The Motus 995TL Treadmill (with TV) Review — A Caviar Treadmill at a Caviar Price

Ohiyo!

One of the things the Treadmill Sensei has always wanted to be able to do is go in to a high end shop or car dealer and say “Give me the best…and money is no option.” Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to do that for two reasons: first, the Treadmill Sensei is but a simple repair tech and we don’t make huge amounts of money; second, and more important, the Treadmill Sensei is cheap. I clip coupons, count my pennies and bring my lunch to work every day. Mrs. Sensei, on the other hand, is not cheap and I flinch whenever she comes to the DOJO to take my credit card on another shopping trip.

The reason I bring this all up is because of a question I get asked quite a bit here at the DOJO. People as “Oh, great Sensei, what would you say is the top of the line treadmill when money is absolutely no option…what treadmill would you recommend to a high class gym who wanted the finest of the fine? Tell us, oh great, wise, intelligent, good looking and incredibly nice smelling, Sensei!” Ok, so I added in that last bit to stroke my own ego.

While I don’t normally bring up much of the ultra high end equipment here on the site, I thought I would sit down and write something up just for fun…or, for those few out there who really want to find out more about one of the top treadmills in the world, with the finest of components. After having spent over a month figuring out what the best of the best would be, and then another month trying to find one to review, the Treadmill Sensei has found what he considers to be the single best treadmill in the world if money were no option: the Motus 995TL Treadmill.

I know, I know. Everyone out there is saying “Huh? What the heck is a Motus?”

To answer that question I could mention that Motus is a 15-year manufacturer from Europe. Or I could mention that one of their US heads is the incredibly classy Tania Cobb — in fact, I could mention that their entire staff and attitude is more comparable to Fendi, Lexus or Christian Dior, who know about treadmills and fitness, but also do it with a level of sophistication seen nowhere else in the industry. Truthfully, though, absolutely none of that matters. What does matter is that Motus is a solid manufacturer who uses top of the line, name brand parts in their machines. And that is what places them at the top of the fitness food chain.

Starting at the heart of the Motus 995TL Treadmill, the unit is powered by a Mitsubishi 5.7 horsepower motor. This is one of the largest motors I’ve ever seen in a treadmill — heck, I think it’s bigger than the motor in Mrs. Sensei’s Nissan Maxima! Does a treadmill NEED a Mitsubishi brand motor? Well, no, but that does give it one of the single best motors around and gives a Motus owner the additional security of the company’s reputation with high end motors. It also gives a Motus owner the knowledge that their treadmill motor might actually out last the 995TL treadmill’s motor warranty.

Next, when I first got on to the Motus 995TL Treadmill I was surprised at how incredibly solid and sturdy the unit was. The only brand on the market that might be more stable would be Noramco…unless you move up to a car or horse treadmill! I had my son and Hikaru both take turns running on the 995TL and the treadmill never waivered. These things are built as solid as the reputations of their components. Plus, being able to run on a 20.5″ x 63″ deck as nice…I almost felt like I could have another person on there running with me and still have lots of room!

The other two things to talk about are the Samsung 15″ LCD TV screen built right in to the Motus 995TL’s console and the Hyundai electronics package. Both of these make the 995TL one of the best performing machines on the market. Not having to rely on OEM electronic parts manufactured at a small plant in China allows the Motus brand to blow every other treadmill on the market away. No faulty wiring. No poorly manufactured circuit boards. No fuzzy or dim TV screens. We plugged a DVD up to the 995TL here at the DOJO and all stood around and watched a few episodes of the first season of REBA. The screen was as sharp, as clear and as bright as the Sony TV I have in my office. Please, don’t ask why I had the first season boxed set of REBA in my office. Just don’t ask.

Every part of the unit is refined and perfectly designed as one would expect from a high end company like Motus. They aren’t selling these units to small office gyms…they’re selling them to the heads of multi-million dollar corporations or the top resorts in the world.

Do you want to know what the best part for me was? The anti-microbial handgrips. Why that feature? Because Hikaru sweats more than any other man I’ve ever seen and it has been rumored he doesn’t wash his hands in the bathroom. Anti-microbial handgrips should be standard for anything Hikaru touches.

After running for more than a week on the thing, the Treadmill Sensei (plus his son and Hikaru) found the Motus 995TL Treadmill to be a world class machine. For that, the Treadmill Sensei gives the Motus 995TL a perfect 5 out of 5 Golden Buddahs.

-The Treadmill Sensei
http://www.treadmillsensei.com