| Author | Message | ||
     Buellsrule |
Buell's next Adventure bike. YOOHOO! Can't wait! Deposit ready. | ||
| Omegarunner |
what??? That is all you give us??? | ||
| Nukeblue |
that's prob all he got lol | ||
| Mnrider |
That would be just in time for me. Liquid cooled Rotax-Yes!!! | ||
| Motorbike |
Did they ever get the stator problems and clutch weep fixed on those Rotaxes? | ||
| Froggy |
Who said anything about Rotax? 
Yes | ||
| Mnrider |
OH sure Froggy leave us hanging. What else would it be? Something from Zero? | ||
| Froggy |
From Zero? Nah. But directly competing with Zero? We shall see. | ||
| Nukeblue |
something near the 990 adventure might just have me trading the tiger! | ||
| Mnrider |
Oh crap I meant to say Hero. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Everybody is considered a hero these days in the newspapers. | ||
| Ulyranger |
Electric adventure............I guess if your yard counts as an "adventure".  | ||
| Conchop |
This is a good place to share recipe's! Recipe's for the new ADV bike. First the name - AX??? How about the Hindu Kush Flyer - Hero Highlander - Calcutta Canyon Carver - Face it - ULYSSES is a name that sticks. It has to be electric smooth. It has to b good going slow It has to be good going fast [ a given ] It has to be torquey Shaft??? Long lasting tires/ brakes Able to haul very heavy loads - big ass Momma too Lots of lights STYLING - Most all ADV bikes look like plumbers nightmare - Ugly - chain reaction pile up - train wreck - IMHO the Uly was the best - until you get to the face [ a big praying mantis with wheels ] This is one of the most important factor in marketing this new ADV bike. Should be easy as the entire ADV bike field looks like a collection of European abstract art - one would have to be stoned on some form of hallucinogen to fully appreciate it. Price - they say 20 - I say 15 Chime in if you have any ideas - feel free to use Harry Potters magic wand.  | ||
| Schwara |
That photo-chopped picture is actually pretty close for me, with XT fenders of course in my case. I have no real intention of off road except on the rare occasion of packed dirt or gravel on a camping trip. I’ll pick up a real dirt bike for real off road at some point. I actually kind of like the belt ... low maintenance, decent life (in general), can be replaced on the side of the road. They do need some kind of wear indicators if they expect it to be a real success though, of course that’s not EB’s problem. For the overall look, I don't think hardly any of the current ADV bikes actually look good ... or the ones that do don't have much to back up their looks. I would prefer bare bones except for some lower profile bells & whistles as mentioned in posts above. I would also like for the hard cases (which of course have to be at least available) to be more elegantly removable without leaving framework behind that looks like a bolted on afterthought. I know EB was turning a sport bike into an ADV bike with the ULY but the next step needs to be taken at this point. My brother-in-laws' FJR has a lot of these features, although for me it has a bit too much plastic and gives up too many "sport" aspects to get more "touring" ones ... for me at least. That being said it does have an integrated moveable windshield which works with the push of a button, lots of nice little bits on the dash, and side cases that come off cleanly. I like the features, but after time on the Uly I know for sure that style is not for me. I think EB could still utilize some of this in the next Uly without much difficulty. I'm sure they probably can't keep the Uly name on the AX but I wish they could. I would love to scoot the current Uly over and keep her around for one of my kids while making room for a new Uly later. For price, they will have to be competitive or they won't sell. The RS was different in that people were buying a limited edition racing bike. $40K is actually sort of reasonable in that world. If the AX comes out at $20K why wouldn't people just stay with the names they are already familiar with. I would hope that initially they come out with an entry version with 90% of the bells and whistles at a price that really makes people stop and think about whether trying this new E.B.R. AX might be a good gamble. That will get the ball rolling to then follow up with a more premium offering at a more premium price. | ||
| Froggy |
AX is a model, not a name. It hasn't even been confirmed if AX is an adventure bike, or something totally different. You guys can be getting all excited over a cruiser.
