| Author | Message | ||
     12r |
    I don't care if it costs $20k, just get on with it  | ||
| Aatch |
side by side there's no comparison, is there? that MV Augusta is eating the Buell for breakfast when it comes to looks (and price tags...) damn, that's a pretty bike. | ||
| Spiderman |
Just go buy a MV then... If Buell starts makin bikes that look like other bikes then you would start to complain too... | ||
| Ceejay |
MV looks like it would feel like riding a log with a notch in it. I'm sure it's a nice bike but for 20 grand it better do more than ride... | ||
| 12r |
If Buell starts makin bikes that look like other bikes then you would start to complain too... Not at all. Technically the 1125R ticks all the boxes but it looks so fugly, it is in danger of becoming a laughing stock. Buell have designed some handsome bikes that appeal to all motorcyclists but they risk losing their entire market outside the USA with bikes like this. I don't want an MV, I want a Buell that looks as good as it goes. Is that too much to ask for ? | ||
| Curtyd |
"I don't care if it costs $20k, just get on with it..." OBVIOUSLY written by someone who is not actually considering BUYING a bike!?! | ||
| Barker |
BLAH! here is your winning look!  | ||
| Court |
I look at that Senna (which I think, by the way, is a great looking bike) and all I can think of is that so much effort has been put into a $29,995.00 that is inaccessible to 99.99% of the motorcycle buying public. How many people on badweb, sacborg, tribu or ukbeg have paid $30,000 for a motorcycle? The funny thing is that I have some friends who buy them and guess what? . . . they seldom ride them. Totally "non-Buell" thinking. When you are in the BUSINESS of selling motorcycles and do not have the luxury of making an "extra" show piece model you have to work your tail off to achieve VALUE which is the high science of making it great and accessible. I also look at those brakes on that Senna and all I can think of is . . . complicated, expensive and so . . . so. . . so. . yesterday. | ||
| Neb25 |
Barker you are right on the money. A serious sportbike should have a fairing. Court, It does not cost anymore to make a bike look great. Look at that pic that Barker did, that would not have cost anymore but it would make the bike look like a serious sportbike instead of a cartooney XB. | ||
| Elvis |
Does the wink mean you're kidding? I love the Senna, but based on looks alone, from the side by side comparison, I'll take the unique simplicity of the 1125R over the gold-shock-bling of the Senna any day. . . . and I'm amazed so many poeple are so interested in discussing the looks of the 1125R anyway. What is this. . . a Harley board? The dry weight on the Senna is 419 pounds vs. 375 pounds for the 1125R. Who wants to talk about that? . . . but then again, I've never bought fringed leather chaps, so maybe my priorities are screwed up. | ||
| Barker |
me not make. Buellgekk make. "They find the specs in the windtunnel more important than the looks I guess." - Buellgekk Buellgekk's profile http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/boar d-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=buellgek k-users | ||
| Tpoppa |
I care about rideability 1st with looks a distant 2nd. I am certain that the 1125R's plastics perform well in the wind tunnel, but lets face it their styling is lacking. Several Photoshpped pics on this board have already been huge improvements. The Radiator Cowlings look ok from the front, but from the side they just don't look like they belong. They do not blend with the fairing, airbox, frame, etc. Who knows, maybe they look better in person??? The tail section looks like it is the same as the Firebolt, but looks too 'thick' on the 1125R. I kinda like the look of the 'Hammerhead' Fairing, but it sits a bit too high. A height adjustable mount would be awesome. I wonder if Buell will make any styling changes before it hits the showrooms. | ||
| Court |
I'll say this, mindful that I am laboring under the constraint of having actually SEEN the bike (which should disqualify me from the internet) . . . but the bike WORKS. It's time someone, and Buell seemed like the logical group, got sound aero data, designed the bike and said "that's the best", not "what do you think would be cute and catch the eye of the kids". Frankly, it's a damn good looking bike that I'm certain we're going to see lots of interesting mods to. . . | ||
| Ridrx |
"They find the specs in the windtunnel more important than the looks I guess."  ding-ding-ding-ding...we have a winna! Buell has, as far as I can tell, always been a believer in form following function. The 1125R is a perfect example. Advertised as "built from the rider down" tells me the 1125R is about the EXPERIENCE of RIDING. I can't see the bike when I'm riding it, so I don't care how the bike looks IF it performs it's task well. I agree the aesthetics are "non-standard", however I don't find them offensive and will not form an opinion about the look/ feel/ performance until I've ridden one. | ||
