| Author | Message | ||
     Barker |
http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=3 &article_id=479  | ||
| Eboos |
I want both. That is very cool and I am glad that these may become available. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Man, that would be fun! | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Yumm! | ||
| Ridrx |
Now I REALLY can't wait for the Buell dirt mauler! | ||
| New12r |
MMMMMMMMMMMMM, Really fast dirtbike! I like it. | ||
| Barker |
There are a few more flavors built. Collect all 3!  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Dear Erik, See above. | ||
| Barker |
found a buell!  | ||
| Barker |
Might not b ur cuppa t, but looks like the ultimate fun bike 4 me. me want. gotta a little bit of money that was labeled "1125R fund" Now its labeled "MonoGP fund" Said fund will reach maturity @ summer 08, just in time 4 Erik's Durrdy bikes. Fun times. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Huh. Makes me wonder why a guy like Erik, with his history of road racing, would want to introduce a 450cc dirt bike. I wonder if he might have had some advanced knowledge of this MonoGP thing. So would the trilogy of tech be more important in a dirt bike/supermoto application or in a MonoGP application? If I understand the rules, the bike must be a production 450cc dirtbike using the factory frame, head stock, and swingarm. My guess would be that the XB wheels will be a direct bolt on. Imagine the braking capacities of the 4 pot, ZTL on a bike weighing less than 300lbs. Weird how some things intersect current events. Almost like it was planned. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
cool, i like. sounds like a way for Buell to ease into racing without the bean counters having a heart attack. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I don't know. Would this really be a profitable bike for Buell to produce? Sure, lots of us think it's cool as hell (myself included), but is there a market for them? Perhaps a few years of making a name for themselves in the dirt bike market, before beginning to produce something riskier like this. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The Rotax single is proven reliable. Buell has no problem producing frames and swing arms that are bulletproof. Would be interesting to see if the head angle on the dirt bike is slightly biased toward street fork (mono GP) application. I don't think there would be much risk to it. If the cost for a kit or a manufacturer produced product were kept reasonable, I think that many of us would pick one up. Think about it. Who would appreciate the thrill of a super light, tight handling, under powered bike more than Buell owners? How many folks were interested in Supermoto but have moved on or are looking for something different? How fun would one of these be at Deal's Gap? I don't think it would take "$10,000" to produce one. Maybe $10,000 would be required to produce a race spec'ed bike, but I bet that one could be had for under $7,000. (Message edited by ft_bstrd on September 21, 2007) | ||
| Molly_hatchet |
wow thats pretty cool..one of those why didnt i think of that things....nuthin more fun than a light quick easy to ride steet bike...put some lights on that and i might give up my RD400 dreamin. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
All I can think about is BUELL SUPERMOTO!!! | ||
| Tq_freak |
Huh. Makes me wonder why a guy like Erik, with his history of road racing, would want to introduce a 450cc dirt bike. I think the dirt bike was a "lost leader" so to speak, I mean it is a awesome idea and want to see it take off but since that is the only future project Buell has ever talked about and the way austrian trade laws are written, I think the main reason for the dirt bike was to keep the 1125R motor under wraps. With telling all of us that they were working with rotax on the single, they could keep it quite about the 1125R lump. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Tq, May be. I do think you are right about providing a good cover story. The question is whether they are STILL going to produce it. If so, I doubt that they would produce a bike they know will cost the company money and be a sales flop. If they bag it, we will know it's only purpose was to provide plausible deniablity. If they produce it, I can't imagine Buell not being in the thick of this Mono GP thing. How weird is it to have the dirt bike market double back into a road racing iteration beyond anything supermoto could imagine. Time will tell. I would really like to have a Mono GP bike. It would be such a blast. I would love it if that bike were a Buell. | ||
| Stealthxb |
www.450moto.com | ||
| Barker |
underslung pipe  | ||
| Xl1200r |
