| Author | Message | ||
     Thetripler1050 |
Hey everyone. So I'm hoping to trade my 2006 triumph speed triple 1050 for an 1125cr (it's listed on here if anyone is interested). I have heard mixed opinions about buells but have never owned one. I love the look & having owned a v-twin sport bike (aprilia) I miss that sound. Can you guys help me out with the pros & cons about the 1125cr. Are they high maintenance? Are parts really hard to find if you need something? Are they reliable? Handling? Power? Any info you guys can give me would be awesome. Again my bike is in the classifieds & I'm really hoping someone will trade me so I can get a cr. | ||
| Froggy |
Depends on what you call high maintenance, I personally would say no. The biggest thing with maintenance is that it has a valve check interval of 12,400 miles. It needs less maintenance overall than the air cooled bikes.
Not at all, most parts are just as easy to get today as they were when the bikes were in production, your favorite Buell dealer can get most special order parts within a week.
Yes and know. There is a design flaw with the charging system that causes the stator to fail. It can be fixed, but it is labor intensive, if you find a bike that was already modified for the fix (Modified charging rotor from EBR or Twin Motorcycles), any other potential issues are minor and easy to fix.
Amazing. I have two 1125s, I love them to death. They handle great, stupid amounts of power, and tons of low end grunt. Bang for the buck can't be beat, you would be hard pressed to find another bike this good for so little cash. That said, I have two (and a 1190SX), so I am a little biased, but I love them. Cons - Stator/Charging issue (mentioned above), likely more limited aftermarket parts and accessories than your Triumph. Pros - It is a Buell, and one of the best models ever produced  . | ||
| Thetripler1050 |
Froggy thank you very much. I love my triumph but I've wanted a buell for a long time. The 1125cr has the look I absolutely love, ugly as piss & mean as hell lol. I'm gonna save yojr reply so I can make sure when I get one the charging issues have already been fixed | ||
| Greatlaker |
If you do any serious riding at the track be prepared to replace front disks very regularly. The single disk warps quite easily with numerous heat cycles. Common issue. | ||
| Thetripler1050 |
No track riding for me. Mainly twisties & back roads with a minimum of in town riding | ||
| No_rice |
i would assume the front rotor warps if you ride the brakes to much... i have yet to warp a rotor on any of my buells in thousands of track miles and even more very aggressive twisty road riding. anyway, the cr is a great bike, the charging system may or may not rear its ugly head. i put about 6000 on my 09 before i traded it for a classic truck(i still have 2 1125r's...) and never had a problem with it. i had picked up a spare 08 stator and rotor to put on it just in case(the 08's didnt have the problem that the 09's did), but never needed it atleast while i owned the bike. the only down side to my 1125's is the valve check/adjustment thats been mentioned. i love riding my 1125's, but my xb's are way less maintanance(and i mean less as in the aircooleds require nothing but oil changes) but my 1125's havent really required anything but oil changes and the valve check. one also did get the updated clutch cover and piston kit after it started weeping. | ||
| Sifo |
Keep in mind that Greatlaker is our current resident troll that has never owned a Buell. I've seen No_rice on the track. Personally I don't do track days, but have over 50K on my original rotor, still going strong. A lot of times a rotor is misdiagnosed as being warped when the problem is deposits from the brake pads that cause a pulsing in the brakes. Replacing the rotor will of course fix this issue. So will an aggressive cleaning of the rotor. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I'm not a track guy, and not much of an aggressive rider either, and the only issue I've ever had with the front rotors was deposits from the stock pads. It often feels like a warped rotor, but clears up with a little scrubby pad and brake cleaner. | ||
| No_rice |
^^^ this or get better pads. ive had good luck with lyndal golds and ebc. neither of which seem to leave the deposits. | ||
| Froggy |
I know Jdugger tracks his 1125s all the time, I don't recall him ever mentioning a warping issue, and he has done a lot of trial and error with different pads and everything. On the street, even bone stock the brakes are great. Personally I recommend using the rear brake to hold the bike when stopped at lights rather than the front, it seems to prevent the front pads from leaving deposits. The 1125s have longer times between intervals than the XB, and less stuff needs to be replaced and adjusted. Putting 20k on an XB costs significantly more than 20k on an 1125, as my service records have shown. | ||
| No_rice |
we will have to agree to disagree on that one. i know i have more time and money invested in one valve check on the 1125 then i have into maintenance on Jenns xb since 05 or so when i bought it. mostly the only work ive done to that was add on modifications, and a set of bearings, brake pads(front only) and oil changes i did do a set of plugs on it once. that is about 10-15 minutes. i suppose it always depends on the specific bikes anyway. some need more some need less. | ||
| Sifo |
Speaking of agreeing to disagree, I had never had problems with deposits on my rotors with the stock pads, but switched to Lyndal Gold pads when the time came, partly because people said they didn't leave deposits. First time it rained at work I had deposits left on the rotor. You could actually see the outline of the pads on the rotor. The uneven braking when that happens is terrible. I switched to some EBC pads (don't remember which ones) and haven't had the problem since. Some do find the clutch and primary chain adjustments on the XB to be a problem. I'll take it over the valve adjustments I've done on other bikes though. Well except for maybe the Guzzi valve adjustment. That one is almost as simple as ignoring the valves on my XB. | ||
