| Author | Message | ||
     Fio835 |
This is from http://m.motorcyclistonline.com/firstrides/122_110 9_2012_erik_buell_racing_1190rs/index.html "Erik Buell is right: Everything would have been different if Buell Motorcycles had built this bike first, as he intended, instead of the quirky 1125R that parent company Harley-Davidson demanded in 2007. Motor Company management feared competing with Japanese and European manufacturers head-on, so rather than green-light a pure superbike they commissioned the offbeat 1125R. That bike's failure to connect beyond a small group of outlier enthusiasts was the beginning of the end for the Buell brand". | ||
| Honolulu_blue_esq |
While probably true, this kind of talk can't be good for 1125R values. | ||
| Htekwo |
This statement also ignores all that is right about the 1125R i.e. Handling that was judged better than most 600 Supersports, Chassis stability even without a damper that no one has has an issue with (Mag tests), Ergs more akin to a Sport Tourer than a low clip on Sportbike (I have no idea why you guys need riser bars! Wrist pressure is rarely an issue for me), non-fatiguing cockpit, etc. The Small detractors such as heat are common on most twins (and some inlines!). The biggest issue right now for me is the Stator issue, and the spongy brakes (all which I suspect will be solved soon). Other than the controversial looks, and the Belt, I'm not sure what is so different from other worldclass Sportbikes... | ||
| Reepicheep |
LOL. I think that's the least you have to fear for 1125 values. I think selling a $11,000 bike new out of the showroom for $5000 after Harley announced Buell's closure did about as much damage as is humanly possible, short of discovering that the 1125 was made out of radioactive aluminum or something... Ride the bike and enjoy it! Bikes are terrible investments, unless you get them to use them (in which case they are a steal). | ||
| Fio835 |
Personally i think the 1125r from the front is one of the meanest looking bikes ever made... if that makes sense?=) I bought it so when I pull up at bike night I dont get confused as to which jap bike is mine. | ||
| Fio835 |
But qurky? Meaning stator? | ||
| Htekwo |
"Personally i think the 1125r from the front is one of the meanest looking bikes ever made... if that makes sense?=) I bought it so when I pull up at bike night I dont get confused as to which jap bike is mine." I agree, but only after I added the Full Race plastics. I am not a fan of the Radiator Pods. I have no problem with the naked bike look, but prefer a front mounted radiator (think 1190 Typhoon!). I was unable to pull the trigger on an 1125R until I found one with the plastics, then I was sold! I will admit, the bike gets many more interested looks than most at the Bike Nights! Mine is almost completely de-badged except for some subtle Erik Buell Racing stickers. Very Stealthy  | ||
| Hootowl |
Typhon. Just so you know  | ||
| Musclecargod |
Put an exhaust on it and it will be one of the meanest sounding bikes too...  | ||
| Trbulnt |
From that article..this is the best statement!! Until then, Erik Buell is happy just to be building this bike. "I've taken a lot of blame over the years for Buell motorcycles, often for decisions that had nothing to do with me," he says. "Not this time. This is exactly what I wanted to build!" | ||
| Fio835 |
Until then, Erik Buell is happy just to be building this bike. "I've taken a lot of blame over the years for Buell motorcycles, often for decisions that had nothing to do with me," he says. "Not this time. This is exactly what I wanted to build!" Agreed. But I thought the 1125r was a lot of Erik's ideas too. Liquid cooled v-twin Rotax | ||
| Froggy |
Erik has been trying to build a liquid cooled twin since the 80's. In fact he built a prototype back then which if you look closely, has many features of the 1125R.  If that was what he was trying to do over 20 years ago, imagine what he can do with todays tech. | ||
| Mcrbuelligan |
Froggy - you have just said what ive said on the of thread about the same topic - people really should do there history on Erik | ||
| Froggy |
Good luck with that! I've been Buelling since 2007, and still have only scratched the tip of the iceberg. A newbie doesn't stand a chance | ||
| Ratbuell |
It's really just an extreme case of RTFM. Start...with "25 Years of Buell". And Fio...the 1125 had as many of Erik's ideas in it...as he could get away with. As the quote says - "this <1190> is exactly what I wanted to build". Big difference. | ||
| Stimbrell |
I really need to sell this slow, heavy, unreliable pos 1125R, nice to know that even Erik Buell thinks his bikes built with HD are shit.  | ||
| Sportster_mann |
How old is that picture ? Motor looks like a V rod to me ... | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
