Anyone had a test ride on this bad boy?
I think I want one. I was waiting for my Husky SM610 to get the replacement mid-pipe swapped at the dealer, and I was looking at the Ducati Streetfighter, but I think the Buell 1125cr kills it in practicality and aesthetics. I know this may be an inflammatory comment to make, but I don’t mean to troll. Just wondering if anyone had any real world experience with the two. For the record, I don't care which is faster, I currently ride a supermoto as a daily driver after all.
Dude, that phukiin thang is ugly (kinda like my 4th wife) why would you pay money for it? Get the Duc instead, and be satisfied. And remember, I was the first one ever, to tell Erik "put a Rotax in it." Not even I would buy one, and I still have my S1w...
I know this will cause a few waves but Ducati's are problematic to say the least. I have known 3 guys that had 999's and they spend alot of expensive time in the shop. One of them would shut off for no apparent reason and we would all sit and wait for a hour or so till it decided to start.Ducati could never figure out the problem.
The other one junked it self on the way home when the belts that drive the drivetrain broke and it was regularly serviced properly on a new bike. Also he was told by the dealer the factory exhaust was to heavy causing the rear of the trellis frame to crack. This guy actually bought a CBR to have something to ride while the Ducati was in the shop.
The most recent story to come to mind is the story in the July 09 Motorcyclist on page 63 when they state the 1198 they were testing locked the transmission nearly ejecting the rider, according to Ducati it was a rare assembly-line error. I'm kinda thinking their errors are not so rare.
I personally think Ducati's are cool looking, I love V-Twins but I don't need one to bite me in the pocket book to understand the TRUE MYSTIQUE. I've seen it first hand.
The Benelli TNT is an awesome machine, but part of my reasoning involves availibilty of parts. For example I was talking to a guy who was considering the 848 or the Street fighter, he seemed to know bikes. I mentioned to him that there's a dealer north of LA that has a Benelli Tornado for $8k, his reply was, "what's that?" See, I wonder if the exclusivity compromises part availability? I'm guessing it does.
Still its a beautiful bike, and I do see some styling lessons from the TNT in the 1125cr, and that is a good thing.
The Buell 1125 is fast, seriously fast, but it has LOTS of build quality issues. The bike's built on a budget to keep price down but sadly HD still hasn't learnt a thing from the Japanese about this. I am not talking about old school unreliability but small things that will p*** you off after you fork out good money for a brand new bike: front disc warping, cheap plastics cracking, bolts coming loose etc.
Off course if you can live with and just want a good fast bike you can go ahead no problem.
On the issue of practicality... right. But you ride a supermoto right no so it will be a huge jump ahead for you.
The Buell 1125 is fast, seriously fast, but it has LOTS of build quality issues. The bike's built on a budget to keep price down but sadly HD still hasn't learnt a thing from the Japanese about this. I am not talking about old school unreliability but small things that will p*** you off after you fork out good money for a brand new bike: front disc warping, cheap plastics cracking, bolts coming loose etc.
What do you expect from a manufacturer whose parent company is firmly stuck in the 1930s when it comes to engineering.....
Hey Macch- If you want to test ride an 1125r, got to San Diego Harley and ask to talk to Warren (a sales guy). He will happily follow you on a test ride and then after filling out a short questionare give you a free Buell bike lock. (its more of a bicycle lock and I believe Buell dealerships everywhere are doing this) I went and test rode it a few weeks ago and it was actually pretty cool. When was the last time any of you guys test rode a bike at a stealership? Of course, they had better give us test rides since Harley took a bunch of baleout money etc.....and as far as looks go and the heat ducting problems- since the radialors are side mounted (like the VFR, VTR1000 and RC51) why wouldn't a Superhawk type fairing work to cure some of the ugliness?
I fail to see any similarity between those bikes in the slightest. The headlights and side-mounted radiators are similar I guess, but both are compeltely unique.
Last edited by sburns2421; 06-18-2009 at 07:08 PM.
..a guy who was considering the 848 or the Street fighter, he seemed to know bikes. I mentioned to him that there's a dealer north of LA that has a Benelli Tornado for $8k, his reply was, "what's that?"...
Consider me a moto-snob if you will, but this guy didn't know **** about bikes if he had never heard of Benelli.
As far as reliability of the Tornado is concerned, I have done some reseach before considering a purchase and found that the problems associated with the bikes are focused in a few areas. Early 900's manufactured before 2004 have serious potential clutch problems, but the few US models should have been made later. The 1130 engines had another issue with the alternator shaft as the Chinese tightened tolerances on the parts. Thermal growth (if the motor got really hot) would damage the extremely accurate new parts. The shafts have been changed again and the problem seems to have been fixed. Otherwise there are guys with 50,000 miles on the triple still going strong.
Benelli has a very small presence in the US at the moment, but in Europe they are a more plentiful. From reading reports and boards over there, it appears as though spares are no more difficult than say, an older Ducati. This is not to say it is anywhere near perfect, but anyone considering a Benelli and expecting the ownership experience to be the same as a Honda is going to be very dissappointed.
I can't believe I'm trying to talk somebody into ckecking out a Hardley.
That's the thing, it really isn't a Harley any more than an MV Agusta today is a Harley. It doesn't share any parts with a Sportster or Screamin' Eagle Dyna Wide Glide Nightster Bad Boy.
I wonder if there is some irony in the 1125 from the persepctive of H-D marketing. For decades they used the POS air-cooled engine because it maintained the Harley tradition, to the disgust of many (most?) buyers who own other brands. Now that they have a bike with no H-D "DNA" they are probably worried few of their faithful would want it, although now people that would have never considered a Buell before now have another alternative.
I actually kind of like the 1125r, the bulbous fairing works with the bike, at least to my eye. The exhaust is ugly as hell, but nothing the aftermarket can't fix.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see a 1200cc version with chain drive as a limited edition for next year, maybe $14.5k. That would be an interesting bike.
I know this will cause a few waves but Ducati's are problematic to say the least. I have known 3 guys that had 999's and they spend alot of expensive time in the shop. One of them would shut off for no apparent reason and we would all sit and wait for a hour or so till it decided to start.Ducati could never figure out the problem.
The other one junked it self on the way home when the belts that drive the drivetrain broke and it was regularly serviced properly on a new bike. Also he was told by the dealer the factory exhaust was to heavy causing the rear of the trellis frame to crack. This guy actually bought a CBR to have something to ride while the Ducati was in the shop.
The most recent story to come to mind is the story in the July 09 Motorcyclist on page 63 when they state the 1198 they were testing locked the transmission nearly ejecting the rider, according to Ducati it was a rare assembly-line error. I'm kinda thinking their errors are not so rare.
I personally think Ducati's are cool looking, I love V-Twins but I don't need one to bite me in the pocket book to understand the TRUE MYSTIQUE. I've seen it first hand.
I've had 4 Ducati's, never left me stranded or had anything beyond typical maintenance, go figure. Albeit, maintenance was a bit expensive....
Buell 1125CR
This guy actually bought a CBR to have something to ride while the Ducati was in the shop.
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