| Author | Message | ||
     Barker |
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20071011/OPINION03/710110472/1047/SPORTS03 The motorcycle business is far more volatile than the automobile business, largely because its consumers care so passionately about what they're buying. Consider the consequences if the auto companies had to totally revamp their best-selling models every two years to avoid marketplace disaster, instead of every five to seven (and in the case of some models, like the Ford Crown Victoria, twenty years or more riding the same basic design). Who would survive in such a competitive environment? Only the innovators. That's exactly the case with sport bikes. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki are locked in a perpetual battle over the 600cc and 1000cc classes. Triumph has raised its game, and Ducati has hit a homerun with its 1098 sportbike. Even formerly stodgy BMW is kicking up its heels in a big way. America's homegrown sportbike company, Buell, is at least as innovative as the others -- but has spent 25 years flying well beneath the popular radar. One reason is because all those clever Buell innovations -- now loosely termed the "Trilogy of Technology" -- were wrapped around an engine derived from old-school, heavy-metal parent company Harley-Davidson. That history is what makes Buell's newest bike such big news. The new Buell 1125R is crafted around an all-new water-cooled engine designed and built to Erik Buell's long wish-list by industry-leader BRP-Rotax in Austria. And a very nice engine it is. Bigger (at 1125cc) stronger (146 HP at the crank) and smoother (no more "potato potato") than anything Buell has offered, the new powerplant does more than speed the journey from 0-60 mph and way, way beyond. It makes Buell relevant. This could be a niche-buster. If they got it right, that is -- and if is always the biggest word in an engineer's dictionary. So technical specifications aside, how does this bike deliver? Simply put, it rocks. Who better to judge than Buell owners? That's the typical rider-focused approach of this little go-their-own-way company sheltered within the tattooed arms of the Motor Company. So Buell brought a couple dozen new, pre-production 1125Rs to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last week as part of a nationwide tour to get feedback from real riders, and hopefully generate some enthusiasm among the Harley dealers who will have to market these beasts. Again, the contrast to the up-tight car business is stunning -- putting pre-production units on a race track in the hands of (gasp!) consumers? In this day of electronic bulletin boards and instant chat rooms? Actually, yes. I was fortunate enough to get lots of laps on one of those pre-production units, and it certainly felt ready for prime time. Comparing notes with other riders -- after all, that's what Bench Racing is all about -- confirmed and solidified the riding impressions: - Powerful. The spec sheet doesn't lie, this is a potent engine. But like the BMW 1200cc four-cylinder, it's an "electric" power that comes on smoothly and just keeps coming, as the scenery blurs ever more quickly. Exiting Mid-Ohio's slow Keyhole onto the back straightaway, it raised an enthusiastic power wheelie -- in third gear! But let's not get carried away -- it didn't gain ground on a well-ridden Yamaha R6 race bike. - Quiet. It's amazingly quiet, especially given the raucous racket of previous Buell's. You might consider it too quiet -- in part a matter of taste. At idle there's very little mechanical drama, but the exhaust note really finds its true voice as the tach swings past 4000 RPM -- not quite menacing, but authoritative. - Smooth. Forget vibration. There doesn't seem to be any, despite the solid engine mounts. This level of sophistication, right out of the box (remember, these were pre-production units) is pretty amazing, again bearing in mind the company's history. Buells have always been fun. Quirky even. But refined? Not among the words that come to mind. - Planted. Except for some enthusiastic grinding from the too-long footpeg feelers (shortened for production) the chassis took aggressive riding in stride. It even forgave mistakes such as clumsy braking, ham-fisted shifting and sloppy throttle work without even a protest. This was at about an 85-percent pace -- which still put us faster than I've ever ridden a lap at Mid-Ohio. And please send a note of congratulations to Pirelli, who provided the production dual-compound street tires. These tires are absolutely amazing, sticky on the sides for cornering, and firm in the center for mileage. Pirelli also claims these to be great in the wet -- thank goodness I didn't get to test that claim. - Distinctive. OK, what else would you expect from Buell? This is a company that has firm, rider-centric ideas about sportbike design, and it executes them. The 1125R has some features you'd expect from a Buell, such as an exhaust system tucked away beneath the engine, very steep fork angle, Zero Torsional Load rim-mounted front brake, belt-drive, fuel tank integrated into the frame. Great ideas, all of them, for a spirited street bike, but here are a few more. Belt-drive allows the swingarm dimensions to be totally fixed -- there is no need to adjust for chain length as on a more conventional design. That fact has allowed innovative placement of the rear brake to the inside of the right side of the swingarm, tucked out of sight. Neat. The new engine features a semi slipper-clutch design, which works off engine vacuum. Close the throttle to shift, and the sudden engine vacuum draws on a diaphragm to loosen the clutch plates' grip on each other, allowing them to slip. In practice, this is an easy-shifting bike, with a light clutch pull. Can you still get the back tire to step out a little dancing into a corner? Yeah baby. Air management. Yes, management is the right term, as the bike's motion directs air over shaped surfaces to do clever things. Two side pods feature internal splitters to guide cool air through radiator fins. An engineered high-pressure zone above the front tire is tapped to feed the airbox inlet and an oil-cooler. Air passing through the radiators is directed toward an air-foil at the leading edge of the swingarm to manage low-pressure turbulence. Best of all is the wind-tunnel proven "quiet zone" for the rider, behind the double-bubble style windscreen. This will do wonders for reducing rider fatigue at the high speeds this bike is likely to see. Speaking of speed, will the 1125 make a good race bike, which is after all the main focus of this column? Put it this way -- I was computing class eligibility after my second time in the saddle. In the right hands, this bike will run with all the bike twins from Suzuki, Honda, Ducati and Aprilia. No doubt. Not run away, but run with. It will need just a few accessories -- particularly a GP-shift kit -- to make the leap as a Supersport-spec racer. I'd be very interested in seeing a project like this come off. Check out the photos for more details. The 1125R is due in dealerships in November -- which is an awkward time to take test rides here in the Midwest. But dealers are already soliciting orders -- I got a postcard offering one in the mid-$11,000 range. | ||
| Josh_ |
Wait, what dealer is offering a discount already? | ||
| Leeroy_jenkins |
"I got a postcard offering one in the mid-$11,000 range." thats MSRP, IIRC | ||
| Ebear |
MSRP is $11,999.......  | ||
| Mikemax |
I think my 1203cc air cooled engine is bigger than the 1125cc Rotax Buell, no? | ||
| Diablobrian |
Also wouldn't the newest model be the youngest and therefore the "little brother" regardless of physical size? | ||
| Leeroy_jenkins |
IIRC is not that good as of late. |
