Buell 1125R first ride

[dazzelya]

Saw one today, nice sound but fugly.

[ukchris64]

What is the top speed of the 1125r, In MPH?

[NicksterOnAGixxer]

I'd ride one just because its a bike, but its ugly. People will buy it because it's American made. You be American, 10 bikes lengths behind my gixxer. kthxbye

[KillerShampoo]

@NicksterOnAGixxer Its funny you say that... Any idiot can ride a bike fast in a straight line. See if your gixxer can keep up in the twisties. Not that I'm shooting down Suzuki, by any means, GSXR's rock! I've owned 1. The 1125r shines in the curves so its a different tool, mabe one thats not for you, but its got its uses dont put it down just cuz your bike is faster.

[Quagmire88]

wasn't buell owned by HD?

[Honda040life]

wait a minute, the 1200 is a harley motor, this one is a rotax

[CveleNis81]

too bad that american bike is with a austrian heart (engine)

[an50331]

its a shame american motorcycles are second rate. buell was the only american manufacturer that put out advanced motorcycles. now they are gone. all other american motorcycle companies basically make their living on selling novelties (harley)

[yourleftnut1]

slow POS

[davidbcn822]

0:30 that sound is supposed to be sport?

[bipod11]

havent buell gone bust ??

[freizzy28]

yer they have and they arent making anymore after the 2010 models.. sad to say:(

[0R33D0]

eric buell is the man. he rode a little while for yamaha but he knew the harley torque would carry him through the corners so he started putting xl engines in sport bikes. harley contraced him and he designed the buell which still today has technology that jap bikes only have in concept bikes.

[BoringYPG]

buell makes the most beautiful machines i have ever seen.how can someone say there ugly?

[starshooter10]

@BoringYPG agreed

[Taino513]

1200cc competing against 600cc. Clear sign of superiority?

[djkaseone]

Clear sign that you dont know the differences between a 2-cylinder V motor and a 4 cylinder inline engine...

[Taino513]

Sure OK, You got to win somehow, right.

[starshooter10]

@Taino513 half the cly double the CC's

seems fine to me.

[Taino513]

@starshooter10

OK let Ducati bring in their twins

half the CC's right.

[FiascoRR]

lol you can ride a dirt bike arround the cirquit, the terrain looks awesome...

[Ayrshirenutter]

all Buell production ceased as of two days ago.what's left in the factory and shop floors is it.want one then grab it now

[maggotpuke]

cyke74, if you want to win trophies. ask Danny Eslick. he rides the 1125r

[Drmofothegreat]

I'm not a fan of sport bikes,or Buell in particular, but the 1125CR looks good, much better then those dime a dozen full faired bikes

Good job Buell for trying to compete with the Japanese and Italians. I hope they keep it up.

What class does the 1125R compete with?

[cyke74]

Rode 1 today. Amazing Machine. Best bike to take to a trackday and also throw around town. If you want to win trophies on a circuit- buy an R1. If you want a road bike that performs on trackdays - This is YOUR machine. And if you think it looks ugly - you need to spend less time admiring your reflection in store windows and question why you're riding!.

[bastrix69]

true but... jaaaaysus its so ugly!!!!!

[S01NOR]

it's wide as hell..

[turdbandit]

You lot just dont like anything different. Very binkered veiws. Just carry on swimming round your little fishbowl of life. Your the kinda people who still burn witches.

[blagahaga]

Fuck ugly piece of shit. Looks like an yamaha fazer, except shittier.

[GaleazzoMussolesi]

it's really ugly

è proprio brutta forte

[NtheNow]

Is it me? But the face of the Buell 1125R reminds me of the "Black Manti Ray", the enemy of Aquaman of the Justice League, lol. This bike just looks plan mean and it has a face that says "All you jap bikes better not crossover into my territory or I will GUT you", lol! If I was into sport bikes, this would be the one for me!

[woodyate]

where is BRP rotax located? is that what cagiva uses also?

[steady2wheels]

only had the pleasure of sitting at one at the msn show, but its so compact and yet comfy to sit 'in' and the front fairing feels like it would keep the wind off a LOT better than my zx6r. A few years when i can affors one on the second hand market..

