| Author | Message | ||
     Duphuckincati |
Just thought I'd pass along a minor comparison of rake and wheelbase of these two- Buell 21 degrees and 54.5, Yamaha TZ250 22degrees and 53. No wonder our 1125's are a bit on the "nervous" side. That is all. | ||
| Cataract2 |
And the point of this is? | ||
| Froggy |
Your 1125 is nervous? I recommend you re-adjust the suspension. | ||
| Mountainstorm |
Or drop two Xanax in the fuel tank. | ||
| Zacks |
Surprised? I remember reading an article that Erik's design brief targets to the engineers on the XB project was the TZ250. Weight, wheelbase, rake etc. 'Course, my memory may be faulty - according to the wife... | ||
| Jules |
Mine's only nervous if I approach it from behind with the jar of vaseline... Oddly enough my wife's the same.. | ||
| Justa4banger |
Jules your just not doing it right.. If your good like me , they never knew you were there... Wait maybe that means something else.....  | ||
| Mikezx9r |
I thought this thread was about the 1125 graduating from racing against 600cc bike to racing against 250cc bikes. | ||
| Mickeyq |
Regarding graduating from 600s. There were more wins by 600s for that championship than Eslick got. He was much more consistent and won the championship that way. The argument that it was unfair to ride with 600s is bogus--that class is the most competitive by far. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I thought this thread was about the 1125 graduating from racing against 600cc bike to racing against 250cc bikes. Haha, do you know what you are talking about? A 250cc 2-stroke is a pure racing machine. If you threw one in to the DSB class at it's natural weight, I bet it would be very competitive. How would they ever explain THAT one to the displacement-is-everything racing masses? | ||
| T_man |
To further that - does anyone remember when Rich Oliver pitted his 250 in Formula USA? He and a bike 1/4 the displacement was a force to be reckoned with. | ||
| Family_buells |
I don't think the 1125 belongs in a class with 600 I-4's. The bike was in its first real year of development otherwise it would have dominated from the start. Even so, I'll race it in middleweight if that's where my racing org decides to put it. I endurance raced an SV650 against a Ducati PS1000 and I didn't think that was fair but that was the rules said. We beat them for the championship anyway. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
The bike was in its first real year of development otherwise it would have dominated from the start. Are you insinuating that the 1125r dominated DSB at the middle or end? What series were you watching? The Buell's shining moment was in Fontana, early on and the Yamahas were the bikes to beat at the end of the season....and what if Cardenas didn't injure himself? Slick didn't fall down and that's the reason he won the Championship. Get over it. | ||
| Hootowl |
Zacks, you are correct. XB was intended to have the dimensions of a GP racer. | ||
| Hootowl |
"Slick didn't fall down and that's the reason he won the Championship." No DNFs helped too, mechanical or otherwise. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Well, Zacks was about the only one who got my point and mentioned Erik's goals. That point being the radical-ness of the 1125. I'm not able to find any other motorcycles with as steep a rake, including trials bikes. Having ridden a TZ I can understand the Buell philosophy. As far as nervousness goes, getting off of any of my other bikes and onto the Buell I have to re-adjust my inputs. Not a bad thing, just different from any of the other 70+ motorcycles I've owned. | ||
| Family_buells |
I'm not taking anything away from Slick and not falling down was important, but he had to do a lot more than that. I don't think the Buell was as refined as the 600's and Danny figured out how to deal with it. I just think that if the Buell has any more potential power-wise in supersport, then it will soon become an unfair advantage if the handling is even close to a TZ. I certainly hope that the handling is that good. Ever since I raced an RS125, I've been looking forward something with more power and the phenomenal front-end feel of a GP bike. | ||
| Mickeyq |
Never rode TZs or any other roadracers. Did get to ride a very special bike a long time ago--which my 1125R reminds me of. This was a Rickman Honda 1024cc with a supercharger and weight wise compared to my then streetbike 72 R5C Yam350. This bike left an imprint in my memory, 1978--2nd gear blip and 110mph with a balanced but quick feel that the 1125R reminds me of. Had the chance to buy it, the seller was Colin Edwards Sr., but I was racing 250 MX and no cash for "fancy" bikes. That's what got me about the 1125R--I flashed back to that Rickman. | ||
| Redduck124 |
I raced '88 and '90 model TZ250's back in the late 80's early 90's. The 1125r feels similar in size, but the seating position is less radical as best I can remember. The TZ's were only 220 lbs. or so and had roughly 72HP, so a true comparison is hard to make. As good as the 1125r handles, it can't match the TZ for pure flickability and corner speed.  | ||
| Family_buells |
The TZ250 is my dream bike. I'm torn between buying a well prepped 600 for endurance racing or finally buying a TZ250 and going back to sprint racing. The team aspect of endurance racing is really cool, but the handling of a bike like the TZ makes you feel like superman. I've heard about how "nervous" handling GP bikes are, but my RS125 never felt twitchy to me. That bike was the definition of front end feel to me. It felt almost like you had your hand right on the ground and you knew exactly what was going on with the front tire. | ||
| Redduck124 |
If you have the mechanical skills, go with the TZ. It's a wonderfully rewarding bike to race, but it's also a demanding bike to maintain. If you just like to gas and go, I'd stick with the 600. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I want a TZ with lights and a mirror...and of course a couple of cases of spares...  I still have a giant jet kit  . But then again, I want another MT125 too. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
How about finding an 1125 with a blown motor and putting a built Suzuki 500 Titan motor in it?? Be pretty light! Call it a Buellzuki 500! I know somebody else must like this idea!! | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
sorry i must have searched the wrong thing but...the T500 suzuki titan motor only have 47hp and 37.5 lbs.ft. of torque...so why would you want that??? maybe an RZ500 or a 750 triple but those are the only 2stroke road bike engines that i could see as fun in an 1125 frame...just me probably..us youngins dont know any better lol Jake | ||
| Gas |
Well, I got the point about the comparison. I think nervous is a great word. I had compared the rake and trail of my Buell to most other sportbikes and couldn't find anything close. I got my butt kicked back in the early 80s by John Kocinski on his TZ250. I always wanted one. | ||
| Duphuckincati |
Hey Ridenusa41, good points. Try checking TR500, the race version. The 500 popped to mind because a buddy just picked one up and they are a unique motor, and I flashed on the fact that they are air cooled, sorta compact, and make funny noises. The race versions made around 65-70 hp. REAL easy to work on. Anyway, I'm in California if that explains anything....must be all this SUN! | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
Hey Dup, no worries, and thats a little better but still not up to par IMHO...btw I'm in AZ its been in the upper 60's to low 70's all winter besides a few days...i know ALL about SUN and YEAR ROUND RIDING : Jake | ||
| Ogobracing |
Back to the nervous ?. I find my 1125r less "nervous", by that I mean more stable and less twitchy than several other sport bikes I've been on. However, since we live in the land of six months of snow (or so it seems), I have limited miles on it, so maybe I have yet to learn something. | ||
| Gas |
Maybe mine has some handling quirk. It just seems unstable in tighter, lower speed corners. Constant countersteering on the bars (feels like the front end wants to tuck under). Any change in road surface results in a quick change in steering geometry and instability. I was diligent in keeping records of my damping and preload changes. I went up and down through the settings, tire pressures, etc., but I have never found the stability some of my other good handling bikes have possessed. | ||
| Zacks |
Gas, I had the same feeling you describe on my XB. Changed tires to Avon Storms and it was transformed. Only variable is at the same time, I put Heli-bars on. Not enough miles under the 1125 yet to determine if it's the bike or me, but do notice some of the same tendencies. Going to try Al's bar risers first myself. |
