Hitcher
29th December 2008, 17:33
Christmas holidays provide opportunities to do a bunch of stuff one finds hard to do at other times of the year. Today I took the opportunity to test ride some bikes.
Thanks to the Marvellous Pete at Wellington Motorcycles, I managed to score a ride on their 15km Buell 1125CR demonstrator, resplendently black.
I think there is a certain mindset required to like certain types of bike. Buells definitely fall into that certain mindset category. I appreciate them as pieces of mechanical art. I understand what Eric Buell is trying to do with that whole mass centralisation thing. They are different from all other motorcycles and are comparatively rare. If I wanted something to stand on a revolving plinth in my lounge, a Buell could well be turning slowly whilst bathed in appropriate halogen lighting to outline its curves and features.
After such an introduction you may think that I am desperately trying to find something nice to write about the 1125CR. You would be right.
I mounted my ride this morning, and it disappeared. I could not see any part of the bike other than the tips of its ridiculous mirrors in my peripheral vision while I was looking straight ahead in a "normal" riding position.
"But Hitcher, all sportsbike mirrors are pointless and only there for WOF compliance purposes," I hear some readers protesting. If that is true, then the Buell's mirrors are right on the money. They also double as turning indicators for the benefit of oncoming observers. They are "adjustable" if you are a rider shorter than say 170cm. I couldn't stand the swivelly mirror panels into a position that allowed me vision more than 100m astern, without fear of breaking them.
I expected the sports riding position to play merry hang with my lower back and for the very firm seat "squab" to make my piles bleed. They didn't. The riding position was "comfortable" in that respect. The one thing that stopped me considering a trip over the Rimutakas and back was the throttle position and thickness. Consistent with its general specifications designed for midget riders, Buell has provided a very skinny throttle grip. After about 10 minutes trying to grip this with largely unused muscles in the palm of my right hand, three fingers from index to ring and my right thumb had gone beyond pins and needles to totally dead. A fatter throttle grip may help this enormously.
To complete my schedule of major grizzles, the rear brake is pointless. On several occasions while rolling up to traffic lights, I fully engaged the clutch and then tried to see if I could bring the bike to a complete stop using the rear brake exclusively. I could, after much pumping. The rear brake on my FJR can completely lock up the rear wheel, if necessary.
"But Hitcher, all sportsbikes have pathetic rear brakes because good riders don't need to use them," I hear the devotees moaning. I guess I don't understand the mechanics of sportsbikes.
At the other end, the front brake was nice, indeed on a par with the front brakes on my FJR -- lots of stop with lots of feel. There, I did find something nice to say about the Buell!
Engine? Underwhelming really. I guess as the rider who put the first 100km on this particular bike and who was taking care to keep the revs under about 6,000, it may open up with a few more km and offer more to subsequent riders. It only had marginally more voom than the Guzzi Breva 1100 I rode a few days previously.
Gearbox? OK. No complaints other than having to fanny around to find neutral. But then it's not made in Japan, so that's to be expected.
Suspension and handing? Hard to fault, other than absolutely bugger all turning circle for slow handling and manoevering. I encountered a bit of rough and uneven tarmac in my nearly 100km test ride, and the Buell coped with it admirably and without bouncing the rider around too much. I am spoiled in that my usually riding position doesn't require bent elbows to soak up jarring and judders from the front wheel. I guess all sportsbike riders have to endure such punishment as par for the course.
Eric Buell has seen the light and given his bikes "traditional" switch gear. But surely he could have built it to a better standard? It looks cheap and flimsy, but may well last well for years and years.
Would I buy one? No.
Thanks to Pete McDonald and Wellington Motorcycles for providing the opportunity for a ride on a day when you would all have obviously been happier to have been at golf or the beach.
Thanks to the Marvellous Pete at Wellington Motorcycles, I managed to score a ride on their 15km Buell 1125CR demonstrator, resplendently black.
I think there is a certain mindset required to like certain types of bike. Buells definitely fall into that certain mindset category. I appreciate them as pieces of mechanical art. I understand what Eric Buell is trying to do with that whole mass centralisation thing. They are different from all other motorcycles and are comparatively rare. If I wanted something to stand on a revolving plinth in my lounge, a Buell could well be turning slowly whilst bathed in appropriate halogen lighting to outline its curves and features.
After such an introduction you may think that I am desperately trying to find something nice to write about the 1125CR. You would be right.
I mounted my ride this morning, and it disappeared. I could not see any part of the bike other than the tips of its ridiculous mirrors in my peripheral vision while I was looking straight ahead in a "normal" riding position.
"But Hitcher, all sportsbike mirrors are pointless and only there for WOF compliance purposes," I hear some readers protesting. If that is true, then the Buell's mirrors are right on the money. They also double as turning indicators for the benefit of oncoming observers. They are "adjustable" if you are a rider shorter than say 170cm. I couldn't stand the swivelly mirror panels into a position that allowed me vision more than 100m astern, without fear of breaking them.
I expected the sports riding position to play merry hang with my lower back and for the very firm seat "squab" to make my piles bleed. They didn't. The riding position was "comfortable" in that respect. The one thing that stopped me considering a trip over the Rimutakas and back was the throttle position and thickness. Consistent with its general specifications designed for midget riders, Buell has provided a very skinny throttle grip. After about 10 minutes trying to grip this with largely unused muscles in the palm of my right hand, three fingers from index to ring and my right thumb had gone beyond pins and needles to totally dead. A fatter throttle grip may help this enormously.
To complete my schedule of major grizzles, the rear brake is pointless. On several occasions while rolling up to traffic lights, I fully engaged the clutch and then tried to see if I could bring the bike to a complete stop using the rear brake exclusively. I could, after much pumping. The rear brake on my FJR can completely lock up the rear wheel, if necessary.
"But Hitcher, all sportsbikes have pathetic rear brakes because good riders don't need to use them," I hear the devotees moaning. I guess I don't understand the mechanics of sportsbikes.
At the other end, the front brake was nice, indeed on a par with the front brakes on my FJR -- lots of stop with lots of feel. There, I did find something nice to say about the Buell!
Engine? Underwhelming really. I guess as the rider who put the first 100km on this particular bike and who was taking care to keep the revs under about 6,000, it may open up with a few more km and offer more to subsequent riders. It only had marginally more voom than the Guzzi Breva 1100 I rode a few days previously.
Gearbox? OK. No complaints other than having to fanny around to find neutral. But then it's not made in Japan, so that's to be expected.
Suspension and handing? Hard to fault, other than absolutely bugger all turning circle for slow handling and manoevering. I encountered a bit of rough and uneven tarmac in my nearly 100km test ride, and the Buell coped with it admirably and without bouncing the rider around too much. I am spoiled in that my usually riding position doesn't require bent elbows to soak up jarring and judders from the front wheel. I guess all sportsbike riders have to endure such punishment as par for the course.
Eric Buell has seen the light and given his bikes "traditional" switch gear. But surely he could have built it to a better standard? It looks cheap and flimsy, but may well last well for years and years.
Would I buy one? No.
Thanks to Pete McDonald and Wellington Motorcycles for providing the opportunity for a ride on a day when you would all have obviously been happier to have been at golf or the beach.