$10k sounds awful steep for an 'entry level' racing class. These bike don't seem to cost much less than a factory 600 which can be made race ready with little extra spending from what I can. I'd like to see a class that you ciould become competitive in for less than $5000. Around here we have a pretty young class for the dirt track car races. Basically all you need is a domestic 4 or 6 cyl, FWD car. Remove the interior and glass, do a couple safety things and you're good to go for some real cheap and fun racing. You can build a car for less way than $2000 if you were frugal. I'd like to see something along those lines for motorcycle racing. Find a group of bikes that all make similar power and handling that one could buy used for a couple grand. That all said, i still want a monoGP bike  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I agree completely. I think we will see a crap load of Joe Lunchbucket racing efforts in this class. The cost of entry will be driven downward as volume of products and competition increases. It won't be hard to find a 450cc donor, strap on conversion components and away you go. Just looking at a retail model CRF450R you are looking at a $7,200 MSRP. I could see $2,800 worth of suspension, brake, and bodywork improvements to get to the $10,000 projected entry price. Some will chose to build their own. Others will chose to buy a ready made manufacturer's offering. Either way, I think the market for 450cc dirt bikes will tighten up and prices will rise. Conversely, prices for conversion "kits" will be high at first but will drop as competitors enter the market. I think the build it yourself market will still result in a build cost of $5,000-$7,500. | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
If this racing takes off as it should, you can bet the manufacturers will take notice. (probably already have) I think we'll see some of these ready to go. Makes sense to me to build a small lightweight single that anybody can ride. I know they have them now just not in this configuration. That said, when does the Buell come out again? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I was thinking the Buell was an 09 project. Man I'd love to have a Buell Mono GP. I think even more than I'd like to have an 1125R. | ||
| Rick_a |
Sounds like a bargain to me. There's a world of difference between a production based bike and a true ground-up competition machine. A new 125GP bike kit is $9K+. They've been racing these things in Europe for years. They've been using 125GP bikes with 450 4-stroke singles, or using the 125 parts on custom frames. It's slowly catching on here. | ||
| Barker |
There are some euro guys kicking around the idea too. Not a MX conversion, just a 500 thumper sportbike. always had my eye on a mito 500 The two-stroke 125 cc engine (classic mito)has been replaced with a fuel-injected, four-stroke 500 cc DOHC single, courtesy of Husqvarna, capable of putting out around 60 bhp and 50 Nm. Replacing the two-stroke's expansion chamber exhaust is a tiny, seemingly unbaffled system, its exit just visible at the rear of the underside fairing. With forged alloy wheels she weighs in at 133 kg - just 4 kg more than the Mito 125.  | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Whoa. $10k? I was thinking this would be risky at $6k. I agree they would be a blast on the dragon! But none of these are street legal. My take on the market: $10k non-street legal 450cc race bike = not close to enough sales to make it profitable. $5-6k street legal 450cc sport bike = much better chance at being profitable. But would this be the new Blast? Or separate from a beginner bike? Conversion kit for the dirt bike = safest bet for production. That's my take. | ||
| Macbuell |
One day, when I have more money than brains, I will own a Roland Sands custom. I absolutely love his bikes. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
I think that many of us would pick one up. Even if they were $6k, how many people on here would honestly be able to, or choose to pick one up? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Show me a single 450cc dirtbike at $5-6,000 on the market new. Add higher end street components, cast wheels, and bodywork, and I'll bet it will run closer to $10,000. I think there will be some discounts available in volume if produced at the manufacturer's level, but I think that the price will still end up around the $8,200-$8,800 level. That would put it at about $1,000-$1,500 above MSRP. Most of the dirt bikes are not street legal either. I bet that aftermarket kits will be both in race ready and street legal varieties. I don't know if there is a market at that price point or not, but there are much more expensive bikes that provide much less performance per dollar than a GSXR600 or ZR6R that still have a market. Why would anyone want a Buell or Ducati or KTM, or Aprilia? They buy them because of the experience they provide. I think there is a market here as well. Keep in mind that there is only $1500 difference in price between the dirt bike and the 600 in nearly everyone's line. What's it cost to convert to a supermoto? |