| Jaimec |
Ya know what? When Buell first unveiled the XB Lightning model, I thought it was the fugliest thing on two wheels I'd ever seen. Three years later, I bought one. Go figure. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
i dont think the bike is ugly at all in fact I am totally in love with it exept for a part that is probly the biggest aftermarket part on a motorcycle and thats the pipes but i think that looks of those could be covered with something aftermarket to make it look better. | ||
| Ryker77 |
It does grow on you. At first I disliked the alien looking vents.. But now I am in the middle. Don't like the looks. But I like the fact it doesn't look like other bikes. Bought my first Buell becuase it looked different but worked. Bought a BMW boxxer that looked different and sounded stupid- but I liked it. The bike will be a hit and the aftermarket sector will allow for changes. Some simple CF parts will blend in things. -------------------------------------- Looks like the big gap above the radaitor intake and fairing would have been ideal for ram-air intakes for the air box. | ||
| Buellshyter |
I believe both sides of the argument have merit. However, I'm perplexed this is even being debated. Believe it or not aesthetics play a role in sales. There are plenty of historical examples. | ||
| Kyrocket |
WOW, it's not been out a week and you want another model already? No one (save for a few) has even seen it in person yet. I did at first think the front was a bit R1ish I'll give you that. Folks have been bitchin' for months if not years that Buell was "under powered", I can break if not double any legal speed limit in the US on my tuber and now the 1125 has 146hp. Like AC DC says, If you want blood, you got it. It looks, upon first sight, that the headlight issue has been addressed. In the 1125R anyway. If you want more light tonight, do something.  Plus everything else; a slipper clutch, more fuel capacity better handling and on and on. Just wait until you actually see one and maybe even test ride it before you write E. Troy wanting 200 hp and 95 fpt. I held my tongue (and fingers) as long as I could, just give the kudos to whom they belong, wait a few months see it, ride it, then give your account. Whatever it may be. Love it or Hate it Buell has come leaps and bounds with this bike and I hope the public sees it as a winner as well as the track folk.  | ||
| Davegess |
Is this ugly?  I think so BUT it was about the coolest thing out there because it said "FAST" | ||
| Paul_in_japan |
RANT!!! I dont get it. Spec. wise, it sounds great and it must be (would want to be ) an awesome ride but as for looks??? Its a horrible Frankenstein monster, the front is to big and doesn't match the borrowed rear off the Firebolt, the belt covers are hideous, the exhaust ridiculous, and lets not even mention the sidepods.- You'd have to be a real one eyed Buell supporter to think this bike looks good.If someone had photoshopped this design a few months ago and said, "hey guys what do you think?" I doubt anyone would have put there hand up and said, "thats great". I know Buell likes to be "different in every sense" but there comes a point where you have to wonder if they are just being different for different's sake! Whats next? square wheels? Aerodynamics?? Wind tunnel testing!!?? You cant tell me Buell have done anymore wind tunnel testing than the jap bike makers, Ducati and all of the Moto GP teams. Sportbikes look similar for a reason, the same as F1 cars- there must be an optimum design. Buell already had a "street" sport bike in the Firebolt. Why they didnt build something totally track looking (a kind of American Ducati) I dont know. Instead we have this ugly bastard child of a Firebolt and a CBR. It must cost the same to produce a good looking bike as an ugly one. I think more time on the drawing board might have helped. The photoshopped ones i have seen on here already look 100 times better. anyway , I could go on, very disappointed.... new 2008 Firebolt looks great though! anyways each to there own, hope i havent hurt anyones feelings, i just had to get that out. | ||
| Court |
>>>>You cant tell me Buell have done anymore wind tunnel testing than the jap bike makers, Uhhhhhhh . . .actually I can. Please don't improperly infer that as others have done less than enough. Buell, once again, has asked taken the
