Not long ago, the only “American” way to get more power from an engine was to make it bigger and while things haven’t completely changed, we do witness technological progress being applied on engines such as this V4 powering the latest Motus. It features Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) instead of upstream injection and what the first system does is inject gasoline straight into the combustion chamber right after the intake process is complete, significantly improving the engine’s blows, which translates into more performance.

And speaking of performance, this engine is no stranger to it as it is designed by Michigan-based Katech, which also happens to supply the engines for the Pratt and Miller Corvettes. That is why you won’t have troubles spotting plenty of similarities between those and the Motus engine if curiosity strikes you.

A recent Cycle World article by Kevin Cameron speaks about the benefits of GDI, while Brian Case told The Kneeslider this is “the first V4 made in America for a production vehicle, the first gDI production motorcycle engine, and even the first gDI V4 for that matter.”

Configured as a 1650cc, V4 with 2 valves per cylinder, the Made in America powerplant makes 140hp, but we still can’t help but notice how the performance upgrade is still related to gas, meaning that this mill is after all faithful to its origins.