[sawzall666]

yea but i think they are responsible for making the Buell 1125r manufacturing so i really dont care what els they do.

[ryanturnerboles]

its about as american as a honda. the engine is built by BRP rotax because harley cant build a decent engine.smart move. i actually like the bike now

[pyromanic920]

Buell is an American engineer, and Buell's are built 10 miles away from where I live, by Americans. It's an American bike.

[francisporters]

@pyromanic920 this is why it sucks so much

[Resolveo4]

hey aprilla uses rotax too mofo and they make nice bikes

[plasticine86]

That's the stupidest fucking logic I've ever heard. Who gives a shit where something is manufactured. It's not like American engineers aren't capable of building a good engine, but they commissioned someone who builds performance engines instead. According to your stupid logic, it'd be like saying "Well ferrari has it's nuts and bolts manufactured in China, therefore it's not Italian, but Chinese."

[Milano322]

BRP rotax makes motors for Aprilia and BMW as well. are you saying Aprilias are not Italian? BMWs are not German?

[sirboomdotcom]

The front of this bike is so damn ugly!

[is300ss]

i know.... it grows on you though. its badass. its built with nothing but areodynamics in mind. watch the full overview video

[adrianrubi]

the wind tunnel says the front should be like that.

[witlessbanshee]

hey dumbass its a harley most amercan bike you can get

[FindlaySucks]

I find it hard to believe that this bike is any more American than a Harley-Davidson. If it is truly an American assembled bike with American fabricated parts it will definitely be my next bike. If it's made from foreign parts, then assembled in the USA, I don't consider that an American-made motorcycle.

[seroyer2]

Ya thats why it doesn't suck

[shootemupy2k]

only if you don't include the engine. Eric Buell pled with with harley davidson to let him outsource an engine and when they finally did he couldn't find a decent american engine to power it so he had to go to Rotax for the powerplant. But the rest of it is american so that explains why its ass ugly and feels cheap as hell.

[smashken28]

Damn is that Laguna Seca? I'd kill to take a test drive on that track!

[snoodabru]

I didn't know Daytona had all them hills around it.

[klined]

so go ahead? anybody can ride there

[null1122]

As an 1125R owner, I have to say this bike is a fucking monster. Yes, the R1 is faster (slightly). But meet me in the twisties and I'll eat your lunch. The looks are, admittedly, controversial. You either love them (I personally do) or hate them. But no one will ever ask "Is that a gixxer or a Yamaha?"

A variety of exhaust options (Jardine, Drummer, Remus, D&D) are ready or near ready. All in all, aftermarket products are still sparse, and pretty spendy.

Oh. Did I mention it's American?

[shckar]

hey ithinking in buy one tell me more about it

[gaborcanada]

Honestly,,, 1125R is a piece of art except the front wind shild cover. ( TRULY UGLY) I would put the front rake to 23.

[gaborcanada]

Just an advice!!!!! Do not get fooled with Ducatis media crap and its numbers.

Buell 1125R has same quater mile and 0-60 result like the new tuned Ducati 1098RR .Buell is $12,000 Ducati 1098RR is $ ????? ( $100,000).

If you would tune a Buell 1125R it probably would beat Ducati ANYTIME

SO - BE SMART and choose the right bike..

[shckar]

its that true? wow

[piwright42]

Eric Buell has been the biggest innovator of American Motorcycles for a long time now. I am so happy to see Eric finally got away from tuning Harley's Sportster engine. I sold motorcycle, quad and personal water craft parts for a couple years and I do not remember selling too many parts for Bombardier engines. As I recall they use Rotax power plants. For that reason this Buell intrigues me.

[Bardo688]

YA man Rotax is awsome the Helicon is in the 1125r and buell made a great choice by picking it when bombardier was making 4wheelers they put a similar engine from Rotax in the 650DS i got 1 and love it

[piwright42]

That is where I got my familiarity with Rotax, through the Bombardier quad. Back when I sold motorcycle parts at a dealership. I remember the Rotax equipped Bombardiers getting sold and I did sell a few replacement cosmetic parts for them, after they left the shop. I cannot remember selling much in the way of mechanical parts for them, service parts yes, but no major engine components. Eric Buell is a genius, if he felt the Rotax was good for the job then I have to trust him.

