. 

Not to mention, my wife's bike was ordered with a picnic basket and, when Mitch noticed that it wasn't sitting on the bike perfectly, he took it off, placed it back in the van and said that he would have a new one sent to her as soon as he got back home. He sincerely apologized that her bike wasn't perfect when it left Goshen. After Mitch and Kyle left, on their way to the Barber Motorsports Vintage Motorcycle Festival, my wife and I just sat back and enjoyed the simple elegance of our new steeds before we had to leave to go to our respective jobs.

The next chapter

While my storytelling of our Janus buying experience may be coming to an end with this post, I assure you that our Janus ownership experience is only just beginning. My wife still has yet to learn the basics of operating and riding her new motorcycle and I'm looking forward to teaching her to ride safely, cautiously and defensively. While Mrs. MotoWriter and her bike patiently wait for their first ride, my little Halcyon and I already have a few miles on the clock together. 

Riding a small bore motorcycle isn't for everyone. The vintage styling and rudimentary technology of the Janus Halcyon 250 isn't for everyone either. But for genuine motorcycle enthusiasts like me, these motorcycles are unbelievably cool. My Road King Special is my refined, sophisticated and very comfortable cruiser/tourer; my Dyna Street Bob is my ripper; and my Halcyon is the bike I'll ride when I'm longing for those days gone by, when life was simple, calm and easy.

Whatever you do in life, make it meaningful, make it fun and make it memorable with the ones you love. Ride safe and make happy choices, MotoReaders.

Our Janus Experience, Chapter 1

Chapter 1, Finding Janus 

Before I shut down my socials, I would occasionally see ads for Janus Motorcycles. At first glance, I thought, “hey that’s pretty cool looking” but, being a “Harley guy” for over 10 years, once I noticed that they were small displacement bikes, I just sort of overlooked them and went on with my mindless scrolling (hence the reason for my signing off). I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was overlooking something that was, potentially, going to be a game changer for me.

So, you may be asking, if I kept overlooking Janus while I was on social media, then how did I end up finding it again, after I signed off? Well, the funny thing is, I was actually doing some research for one of my recent blog posts- A Star is Born. You see, I like to pretend that I’m a real writer, so I do as much research as I can before I start writing. Maybe I’m hoping that one day, some big executive at a major motorcycle rag or, even better, a motorcycle company, will stumble upon my blog and want to hire me as a full time writer after I retire from my current job. Who knows. Either way, I realized that I had been writing a lot of posts about making good choices and dealing with stress, and sort of dropped the ball on writing about actual motorcycle related topics. 

Before I settled on the piece on Star Motorcycles, I looked up all the different companies I could think of, just to see if there was anything new and exciting out, or about to be released. The results were pretty lackluster, so I went with the story on Star. During my research though, I had come across the Janus website and, after finishing the Star post, I went back to the Janus site to spend a little more time there. 

As I perused their website, I started playing with the bike builder with my wife and over the next couple of hours, we configured several different combinations. I read several reviews and we watched enough YouTube videos to make our eyes hurt. The more we watched, configured and read about them, the more excited my wife got about this little motorcycle from Indiana. So much so, that by the end of it all, she was telling me to put a deposit down on one that day!

This was different

My wife has always been very supportive about my moto-addiction. When we were dating, I spent a lot of time working on my car and she was right there with me, pumping brakes, handing me wrenches, or simply sitting there, just keeping me company. Early on, she recognized my passion for old cars and motorcycles and she has been there with me, every step of the way. 

Even though I started on metric bikes, over the years I gravitated toward Harley-Davidsons and, after a few years of being back in the saddle, my motorcycles began to grow bigger and bigger in displacement with each bike I got. Several years ago, we saw the film Why We Ride  (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it). I didn't know it at the time, but after seeing it, my wife became inspired. A few years later, she mentioned that she was interested in possibly getting her own bike, so off we went to the local Harley-Davidson dealership! After looking at a few bikes, mainly Sportsters, she became disenchanted with the idea. The primary reason being that they were loud, heavy and more powerful than she was prepared to handle. A couple of years later, I ended up getting a good deal on an 883 and I tried teaching her to ride it, but again... the weight, power and noise was a little too much and after she dumped it in the yard, she was done with the idea again. 

