Was coming through Missoula Sunday and needed some chain lube so stopped at the Harley shop which is the only dealer open on a Sunday. I'd seen an ad on Friday that they were demo-ing HDs, Buells and Ducatis on Friday and Saturday. They tell me I could still take out the Buell 1125 - the one with the new water cooled "Rincon" engine built by Rotax.
Hell yes! Wife rolled her eyes and waited patiently.
Of course, did the ride with a salesman in front, so couldn't (and wouldn't have anyway) really wring it out. Okay, some impressions:
The ergos are very sporty - low bars, high foot pegs and controls, but I've seen worse. Seat would kill within 30 minutes.
The steering is surprisingly heavy but feels stable. The bike feels significantly heavier than my GSXR 750.
Still some driveline lash even with belt drive, but a pretty slick shifting tranny. At idle the thing rattles like it has a dry clutch, but I don't think that's the case.
The engine is... just goddamned awesome. I've never ridden anything that pulls quite like it, in any gear at just about any rpm. And it has a wonderful bellow. Not sure what kind of music it would make at redline. The shop guys said 165 hp at the wheel. I snickered and scoffed. But It sure felt like at least 145, maybe more. That thing has so much grunt and accelerates like a top-fueler. Very, very impressive, but...
I read an early review and the writer complained about fuel injection mapping issues. Well, they're not sorted yet. Maybe it needed (with 135 miles on the odometer?) a throttle-body sync, but surging was noticeable and annoying.
But here's the real kicker, a very serious problem: cruising along in third gear, about 4,000 RPMs, steady throttle setting...then whack it and... the power is gone! The bike just almost dies! I am able to replicate this condition about every four or fifth attempt. It felt like a rev limiter was kicking in or something. It would continue to run but produced no power; like it dropped a cylinder and a half. Just very weird and disconcerting.
However, I think Buel has got the engine architecture here to power a state-of-the-art American-made full-on sportbike that will run with Ducatis...hell, even Hyabusas. The power is like nothing I've felt before, and I rode a Blackbird for four years. Since I never really got a chance to sample it's handling prowess, that jury is still out.
They have got to get the EFI gremlins sorted soon, or they may screw up the potential for a huge success.
Hell yes! Wife rolled her eyes and waited patiently.
Of course, did the ride with a salesman in front, so couldn't (and wouldn't have anyway) really wring it out. Okay, some impressions:
The ergos are very sporty - low bars, high foot pegs and controls, but I've seen worse. Seat would kill within 30 minutes.
The steering is surprisingly heavy but feels stable. The bike feels significantly heavier than my GSXR 750.
Still some driveline lash even with belt drive, but a pretty slick shifting tranny. At idle the thing rattles like it has a dry clutch, but I don't think that's the case.
The engine is... just goddamned awesome. I've never ridden anything that pulls quite like it, in any gear at just about any rpm. And it has a wonderful bellow. Not sure what kind of music it would make at redline. The shop guys said 165 hp at the wheel. I snickered and scoffed. But It sure felt like at least 145, maybe more. That thing has so much grunt and accelerates like a top-fueler. Very, very impressive, but...
I read an early review and the writer complained about fuel injection mapping issues. Well, they're not sorted yet. Maybe it needed (with 135 miles on the odometer?) a throttle-body sync, but surging was noticeable and annoying.
But here's the real kicker, a very serious problem: cruising along in third gear, about 4,000 RPMs, steady throttle setting...then whack it and... the power is gone! The bike just almost dies! I am able to replicate this condition about every four or fifth attempt. It felt like a rev limiter was kicking in or something. It would continue to run but produced no power; like it dropped a cylinder and a half. Just very weird and disconcerting.
However, I think Buel has got the engine architecture here to power a state-of-the-art American-made full-on sportbike that will run with Ducatis...hell, even Hyabusas. The power is like nothing I've felt before, and I rode a Blackbird for four years. Since I never really got a chance to sample it's handling prowess, that jury is still out.
They have got to get the EFI gremlins sorted soon, or they may screw up the potential for a huge success.