[Bardo688]

yep we all can agree its a great engine i guess as long as they are taken care of periodictly

[gixxerbones]

bikersrule07, No need to worry about the reliability of the rotax. i owned a sl1000 falco aprilia. did 80,000ks on it with not a worry. did lots of track days on it too. they are an absolute brilliant motor with probably the strongest gear box of any bike! id own antoher rotax in a flash. didnt have to do my first valve shim till 50,000k. very low maintenance motor thats simple to work on.

[piercedbydave]

when it comes to v-twin performance you cant beat ducati, but you definately got to pay for it. I like the v-twin torque ratings on the buell but lets face it, the bike is just plain ugly. they need to design their next bike with better lines like a ducati or jap bike. I think they would have a better response in sales.

[mrbadguysan]

But that's all subjective. If their intention was to produce something different, they've certainly succeeded.

Like many things, it's in the eye of the beholder.

[Dirtboyindahouse]

it doesn't look bad, just not as good as othr bikes

[rayray40]

I love the 1125R, I was blowing jap bikes away all day long.

[standerson1]

WOW that's one ugly fucking bike! The front discs look rediculous!!

[alfatango1]

I think it looks great and the disc design is one of the best out there. The disc being on the wheel instead of the hub transfers more braking to the tire for very short stopping distances. Brake reviews on the bike have been very positive. I have a XB9R and thinking of getting one of these for sure.

[ribenawrath]

I read a test on this and apparently the brake disc doesn't actually do anything different to braking power. It just looks different.

[RockStudioLive]

The brake is bolted to the wheel rim so it doesn't stress the spokes. The spokes can be thinner and lighter. Taking weight from a rotating part is more effective in increasing overall handling than taking weight from a static piece.

[bikersrule07]

if thats the bike with the rotax engine, forget it, i wouldent toutch rotax with a barge pole,or at least i know there reliable enough to go some where.

[alaskairhog]

Uh, rotax makes reliable motors. I like the rotax 1000cc engine that in my Aprilia Tuono. Do you thing people would rotax engines in light aircraft if they couldn't make a reliable engine? They make engines for bikes, snowmachines and much more. I think they know what they are doing!

[bikersrule07]

I used to be a pilot, flew with rotax 582 blue head,it stop working at around 1500 ft aprox agl,with only 132 hours,i know the rotax 912 is a good unit, but very maintence hungry,just had some bad times with rotax,but on the whole they do a good job.

[ChuckBullets]

That's Pwalo of the Fens, that is!

[ridemfast55]

The first "Non-Harley" engine in a Buell and the bike is a monster! It's about time Buell got rid of the 45 degree v-twin tractor motor that powers Harley Davidsons!

[jcizzle61]

I agree.

[piwright42]

What I heard is that Buell wanted to be away from the Harley V-Twin, but Halrley kept bringing him back in house and forcing him to develop the Sportster engine.

[laptopgangster13]

Yeah no shit, can't wait ride it.

[DerekV519]

Drove the 1125R at a local Harley demo day. Rode the Night V-Rod, a Road King, then the 1125R. Wow, nice grunt right off the line. I had so much fun popping 1st gear wheelies any time with a twist of the wrist. Beautiful cockpit, nicely finished. I ride an 01 FZ1 which gets more fun as the RPMs go up. The 1125R was a blast right off the line. The V-Rod was a disappointment--no balls at all. The Road King was a marshmallow on wheels. Would love to have some track time with the 1125R.

[wellness1125r]

i just got this bike two weeks ago, it is a phenomal bike, it handles better than any metric bike i have ever driven, and it is far more responsive than any jap bike. who cares how loud it is, that is called show, i want go. even with the $13,000 price tage, it is very well worth the price.

[doubledeckertaco]

not a bad bike but the exhaust has to go before i would even touch the bike

[derbbus]

This new engine could make this bike a real winner !

