| Author | Message | ||
     Hairy_cannonball |
The weather in western South Dakota has finally warmed enough that I have been able to put a few miles on the 1125CR I bought in late January. While 1600 miles is not a lot, it is enough to form some initial impressions of this motorcycle. I'm an old guy that has been actively riding for over 30 years. I am not brand loyal to *any* brand, have owned in the past, as well as currently, many other motorcycles, and what I say is as un-biased as I can make it. I installed the high bar kit with heated grips, and black Uly pegs, shortly after I bought this bike. I have 3 Ducatis and a Moto Guzzi LeMans with clip-ons and wanted something fun with more upright riding ergonomics. With the bike set up this way I find it very comfortable, very easy to ride, and am very satisfied with this set-up. Feels like a SM with balls. The performance of this bike is spectacular. Acceleration is significantly better than any other street legal bike I have ridden, and the handling is at least on par with the best set up Ducati I own, probably better overall. It is stable at speed, yet flickable in tight twisties. Pick a line in the corners and it feels like it is on rails. Brakes are excellent but no better than the dual disc Brembos on my Ducatis, Moto Guzzi and BMW. Not quite as good feel as the Brembo setup, but probably lighter. Overall I am completely satisfied with the performance and feel of this motorcycle. Fuel economy is abysmal. Not a complaint, merely an observation, and obviously caused by constantly enjoying the intoxicating acceleration this bike is capable of. I have been enjoying an average of about 28mpg. I'm not going to stop enjoying the strong points of this bike to get better mileage. At low speeds the engine does surge. I didn't buy this bike to ride around town so it is not a big issue for me. I have flash 152. Maybe a EBR ECM is in the future, I dunno, not a big deal really. It might be an issue for someone who has to ride in city traffic a lot. It does vaporize a little fuel out of the overflow when parked hot. No worse than vintage bikes I have/have had. May put canister on when I have absolutely nothing better to do with my time. The only maintenance niggle I have so far had was the low fuel and CEL light/error code with cold fuel temps. Minor annoyance fixed under warranty by replacing the 6.1 FW IC with a new IC having FW 6.2. 30 minutes down time to replace the cluster. I also returned the bike to local dealer to have the charging harness service letter complied with. Interestingly, they found that this bike had the updated harness installed at the factory so nothing was needed. They washed the bike for me anyway. Nice. This bike always starts easily, cold, hot, and in between. I have had no need to put battery on a trickle charger, battery stays charged well even with heated grips running. Engine is clattery. I am used to clatter with dry clutch Ducatis. Interestingly, wet clutch Ducatis even with desmodromic valves are quieter. So is the Rotax engine that Aprilia uses. If I could change one thing about this bike it would be to make it mechanically quieter, but only if it wouldn't add weight or reduce performance. Nothing wrong with it, just me, I like quiet. I found doing the initial oil and filter change easy. Easier and less messy than most of my other bikes. I used the side-stand in the pan method. Didn't spill a drop. I like not having to f**k with a chain. I'm not nuts about the air filter setup, but haven't noticed any dirt getting past. I use silicone grease around the perimeter of the filter so it seats properly. I did remove the solenoid. Wasn't causing issues but I was already in there to change the throttle cables for the high bar install. My local dealer, Black Hills HD has been excellent so far, friendly, courteous, and helpful. So was the dealer I bought the bike from, Big Sky in Great Falls. Overall I am very very satisfied with this bike so far. It has a fun factor that is off the charts. Is it perfect? No. Nothing is. But I have to say that this is a *very* well thought out motorcycle. Now the million dollar ( well..er..$6000) question, would I be just as satisfied if I had paid MSRP instead of less than half? Pure speculation, but I think so. It certainly lives up to what a 11k to 12k bike should deliver. What I don't know is if I would have wound up actually buying it at full price. Maybe, but I certainly didn't need another bike when I bought this CR, it was pure spur of the moment whim. At less than half of MSRP, it is an unbeatable value. If you are on the fence about buying one at todays prices, do it, you won't be disappointed. Honestly the only thing I regret about the whole deal is *why* I got it for such a good price. | ||
| Daggar |
Nice write up. I paid nearly MSRP for my R, in 2008, and have no regrets. I never wanted a sport bike, but after looking at it, and then riding it, I was hooked. | ||
| Gas |
I have to agree with just about everything. Good read. I have a set of high bars but never installed them. I'm sure clubmans provide better wind management. Did your dealer have to see the engine light/fuel error in person, or did he know there was an issue with the IC on a lot of CRs? And what date was yours built, as I am wondering if I have the "new" harness already installed. | ||
| Hairy_cannonball |
I am stuck at work at the moment, when I get home I will look at the build date. You could also look at the pics others have posted of the new harness and relay to compare yours to also. Dealer knew about issue with light. | ||
