zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson
Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson-January 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:59

Image for article titled Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson

The new Halcyon 450 by Janus Motorcycles leaked ahead of its March 5 launch, and it looks awesome. Dare I say, Janus does vintage way better than almost anyone, even Harley-Davidson?

The handcrafted thumper was revealed by through a YouTube livestream sent to current owners. The new bike brings some major improvements to the table to make Janus more attractive.

Vintage-styled motorcycles are pretty . Janus Motorcycles does things a bit differently. The tiny company in Goshen, Indiana, doesn’t just make its motorcycles look old, it builds them with the old-school techniques, too.

Janus’ current lineup consists of a trio of 250cc motorcycles. The Halcyon 250 is an old hardtail with sprung seat.

Image for article titled Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson

The Gryffin 250 is a scrambler, and the Phoenix 250 wears that sweet café racer style.

Image for article titled Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson

Image for article titled Leaked Janus Halcyon 450 Shows How To Do Vintage-Look Motorcycles Better Than Harley-Davidson

I got to check them out firsthand last year, and I just cannot get enough of the fit and finish.

However, some riders feel the sweet designs are let down by the China-sourced 250cc powerplant. While Janus is that its co-founders rode across the country on the bikes, some riders remain skeptical. Others want more performance than the little 14-horsepower 250cc single could give.

The Halcyon 450 brings Janus closer to the modern day without sacrificing the vintage feel the company is known for. The new engine, from of Italy, will bring in fuel injection. Output gets bumped to 30 horsepower.

Brakes are a 280mm front disc and Brembo two-piston caliper; a single piston bringsup the rear. The new Halcyon comes with some suspension upgrades, too. Don’t worry, it’s not too modern. It will have a cantilever rear suspension like some English motorcycles of nearly a century ago.

The motorcycles are built almost entirely by hand, with much of the work carried out by Amish craftsmen. They make most of the parts, from the frame to the fuel tanks. Most of what Janus doesn’t make in-house , too. The bikes are built with simplicity in mind; Janus basically wants you to be able to repair them with a hammer and an adjustable wrench. Janus does what people try to do to an old motorcycle in their garages, and what the big manufacturers like Harley-Davidson try to emulate.

The bikes managed to get Jay Leno’s attention, too.

So, what’s the price for a motorcycle built by artisans? A Janus with a 250cc engine sets you back at least $7,495, while this monster will be $13,500. You can get loads of faster motorcycles from well-known brands for far less money. I don’t think Janus is trying to take you off of your Royal Enfield, but instead offer an experience not often found in the motorcycling world.

I just had to shuffle my new bike wish list because this is now tippy top. This is probably the closest I can get to true vintage without buying a barn find.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
Deadliest Train In America Kills 3 People In 2 Separate Collisions At The Same Crossing
operate between Orlando and Miami and hold the unwelcome distinction of being both the first intra-city high speed rail in the U.S. and the , by far. After three people died at a single grade crossing in two separate incidents last week it seems the feds are finally perking...
Jan 18, 2026
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Marshmallow Treats Ended Up On The Royal Air Force's No-Fly List
Over in the United Kingdom, there’s a certain dessert known as a “teacake” — or, as a British friend kindly informed me, it’s more accurately known as a “Tunnock” in Scotland. Basically, the food in question for this particular story are actually a cookie base topped with marshmallow, coated...
Jan 18, 2026
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
Aircraft Touch Tips During Blizzard At Japanese Airport
As at , its port side wing the starboard vertical stabilizer of bound for Hong Kong. This comes at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and . “Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past,”...
Jan 18, 2026
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
Crystal Chunks Are Bursting Through The Road In China
A video of what looks like quartz breaking through the surface of a is making the rounds on . I don’t get over there much, being suspicious of the Chinese over concerns of it spying on its users, as the reports. OK, fine. Actually, I just don’t get the humor...
Jan 18, 2026
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
String Of Boeing Failures Continues With 737-800 Flight Turning Back With Cracked Cockpit Windshield
In the wake of recent major , including , , and the debacle that was , it isn’t a good time for further failures by the company. that would , an unrelated 737-800 with a cracked windshield, became international news this weekend. The flight took off from Sapporo-New Chitose...
Jan 18, 2026
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
2023 Zero DSR/X: The Bike Of The Future, But Not Our Future
The world, in 2023, is cyberpunk. We’ve got the , the , and the that keeps the and the . But in cyberpunk media, people are always riding . Why are we stuck with the same bikes we’ve always had? , it seems, wants to address this grievous wrong....
Jan 18, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved