rc51 vs 1125r

[Smokey74]

Originally Posted by eppy01f4i

If I had to pick one to race it would be the 1125.


Bottom line the 51 is outdated and underpowered and I loved mine for 24,000 miles.

I like to call it vintage.. No doubt the RC was bad ass in it's day (2000-2004) but soon after that it became more of a loyalty thing. I just went from a 08 cbr1krr to a 00 rc51 and although I miss some things I had with the rr, I can still appreciate the rc for what it can do. I'm addicted to the sound and feel, not the hp. IMO the older the RC the better. Colin Edwards is my hero!

As for the 1125r.. I love it.. In fact I almost bought the CR this year. The Rotax motor was the best thing Buell had going and then it ended as fast is it started.. It's a shame. I wouldn't buy one now, who knows what can happen once a company goes under.

Wouldn't buy another 08 cbr1krr either.. Mine burned oil pretty bad and everyone I know personally with one has the same problem. Honda told me it was just the way it is... BS.. I'll wait till they put the oil rings back on the pistons and then maybe I'll buy another one..

[onlyoneromeo]

Originally Posted by Smokey74

I like to call it vintage.. No doubt the RC was bad ass in it's day (2000-2004) but soon after that it became more of a loyalty thing. I just went from a 08 cbr1krr to a 00 rc51 and although I miss some things I had with the rr, I can still appreciate the rc for what it can do. I'm addicted to the sound and feel, not the hp. IMO the older the RC the better. Colin Edwards is my hero!

As for the 1125r.. I love it.. In fact I almost bought the CR this year. The Rotax motor was the best thing Buell had going and then it ended as fast is it started.. It's a shame. I wouldn't buy one now, who knows what can happen once a company goes under.

Wouldn't buy another 08 cbr1krr either.. Mine burned oil pretty bad and everyone I know personally with one has the same problem. Honda told me it was just the way it is... BS.. I'll wait till they put the oil rings back on the pistons and then maybe I'll buy another one..

on colin edwards: hes the fkn man on the rc. i love watchin his old races. he needs to get back to superbike racing where he was more aggressive. hes not aggressive enough with his tactics in motogp in my opinion.

and funny you should mention the burning oil. i was jus on fireblades.org reading a thread about that very thing. what a shame.

[Smokey74]

Originally Posted by onlyoneromeo

on colin edwards: hes the fkn man on the rc. i love watchin his old races. he needs to get back to superbike racing where he was more aggressive. hes not aggressive enough with his tactics in motogp in my opinion.

and funny you should mention the burning oil. i was jus on fireblades.org reading a thread about that very thing. what a shame.

I agree, I'd love to see Edwards back in superbike. On a Honda would be even better.

On the oil, some are saying it's only the 08's but my sources tell me the motors are the same thru 2010. They switched rings but still no oil ring. They ALL use at least a little oil, 08's being the worst but IMO thats BS for any new engine. They're blaming the economy for lack of 081krr sales and current wholesale prices but that's BS too. Word travels fast in the two wheeled world when people have issues. I have first hand experience with it, so I know it to be true. I still loved the bike and probably would have lived with it but lucky for me, I totalled mine with full coverage insurance.

[onlyoneromeo]

wht do you mean they switched rings but no oil ring? im confused. i jus read an article in a brit mag where they said the 09 still burns oil...

[Smokey74]

Originally Posted by onlyoneromeo

wht do you mean they switched rings but no oil ring? im confused. i jus read an article in a brit mag where they said the 09 still burns oil...

They're only using 2 rings on each piston instead of 3 which is typical. The ring they elimated is the oil ring. The first batch of rings were supposedly bad and replaced with new rings (still only 2 rings) but the problem still exists, just not as bad. I know of several guys with new pistons and rings in their 08's and they're still using oil. I'm told 2009's & 10's are still the same motor.

[onlyoneromeo]

and what were they hoping to do by eliminating that ring? by burning that oil there is gonna be some type of residue over the years by that burnt oil. i cant see any good coming from that

[Smokey74]

Originally Posted by onlyoneromeo

and what were they hoping to do by eliminating that ring? by burning that oil there is gonna be some type of residue over the years by that burnt oil. i cant see any good coming from that

The shoulder of the piston is very short, I believe they're going for less weight but sacrificing reliability. I don't see any good coming of it either. Values of new and used rr1ks have been severely impacted. I'm seeing used 06's & 07's selling for more than 08's. With good reason IMO..

[onlyoneromeo]

Originally Posted by Smokey74

The shoulder of the piston is very short, I believe they're going for less weight but sacrificing reliability. I don't see any good coming of it either. Values of new and used rr1ks have been severely impacted. I'm seeing used 06's & 07's selling for more than 08's. With good reason IMO..

yah. what good is it for anyone to have a bike t hat they are worried about the enging grenading or seizing because of a bad design flaw? and for what ? to save a few ounces? how much weight could 4 rings possibly save?id rather buy an 07 and hook it up knowing itll last me a few years .

[PBMW]

Originally Posted by Smokey74

The shoulder of the piston is very short, I believe they're going for less weight but sacrificing reliability. I don't see any good coming of it either. Values of new and used rr1ks have been severely impacted. I'm seeing used 06's & 07's selling for more than 08's. With good reason IMO..

The actual reason for using one compression ring instead of two is to shorten the distance ftom the wrist pin to the top of the piston. That way they can use a longer rod which allows more legerage on the crank...more midrange power. It's an old trick that works very well in race motors. Problem is...this bike is the basis for a race bike in a number of series. But it's also used on the streets. Honda went for the better race bike over the better street bike.

