How do you feel about Buell's?

[knowles]

Been looking at another bike for next year wondering what you guys like about Buell's? looking at a 1125 or the smaller 900's. found this one thats closish to me.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/mcy/2984199342.html

[Huff1371]

Pretty good bikes but don't quite live up to the Eddie Buell name. Thanks to Harley being Fu(king stupid. Stay far away from the blast as all it is is a blast to your crotch after riding the 500 single a.k.a. thumper. The larger ones are awesome but still don't stack up to their foreign counter-parts in performance. That being said, EB was able to get dumb $hit Harley to allow some of his GREAT engineering ideas.

[Juan1]

I love them. Lots of character, but not enough leg room.

[Twisted]

tt four is the man to ask

[Kijona]

Do not let the name deceive you..

IT'S STILL A HARLEY LOL

Seriously though...I've heard good/bad things about them. The bad things always, inevitably, stem back to the motor. Lots of vibration, not a lot of power, etc. Also, air cooled motor with one cylinder behind the other? That's the dumbest design I've ever heard of...sorry Harley.

[NesquikNinja]

Pretty good bikes but don't quite live up to the Eddie Buell name. Thanks to Harley being Fu(king stupid. Stay far away from the blast as all it is is a blast to your crotch after riding the 500 single a.k.a. thumper. The larger ones are awesome but still don't stack up to their foreign counter-parts in performance. That being said, EB was able to get dumb $hit Harley to allow some of his GREAT engineering ideas.

I tthink it's actually erik

my buddy knows a guy who has th 1125r...he loves it, looks and sounds epic.

[slipperymongoose]

I love the front brakes on them they look like nothing else.

[BaltimoreGS]

tt four is the man to ask

+1

I think he is the only guy on this board that ever owned one.

-Jessie

[Huff1371]

Erik ... Eddie.... Ezekiel ...it was late. He had some awesome ideas.  I ridden the x-2 city. Think thats what it was called, really cool bike. But I'd take a R6 any day .

[dougdoberman]

Do not let the name deceive you..

IT'S STILL A HARLEY LOL

Seriously though...I've heard good/bad things about them. The bad things always, inevitably, stem back to the motor. Lots of vibration, not a lot of power, etc. Also, air cooled motor with one cylinder behind the other? That's the dumbest design I've ever heard of...sorry Harley.

Sorry but this is somewhat misinformed information given above.


The earlier models are all pretty good handlers and have plenty enough power for spirited riding.  They do suffer somewhat from the Harley engine, which definitely wasn't made for this sort of application.  They're not terrible bikes by any means, but unless you're a Harley die-hard who has to have a sport(y) bike, there are much better bikes available for much cheaper. 

Now the 1125r that the OP is asking about is a different beast altogether.  It has very little Harley in it at all.  (Possibly none?)  The motor is liquid cooled & built by Rotax.   I wouldn't classify it along with proper sportbikes, but it fits in acceptably with the sporting standards such as the FZ-1 and the Bandit 1200.  It's always gonna be a little overpriced, but if you'd like something off the beaten path, it's a pretty good bike.  The couple that I've ridden have been solid all-around bikes.

The problem any Buell owner faces is maintaining it.  I only live about 50 miles from Buell, so there's a pretty high rate of ownership around here yet from what I hear from owners I know, it's always been somewhat difficult to get parts from their local Harley dealer and it's become even more so since they parted ways.   

[Kijona]

Do not let the name deceive you..

IT'S STILL A HARLEY LOL

Seriously though...I've heard good/bad things about them. The bad things always, inevitably, stem back to the motor. Lots of vibration, not a lot of power, etc. Also, air cooled motor with one cylinder behind the other? That's the dumbest design I've ever heard of...sorry Harley.

Sorry but this is somewhat misinformed information given above.


The earlier models are all pretty good handlers and have plenty enough power for spirited riding.  They do suffer somewhat from the Harley engine, which definitely wasn't made for this sort of application.  They're not terrible bikes by any means, but unless you're a Harley die-hard who has to have a sport(y) bike, there are much better bikes available for much cheaper. 

Now the 1125r that the OP is asking about is a different beast altogether.  It has very little Harley in it at all.  (Possibly none?)  The motor is liquid cooled & built by Rotax.   I wouldn't classify it along with proper sportbikes, but it fits in acceptably with the sporting standards such as the FZ-1 and the Bandit 1200.  It's always gonna be a little overpriced, but if you'd like something off the beaten path, it's a pretty good bike.  The couple that I've ridden have been solid all-around bikes.

The problem any Buell owner faces is maintaining it.  I only live about 50 miles from Buell, so there's a pretty high rate of ownership around here yet from what I hear from owners I know, it's always been somewhat difficult to get parts from their local Harley dealer and it's become even more so since they parted ways.

Well, I've never owned one so I can only go by what I've heard. 

