| Author | Message | ||
     T_man |
I was finally able to set aside some time to get my 1125R on a real track (Racecity, Calgary). I hooked up with 'Buell77' (pictured on right) who proved to be a super guy and very quick - nice to have met ya Cory! As for me; it had been nigh on 10 years since I raced so I had considerable rust to shake off, however by the end of the day I felt comfortable but the fact I was lapping my street bike with street oriented tires held me back; maybe pushing to a seven-tenths of max pace. Anyways these are some of my observations: The GOOD 1) The 1125R was certainly NOT lacking in straight line speed. In fact I had a nice drag race with a Ducati 999R Tetrastratta (with a rider determined not to be passed by a lowly Buell) down the front straight and we were dead even, I may have even been gaining. 2) Handling was sublime. (on normal single compound Pilot Powers) Nimble, stable - just perfect - on RAILS. Some corners I could have (and would have too if not for the silly track rules.. kidding) taken with one hand on the bar only - and this is at a good clip. 3) E-B-R Ecm fueling was spot on for part throttle applications. Good usable power from 6k up. No spikes anywhere. 4) The vacuum assisted clutch did provide 'some' help down shifting.. not great, but good enough. The BAD 1) The front brakes lacked feel and experienced some serious fade, even early in the day. I overwhelming prefer traditional double disc jap set up. Back brake was fine for trail braking though. 2) I incurred a serious clunking noise from the headstock area - enough to hear and feel. I suspect the steering head bearings need loosening then re-tightening. 3) Not really a bad point for me but I have to mention the head shake / tank slapper vulnerability. I loosened my grip and rode them out, but for some they could be quite scary - mostly on up shifts from 2nd - 3rd - 4th. In summary; I honestly felt like I was on the best equipment there - not because I am drunk on Buell-aid but because the way the bike performed. I'm seriously impressed with it and would challenge any Buell naysayer to further criticize AFTER a spirited lap or two on well set up 1125.  | ||
| Blur |
Nice write up. I'd love to take my CR on the track and probably will one day but I still have my race bike that doesn't get much use so thats what I go to when I head to the track. This makes me want to try out the Buell that much more. Sounds like a brembo master cylinder is a must for the track. Being so used to a stiff steering damper I'm a little nervous riding a bike aggressively without one . | ||
| Betzy |
Welcome to the track Buell Junkie club. I would suggest a ebr front race rotor and pads, they will stop the junk in a hurry, no fade! Nice to see another Canuck riding them on track!! What kind of exhaust is that? | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
do you have the stock brake fluid in the lines? if so switch to motul rbf600 and see if the fading stops. These lines are already steel braided instead of rubber, so with some good fluid, you should be good to go. | ||
| T_man |
Good suggestions; I'll swap out the fluid and try that first and if its not satisfactory then I'll look at the E-B-R options. Honestly though besides the fading I would really like to cure the lack of 'feel'(especially on initial bite). And Betzy; thats an HPE race exhaust, highly recommended but too loud for some tracks. | ||
| Jules |
When you investigate the "clunk" bear in mind that there are quite a few people that get clunks from the front end that's more likely to be from the forks themselves than the head bearings.. I can't recall the exact explanation given on here previously (something to do with a nylon slide IIRC) but it's a reasonably common thing. Mine does it, not all the time but often enough for me to be aware of it and it's not something that particularly concerns me. Just something to mull over if you check the races and it makes no difference.. | ||
| Evc17 |
Hello there T man, you have the some feelings I have with the initial bite the front brake has (not very fun). I myself will try the fluid swap-out that DKtechguy112 suggested. Please keep us up to date with your findings. I will do the same. | ||
| T_man |
I've done some research on the front end clunk and have found three explanations: Front Forks: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/555552.html Steering Head Bearings: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/570207.html Front Brake: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/581961.html After close inspection I can conclusively rule out the brakes and with 90% certainty rule out the forks. That leaves the internals within the headstock. I've read most have had success with eliminating this clunk after re-torquing. Hope this helps with anyone else with the same problem. | ||