| Brumbear |
I get that light thing to on the cluster it goes out, I also get a little fuel pissing no biggie if it bothers me I will do the canister as well. The only thing I had happen to me I jumped from 5th to 6th at about 102mph and the clutch hung for about 2 seconds I chopped the wick and grabbed a handful again and all was well and it didn't do it again all day so maybe I didi something who knows I love my CR thats all I know. Great write up HCB | ||
| Thurstonbuell |
I paid full price right when they came out , early build , I'd do it again in a heartbeat !!! I'm hoping by the time she all tired out and seen the last of her days I'll be able to buy an EBR Barracuda , or one of his other really cool bikes ! In fact I hope my biggest problem will be choosing between the new models ! | ||
| Xbud |
I also agree with your assesment (fellow Ducatisti), the few things I chaanged I felt were to solve a few problems you described, I bought an exhaust, Erik Buell Racing Race ECU (Very Smooth Throttle), adjustable length mirrors, turn signals, Corbin seat, Ulysses Pegs and the highbar kit. With those mods I have the bike as close to perfect as I can get, the only other thing I could ask for is a little more wind protection (Small Fairing), I am working on this. Other than that all I can say is I need to do some more riding, I find riding time to be difficult but very enjoyable now. | ||
| Pwillikers |
Outstanding post and entirely consistent with my observations. I'm in a similar situation wrt bikes. I've owned many and currently own four, a BMW R1100S, an MZ, a Suzi SV an the Buell. I have much experience from which to draw conclusions. This is by far the fastest bike I've owned. Short shifting at 8K RPM (if you can call that short) really motivates this thing along. The torque is intoxicating. I've got ~3K miles now. My fuel mileage has increased from 33 to 34, wahoo! The Suzi, by comparison, gets 50. I really like the high bar ergos over the clubmans. I do find they buzz quite a bit and I've been looking for bar end weights to quell the vibes but as yet have found none. Your's buzz? I'd recommend the CaliCan. It's nice not pissin' gas all over the ground. I worry less about spontaneous combustion. Since they were first announced, I've been very interested in the 1125. I went and kicked the tires a couple times but decided to wait 'til the new model gremlins were exorcised before getting too serious. When the fire sale came along, I jumped and haven't looked back. The other bikes in the stable are being sorely neglected since the 1125's arrival. | ||
| Mtch |
also got to say a good write up. i find the handling very good as you say. a bit of time setting it up pays dividends. my first ride was on new years day, almost a tradition for bikers in the UK. the warmer weather meant i have now had to readjust everything, but stock settings are a bit hard for my liking. 2 notches softer on the rear, and 1 1/2 turns softer on the front. fuel economy is much better than some. i get 35 - 40 UK gallons. dont know why, and dont know what flash im on though. my CR is a 2010 so has high bars as stock. being 5'6" i never really liked the low bars on the test bike i rode, too much stretch for me. on most roads around my way i rarely see triple figures anyway due to the twisty nature of them. also cut the seat down an inch to get my feet on the floor better when stopped. still get used to riding fast as it seems to need more gear changing than my 12Scg. | ||
| Hairy_cannonball |
Gas, the build date on mine was May 09. Pwillikers, at certain RPM's there is a little buzz, but it's pretty minor and really hasn't bothered me. Bar end weights sound like a good idea though. It's nice to see many that are satisfied with their purchase even at full price. Compared with other bikes of comparable performance MSRP was reasonable. I still think it was a rational purchase. It's going to be a fun summer. Thank God for motorcycles!! | ||
| Dirty_john |
Be careful about using a silicon based product around the sensors, many fuel injection components do not tolerate it well. Here in the UK a couple of years ago one of the major fuel companies ended up paying big monies to replace car owners fuel injection systems due to an excess of silicon in the fuel, there is also a warning in the owners or workshop manual if my memory is correct. | ||
| Gunut75 |
I'm afraid to go ride a CR. I know what I will do immediately afterwards too....................................maaaan would she be pissed..........  | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
Nice write up, thanks for sharing your thoughts  . I would pretty much agree with everything said. I have a bit over 3,000km's on my '09 R now and one thing I have noticed is that there is a noticeable difference in fuel use between city and highway riding. Only issue I've had has been clutch slave cylinder leaking, fixed under warranty. | ||
| Daniii |
Nice write up. I noticed the cold fuel issue, and just ignored it. The flash that was downloaded when they did the harness upgrade seemed to eliminate the low speed 'twichiness". I had the CR in the hill country near Vanderpool Tx a weekend ago, and that was likely the most fun I've ever had (at least with my clothes on). I am not into scraping pegs around blind corners, so the instant acceleration makes it all the more enjoyable. |