There are some problems. Here in the United States we have some funny laws with regard to liability. In the days when motorcycles, with test riders aboard, would spend time in wind tunnels at 120MPH . . life was fun. But you yahoos. . . wanted. . MORE, MORE, MORE. Cool, now bikes go much faster. You can help me out here by phoning your local wind tunnel place (frankly, you'd do just as well calling the Peterbuilt truck radiator folks or Cessna in ICT, but that's another story) and tell them you want to put a motorcycle in the wind stream between those two 30' rotating blades and put your brother in law astride it. Click. With me here? Motorcycles, I say again, are the easy part. I have some great stories. Court | ||
| Court |
By the way . . . ask yourself . . "did my manufacturer. . .when they encountered this problem. simply say "140MPH is good, we'll extrapolate from there?" or did they become pioneers in the world of virtual modeling?" Inquiring minds want to know. or did they used to like we used to in the olden days . . . just take tufts off Madeline's old sweater on the damn thing and drive along side it in Erik's Dodge Caravan with the side door open, and Marty holding Bret by his belt as he videotaped. . . hey, I said "pioneers", not rocket scientists. | ||
| Rick_a |
I think the looks are ok. Looks like the offspring of an Aprilia Tuono and a Duc 1098. Still, it is decidedly Buell in looks...a bit of XB and a bit of XBRR. | ||
| Roro |
To Paul in Japan, Seems to me if you want a bike that looks like everything else go out and buy a bike from any of the Big 4. (No offense...) The fact that Buells look different is one of the main reasons I bought one in the first place. I trust what they're doing since everything seems to be designed to work (with the exception of the headlight issue on the XBs). I think it looks pretty cool myself...definitely different for sure. | ||
| Bigeasy |
I like the looks and have my deposit down. From the front I think it looks like a jet fighter. I have seen many here mention the front fairing is to high and wide. But I think you are forgeting that the pic is without the rider. When seen with the rider it looks complete. It seems that alot of other companys design a bike to look good on its side stand and thats it. Then everyone goes out and buys double bubble screens and such. Anyway it looks as if there is a big empty space behind the front fairing and the lines dont matchup brecause she is missing a important part, the rider. Put them in the pic then the lines seem to flow great. Just my opinon. | ||
| Peterr |
My 2 cents, again.. I'm a Tamburiniophile, I love everything this guy has done, from the Paso to some of the odder Bimotas, and of course, the legendary 916. But what I love the most about the Tamburini bikes is the fact that he is an engineer who raced, then designed. When you work on a Cagiva 500, then a 916, it flows. Now I'm working on Buell's, and at first I looked down my nose at them with their antique Hog lump (I owned an 1100 sportster back in my wilder days..) but the more I work on them, the more I appreciate that they are engineered by racers and riders, for riders and racers. I really like the 1125R, and can't wait to see it in the flesh, because only that will do it justice. It needs the right setting to enhance it, maybe, like the sunlight shining on her on a stop on a mountain pass to change your toe sliders and let the tyres cool down a bit, and get your breath back, and maybe it'll look a bit odd outside Starbucks against all those chrome and plastic "racers", but I really don't think so. How people can write off a bike for being "ugly" without riding it or feeling it's heartbeat beats me. Maybe these same people would have considered Norma Jean "plain, ugly and with funny lumps" ? I dunno ? Horses for courses...  | ||
| Kyrocket |
Mmmmmmm Norma Jean. Love those lumps and curves, not now of course, that's just plain weird. | ||
| Curtyd |
I am starting to love the look more and more, especially the pics with a rider on board. Down here in the 99 degree summers, I don't want any more bikes with full body work, I just end up with all that heat on me then. I am liking the idea of moving the radiators further away from where I sit now too. I hope I can at least walk around and sit on one at BIKETOBERFEST in October. I am pretty sure they'll already have my deposit in hand by then anyhow, now for some nice saddlebags and tankbag from RKA or someone. Black is a pain to keep detailed, been there. I guess it will just have to stay DIRTY, like my moniker, DIRTY Curty, OUT. | ||
| Xb12rdude |
BOY.......I like the full fairing PHOTOSHOP. The bike is awesome spec wise, but those side scoops are strange. Doesn't seem like it would have been much more to put a fairing similar to the picture show. Like someone stated, in about a year there will be tons of mods and one to get rid of the rad cowls I'm sure will be on the list. The bike is growing on me a bit and I need to see it in person. |