| Avalaugh |
after my first track day i had all the same symptoms, Just raise the front off the ground and slacken off the bearings and re torque them. As for the brakes some find them fine but i have had some real issue trying to get some feel and get them to work properly. Tried different pads, dot 5.1 fluid, E.B.R disc and fitting kit, GSXR master cylinder, all not enough, im currently changing the complete front to one from a Yamaha R1, once it's finished in the next few weeks ill do a full write up with pics etc. | ||
| Jdugger |
> 1) The front brakes lacked feel and > experienced some serious fade My suspicion is you have probably NEVER flushed the fluid in your brake system, and it's old and it's not performing well. Fresh fluid makes a huge difference. Something like an RBF600 will make another bit of difference. > Back brake was fine for trail braking though. This is really dangerous, and it's going get you one day. Generally, the rear brake on the track is for things like wheelie control and deliberately "backing it in". The front brake should be how you set the vehicle speed. Trail braking on the rear brake is an almost sure way to loose the rear end long before you are anywhere close to the limits of braking and cornering available on your bike. Learn to do it with the front. > I incurred a serious clunking noise from the headstock area > I suspect the steering head bearings need loosening then re-tightening. Pretty common. You know the solution... > head shake / tank slapper vulnerability. > I loosened my grip and rode them out, but > for some they could be quite scary - > mostly on up shifts from 2nd - 3rd - 4th. There's a couple of fixes for that. First, a loose grip and just letting what can be a slightly nervous bike shake itself out is the easiest solution. The other thing you can do is raise the front end, and get an adjustable shock to adjust the ride height to compensate. This will give you a tiny bit more trail and does help stabilize the bike's steering. It's what I've done on my track bike. | ||
| Buell77 |
T man: Had an awesome day at the track and it was nice to meet you! We'll definitely have to do it again! I had the opportunity to ride a '10 zx10. Very fast! I got it up to 296 kph on the front straight. In the corners it didn't seem to turn as quickly or as easily as my CR. It could have had something to do with setup. The bikes owner out weighs me by about 50-75 lbs so its suspension was too stiff for me. It was definitely a harder bike for me to ride fast. The ZX10 doesn't have nearly as much torque and had to shift a lot more than I have to with my CR. I don't really have any desire to track a literbike but it was a good opportunity to compare different bikes. | ||
| Jjr1125 |
Tman, My experience with the brakes is the same as DKTechguy112. I also didn't like the feel of the front brake. I switched pads to the Erik Buell Racing pads and Motul 600. I now have a much better initial feel. Both the pads and the Motul are expensive but well worth it. | ||
| T_man |
Good suggestions all.. I'll be swapping fluid, bleeding them and switching into some better pads. Jim: I agree with your opinion on trail braking for the most part; it can definitely get you into trouble. However to clarify; I often use just a touch of the rear as I tip in to settle the chassis - and sensitivity is key with this technique, hence my satisfaction with them over the very insensitive front brake. I rarely trail brake with the front unless I am making an aggressive pass in a race scenario - and yes I have lost the front doing this.. haha. Anyhow - I can't wait for the next track session - be it a race or just another track day! | ||
| Smoke |
congrats-change the pads, the stockers lack track feel. i practiced last on the stockers and swapped to EBC's for the first day of races-better and the Erik Buell Racing pads for the second day-better still! tim | ||
| T_man |
Here's something else I had forgotten to mention: I wore my left big toe raw from shifting that day.. I don't know if my boots are to blame (teknic with a built in plastic shift pad) or this is common for the bike - If it is; any easy cures? Hell its already rubber coated! | ||
| Avalaugh |
http://www.EBRacing.com/shop/product72.html Much better | ||
| T_man |
Right on Paul. I now have solutions for all my bike related concerns thanks to Badweb! Now... how to address my obnoxiously loud race HPE so I can take it to tracks with noise restrictions... hmmmm... how loud is that Torque Hammer again? |