[SAFE-T]

Every Buell ever made with the new-style rotors on the outside of the front rim seems to suffer from overheating and bluing. For a while immediately after Harley cut Buell loose you could find new 1125's for half price. I rode the older trellis-frame Buells and they sucked ~exactly what you would expect a HD sportbike to feel like. The 1125 is fugly, the 1100 revved out at 6000rpm, which leaves the 900 as the only Buell I ever rode I actually liked ~

[SS Adrenaline]

I have ridden a blaster and it was a piece of crap.  It was slow and noisey and was like trying to ride a jack hammer around.  The only good thing was it was light and had ok steering.

[Huff1371]

I have ridden a blaster and it was a piece of crap.  It was slow and noisey and was like trying to ride a jack hammer around.  The only good thing was it was light and had ok steering.

I did my MSF course on a blast and it was definitly a POS. NO friction zone on the clutch, not enough power to get out of it's own way, and it's exactly like riding a jack hammer. They don't even handle all that well.

[SAFE-T]

A couple of things I gathered from long-term reviews of the XB models were that they were fairly reliable with gas mileage in the 60mpg range. But I would only buy an XB9 if it was at a  bargain price because of the hassle of dealing with the HD service department. A friend of mine who has worked as a partsman in the motorcycle industry for 20yrs including some time at a large upscale Harley dealership has nothing good to say about either Harley or Buell, if that tells you anything. And he owns an RC30, so it's not like he doesn't have any tolerance for motorcycles with peculiar quirks.   

[mister]

Do not let the name deceive you..

IT'S STILL A HARLEY LOL

Seriously though...I've heard good/bad things about them. The bad things always, inevitably, stem back to the motor. Lots of vibration, not a lot of power, etc. Also, air cooled motor with one cylinder behind the other? That's the dumbest design I've ever heard of...sorry Harley.

Sorry but this is somewhat misinformed information given above.


The earlier models are all pretty good handlers and have plenty enough power for spirited riding.  They do suffer somewhat from the Harley engine, which definitely wasn't made for this sort of application.  They're not terrible bikes by any means, but unless you're a Harley die-hard who has to have a sport(y) bike, there are much better bikes available for much cheaper. 

Now the 1125r that the OP is asking about is a different beast altogether.  It has very little Harley in it at all.  (Possibly none?)  The motor is liquid cooled & built by Rotax.   I wouldn't classify it along with proper sportbikes, but it fits in acceptably with the sporting standards such as the FZ-1 and the Bandit 1200.  It's always gonna be a little overpriced, but if you'd like something off the beaten path, it's a pretty good bike.  The couple that I've ridden have been solid all-around bikes.

The problem any Buell owner faces is maintaining it.  I only live about 50 miles from Buell, so there's a pretty high rate of ownership around here yet from what I hear from owners I know, it's always been somewhat difficult to get parts from their local Harley dealer and it's become even more so since they parted ways.

Well, I've never owned one so I can only go by what I've heard. 

Then stop repeating things you don't actually know and have only heard. It's not helpful even though you are trying to be.

And don't repeat it anyway then write "but I don't know it's only what I heard" cause it's equally unhelpful. If you don't know, just say nothing. Simple. 

Michael

[Flux Maven]

I haven't heard anything bad about buell's and I like the looks of them but I doubt I would ever buy one just because of how I was treated at the local Harley dealership. I went in and asked if they had any textile riding jackets that didn't say Harley on them and they said no, we are a Harley dealership. So I asked about Buell's and they just laughed and said they didn't carry anything for Buell's and if they could they would sell me the Buell sign off the building. They said when I was tired of riding like this (he bent over and pretended he was riding a sport bike) that I should come back and buy a Harley. Granted they were just joking, but still I was just looking for a simple armored jacket that wasn't a Harley bilboard.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't buy a Buell and expect to get much help from the Harley folks.

[dougdoberman]

I haven't heard anything bad about buell's and I like the looks of them but I doubt I would ever buy one just because of how I was treated at the local Harley dealership. I went in and asked if they had any textile riding jackets that didn't say Harley on them and they said no, we are a Harley dealership. So I asked about Buell's and they just laughed and said they didn't carry anything for Buell's and if they could they would sell me the Buell sign off the building. They said when I was tired of riding like this (he bent over and pretended he was riding a sport bike) that I should come back and buy a Harley. Granted they were just joking, but still I was just looking for a simple armored jacket that wasn't a Harley bilboard.

Bottom line is, I wouldn't buy a Buell and expect to get much help from the Harley folks.

They weren't joking.  As I said, I live in what should be Buell country, and this is the attitude that basically all of the dealerships around here have always had, according to my Buell owning friends. 

Did you explain to him that you're never going to be a fat out of shape f%$k and that even if you were, you wouldn't want to ride with all of your weight on your tailbone for hours on end with no alternative weight placement?   That's my typical answer. 

I don't mind Harleys.  It's the Harley owners I can't stand. 

[slipperymongoose]

This has probably been thrown up but still with this thread I thought it most appropriate, till recently I didnt know that buell used HD and that there no longer around. Hey sue me I've only been riding a year and till then I was a pure cager. Here it is to make all of us happy lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU&feature=player_embedded

[The Buddha]

Rotax powered 1125's are awesome.
Cool.
Buddha.