Back in February, 2021, Goshen, Indiana-based specialty bike builder Janus Motorcycles first introduced its new Halcyon 450 to existing customers just before unveiling it to the rest of the world. For those unfamiliar, Janus is a small, young company hand-building bikes with its own vintage-informed designs. All its previous models were 250s, so the introduction of this 450 marked a significant bump in displacement.
To be clear, Janus builds chassis—not engines (at least, not at this point). The Halcyon 450 is powered by a 445cc SWM air/oil-cooled single that makes a claimed 30 horsepower at 7,500 rpm, with top speed of 90 mph. To be sure, though, you probably wouldn’t want to to go at lightning speeds on your Halcyon 450 anyway—because if you did, then who would see your bike as you rolled by? (Sure, you buy a given bike to please yourself, but you’re also absolutely buying a bike like the Halcyon 450 to start conversations.)
