1125r Test Ride and opinion

[XB12R]

I'll start off with my background.

I owned a 2004 XB12R Firebolt from August of 2004 until April of 2008. I really liked my Buell, and it was good to me for about 13,000 miles. I never had problems with it, and it was a ton of fun to ride. I really liked a lot of things about the bike, and there was of course some things that I wasn't really high on. I ended up modifying the bike quite a bit to make it look, sound and ride the way I wanted it to. I sold it because I finished my MBA and I wanted to make sure I could afford my student loans, condo and other bills so the bike expense had to be dropped.

I'm not a Buell hater so flame away if you love Buells, but this is my opinion of the 1125r like it or hate it.

About a month ago I stopped by Gail's Harley Davidson in Grandview MO (Kansas City area) to look at the 2009 1125r bikes. They had a few of them on the floor, and after checking them out I took a test ride. I really wanted to like the bike, and I was really thinking it might be my next bike.

It was almost strange how much the 1125r felt like my Firebolt. It was like sitting on my old bike after it did a couple cycles of steroids during the 18 months I hadn't seen it or rode it. The bike had tons more power than my Firebolt, and it was a lot more smooth than the Harley engine based bike as well. The delivery was excellent, and I was very happy when I didn't reach for 6th gear in vein as I did so many times on my Firebolt.

So the good:

Power way up
Smoother delivery
6 gears
Better more advanced gauge cluster
All black frame/swingarm and etc
Even stronger front brake (8 piston caliper)

The bad:

To much carryover!!!!!!- tail section, tail light, wheels, airbox, basic frame/swingarm and ergos/controls.... It basically looks like a 2003 Firebolt with a new front fairing and radiator pods
The new front fairing is huge and not great looking
The radiator pods are still ugly to me
The exhaust is terrible looking, and I haven't seen a good aftermarket pipe yet
The rear brake still sucks (par the course for most sportbikes though)
It's pretty buzzy when going through the gears. You don't have the strong vibration like on the Firebolt, it is more of a high frequency buzz now

Additional problems:

In 2008 they released this bike with all this carryover, and it still had a lot of problems. On top of the mechanical/electrical problems in the first year model it had an ugly blue frame and wheels to go along with the ugly pods, front fender and all the stuff they stole from a bike that was released in 2003.... With all of these problems the 2008 bikes didn't sell well at all. At the dealership in KC they had at least 20 2008 1125r bikes in the storage area upstairs.

That brings me to the next big issue. With so many 2008 bikes left at the dealerships they also were not able to sell the 2009 models, and now the 2010 bikes are showing up. I think we know what the resale on these bikes is going to be.... Absolute crap! I'm not going to spend $12,500 on a new 09 or 10 motorcycle when you still have 08s sitting in storage.....

Buell has really dug a hole with this bike, and it is really to bad. It really is a good bike and a huge step in the right direction for Buell, but they just didn't deliver. They obviously tried to get the bike to market a year before they should have. If they would have spent an extra year in development of the bike they could have actually delivered a market ready ALL NEW bike as a 2009 model without the bugs of the 2008 model. They could have done without the stupid blue frame and wheels, and given us a whole new set of body work, but they were under heavy pressure to deliver a 25th anniversary bike....

I hope that their lack of foresight and good planning doesn't cost us the only American made sportbike option available. They were finally starting to turn their reputation around in the market with XB bikes, but the 2008 1125r was a huge step backwards instead of the giant leap it could have been if it was released as a 2009 model with the proper development.

The verdict:

Well, I think it is pretty obvious that I'm very disappointed by the bike. I bought a 2006 GSXR 1000 instead of the 1125r because I couldn't convince myself to look past all the bad and buy American.

[PhilB]

I was pretty impressed with the 1125R when I rode it last year; I thought it was a big step forward for Buell. Peppy, grunty, handled well, seemed pretty well built. Kind of ugly, but Buells have always been a bit charisma-challenged. I didn't care much for the NVH characterstics, the early ones gave off a LOT of heat (but they've fixed that some), and ths shifting was clonky (which they've also addressed). I personally don't give a damn about resale value, since I tend to buy something I like and ride it to death. I test rode an 1125CR more recently and liked it better.

If I was to be buying a new bike, it would be on my short list (which right now would be the Ducati HyperMotard, Ducati StreetFighter, Buell 1125CR, BMW K1300R, or Moto Guzzi 8V Griso).

PhilB

[moosestang]

Bought me an 1125CR, how could I not for $5995, 2 year warranty, 14 miles on it.

Now to Just add a race tail and fairing like this bike. I've all ready ditched the ugly mirrors.

[XB12R]

I'm glad I didn't buy one because it was about 2 months before they closed the doors. I could have probably gotten an 09 for around $10,500, or an 08 for about $7,500. I would have been so pissed to see bikes going for $6,000 just a couple months after paying $10,500. They really fucked their customers that bought bikes from January until the were closed by HD. Everyone that did buy a bike before they went on close out sale got F'd in the A!!!!! I wonder how the Buells are going to do in holding their value over the next few years?

Is it just me, or does that fairing have an Aprilia logo on it? That CR does look great though.