Buell

Noobie

Noobie

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Often laughed at as being seen as a subsiduary of harley and their attempt at a naked sports bike but the buells had other things going for it, odd looks for one with those who enjoy grunt without the silly 200mph possibility nonsense.

I know @RA5 is keen on them so I'll throw a few in as an Amuse Bouche

RA, what are the difefrences between these two, which one would you choose and why?

Image 3 - BUELL FIREBOLT XB12R 2005 Factory performance kit


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and

Image 1 - Buell 1125 R 2019


 
Both are good IMO similar in many ways yet different. Most noteably the powerplant and cooling. I have a hybrid of the air-cooled V-twin XB12R (top pic). The 1st significant improvement on the XBs came in 2008 where Buell rolled out the Thunderstorm engine for the XB with a bump in HPs, torque and improved maintenance. The XB performance in the curves and torquey nature are signature characteristics of this model.

This same year (2008) Buell introduced the 1125R. A true Beast of a bike with a Rotax oil cooled V-twin. Those hideous side scoops are multi-purpose, there are fans hidden in each for cooling and intake and they also serve as expensive frame protectors. The acceleration and general awesome performance of the 1125 make it the better of the two. I had the AMA Road Racing Championship winning 2009 version (bottom pic). The 25th Anniversay 2008 version had a charcoal blue frame. The winning 1125 was a stock 2009 bike, just like the average 1125R it required a key to start.

Fuel and oil in the frame, ZTL single rotor brakes (6 pistons on the XB, 8 on the 1125R) and underslung exhaust are shared by both.

Buell Wins First | AMA Road Racing Championship

Champ: Danny Eslick Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports rider Danny Eslick made history by clinching the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, his own and Buell Motorcycle Company's first professional AMA road racing championship.
ultimatemotorcycling.com ultimatemotorcycling.com
 
RA5 said:
Both are good IMO similar in many ways yet different. Most noteably the powerplant and cooling. I have a hybrid of the air-cooled V-twin XB12R (top pic). The 1st significant improvement on the XBs came in 2008 where Buell rolled out the Thunderstorm engine for the XB with a bump in HPs, torque and improved maintenance. The XB performance in the curves and torquey nature are signature characteristics of this model.

This same year (2008) Buell introduced the 1125R. A true Beast of a bike with a Rotax oil cooled V-twin. Those hideous side scoops are multi-purpose, there are fans hidden in each for cooling and intake and they also serve as expensive frame protectors. The acceleration and general awesome performance of the 1125 make it the better of the two. I had the AMA Road Racing Championship winning 2009 version (bottom pic). The 25th Anniversay 2008 version had a charcoal blue frame. The winning 1125 was a stock 2009 bike, just like the average 1125R it required a key to start.

Fuel and oil in the frame, ZTL single rotor brakes (6 pistons on the XB, 8 on the 1125R) and underslung exhaust are shared by both.

Buell Wins First | AMA Road Racing Championship

Champ: Danny Eslick Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports rider Danny Eslick made history by clinching the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, his own and Buell Motorcycle Company's first professional AMA road racing championship.
ultimatemotorcycling.com ultimatemotorcycling.com
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Brand new with full fairings my 2009 1125R cost me $6,500. I sold it for $5,500 in 2010. A sad, sad day for me.
 
Worthy of mentioning, like Ducati performance motos, the 1125R and EBR 1190s were racing motorcycles adapted for street use.
 
I saw on some of the owners reviews in mcn that a few areas of improvement could be had?

The forks were sprung quite firmly and the rear shock not so much. The front brake was awesome but the rear brake could have come from the ducati family, poor.

Fuel injection was a problem but by fitting the race exhaust and ecm/ecu, this solved a lot of problems?
 
Agree on all counts, I've always had the race kits, the only time I had problems with the fuel injectors was due to HD mechanics working on my " That's not a Harley" bike - they were right of course. I never went back and do all the work myself which has fortunately been typical annual maintenance. Problem is getting your hands on those race cans. The OEM race kit is the best if you can find one.
 
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If you're considering the 2009, the stators were known for burning out because they were designed for track conditions not sitting in traffic on idle/city commuting. I made sure to keep moving and above 4k on the rev and never had the stator issue. Open country roads and tracks....
 
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