New Buell.

[JimBob]

HUH, aye what, ha... whos there, I reckon they would have been beter off putting the RR on the road, this new thing looks to much like a 12R, and there nothing Harly about it... Austrain engine, Itiallian made frame etc, a good idea but it shouldnt have a 12R arse end.

They looked at a lot of options including a big TL engine, that would have had the aficionados spitting in their teacups

[Rashika]

Looks good.
IMHO the front scoops look a little overstyled, a couple of giant pipi shells.
I wonder if the RR is still going to exist? As a development bike the RR has probably shown that if you want to manufacture a 150hp streetbike dont base it around a Sportster engine.

why do they want to manufacture a 150hp bike??? Why is everything about how fast it can go?
I LIKE the Buell look, I LIKE the HD engine, I like the short wheelbase and the fun aspect of the Firebolt... I DONT want a full sportsbike, if i did i could go buy a way cheaper one from a jap shop, I AINT liking this thing too much.
and those aircovers suck BIGTIME!

[limbimtimwim]

You are sounding like the stereotypical HD person now.

CHANGE?!?! WHAT'S THAT!?! I DON'T LIKE CHANGE!!!



Maybe when you lay eyes on it, and maybe give it a ride, you might like it.

[imdying]

Silver numbers with a red R on a black fairing, above the lefthand headlight... I know I've seen that before somewhere...

[skelstar]

That is hideous. I love the look of the Firebolt, but this is ugo. Bit like that picture of the fairing that was grafted onto the front of a scooter that posted a couple of days ago (yeah yeah, I know the R1 comments have been made).

Sure hope that it looks better in person.

Oh, and the Harley bike was a part of the same article that i lifted this image from.

[Big Dave]

why do they want to manufacture a 150hp bike??? Why is everything about how fast it can go?
I LIKE the Buell look, I LIKE the HD engine, I like the short wheelbase and the fun aspect of the Firebolt... I DONT want a full sportsbike, if i did i could go buy a way cheaper one from a jap shop, I AINT liking this thing too much.
and those aircovers suck BIGTIME!

I quite like it - it's not my type of bike at all - but as an example of one I think it's quite nice.

I know how well the mass centralisation, brake and frame work and I can see on the spec sheet that it will be STUNNING to ride.

Why would HD do it? - so they have a complete range. From a Heritage Classic to a fast Spotsbike (sic - new word - apt what) to a Vrod - it's about a complete product range and customer demand.

They will sell well - regardless of the old school.

They are building dirt bike next. Range - it's all about range.

There isn't one bike that does everything. XB12X is closest I've found so far.

[HenryDorsetCase]

arent you all missing the point? Erik Buell is and always has been firstly about the performance and secondly about where the motor came from: Presumably a lot of well heeled punters looked at the 12R and thought "Meh" for the same money I can buy whatever.... and performance sells.... so in order to give the punters what they say they want, this is the result. And if it ends up in AMA or WSB, so much the better I think,

It should be roughly competitive with the 1098.

I happen to like the styling and its not like theyve said they'll bin the 12R.

also you'd hope that the improved brake/increased fuel capacity/other improvements can trickle down the range in time.

[JimBob]

why do they want to manufacture a 150hp bike??? Why is everything about how fast it can go?
I LIKE the Buell look, I LIKE the HD engine, I like the short wheelbase and the fun aspect of the Firebolt... I DONT want a full sportsbike, if i did i could go buy a way cheaper one from a jap shop, I AINT liking this thing too much.
and those aircovers suck BIGTIME!

"So mine can be bigger than yours"
This bike is a more "mainstream" Buell and I imagine it will outsell all the other Buells combined. Which at the end of the day is what it is all about.
You would have to admit that the very things that set Buells apart are what stops them from being a raging sales success.

[oldrider]

This thread reinforces the value of personal choice, it is an especially strong force when it comes to buying and owning motorcycles!

Long may the freedom to choose stay with us. Cheers John.

[vifferman]

While I agree that the aircleaner thingos (technical term) are weird, I kinda like it too.

Except for the stupid-looking beltdrive case on the left side.

[Clivoris]

It actually looks ok in the picture posted by Skelstar. Even those bug-catchers are growing on me. Apart from the fairing there is no way that it could be mistaken for anything other than a Buell. How exciting. Looking forward to the reviews and comparisons.
All of a sudden, water-cooled 1000cc V-twins are old-school.

[Rashika]

You are sounding like the stereotypical HD person now.
Maybe when you lay eyes on it, and maybe give it a ride, you might like it.

always an HD'r at heart but no I quite like change per sey, just that this looks to me like a way too far towards the usual Japa stuff we see everywhere. The firebolt (as all the XB range are), was miles (planets might be a better analogy!) different to the tubers when it first came out and I guess a few people thought the same as them. Tis odd tho, they ditched the big covers for the xb's, and most of the earlier buell owners did as soon as they could as well, so why bring 'em back in the 'new and improved' version? Maybe they do have some benefit we just cant see...

"So mine can be bigger than yours"
This bike is a more "mainstream" Buell and I imagine it will outsell all the other Buells combined. Which at the end of the day is what it is all about.
You would have to admit that the very things that set Buells apart are what stops them from being a raging sales success.

it may be more "mainstream" joe public, but NOT "mainstream Buell"...dont think there is really anything that would fit there at all, there is too much variety now, which I dont think is a bad thing at all. The jury is out on how usual Buell riders will take it... the new Buellers-to-be may love it. But I dont think it will outsell the rest... I still like the Uly, but I dont think I will ever have one cos I'm too short (at 5ft 7.5inches!) to be comfy on it ...at the moment anyway

That is hideous. I love the look of the Firebolt, but this is ugo. Bit like that picture of the fairing that was grafted onto the front of a scooter that posted a couple of days ago (yeah yeah, I know the R1 comments have been made).

Sure hope that it looks better in person.

hmm hope so, but as long as the XB12R stays in prod I will be happy

Somehow I think one or the other wont be around in a couple of years... sigh

...Why would HD do it? - so they have a complete range. From a Heritage Classic to a fast Spotsbike (sic - new word - apt what) to a Vrod - it's about a complete product range and customer demand.

They will sell well - regardless of the old school.

They are building dirt bike next. Range - it's all about range.

There isn't one bike that does everything. XB12X is closest I've found so far.

true, there aint one that will do everything, which is good cos it does mean they can get a whole lot more people into Buells on diff style bikes ...but...if they go too far, then those who may have thought, oh yeah baby at the XB's... may go a totally diff direction now with the latest development.
Time will tell i guess... I vote we all pop back in 5 years time and see just what has happened

[tri boy]

I'm not a huge Buell fan, but it seems that Eric is putting his toe in the performance pond. Good luck to him. Guys like Eric, Brooke Henry, John Britton, Ken McIntosh, etc seem willing to open doors that the main factories are to busy, or disinterested to open themselves.
Personally, I hope it kicks arse on the track.

[Rashika]

Personally, I hope it kicks arse on the track.

hell yeah!
but that doesn't mean it'll be good on the road tho...

[Marknz]

Check out the details of the new Buell 1125R on www.mcnews.com.au

Looks pretty trick to me, and having tested a Buell before, I might have to hold off on buying my new bike until these arrive in the country.