[onearmbiker]

I wish I could ride one and buy one!

[projektsid]

I'm not too crazy with the looks of that bike...

[mcromance1]

don't look at it then

[nowaydudecheckitout]

sorry i love the engine, but damn thats one ugly bike......its like a short fat man with a really lard dome!

[darkeneddreams]

In my dreams :-)

[Bardo688]

who ever is making the rotax engines is frickin smart my dad is gunna get the 1125r to put in with his Fatboy and street glide and we got a 650 bombardier that has the rotax engine in it there frickin sweet

[scottorious]

does anyone know if they are thinking about using this rotax engine in the lightning frames at some point....thats what im looking for, i love my lightning xb12ss but wish it had the power of the new engine

[wellness1125r]

i would guess no, only because that is not the intent of the Lightning. but i could be mistaken. so just buy a new 1125r next year (2009) when Buell works out all the bugs of a new vehicle.

[Victor9098]

The tech guys from Buell suggested at one of the press launches that we will see some aspects of the engine in the other bikes, like the liquid cooling and such. But they made changes to this years range so maybe another year or two down the line

[benfirst]

I love the image of the Buells more than anything else on the market, but they don't stand up to the competition. Any Honda, Yamaha, or Suzuki 600 series bike will run circles around that 1125. I own Buells and jap bikes and the Buell's don't come close as fast or responsive. They do however have MUCH better handling and control in my opinion.

[Ryknfjor]

I dont know what your talking about cuz my friend owns a 9r firebolt and runs with ALL the super sport jap 600's up until 150mph but he gets to 120 faster than them. I own a 650s and I can see it happen. so saying that the 600's will run circles around something that makes 50+ hp AND 10+lbft than a firebolt is stretching the truth quite a bit.

[ktfo101]

That's not a bad review however there hasn't been a 600 that has beat'n me off the line yet with my XB9S(I admit it has aftermarket parts). I roll with 600s all day and none of my boy's can take me until 80Mph. After that, I get my ass handed to me. Top speed I don't stand a chance against 600's. Corning, and take off I win everytime. Also comparing import 600's to the 1125R is ridiculous. 600 imports don't compare on take off, conrning or top speed. Just ask the pro's who've rode the 1125R.

[boomerhgt]

I would love a Buell but they are tiny bikes when you see them in the flesh

[wellness1125r]

Only the Buell Blast is really small, but the Thunderbolt, Lightning, and 1125r are the size of most metric 1000 cc sport bikes. The Ulysses is about the size of the BMW Adventure bikes. So I'm going to disagree with you on this one.

[boomerhgt]

Fair enough nice bikes though

[bwwcrazy]

For the most part buells are "shorter" lengthwise then the other sportbikes. But they are overpriced. I work at a dealership that just got a 1125R this week. $12,395 is a little steep

[wellness1125r]

But the Buell's will out handle any metric bike in the turns and the torq to get you out of the turns and accelerate faster than the metric bikes. any moron can hold the TP wide open and be in 6th gear at 16,000 rpm, and hit 190 mph, but the corrners are where the real riders come out. that is were the big green backs are comming from.

[jssiler]

Your comments are spot on! Facts, not opinion.

[bwwcrazy]

True. But the 1125 motor sounds like a chain being thrown into a blender. I think it will turn buyers off. Plus the front fairing is huge looking. But i'm still super excited to ride it on the road. Its too cold and snowy now. Think it will be a wheelie monster.

[wellness1125r]

Easy fix a helmet, and an i-pod. but it will be a unique machine to play around with.

[lawbag]

Its good to see Mr. Buell has a good engine in that motorbike. I rode one of the Harley powered Buells and what a pig. I like it a lot. Can't wait to ride next years model after they work all the bugs out of it. Good job Mr. Buell.

[rasqo2]

i thinkis made bu UFO's haha

fucked up design ufo front

[rhand18]

Distinctly American sounding? More like distinctly Aprilia(who uses a very similar engine also made by rotax). And thats a good thing since the usual american motorcycle sound is similar to that of a group of flatulant farm animals through a megaphone.

