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? 

A Star is born... and then it's gone.

A Star is born

The year is 2006. The motorcycle under my carport is a 2001 Honda Shadow 750 American Classic Edition. It's raining, so I'm on the couch, watching T.V. A commercial briefly teases an all-new motorcycle under an all-new motorcycle brand- Yamaha introduces it's new "Star Motorcycles" and the all-new, 113ci air-cooled, pushrod V-twin lineup- The Roadliner, The Stratoliner and the Stratoliner Midnight. I'm intrigued. Very intrigued. The motorcycle has neo-classic styling taken straight out of the 1930's automobile design handbook, a big, pushrod V-twin and classic American styling. The Midnight edition is an almost all black bike and it is nothing like any other bike on the current market. It is a stunning machine and I love it. 

The test ride

After going online and visiting the Star Motorcycles website an obscene amount of times, requesting brochures and promotional DVDs, then reading the specs and watching the DVDs until my eyes hurt... I decided to make a trip to a dealership to check it out in person. I brought cash. The bike was huge, especially compared to my 750 Honda. It was fuel-injected and fired up instantly with a low rumble. I slowly eased the bike out of the dealership doors, feeling like a little kid on his first bicycle. The bike was huge, but it was beautiful. I slowly pulled onto the service road and eased into the throttle, carefully upshifting to get used to the gear ratio of each gear. The bike was huge, but it was geared well and easy to control. I took it up through 4th gear and then downshifted to start slowing to turn around. I pulled into a parking lot and began my u-turn. The bike was huge, but it was nimble and well-balanced. As I headed back to the dealership, I got a little more comfortable and twisted the throttle and let the 1900cc engine roar. The bike was huge... and it was powerful. If you didn't catch it... the bike was huge.

I bought it that day.

Miles of fun

It was on that Stratoliner Midnight, that I became more adventurous on my moto-journeys. Having the reliability of a brand spanking new motorcycle (the first new motorcycle I had ever had) gave me the confidence to travel further, longer. For the most part, I still stayed in my local area, but my rides were longer. I used to only average a couple thousand miles a year on my bikes- the Shadow 750 was a reliable bike, and I loved riding it, but it was small and got a little cramped after a while in the saddle. The Strat, as I came to call it, was big and roomy and had plenty of power to pull me down the highways easily and pass traffic effortlessly, so I more than tripled my yearly mileage, averaging over 6k miles a year. The only real problem I ever had was caused by an uneducated tech at a local dealership. Turns out, the all-new 113ci engine on the 'Liners had 3 holes to drain the oil, but when I brought it to the local dealership for the break-in oil change and inspection, the tech only dropped two, then filled the engine to spec without checking. That ended up blowing an O-ring inside the engine, near the base of the pushrod tube. After fighting with every "local" dealer about it, with each one refusing to fix it, I ended up bringing it back to the dealer that sold it to me (almost three hours away) and he was able to fix it at no cost to me. He even put me on a used Road Star that he had in stock, while my Strat was down. The bike was great and I was totally happy with it... until I got the fever.

Harley fever and the death of a Star

Just a few short years later, in 2009, I caught the Harley fever. With too many reasons to list, and in an attempt to not get distracted from the original story, I'll save my tale of getting Harley fever for another day and simply say- I used my beloved Stratoliner Midnight as a trade-in, on a cold winter night in South Louisiana, and rode home on a sweet new Harley-Davidson Road King Classic. Even though I left the triple tuning forks behind, I never trash talked Yamaha, the Stratoliner, or the Star brand. On the contrary, actually. I encouraged several of my friends to buy Star motorcycles because of their styling and their nearly bulletproof reliability. Once I started riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles, I never went back. Over the next decade, I went through a few different Harleys, added a couple extra to the garage and settled in on my current bike- a 2017 Road King Special. It has the all-black styling of my beloved Stratoliner Midnight, but with the performance, features, rideability, vast dealer network, history, lineage, reliability and styling that I have come to know and love with the Milwaukee USA Motor Company. Fortunately for me, switching to a brand that had been in constant production for over 100 years was the right choice, because not long after, the eventual death of Star would come.

Unfortunately for Star and Star owners, after only ten years as it's own brand, Yamaha decided to scrap the Star brand and fold the remaining bikes back into the lineup under the Yamaha moniker. 

