I’ve always kept a cautious eye on the odd bikes produced by Buell. I’ve often wondered if it actually works. It’s difficult to make a clear choice with all the opinions out there. Most opinions are negative, yet the Buell have all work as designed. Aside from the premature introduction of the 1125R which did suffer some major teething problems. Now with all that in the past diligence on the part of Buell has paid off. Now the 1125 series bikes are capable the complaints from the peanut gallery are mostly regulated to the subjective like the questionable aesthetics.and rightlty so in my personal opinion. (DMG anyone?)
Then came along the 1125CR (Café Racer).
The planets aligned for Buell and me. I was in the market for a good street bike that was sporty enough to hang with dedicated sport bikes in the canyons and be civil around town. When I started shopping, like everyone else it was the case of the usual suspects, but I suppose I’m not like everyone else for better or worse and to me. The CR is a beautiful bike in a similar way I find the aliens from H.R. Giger’s work to be beautiful.
I actually had no intention of buying a new bike for a while, but I was with friends who wanted to take a look at the Buell’s so I followed to the dealership. At first glance, it simply clicked. When you sit on the CR its as if the entire bike disappears it was comfortable as far as sport bikes go and before I knew it I was on a test ride. Which was absolutely blissful. So much so that upon arriving back at the dealership, I was smitten and eventually bought one.
For a week all I had time to do was commute. in and around town. It’s very nimble. At low speeds, by weighting the pegs and locking the clubman bars from left to right its actually very unlike a sport bike in that it feels balanced and not top heavy cutting tight circles in parking lots and around cars at stop lights. Another good point is that at full lock it doesn’t bind the hand. The spot on fueling deserves a mentioning because you can not have a nimble bike at any speed without it.
On the way to the back roads we took the rural route and hit probably 50 stop lights with temperatures knocking on the door of the 90’s. I never saw high temps, where my last sport bike a Honda RC51 cut out multiple times in the same scenario during and after break in, spewing coolant all the while.
The tires were still new with a half inch or so of the brand new tire scum on the sides. My plan was to just scrub the edges a bit and if that meant staying at the back of the pack that was fine with me. Instead as the pace picked up I found myself slowing for the group to catch up. It’s worth noting this isn’t a group comprised of track junkies just your regulars around the canyons. Still one of the faster guys in the group took point and I followed, but I often wondered why he kept breaking so early and deep into the corners. The ZTL brakes on the Buell seem to lack initial bite compared to the Brembos on my last bike. That said on closer inspection I think what happens is the ZTL affords the hydraulic process of the suspension time to process the load. Not unsettling in any way. At no time did I wonder if my lines were cut or any of that silly nonsense I’ve read. Brake modulation was good allowing me to be a little fancy around corners. I do believe the ZTL works as designed the feeling is as if the rim and brake are one, as if being pushed back from the front of the bike what ever the case it proved to exhibit less dive than even my worked forks on my last sport bike. On the street it seemed the rear brakes only function was to illuminate the rear brake light but when the tempo is increased, while I was following the super sport I found it the perfect tool to change lines or set up for a pass. You can't help but notice the bike is very light and has a short wheel base but doesn’t sacrifice stability as a result, not “twitchy” in any way, the surprises I found were sometimes running to the inside of turns. The 1125 insisting on more throttle to correct my line. As a result my trust was nurtured so I picked up my pace forgetting about the ZX-6 I had over taken on corner entry a few moments ago. He gave chase and tried to make up time in the straights. I imagined he was surprised I had plenty in reserve for the short straights without ever going above 6 or 7k due to brake in requirements. The fueling was spot on, never a stumble there was some head shake once or twice, but never enough to cause me concern. I guess on exits the front would get light and it needed to find its tract. The pseudo slipper clutch is fine for the roads and I imagine quite useful on the track. Supper smooth, while experimenting I would drop a gear deep into the corner just to get a better feeling of how I could use it better and as long as my rmp’s were fairly low 6-7k it was as smooth as if was shifting up. No snags, but no engine braking either so you just have to rely on the brakes. If I matched the revs the slipper would reward me with seamless down shifts.
Some negatives I noticed were as the speeds increased the agility can turn into sensitivity. I can’t fault the clubman bars, some motto journalist gave bad marks for not getting the $200 optional upright bars but in all fairness the reach is no different than all the other sport bikes. Worth noting while feeding throttle I found it necessary to use my body more than my arms so I may look into some pro grips on the sides of the faux tank where my knees fit The seat seems to get sticky when hot, which made it a bit of a challenge to move around, not a big deal but I’m grabbing for straws trying to be impartial here. I’m sure it will wear off in time, it always seems to.
At the end of the day I was able to string together corners of all types in a way that would leave my old RC51 in knots. The only comparison I have for the CR’s agility is my Husqvarna. The suspension is really good like a sporting luxury car always capable to do what I need it to do, commute and canyon carve.
Is it the best bike ever? Nah, probably not. What I can say is I like it and it’s a sorted package.
I too liked the CR when I tried it on a recent demo day . Didn't you find 1st gear to be way too tall , which gave the impression of a lack of low end torque ? I disagree with your comparisons to the '51 though ; maybe there was something wrong with your RC b/c I have never had mine "cut out" even in extreme heat and traffic , and the handling is much more responsive and intuitive than the CR's once you ride it like the race bike it was originally designed to be ; muscle it like a chick who likes it rough .
1125 CR initial impressions
Linear Mode