| Froggy |
Some quick math, if you follow the 03 Firebolt service manual, in 20k miles on an XB you will change the oil 9 times, the oil filter 5 times, 1 air filter, adjust the primary chain 5 times, inspect the primary shoe twice, change primary fluid 5 times, check the timing twice, replace the plugs twice, reset the TPS 3 times, check the idle and steering head bearings 5 times, adjust the throttle and clutch cables 5 times, replace the belt and idler pulley once, change the fork oil twice, and lube all the cables and levers 5 times. Service manual for the 2009 1125 says to change the oil 4 times, oil filter twice, one air filter, clean the breather, replace spark plugs once, fork oil once, and valve check once. I don't work on my bikes much anymore, but the major service is less frequent and less involved than on XBs, and it shows in my wallet when a major service on a XB runs nearly a grand, while a major service on my 1125CR was just over half that. | ||
| Greatlaker |
I own 14 motorcycles. three are Buells. One tube framed S1. One ex-Canadian Thunderbike XB12 and recently purchased Steve Crevier's former Canadian Superbike 1125R. I find that Buells are extremely inexpensive in Canada and are the perfect bike for track events when it really doesn't matter that much if you stuff one into the tire wall. Taking my XB12 to the track invariably means disk replacement. I have had a new disk on the bike on Friday and by the end of Sunday the disk is warped beyond what I would call reasonable tolerance. The big track at Calabogie is the hardest track on brakes. Mind you by the time I get all my gear on I am probably tipping the scales at 270lbs. Maybe smaller guys don't have my problem warping Buell disks. Not sure why stating disks warp makes me a troll. How's that Miata working out Sifo? Slapped your rainbow sticker on the back end yet? | ||
| Pwnzor |
Taking my XB12 to the track invariably means disk replacement. What does that tell you about yourself? | ||
| Gregtonn |
How's that Miata working out Sifo? Slapped your rainbow sticker on the back end yet? The troll flaunting his butt crack. G | ||
| Steveford |
I've never actually warped a brake disc on anything. Just chuck the stock pads for something else - Ferodo, SBS, EBC or whatever floats your boat. It's kind of like Brembo (used to be, at least; I can't speak about the current products) - great brake components except for the pads. | ||
| Sifo |
Well whether the troll owns 3 buells or none as stated on his profile, the consensus of experience seems to be that warping brake rotors isn't an issue. The Miata is great fun BTW. Yesterday I happened upon a group of a dozen Panteras. I stopped by to check them out and ran into some Miata owners and had a nice chat about autocrossing their Miatas. Something I'm definitely going to have to give a go. I haven't run into these gay folks you seem to know about though. Must just be the folks you hang out with.  | ||
| Etennuly |
I know of a few early Uly's that came with a bad front rotor. More than a deposit problem. More than a pad replacement problem. It took replacing the rotor to fix the problem. At that time they said there were possibly some inclusions of dissimilar metal in the plate from which they were cut. I replaced mine after twenty thousand miles of fighting HD over it, with a 5mm rotor from Buell. It has been perfectly fine for the forty thousand plus miles since. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Stator/rectifier http://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/results.php | ||
| Malott442 |
You know, my 2008 does not have that issue. It is up for trade..... And it's still ugly as piss | ||
| Fresnobuell |
How stupid do you have to be to buy a bike you don't like? Just wondering. | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
I'm on my second CR. I traded in my first on a new BMW S1K. I missed the CR so much I traded my 04 XB12S even up for a CR. Now I miss my XB. Anyway.... The R is going to be much more comfortable then the CR unless the it is converted to the high bars. The CR is much more of a hot rod once it has a race ecu and pipe added. It will be much quicker then the R. However the R will have much more top end. Both will need a rotor that has the oil jet drilled in it. You cant get that anymore since EBR closed down, so you'll have to get a machine shop to put the hole in or buy an aftermarket which are marked up quite a bit. If the stator got fried, you'll need it replaced. You may also need the reg/rec replaced and relocated. You dont need a race ecu but you will want one and a matched pipe. Its a whole different bike with these. This too is no longer sold. If it were me I would hold out for one with all these already on it. The price wont be much different. Its hard to choose between an R and a CR. Do you want comfort and top speed? If so get the R. Do you want a brutal hot rod that isnt comfortable? Get the CR. Imo the both handle the same. | ||
| Froggy |
Figorvonbuellingham, I don't get where your comfort comments come from, I have both the R and CR, they both have the same exact ergonomics. Comfort is identical on both in stock trim. On the highway the R keeps you more out of the wind due to its fairing, which may or may not make you more comfortable, but that is literally the only difference. Seat, pegs, and hand grips/controls are all the same spot with the same parts.
I've bought plenty of ugly bikes, it didn't mean that I don't like them. |