[dangerousdingos]

NICE

[sota6065]

did I hear the commentator say that the clutch is PNEUMATICALLY actuated? WTF? He had to have meant hydraulic. Come on. You either use a cable or hydraulic. but air pressure? that's either misrepresented or just completely ass backward engineering compared to all the other extremely trick design cues on the 1125R.

[jonxmartini]

i believe he was referring to the slipper action being engaged by the already in place vacuum the engine creates

[sota6065]

Interesting. I didn't think of that... I was to believe that slipper clutches basically function via a pair of ramped plates, where the sprocket is directly connected to one plate with ramps around the ring, which mate to another ramped ring on the clutch which causes the clutch to tend to disengage under backtorque. Since the ramps are held together by the clutch springs, forward torque only causes the flats of the ramped plates to remain properly locked.

[dtinnan]

its vacuum actuated

[Brennafugg]

pssh, I think it looks beautiful, super modern, like an angry deep sea invertebrate coming at you with those side scoops. Simply awesome. And the technology is world leading. You are looking at a modern classic, gentlemen.

[Maverickas123]

one of the ugliest bikes I have ever seen, tthe rear is hort and low, the front is high its too wide. hideos bike rather ride a scooter

[beastinblack]

I guess they went off potatoes...

[kiwibuilt]

Not my cuppa at all but that's what bikes are all about...personal choice.

In saying that I bet it's one hell of a lot of fun to ride.

[1badaction]

This thing sounds fuckin awesome, very unique and distinctly american. im glad to see they finally dumped the POS harley V-twin.

[powersliding]

it does not sound like the other buell's at all.

[seasnaw]

Eric Buell is a very smart engineer and it was a shame that Harley never produced an engine that was up to the task (dont think the V-rod would do) so good for him.

[Brennafugg]

it's between this an an 08 Hayabusa for me. The Busa is a crude, nuclear powered sled compared to this high tech Y-Wing fighter. The decision comes down to can this bike take bags.... if not Hayabusa wins.

[petch311]

It depends on what you want the bike for. the Busa is overrated in my opinion.  Yes, its fast as hell, but its really just made for straight line speed. You are an idiot if you ride a busa to its full potential on the street. Buells are designed for taking corners, and that is something they do very well.

[Skip1989]

agreed and thats why, I'm looking at one of these bikes hardcore

[sidefx996]

I could never understand why they didn't use a v-rod motor when the xb9r first came out. The engineer at daytona said "it wouldn't fit." I said "but you just designed a new bike why not design it around a competitive engine." The harley motors are cool for certain models just like ducati still uses air cooled motors on some monster and supersport models, but buell needs a competitive top shelf sportbike too and thats just not going to happen with a sportster motor.

[lehrjet31]

i would have to agree with sidefx996 knocking the air cooled buells makes as mush sense as knockin the monster xb was never ment to be a zx10 killer the real killer is the zx10 young newbies should ride xb and save the 10 for race teams be real we are not all rossi

[sidefx996]

If this bike is a winner no one will care where the engine came from...When aprilia was winning world superbike races no one said "It's not a real aprilia because it has a rotax engine in it" They simply said this bike kicks ass. A turbocharged harley motor is great for the custom crowd but not on a roadrace track...

[mj20042]

Nice bike, but a true Buell would have a Harley V-Twin. I'd say if they turbocharged the largest Twin Harley has, they'd have a very nice bike.

[sidefx996]

I'd rather see a "true Buell" that's competitive for once. The P-51 was nothing special until they put a rolls royce engine in it, then it became a legend, like the shelby cobra once they put in ford engines. Besides road racing no longer fits into Harley's "image" so if they don't want to build a competitive engine good on buell for going elsewhere.

[turkmusik]

They tried it, but too many Harley riders' dentures rattled.

[serengogs]

looks good,Buell make interesting bikes

[MobiusPT]

i don't like the sound of the bike... but the front brakes seems to be interesting!

[dbauernf]

That bike looks tiny. Good vid. Needs some on-board action tho.