We need to talk about Janus Motorcycles

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Best Beginner **Sport** Gear:

Best Beginner **Dual Sport/ADV** Gear:

Best Beginner **Retro/Classic** Gear:

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:08 History
3:05 Design
4:56 Halcyon 50
5:46 Halcyon 250 & Phoenix 250
7:48 Gryffin 250
8:45 Halcyon 450
10:00 Why Janus?
13:03 Final Thoughts

[RichardWorsham]

Hey Yammie, come on up for a visit--tour the shop, take some of our models out for a ramble. We've got loaner Amish hats ;) The offer is open...

[patrickday]

I wouldn’t call them a flop. For a custom bike builder, they seem to be doing well. I love anything with two wheels and a motor and I’m happy that they’re doing what they’re doing.

[donwjaco]

I purchased the Janus Halcyon 250 last August. I never owned a motorcycle prior to this bike, my only experience of riding had been on a 150cc scooter. Wherever I go on my Janus, I can be sure it will attract one or more admiring spectators. Even people that do not have an interest in motorcycles will make positive comments about the bike. Where I use the bike is on roadways that have a speed limit of 50mph, the rest of my riding is on back country winding roads. No highways. So far, the first 2000 miles have been a blast. No regrets.

[KiyanushKaranjia]

I gotta be honest - I love that primitive bike style. They are one of the few doing it. The engine and transmission is an utter steaming pile of okapi manure garnished with bat piss. But the bikes themselves are visually, and by all accounts, dynamically, stunning.
If Janus could crack a better engine deal and get something that suits these bikes, they'd probably own the retro scene as a niche of their own.

[anthonyintrieri]

I have a 2022 halcyon 250 and love it. 3500 miles later no problems and its easy to work on. Janus encourages its owners to work on their own bikes. How many companies honor warranties if you do your own maintenance. They do, unless you screw it up, of course . Let's be thankful we have choices to suit our DIFFERENT tastes. If it's not for you, buy something else. The other day, while getting gas a guy asked me questions about it. After a negative comment about the motor ( which for me has been super reliable) besides being cheap to replace if need be, he said " your crazy, i would never pay that much for a 250". I pointed to his 15 dollar pack of cigarettes and said " don't you think those are expensive ?"to which he replied " yes, but i enjoy them". I rest my case.

[Sal]

Yam missed the point. It is the experience. I have a 450, a Scout and a GSXS1000F and 1986 Yamaha. They All ride differently. The 450 has a 1930's race suspension with Brough Superior in front and Vincent Black Shadow in the back. Amazing corning at speed and far quicker than expected and it will do almost 100mph. Let's remember why we ride. It's the experience!

[CensoredFreedom]

These bikes are a walk back into history. Very cool bikes and really nice people. I visited the Janus shop after this video. Truthfully, I'm in love with their 450

[michaeltrueblood]

7000 miles on mine. 2019. No problems. Had the tires replaced last year. Oddly, I couldn't find them at a bicycle shop.

[milrond]

Ive ridden a Janis - Phoenix their cafe racer type thing with 250cc, it was an absolutely well crafted bike built in the USA with a ride feel similar to that of a 70's BMW, it was completely enjoyable in every way for what it was, bringing motorcycling back to something more tame that we all vibe with and love. It was about joy, pure and simple without TECH, without weight, without fairings, without NAV, without without without am 6'1'' and it was fine to ride for the 2 hour ride to my buddies pure fun on back roads. - i mainly ride a 2018 Harley Road just about to hit 120k on it :) mileage means alot to me, but Janis is a fantastic second motorcycle for enthusiasts and cruisers who just want to enjoy a sport thats gotten COMPLETELY out of

[Woody_Florida]

I have a Hawk 250 with the same 229 cc china motor as many Janus. And I have abused that bike and motor for 26, 000 miles and 7 year with ZERO problems. Just fuel, oil changes, tires, chain, sprockets, grips, and tires. No issues just maintenance! I even geared it up to run 70 and I routinely run it on 4 lane highways and even the interstate; wide open for hours! I can't say enough about it, they are not fast but damn reliable.

[jeffkaron]

And back to that engine: It's based on the original Honda CG250 (well, that was CG125 originally, but it gets complicated). There just isn't a US small displacement engine that is practical for this purpose. The engine really is bulletproof, which is no idle boast. And whatever naysayers may think, lots of riders and mechanics have commented to me that it even looks good. But it definitely is easy to maintain.

