| Author | Message | ||
     2kx1 |
I thought every 1098 tested had been an "S" and not a base version. As far as it being tested against an 848 I am sorry but that is a joke, it should be compared to a 1098,anRC8 and an RSV. | ||
| Jpfive |
I can't wait for my issue to arrive. From what I have read, the 848 would be my choice over the 1098 - and not just for price. It appears to be very close in performance, and the better street bike. I'm not insulted at having my 1125 compared to this bike. As far as rankings/impressions go - they are as much subjective as objective. I am delighted with my choice, and won't feel threatened if a magazine test doesn't affirm it. I love my 1125R! Jack | ||
| Mingo |
As a long time Buell enthusiast i've been waiting for head to head comparisons in the magazines to see impressions of the new Buell versus it's competition.Why they compared the 1125 to the 848 is baffling.They started out well stating the 1125 was the best handling Buell they've ridden.The Buell front brakes did'nt fare well against the Duc's."...the Buell binder comes up short in both feel and performance".Regarding engine noise;"Wearing ear plugs while aboard the 1125R offered an instant improvement in our perception of its quality".They drained the fuel tanks and the duc was 27 pounds lighter.The 1st Buell delivered to them had a dead battery.The 2nd delivered developed starting problems,surging problems, problems accelerating due to "cutting out".The 3rd Buell delivered had the same problems and after 2 days needed to be bump started,on the 4th delivered 1125,Buell technicians,flown in,weren't able to consistantly replicate the issues but they suspected a faulty fuel pump and stator. Without a doubt, this is the most depressing road test i've ever read on any in production motorcycle. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Mingo, thanks for the details, haven't gotten mine in the mail yet. That is not good..... (Message edited by spatten1 on May 04, 2008) | ||
| Diablo1 |
Without a doubt, this is the most depressing road test i've ever read on any in production motorcycle. Look on the bright side. With this kind of exposure in the magazines, BMC is much more likely to fix the problems that owners are experiencing, sooner rather than later. Glowing reviews mean no further improvement is needed.} | ||
| Spatten1 |
I believe that Cycle world is the most widely distributed US motorcycle periodical. | ||
| Steve_a |
Mingo -- CW, unlike the departed Cycle magazine, never drains fuel tanks to measure dry weight. They measure full-up weight and subtract the weight of the claimed fuel capacity. Their measurement of wet-minus-fuel weight for the 1125 varies from others. | ||
| Mingo |
Steve A, have you read your magazines finished article? "With fuel drained from the Ducati's 4.1 gallon tank and the Buell's 5.3 gallon frame/fuel reservour dry,our scales revealed a 27 pound weight advantage tipping in the 884s favor." | ||
| Spatten1 |
I found my Cycle World in the mail pile. They were more than generous, even stating that average riders would probably go faster on the Buell than the Duc, which is more set up for racers. I think they gave Buell the benefit of the doubt throughout. It is tough to be too positive when you go through four test bikes due to batteries draining, hard starting, stalling, and bad fuel injection. Then the factory techs show up and can't seem to help. The way they described the low rpm fuel injection is EXACTLY how the bike I test drove behaved. Seemed like a fair article to me. Not good for Buell, but certainly fair. I can't help but wonder if the bikes just need a lot of miles to get the injection map dialed in to run well. People here keep saying that it takes hundreds of miles to get them to smooth out. Is that the problem? If so, why is Buell giving unsorted bikes to the press? Quite puzzling. | ||
| 46champ |
Does anyone know how the press gets bikes? Does the manufacture supply the bikes directly, or do they go to the local dealer and just pull one off the floor with the normal set up that any normal customer gets? Went buy the local dealer today (Paradise) in Beaverton Or I think I found my next bike a XB12XT, but they need to put the translucent parts on it red and black would be much better. | ||
| Towjam |
It's cycle world. Maybe it's just me but I don't give them an ounce of credibility. Wasn't it cycle world that couldn't keep an XB9R behind an R1 and a GSXR1K through a canyon even after swapping out all three riders and still said "Well... so what we still don't like it...". I'm just not a cycle world fan. If/when other rags say the same stuff I'll be ok with it. I still won't like cycle world's coverage of Buells. I don't think it behooves us to shoot the messenger. Keep in mind that it was Cycle World who broke the news of the '06 Uly in their Sept' 05 issues (2 days ahead of the official dealer announcement). They heaped high praise on the Uly and even reviewed it favorably in a comparo of a Triumph and GS in the same issue. At the time, I was also active on several BMW boards and I didn't see anyone slamming CW for their fawning over the Uly. Being a past and current Buell owner, I feel like I have skin in the game and want to see Buell succeed. I hope that the "uber engineers" at Buell are all over this review - and we see these teething problems addressed in the '09 models. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Does anyone know how the press gets bikes? Does the manufacture supply the bikes directly, or do they go to the local dealer and just pull one off the floor with the normal set up that any normal customer gets? Each foreign mfg has a US distributor that has a fleet of loan pool bikes, some of which are sent to the press. Don't know how Buell does it. | ||
