Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Janus cycle review

Rode up to Goshen Indiana last weekend to look at the Janus cycle company. Here is my critique. No 1, the bikes (three models available} are drop dead beautiful! The fit and finish are amazing. I rode all three models in their "demo stable" and these bikes looked as good as new even after being ridden for a year or more by potential buyers.
Second, the quality of the parts used to build these bikes was great! Stainless steel exhaust, handle bars, spokes and many other components will make sure that these bikes are going to weather well. Nearly every other component was powder coated to ensure durability. The fuel tank was powder coated, heavy guage aluminum.
Third, these bikes are gonna be a sinch to maintain. Simple carbs, minimal electronic gobble gook and everything laid out in a way to ease access if maintenence is needed down the road. Finally, the engine. Honestly, I was a little dissapointed here. The engine is a chineese 250 Honda copy, albeight a good quality one. But the power generated was very anemic. Wrung out, I could get about 63 mph out of it. And, the shifting seemed kinda "clunky". BUT!!!, you have to remember, I had just come off a big Indian cruiser, so there is going to be a lot of "mental adjustment" here. Also, these bikes look and are sized like a early twenties machine, and compared to those antiques, the horse power was great! ( A note about the physical size of the bikes here. That is the main reason I went to look at these beautiful machines, to check out the size. Sometimes, a picture won't tell you that the bike is "undersized" just to look at it. But I'm happy to say, these bikes were "just right", and not too small for my 6 ft. frame.)
The final result? Gawd, I gotta have one! The "halcyon" is gonna be the model for me. The rake and suspension fit me perfect. (The Halcycon has fixed rear frame suspension but a sprung seat. The ride was fine.) It's gonna br a great grocery getter and bang around the small roads around here. By the time I add the options I want, I'm looking at about $8,400., from the base price of 6999. And yeah, I know, I can buy other middle weight cruisers for about that and go faster. But they wouldn't bring the smile to my face that this bike does!

Thanks for the opinion. I don't think I'll ever spend that much on a ride that isn't my daily rider, but if I did, I think that would be the one.

I stopped by there once, good excuse for a stop half way across Indiana.

Cool looking bikes.