The only thing that has a confirmed price is the 1190RX. $15k? Thats not a easy feat. | ||
| Nukeblue |
i agree 15k should be the target. that's what 990's are close to & the super tenere is a killer deal when you see them at 12.5k. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
If any corners are cut on a $20K adventure bike the magazines will point out every flaw and rightly so. There is nothing that sells a bike faster than the magazines getting all giddy over how excellent it is. I don't know if that is "bought and paid-for" giddiness or justifiable giddiness. Nothing that holds that dollar in you pocket tighter than reading what an over-priced POS something is. Would you pay $20k for a bike with a "prone to rust" muffler? How about paying for the right to roast your butt or leg? Buell has to get everything just right if he expects bikers in a crappy economy to plunk down near $20K for his brand that will have minimal dealer support. I'd pony up if I believed the bike was worth the price but not if the price was high just because the low volume is the cause. Not my problem. Great bike for a fair price and he'll have no problem with selling. Recent issue of Cycle World points out that the 1190 has the least hp and tq and top speed of the bikes tested but costs way, way, way more. Not a good selling point. | ||
| D_adams |
Yeah, but taking that nearly bone stock bike to the track and spanking a LOT of bikes that have been in development for YEARS says quite a bit. Might be a little down on power, but to consistently take anywhere from 3rd to 7th and only off the pace by a small margin is no mean feat. Not to mention how much $$ those other teams throw at those bikes to make them perform the way they do. I may be wrong, but what EBR is racing right now is only a little different than what the street legal version is. Different gaskets for compression changes, full race exhaust and an ecm to match, right? Take off the street equipment and go race. Bet those IL4 bikes are nowhere close to the same as their street bretheren as is the 1190RS. Oh yeah, and ADD a bunch of ballast to make weight. If I had the $$, I'd STILL buy 2 of the 1190's just to have them. | ||
| Ratbuell |
There's HP. There's top speed. Then...there's cornering. Braking. Handling. Manufacturer's points standings. The whole package. Dean - you've pretty much got it. Lights. Change carbon street bodywork for fiberglass track bodywork. Remove mirrors. Signals. Tires. Base gaskets are changed. ECM and exhaust. And suspension *setup* - they don't (to my knowledge) change components, only make adjustments and add data acquisition. NJMP last year. Taylor Knapp bought an EBR off the showroom floor on what...Monday? Qualified that same bike on Thursday, raced respectably all weekend. No "boom". No DNF. Just took a stock bike, stripped the bodywork for race bodywork, set it up, changed the tires, and I think put on an EBR computer and exhaust. And raced it. Competitively. | ||
| Darth_villar |
Ratbuell, you could do that with ANY major bike manufacturer. Well, EBR and... and... well... I would like to see an adventure bike with 250+ mile range, 21 inch front wheel for proper offroad tires, lightweight, well balanced. Perhaps some armor built in from the factory as well. Direct injection would be glorious. | ||
| Rwcfrank |
What you want in an ADV bike is one thing. Erik will build a bike with some compromises. The magic occurs when the two concepts match, like the Uly. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I'm with EG 100% here. The Adventure market is very competitive at the moment, and if you're going to out price everything else, you need to out perform everything else. No amount of "Well it's new and spanked some of them" or "it's the whole package" justification is going to win the masses. It simply has to be the best. Here's the bigger problem; it is pretty much impossible to be the best in this category. The adventure segment in and of itself is about compromises. Schwara above is mostly street and wants 17" wheels. Darth_Villar wants a 21" front. I split the gap; I want the standard big adventure TL 19" Front. Some folks want max power, others max fuel economy (computer modes are helping bridge this gap). Some want 10 gallons of fuel (60 pounds!) and armor (easily 15-20 pounds), some want as light weight as possible. Center stand versus lean angle. Touring comfort ergos/geometry versus off-road/aggressive. Maintenance-Free Shaft Drive versus simpleton chain/sprockets. Spokes versus cast wheels. The compromises never end. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think the race for the high end is creating a nice hole for somebody to fill. Kawasaki is doing it with the Versys, Suzuki is doing it with the weestrom. When I look at new adventure bikes now, I see "too much". Too much stuff, too much weight, too much money. I look at them, and the Uly I bought with 10k miles and luggage for $5000, and think "why on earth would anyone buy a Multistrada?". I think we are close to the point where people will rediscover the joys of a small bike. I'm restoring a KZ400 right now, and am looking forward to using it. It feels like a perfect size, small enough to be a small bike, but big enough to be durable. | ||
| Froggy |
Because it is the best damn motorcycle I've ridden. Period. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I think the race for the high end is creating a nice hole for somebody to fill. Kawasaki is doing it with the Versys, Suzuki is doing it with the weestrom. There is something to say about these low cost bikes, but I think we've already established that EBR isn't going to compete with the low cost game (if $15,000 is a stretch, half that simply isn't going to happen.) | ||
| Uly_man |
At 15000 UKP (24000 USD) it dam well should be? The electronics, of which there are many, expensive and VERY complicated, had better be more sound than Dukes normal fair. The thought of trying to find a electronic/electrical fault AKA Buell on one of these would scare me big time. I would think it is going to be a dealer or nothing. And there are even less of those than Buell had. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I guess I would have to work hard to be convinced it is better than: 1) Uly ($5000) 2) KDX-200 x 2 ($2000) 3) KZ400 cafe conversion ($1000) 4) DR-350 ($2000) 4) KX-80 bored to a 100 ($1000) (Kids gotta ride too!) 5) TTR 125 ($1000) 6) XR-80 ($900) 7) XR-70 ($1000) 8) XR-50 X 2 ($1500) 9) Suzuki Z50 quad ($800) $16k total, and a truckload of fun for me, a buddy, a couple spouses, and kids.      I understand why the multi is incredible, I just can't understand why I would buy one. Unless I was stupid rich, which I never will be. I won't judge somebody else who has one. Even if they didn't build it.  | ||
| Mikef5000 |
To each there own. Where you may prefer 9 different bikes to enjoy, others may just want one that does everything they want. | ||
| Reepicheep |
True Mike. And if you are going to really be pounding out miles on US roads, a Multi would be a great choice. I'll race your Multistrada against my KDX for pinks. But I get to choose the course. And the weather. And that list had 11 bikes on it, because with those kinds of bikes, at any given time 3 of them probably won't be running. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
No multi here... I went with the Super Tenere, it serves my purpose MUCH better than the Multi would. I still needed a second bike to do everything I wanted though; but that's me. Some need 1, others need 11. I'm using the term 'need' pretty loosely here. |