The company you keep

It makes sense, I suppose. Yamaha Corporate is a huge company with products ranging from musical instruments, to motorcycles, to factory automation equipment. To say that they have their hands in several different industries is an understatement. While the Star brand was a popular one, I think that Yamaha recognized that there is only so much room in the motorcycle market for an American made motorcycle. You see, a lot of people probably didn't realize that Star Motorcycles was operated out of the Yamaha USA offices in Southern California, and that the motorcycles were designed in the good ole US of A. At their core though, much like many of the V-Twin cruiser motorcycles, they were replicated versions of original designs from the original American-born motorcycle companies, Harley-Davidson and Indian. My Shadow 750 was, literally, named the American Classic Edition (or ACE, for short). It was designed to look and sound like a Harley-Davidson FL; The Kawasaki Drifter was a blatant... umm, let's call it... "tribute" to, the original Indian Chief; The Yamaha Road Star was designed based on the Harley-Davidson Softail models and the 'Liners were designed to take on the Harley-Davidson Touring family. The biggest difference in how the designers did this, was to give it a fresh, new design that, in my humble opinion, was one of the most elegant and unique designs that, while it was still American inspired, still had it's own individual look and personality.

What made the 'Liners so popular was the size, the power and the styling. While the styling was still very retro-American, it was unique to the Star brand, as no other American motorcycles had such unique, sweeping lines and movement-inspired shapes. No other bikes had a big speedometer inspired by a "grandfather clock" and no other bike had a big, chrome strut on the front fender (just for looks) and most of all- a big fuel tank, devoid of any names or monikers, just simply adorned with 3 elegant chrome strips. But, at their core... with their big, air-cooled, pushrod V-Twin, prominently displayed in the frame, a big headlight with custom nacelle and leather covered saddlebags, the Stratoliners were easily mistaken for Harley-Davidsons. While that's not a bad thing, with a price tag similar to that of a comparable H-D and a limited aftermarket (by comparison), the Star brand was fighting for it's place on American soil. I believe that Yamaha saw the writing on the wall, when Polaris bought the rights to the Indian name and introduced their first models in 2014. Market analysts surely predicted that Polaris' Indian brand would re-ignite the battle for supremacy in the US market between the two iconic American brands and, after watching the decline of Victory Motorcycles' sales, they were proven right. 

In 2016, Yamaha discontinued the Star moniker, absorbing all of the most popular models back under the Yamaha name. Shortly after, in 2017, Polaris discontinued Victory after years of waning sales. It made sense for Yamaha. The name recognition of Star just wasn't there, not compared to the household name of Yamaha, that is. After all, everyone knew Yamaha. From jet skis, to dirt bikes and ATVs, to your kid's keyboard or saxophone... Yamaha was a brand name that was in practically every household in America. 

The end of the road

Unfortunately, 2017 not only brought the end of Victory, but it also marked the end of the line for the prestigious Stratoliner. Yamaha discontinued the big cruiser to focus on the Star Venture. The Venture is not a new name for Yamaha's touring motorcycle line, far from it, actually. The Venture name first saw production on the 4 cylinder Royal Star as it's luxury lined version, but Yamaha is now using the name on their only "Transcontinental Touring" bike- the Star Venture. The motorcycle is still basically a Stratoliner, but with a full, frame mounted fairing, new bodywork and of course, saddlebags and tour pack. Basically, Yamaha combined most of their big, heavyweight cruisers into one bike to compete with the venerable Honda Goldwing and Harley-Davidson's Road Glide Limited and Ultra Classic Limited. Yamaha has always had a long history of very successful sport and off-road bikes and, it's obvious by going to their little corner of the interweb that, they are clearly focusing more on that market instead of the heavyweight cruisers.

Hope is in the ever changing market

While I wish this story had a better ending, at my core I am a motorcycle optimist and I choose to see the best in every motorcycle story and this one is no different. The Star brand may be dead, but the enthusiasm of it's owners is alive and well. Thriving, actually. Yamaha still makes the 113ci, air cooled mill and, as such, they are still building parts for it. That means there is still factory support for the big machines. There is also a growing aftermarket for those that saw the light of the Star, long after it was already burned out. Stratoliner and Roadliner enthusiasts are now finding these amazing motorcycles in the local ads for a fraction of the prices they used to demand. That means more and more of these beautiful machines are being seen on the roads. 

While I may have moved on from the giant Japanese companies' offerings, riding my beloved Harley-Davidson Road King along the interstates, highways and backroads of this beautiful land I call home, I still get a little excited to see a Stratoliner or Roadliner on the road. As a matter of fact- I have several friends that have moved up to 'Liner ownership and I couldn't be more proud for them. The 'Liners are amazing bikes, with lots of power and plenty of style to bring a smile to any real motorcycle lover's face. 

As a genuine motorcycle enthusiast- I don't really care what you ride, as long as it brings you joy, fuels your sense of adventure and gives you a deeper appreciation for this journey we call life. 

Ride safe and enjoy the ride, no matter what you ride. See you out there, MotoFriends!