| Court |
>>>>Each foreign mfg has a US distributor that has a fleet of loan pool bikes, some of which are sent to the press. Don't know how Buell does it. That is not entirely accurate information. . . . | ||
| Ducxl |
GEE-WHIZZ....Motorrad,Bike,and CycleWorld seem to have given the 1125 a poor rating and everyone's crying foul.Booo-hooo-hooo  Me....i'll apply "Occam's Razor" | ||
| Chadhargis |
I've never ridden a water cooled Ducati, but I love the air cooled ones. I only image the water pumpers are even better. I have, however, ridden the 1125r. It was a very nice motorcycle. Looking at the price difference between the Buell and the 848, they are at least in the same ball park. At this point, I'd like to ride the Duc just to compare them, but that's probably not going to happen. | ||
| Citified |
all I have to say is I agree 100% with cycle world. Dont get me wrong, i love my 11 but, yes, the engine rattles worse than my redimix truck. The brakes feel exactly how they described. On the otherhand I dont have the low speed problems or the hard starting. Look on the bright side, Ducati has been making fast bikes for many years, this is buells first.  | ||
| Doerman |
Spatten said: I can't help but wonder if the bikes just need a lot of miles to get the injection map dialed in to run well. I've noticed that. Initially during break in it took a while before things settled in. Then after the re-flash it seem like the bike gradually got better during the 500 miles I've put on afterwards. And this is truly puzzling! Software definitely does not need to be "broken in". But it seems like it does??? I'm stomped and chalking it all up to my lack of perception or something.  I'm not dwelling on it though. Just really enjoying this bike. | ||
| Gschuette |
This place cracks me up. The 1125 board is filled with threads on owner problems and when a magazine tests confirms some of those problems the same old people fight to the death for Buell, with nary a leg to stand on. Some of you guys kind of remind me of Roger Clemens! | ||
| Fresnobuell |
This place cracks me up. The 1125 board is filled with threads on owner problems and when a magazine tests confirms some of those problems the same old people fight to the death for Buell, with nary a leg to stand on. Some of you guys kind of remind me of Roger Clemens! I am not surprised at the mag review. I am very surprised that Buell sent a 1125r(s) with many of the issues that we have been claiming. After all, according to a reputable Badweb source, Buell has a good handle on all of the rollout issues.... | ||
| Brad1445 |
This place cracks me up. The 1125 board is filled with threads on owner problems and when a magazine tests confirms some of those problems the same old people fight to the death for Buell, with nary a leg to stand on. Some of you guys kind of remind me of Roger Clemens! Very well said. If the confirmations were accepted as real the problems could be addressed honestly. Instead you will see hyperbole accolades and fluffy words thrown around that cheapen the words they are so overused. Then they will reference some great thing that happened years ago when Reagan was president. As a Buell owner and fan that less than serious problem recognition and correction is disappointing. I hope the Buell stays around a long time. I think dealing with issues openly and honesty and with empathy for a frustrated customer become part of the culture and words used to describe the company. Maybe it is, and it's just here that the issues are taken so lightly and that its a miracle that the bike is as good as it is (insert fluffy words here). Maybe all this is happening and I'm just impatient on waiting for version 2.0? | ||
| Black9 |
I really doubt you're waiting for 2.0, 2.5, or whatever version...you seem to be the paid board antagonist, using every opportunity to prod and poke REAL owners at every turn...I don't think you've said anything positive or constructive on any thread you've invaded..Go troll a Honda or KTM board with your wisdom. | ||
| Brad1445 |
I guess you have never seen my purchase records, are looked back at my post here pre-1125R. | ||
| Ducxl |
i didn't like the '03 XB.I did something too,and bought a Duc.When the XB was more sorted i bought my '05 XB. Why would i do that? Check my Buell record too.I've TWO | ||
| Reepicheep |
