9781422285206

Buell 1125R

Produced

2008-2009

Engine Size

1124.9cc

Cylinders 2 ¼ mile sprint 10.45 secs Top Speed 158mph Power Output 127.1bhp Transmission Manual Gears

6 speed, belt drive 30.5in (775mm)

Seat Height

Weight

466lb (211kg)

Wheelbase 54.1in (1375mm) (Specifications refer to the 2008 Buell 1125R)

12

Erik Buell was a former Harley- Davidson engineer who founded his own motorcycle company in East Troy, Wisconsin in 1983. Twenty- five years on he launched the Buell 1125R in 2008, but in October 2009 Harley-Davidson (who had bought a majority stake in 1998) announced that it was discontinuing production of the superbike. Formation of a new company, Erik Buell Racing, meant that the bike and its successors would continue

to compete on the racing circuits. In its short history the Buell 1125R showed evidence of an admirable tendency to take risks to deliver what the superbike public was looking for: it used a Rotax Helicon powertrain engine from Austria (part-designed by Buell) instead of the Harley-Davidson Sportster middle-weight powertrain and it did not include full fairings, because Buell did not wish to put the bike in the same class as

Japanese sport bikes.

So what’s it like to ride a Buell 1125R? Well, it’s obviously powerful, without giving you the impression that the power is seemingly limitless, as can be the case with some superbikes. Even so, there is a tendency for the front wheel to reach for the sky when you slam on the power, so you have to stay alert for that. A steering damper might have been a useful addition but, in general, handling is said