When we were looking at the Janus though, something was different. She was excited about the size and the simplicity of the Halcyon. Her excitement was electric and it didn't take long before the desire to have her own motorcycle was rekindled. Initially, she just wanted me to get one, but after seeing the Janus Experience video of Terry and Mark, she became inspired! 

If you're not inclined to click the link, I'll briefly tell you that Terry and Mark aren't your typical "biker" types. They are regular people that, through Janus Motorcycles, became motorcyclists. That, to me, is amazing! I love that there is a motorcycle company that can inspire and encourage the love of motorcycling in people that, ordinarily, wouldn't give a second thought to riding. Don't get me wrong, I love my Harleys and I don't plan on getting rid of them at all, but the machines (and the culture) can be intimidating for someone that isn't already all-in on the idea of riding. For my wife, seeing Terry and Mark tell their story, was just the inspiration she needed to get on the site and start building her own. We gave it a couple of weeks for the "whim" of it to wear off, just to make sure that we were ready to commit to it and, in that time, we both configured multiple combinations of the Halcyon 250, trying to decide on what we actually wanted. We never even considered the other bikes- the Halcyon 250 was the one, without a doubt, that we both wanted. 

Go Fast, Don't Die

Now, I would be remiss if I told this story without, at the very least, mentioning another little piece of the puzzle that helped in this overall decision. If you've never heard of the "lifestyle brand" Go Fast Don't Die, do yourself a favor and click the link. I love this brand. They are, in a lot of ways, much like the folks at Janus- they are a small operation that is run by people who are absolutely passionate about the motorcycling culture. To the folks at GFDD, it's not about what you ride, your age, your background, your social status or where you're at in your personal journey- it's all about living the life that you are meant to live. I have a small collection of their merchandise because I love what they're doing and I love why they're doing it. In one of their weekly newsletters, they shared a story from one of their events where they were racing around on little mini-bikes. One woman, who was probably closer in age to my wife and I than to our sons, was riding this little Coleman mini-bike around and having the time of her life. Basically, the point of sharing the story was to remind people that speed was just a number, but going fast was a feeling. 

That pretty much tied directly in with the Why do we ride motorcycles video that the folks at Janus put out. For those of us who have always had the passion for riding, when we started out, we didn't ride big, 800 pound motorcycles. We started out on small, lightweight machines, most of which had knobby tires and were basic enough that we could work on them ourselves. So why then, should we limit that experience based on our age, or station in life? Why do we think that, once we enter adulthood, we have to conform to some unspoken rule about riding motorcycles? Why do we think that we can't enter this lifestyle unless we have years of riding under our belts and have a big V-twin engine in our garage? When did we get conditioned to believe that being a motorcyclist meant that we had to become a "biker." And, most curiously, where did we get the notion that we had to hit a particular speed before we could have fun? The folks at GFDD hit the nail on the head- fast IS a feeling. It's not the number on the speedometer that exhilarates you, it's the feeling that you get as it relates to what you're doing. 

The small size of the Janus engine, and the top speed being 70 mph became less significant the more we both talked about it and realized how we were planning on using these machines. We are planning on riding them exactly as they were intended to be ridden- along the backroads and beachfront drives, through the twisting country roads and down to our favorite coffee spots. 

The next step

After everything, my wife and I made the decision to get in touch with Mitch McLane at Janus and start the process of Janus ownership. The only delays we've had so far have been on our part because we have both been extremely busy at our respective jobs. Mitch was awesome and got our orders processed quickly and easily, then sent our orders to Kate Snyder for processing. Last week, Kate sent us our respective build sheets to review and sign off on, and now we're just waiting to get our paperwork. That will bring us to the next step which is, according to this video, our orders being sent to the production team! 