[thetruenemesis]

Man these things are built down the road from me, and i think they're pretty damn sweet. Not every motorcycle needs to be a complex race machine. And justa heads up, its pronounced Go-shen🤘

[ruthlesshatchet]

I think it is sad that small businesses such as this have to pay so much more to get parts. Places like Honda can pump out larger bikes for way cheaper. I think these guys are super cool for trying to make something different. I’m sure if they could get the same deals as the big boys with the same factories then the bike would be dirt cheap. Ow well I talk of big game but there is no way I’m trading my Kawasaki for one of these.

[PineyRider]

If money was no object for me, I'd love to sit down and order one. Yeah, the Chinese engine seems out of place, but the style and craftsmanship otherwise is definitely admirable. Certainly a small American made engine would be more desireable, but I would venture a guess that they already went searching down that road to find it was cost prohibitive. They may never get rich selling these, but as long as their bills are paid by them, I bet they are content. I Call it a success.

[jeepmandan]

**Guys and Gals! Please don't take this video seriously. Yam has no experience with these bikes. I added a Janus Halcyon 450 to my bike collection earlier this year, and it is now my favorite bike to ride of all. My Halcyon now gets more miles driven than any other bike, probably by a factor of 50 to 1. Finding excuses to go ride it is all I ever think about. No other bike has ever made me think like that this much. On a side note, the frame on the Halcyon 450 is actually quite beefy, and I'm shocked the bike only weighs 360 pounds just by looking at it.

[guylr]

I mostly agree with you on the Janus bikes but there’s still room for them in a tiny slice of the motorcycle market. On the tire thing though. Those are not bicycle tires. There was a time not that long ago when all bikes didn’t come with 190 section tires on them you know.

[GARCKY]

Land O' Goshen! Well, they are what they are. Apparently, they're managing to sell hundreds of them. That's not a lot, but Janus bikes are, well, what they are. I'm an old fart just shy of 78 years. Having owned a couple of bikes that date back into the 1930s, I get what Janus is trying to do. At the same time I owned those, I also owned a 1963 Yamaha YDS-2, which was pretty much cutting edge at the time. I liked both. The historical feel of my Excelsior 125 was one thing. Whizzing along on the first stock 2-stroke 250 cc that made 100 HP/Liter was something else again. Both things were worthwhile to me.

Would I buy a Janus? Not now, I wouldn't. I don't ride any longer. Do I like the concept of them? Yes. They're a lot cheaper than fully restored bikes of the period they are hinting at. It would be fun to ride around on.

[tficarra]

A very poor, ill-informed review of a very good bike. Perhaps when the Yam gets a little more time, experience and wisdom under his very young belt, he'll be able to comprehend the value in these bikes that today, utterly escapes him. Having never ridden a single mile on one, I'm at a loss to understand how he thinks he's qualified to criticize. Of course, there's a sponsor paycheck involved, so that might explain the shilling. I have over 7000 miles on my Halycon, and I still wouldn't trade it for any overpowered, plastic-coated, one-of-ten thousand clones with a built-in umbilical cord straight back to an expensive dealer service department. Simplicity, easy to maintain on your own, bullet-proof, adaptable, style and smiles for miles, and a true, original, motorcycle experience. I'll have a second in the 450 version too, please.

[davidb]

This is the only way to own a retro bike of this specific style, short of buying a restored original. I watched a YouTube video from JANUS discussing why they used this Chinese engine, and it makes total sense. It's really the only one they can source. No manufacturer wants to sell them an engine that fits the bill. It takes tens of millions of dollars to design your own engine and have it manufactured to spec. A good example of how crippling the cost is to look at Indian's "Coke Bottle" engine, Manufacturing that engine almost sank the brand again. Prior to that I think they were using S&S, which basically made it a Harley clone. Mass producing a new motorcycle takes serious investors, and years of loses (look at Excelsior Henderson's reboot failure).

These guys are not going to get rich selling these. I personally appreciate the effort and would love to a chance to ride/own one.

[hrbeta]

I’m a Bemmer fan and I would definitely purchase the Janus 450. Considering how difficult and expensive it is to build a startup manufacturing shop in today's America, Janus’ prices are not unwarranted; they have to make a profit.