[Smokey74]

Originally Posted by PBMW

The actual reason for using one compression ring instead of two is to shorten the distance ftom the wrist pin to the top of the piston. That way they can use a longer rod which allows more legerage on the crank...more midrange power. It's an old trick that works very well in race motors. Problem is...this bike is the basis for a race bike in a number of series. But it's also used on the streets. Honda went for the better race bike over the better street bike.

The bike definately has a ton of midrange.. One of the fastest liter bikes I've owned. If I was being paid to race or had sponcers that would buy my motors for me, I would say it's a great idea but I think that's a very small percentage of the people out there buying these bikes. If the other manufactures can win at the track and still have reliable non-oil burning motors, you would think Honda could do the same thing. IMO, Honda was just desperate to win again and did what they had to do. In the long run, it's going to hurt them in the market. Who wants a bike that burns oil right out of the showroom?? Not me.. I had the chance to buy a brand new 08 identical to the one I wrecked for $7,500 OTD and I passed.

[G2G]

Originally Posted by tonys10

A) straight line performance does not impress (I don't know your friend but I for one am not going to slam my bike into the redline just to win a drag race, maybe he likes his bike too)

B) I know at least one privateer in AMA that was having nothing but problems blowing his Buell up on a regular basis early on.

LOL you don't know me very well. Every time I swing a leg over a bike its front tire is int he air or its seeing close to redline on the racetrack. Also my friend rides as hard as me and he doesn't own a RC51 to put around on it. He actually rides it like it should be ridden.


Trust me I have nothing to gang here guys. I have road raced a fair amount of bikes and I will tell you the RC 51 if far from a great track weapon. Just because you own one doesn't mean it is the best bike. Don't be butt hurt when I say this but the 1125 will out perform the RC bone stock to boe stock. The RC 51 has the worst stock suspension out of the box.

[onlyoneromeo]

Originally Posted by G2G

LOL you don't know me very well. Every time I swing a leg over a bike its front tire is int he air or its seeing close to redline on the racetrack. Also my friend rides as hard as me and he doesn't own a RC51 to put around on it. He actually rides it like it should be ridden.


Trust me I have nothing to gang here guys. I have road raced a fair amount of bikes and I will tell you the RC 51 if far from a great track weapon. Just because you own one doesn't mean it is the best bike. Don't be butt hurt when I say this but the 1125 will out perform the RC bone stock to boe stock. The RC 51 has the worst stock suspension out of the box.

im glad someone agrees with me about the rcs suspension. i have had 2 gsxr 750s and a kawi 636 and i was faster on all those bikes because i never had the confidence to do what i do on them on the rc. it takes forever and a day to set up the suspension on the rc to get it to behave. on the other bikes you jus point n shoot and it goes w no fuss. even with the other bikes' suspension being out of wack it still outhandles the rc.

the rc is a nice bike, lots of character but it cant hold a candle to even the newest 600s on the street. i have witnessed it myself time and time again. i think the 1125 has a lot of potential and i would love to see somoene unlock it and do a decent comparison to that bike and some of its competition past and present

[nomo]

Originally Posted by G2G

LOL you don't know me very well. Every time I swing a leg over a bike its front tire is int he air or its seeing close to redline on the racetrack. Also my friend rides as hard as me and he doesn't own a RC51 to put around on it. He actually rides it like it should be ridden.


Trust me I have nothing to gang here guys. I have road raced a fair amount of bikes and I will tell you the RC 51 if far from a great track weapon. Just because you own one doesn't mean it is the best bike. Don't be butt hurt when I say this but the 1125 will out perform the RC bone stock to boe stock. The RC 51 has the worst stock suspension out of the box.

Yeah , ok . No one here is saying the RC is the latest and greatest . The bike should come with a tank sticker stating , "Does Not Respond Well To Ham-Fisted Efforts."

[MVRC51]

Originally Posted by G2G

LOL you don't know me very well.

Damn, we can't take you anywhere without you starting some shit.

My 600 walks all over my RC51 so I can't image what a 1125 would do. I still love it though.

[nomo]

Originally Posted by MVRC51

Damn, we can't take you anywhere without you starting some shit.

My 600 walks all over my RC51 so I can't image what a 1125 would do. I still love it though.

And on the track , your 600 would walk all over the 1125 .

[MVRC51]

Originally Posted by nomo

And on the track , your 600 would walk all over the 1125 .

It depends on the track, Jennings yes Road America no

[Whippersnapper]

It's amazing how much of a following the RC still has. I still think fondly of mine but the Buell would blow it into the weeds

[canuck51]

I still think fondly of mine but the Buell would blow it into the weeds

So will any of the liter bikes.

Your point is?

[Whippersnapper]

Originally Posted by canuck51

So will any of the liter bikes.

Your point is?

Answering the OP's question, yours?

[nomo]

Originally Posted by Whippersnapper

It's amazing how much of a following the RC still has. I still think fondly of mine but the Buell would blow it into the weeds

Then I guess the Buell you rode (if indeed you did) was much faster than the one on which I spent an afternoon , back to back with my RC . Granted , not at a track but on desolate , winding country roads where I think I was able to assess fairly at least some of the limits of the 1125 . I'm convinced the Honda would be faster at the track , the environment for which it was designed . The Buell is a comfy and quick street bike (which I just may buy ) .