I believe it's a VR1000 with his fuel in the frame. It was never used cuz HD told him they didn't want to use it. He came up with that frame cuz they were having a problem with the air box being to small for the VR1000. No fuel tank above the engine let's you make the air box bigger. It was a very radical design then and still is today. | ||
| Dannybuell |
Stimbrell - A bump in the road does not make a bad road. Engineers by nature are obsessive, compulsive types eagerly willing to tackle the next challenge. As some point you have to go into production. An OC engineer will refine and refine a task, any task. When it seems there is no more to do they will find a better way to .... As Jacob83z28 pointed out this bike has roots in the VR1000. Correct me if I am wrong, I remember hearing the VR1000 had a Rotax motor. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
I don't think it's a rotax. The vrod engine is a version of the VR1000. If it was made by rotax why did they go to porcshe to help redesign it? Why not go back to rotax who built it for them? I think going back to the company who built it would be the best chose in making it road worthy | ||
| Court |
You are wrong. In fact, backwards. The photo ( I've got hundreds taken while the barn was being cleaned up. There is also a great story that occurred during clean up) was taken during a media "tour" about 3 years ago. There are a couple YouTube videos of the tour. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Court who is wrong or backwards? If it me, please explain so I won't have the wrong info or give out the wrong info. | ||
| Ohsoslow |
Buell is a true innovator, hindered in the recent past by nothing more than politics. | ||
| Drdorsey |
After discovering that the 1125 was made out of radioactive aluminum, the bike had a “World Class” loss of value. Has any machine lost as much value as the 1125s did? By any measure, less than World Class. I blame HD. It shows me all I need to know about what HD thinks of their customers. There is nothing on 2 wheels that crashed as hard as the 1125. My Buell experience has been very humiliating. There is no reconciliation for the magnitude of loss. My first new bike…I fell for the HD made in America crap. If there was a way to get out from underneath my 1125, I would welcome it. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I think your perspective is all wrong. For me, the value of my bikes is not what NADA says it is. The value of my bikes, to me, is the amount of joy I get every single time I turn the key and thumb the starter. Every single hairpin curve. Every mountain road. I take pride in the fact that they were built here in the US of A, by a very dedicated small group of talented people. THAT is how I value my Buells. Screw the "market". Mine aren't for sale ANYWAY.  | ||
| J2blue |
@ rat:  | ||
| Bueller_bjorn |
+1 for Rat! I spent 11k for my Buell in Dec 07 and I still think I got great bike for the money! | ||
| Dannybuell |
Motorcycles are not investments. There are utility and bikes like ours, toys. | ||
| Dirty_john |
Its all very well for the 1125R to be derided now, but all of us shelled out our hard earned cash, keeping the faith. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I don't want an 1125R, but I don't want a firebolt either. I'm a lightning / Uly guy. But I'd never deride an 1125R, it was worth every penny of $11k new. It was and is a great bike. People that bought them to sell them took a bath. And I do feel for people that bought them shortly before the announcement and fire sale. What was the "real damage"? I'm guessing here, what do people think? 1) Before the announcement, you could probably get an 1125 or an R1 for $10k. The moment you drive either bike off the lot, it probably depreciated to about $7k to $8k, as nobody knows what the bike was used for or why you would be selling something so new. 2) After the announcement, an 1125 dropped to $4k to $5k. So for that year, if you wanted to sell the 1125, you lost about $3000 relative to the R1. But maybe that's not even true, I bet once the economy started melting, trying to sell a $7000 R1 was like selling ice to eskimos. 3) Now, a year after that, the 1125 is still probably worth $4k to $5k. But the R1 is still dropping, what, maybe $5k to $6k? So you are now just down $1k from what things otherwise could have been. Feel free to tune my math. So 1125 owners were significantly hurt, especially if you bailed on the bike right after the announcement. But in the whole scope of things, it was le$$ than if you had a car that blew a transmission out of warranty. A bad deal for sure, but "stuff happens". And if you argue that closing Buell was a result of the recession, then you have to compare losses to 1125 owners to losses suffered by homeowners. Probably every home owner on this board lost 5x to 10x what you lost on an 1125, so the lesson here is just that recessions suck. (Message edited by reepicheep on July 27, 2011) |