Hopefully, we'll get that next week... stay tuned!

Janus Motorcycles

The Roman God of Past and Future

At the very core of our fast paced, modern society, is the subtle reminders of our connections to our past- those ancient societies built on myths and legends, where life was both mysterious and simple. For example- the month between December and February is named for the Roman god of beginnings and endings, past and future and the duality of time in general. He is known as Janus. It only makes sense that the first month of the new year is named for him and, after seeing the offerings from newest American made motorcycle company, based in Goshen, Indiana, it only makes sense that Richard Worsham and Devin Biek named their company after him. After all, their bikes harken back to a time of simplicity, efficiency and functionality with just the right amount of beauty in their form while at the same time, offering modern conveniences and performance.

The elephant in the room

Now, right off the bat, I want to address the elephant in the room:

The Janus Motorcycle Company uses Chinese engines... 

and I simply do not care. 

Allow me to explain- I've been riding motorcycles since I was a kid. As an adult, I've owned a Kawasaki, a few Hondas, a Yamaha/Star, and several Harley-Davidsons and do you know what each of these motorcycles have in common? They ALL have Chinese parts. My die-hard Harley fans might be cringing at that statement, but it doesn't make it any less true and, let's be honest... there is a reason that China is making all these parts. It's because they can do it for a hell of a lot cheaper than any other country can or will, because they have a strong, non-unionized workforce, as well as, the facilities to get the parts built for pennies on the dollar compared to other countries. Is everything from China great? Of course not... but neither is everything from America or from our European counterparts. 

With all that said, however, I trust that Richard and Devin did their due diligence and chose the engines that would best represent their new company's high standards of reliability, power and simplicity and, if I can trust them enough to build a motorcycle that is safe to ride, then I should be able to trust them enough to put an engine on that bike that will have bulletproof reliability. These engines, which are made by Lifan, are simply parts of the motorcycles, much like a turn signal or a seat spring, rather than being the centerpieces of them, meaning that the motorcycle itself, as a whole, is the main attraction. For good reason, too- the rest of the motorcycle is a hand built work of art. 

Riding is the most important thing

Another elephant to address, is that the Janus Motorcycles are not, well... elephants. They aren't big. They aren't powerful. They aren't complex. They are simple, small, lightweight motorcycles designed for short trips on backroads. In other words- they are just like the bikes that many of us grew up on as kids. They are modern motorcycles with the souls of those simple machines that we had so much fun on when we were young. 

Richard and Devin decided to build a motorcycle that didn't focus on engine displacement, technology and performance, but rather... they chose to focus on the one thing that is so easy to overlook these days- they chose to focus on why we ride in the first place. Riding is the most important thing... not how big the bike is, or how fast it goes, or how loud a stereo is or how much technology can be crammed into the frame rails. They focused instead on the experience of being on a machine so simple, that it could almost not even be there. They chose to design machines that were easy to ride, light enough to maneuver by even the newest riders, and easy enough to work on that even the least mechanically inclined riders could maintain them. They don't just allow for their owners to work on the bikes themselves- they encourage it and make tutorial videos to show them how!

There are, currently, 30 videos covering different maintenance topics on the Janus Motorcycles YouTube channel.

The Halcyon 250

Halcyon hal·cy·on /ˈhalsēən/ adjective, denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful. "the halcyon days of the first motorcycles"

A motorcycle with a 14 cubic inch engine that makes a whopping 14 horsepower and 11 foot pounds of torque isn't for everyone, but that's the beauty of it- it's not supposed to be. Neither are dirtbikes, sportbikes or cruisers for that matter, if we're being completely honest. Not all riders are going to be into all types of bikes and that's okay. The Halcyon 250 is one of those types of bikes that has styling that isn't for everyone. It has a hardtail frame, sprung solo seat, leading link front suspension, wide handlebars and a 1.94 gallon gas tank. It looks like something out of the motorcycle history books instead of a modern motorcycle built in the 21st century. The Halcyon would look more at home at a vintage motorcycle festival than at a bike night at a local diner and you will probably never see one buzzing down the interstate, since it only has a top speed of 70 mph. 