Don't loose sight of the "good news". Buell built a bike that is $1000 cheaper, faster on the street, and for 50% of the serious riders that tested it, had faster lap times, then what Cycle World described as arguably the best bike Ducati is building today. And at any given RPM, the 1125 basically had 20 HP on the Duc. And that $1000 difference did not account for maintenance costs, which no doubt will be much less on the 1125R (make sure you factor in the cost of one or two "tipover" events). Within 3 months, I expect the charging and fueling issues will be easily sorted out by a trip to your dealer. And the "braking" issues they described can probably be solved with a new set of pads. | ||
| Smokescreen |
And that $1000 difference did not account for maintenance costs, which no doubt will be much less on the 1125R You are aware that Ducati boasts 50% less maintenance cost than previous year models. I don't see Buell doing the same. So a $1000 4V service two years ago now cost $500. Check your local shop, that's close to what H-D gets to experiment on your bike for a service.  Smokescreen | ||
| Doerman |
Here's how a friend of mine that owns several Ducs (including a 999) summed it up in an email to me): Email Subject line: Cycle World - Buell 1125R get's its butt kicked by Ducati 848 Well, not really, but it was too tempting to use that subject line. In the end, the Buell has a few glitches that showed up in the test bikes, they like the Duc brakes better, but like the Buell riding position better. In the end, Duc is a better race bike, the Buell is a better street bike, and both companies can be proud of what they've done. I thought he did a fair assessment of the article from a Duc owner's (any owner's) point of view. He (and I) don't get it with the front brake comment though. He thought he brakes on mine worked quite well, better than his 999 in fact - but that's apples and oranges. | ||
| Jdugger |
> So a $1000 4V service two years ago now > cost $500 I don't think so. The 50% less cost is Ducati increasing the service intervals so you service half as often. The 1125r has a 6.2k service interval. That's pretty good for a bike! | ||
| Smokescreen |
The 1125r has a 6.2k service interval. That's pretty good for a bike! My 2001 996 goes 6000 miles between services. So your saying Buell hit the nail by making a NEW bike go 6.2K?  The 50% less cost is Ducati increasing the service intervals so you service half as often. That would put the new Duc's somewhere around 12k between services then. Correct? By the way, what do you KNOW about Duc's? You own one? Just curious. Smokescreen | ||
| Ducxl |
Just cost me $800 for head service.For that i got new cams shimmed/INSTALLED,ported/port matched and a valve job. Then i spent another $300 later to get the valve timing dialed but,the head service technician invited me to assist and take notes/instruction.For $300. How many (any?) Buell service centers would even ALLOW you to watch,let alone instruct you? NONE! "all things being equal,the simplest explaination is the most viable". But give the 1125r some time to mature.Too bad for the guiney pigs though. Hey,wait a minute.I am just attempting to refute what some say is cost prohibitive service.I do NOT hate Buells' (Message edited by Ducxl on May 06, 2008) | ||
| Jdugger |
> By the way, what do you KNOW about Duc's? > You own one? Just curious. Oh, not that much. I seriously looked at both the Monster S4R and 848 when I decided on the 1125r. I really like the Ducs, but decided the 1125r was a better choice for me. A lot of the guys in my ride club have them, and they are wonderful machines, for sure. The 848 is pure sex. My Duc dealer I shopped quoted about $1,000 each for the 6000 and 6k services on a 2008 bike. Perhaps that's high. The dealer offered free espresso to the wife while I was checking out the bikes. I suspect that's part of the cost and experience of owning a Ducati. Really nice dealership experience, honestly. As for the 6k service comment, I was comparing it to something like the Hondas I have owned which call for service every 4k. To me, a 6k service interval for even the basics like oil changes is really good. I didn't know the Ducs were running syntheitc all the way back in 2001 and had such long service intervals standard. The dealer left me with the distinct impression that starting in 2007 they changes some parts and went syntheitc, so that's why the service intervals stretched to 6k. Apparently I got it wrong. As for the Buell... well, I pre-paid my service. For $2,500, my dealer does all scheduled services, unlimited miles, for 3 years. That includes trailering the bike to and from my house to the dealership. I figure I'll put about 15-20k per year on the 1125r at the rate I'm riding... I did the math.. that's at least 6 oil changes and 3 valve jobs, plus airfilters and other less frequent parts, and probably more like 5 valve jobs and 10 oil changes in 3 years... Hey this is a good deal! So I bought that service plan with a smile. Now I don't care what she costs to maintain! |