You may be asking then, that with such a small engine, little horsepower and a minimalist top speed, why am I spending so much time talking about it? The answer is simple- I'm buying one. Actually, that's not entirely true. The whole truth is, I'm buying TWO. My lovely wife, Mrs. MotoWriter, has decided to embark on this journey with me. She has always been there with me, it's just now... instead of being behind me, she's going to be beside me. You see, for me (as it probably is for many of you), motorcycling is so much more than the representation of a particular brand... it's a way of life. Motorcycling is an opportunity to journey through life unencumbered by the constraints of being in an enclosed vessel; a chance to experience the world around us in such a way that is interesting, exciting, fulfilling and memorable. 

I'm not interested in being a brand ambassador, but rather, a lifestyle ambassador. I'm more interested in sharing the essence of being a motorcycle enthusiast with the rest of the world and I can't think of a better way to do that, than with motorcycles that excite and exhilarate, as well as those that relax and reminisce. My Dyna is loud, fast and aggressive, my Road King is refined, large and powerful and our Janus Halcyons will, hopefully, be fun, exciting and memorable for us.

The Phoenix, the Gryffin and the Halcyon 450

I'll talk briefly, very briefly, about the whole Janus lineup, since they currently have a few different models. I'm not going to spend too terribly much time here, though, because this blog post isn't intended to be a full-on presser on the company, but rather, my humble opinions on them. 

In the 250 class lineup, Janus offers the Gryffin and the Phoenix (for a limited time) alongside the flagship, Halcyon. The Gryffin is their version of a dual-sport scrambler, while the Phoenix is their 250 classed Cafe' bike. Of these two bikes, if I were so inclined to do so, I would most likely add the Gryffin to the garage over the Phoenix. The main reason being that, while a 229cc, single cylinder thumper engine is right at home in the dirt, a cafe' racer (in my opinion, anyway) should have a bit more "oomph" to really fit the "racer" name. 

The guys responded to numerous requests for a larger displacement version of their immensely popular Halcyon, with the new Halcyon 450. The 450 is very similar in a lot of ways to it's little brother, however... there are some distinct differences. Two of which to note, are the hardtail look, but with a Softail rear suspension and the larger, 445cc single cylinder engine. The 450 is a really nice looking motorcycle and, if I didn't have any other bikes, I might consider it to be my only bike. 

*edit- I assumed the 450 was a twin, since it has dual exhaust, but after actually reading the specs, realized I got a little overzealous when writing this- so I corrected this to reflect the accurate information.

The Janus Experience

One thing that I've read about, heard about and seen on several different YouTube videos, is something called the "Janus Experience." Apparently, buying a Janus is quite a bit different than buying a motorcycle from any other manufacturer, because they don't have any kind of dealer network. You literally build the bike online, then buy it directly from the factory. From what I've seen so far, the folks at Janus take the concept of customer satisfaction very seriously. From the initial ordering phase, to the financing (if needed), to the build and to the delivery of the motorcycles- they apparently take a very personal approach to providing the customers with a memorable and pleasant experience. 

Mrs. MotoWriter and I just finally finished building our bikes online, choosing our options and are actually still figuring out the finer points of how this is all going to work out (she doesn't actually know how to ride after all... not yet, that is), but that didn't stop us from pulling the proverbial "trigger" as they say- today, I sent the fine folks at Janus the deposit on our bikes! 

As we continue along on this journey... I'll be posting updates here, to keep you folks in the loop as we undergo our own "Janus Motorcycles Experience" and I hope that you take a few minutes to read them.

While you're waiting for my next post- ride safe, make good choices and try to answer this question for yourself- why do you ride?