Fast as a rocket, torquey as a locomotive
STEAM CORNERS, OHIO — Strap 146 borrowed horses under your leathered butt and point it down the hot pit of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and here's what happens after the pucker factor fades:
• Daylight breaks over Mid-Ohio and a pack of dewy Buell 1125Rs.
Not a whole lot. Really, really fast.
Huh? That's right. After a few familiarization laps, the Buell 1125R feels steady as a rock, fast as a rocket, torquey as a locomotive and slows down faster than a compliment from a mother-in-law's lips.
It's just that good.
• Greg Heichelbech of Buell, top right, explains how the 1125R's vacuum-actuated slipper clutch works.
All of which brings a smile to Greg Heichelbech's face. As director for platform development, Heichelbech and other Buell boys and girls spent hours burning the midnight oil to focus the 1125R's mission, source its parts, and make sure it met Buell's trilogy of technology.
Trilogy of technology? Yup. That's mass centralization (packing the weight into a small, tight ball right where the engine sits.) Low unsprung weight (that means no extraneous bits humping up and down on the suspension parts). And a stiff chassis. (Fast boys love a tight chassis.)
Oh, and add a fourth sacrament to the Buell trinity: Every part has to do at least double duty.
Like that shiny silver kickstand. Sure, it looks like a piece of angular art, not an afterthought. But that little triangulated tab makes it easy to spot from the saddle, and easy to deploy.
And its other duty? Keeping the vehicle-safety lawyers at bay.
The 1125R is Buell's answer to a street-worthy sport bike. The seating is sporty, not punishing. That 72-degree liquid-cooled Rotax engine allows a straight throttle-body shot to the valves, and packs up tight in the engine bay. (We rode pre-production models. Production models roll out this month.)
Exhibit A: That rear brake caliper. It's classic Buell. Integrated with the swing arm, shaving about 1.5 pounds in unsprung suspension weight, it still gets the job done, without locking that rear disc, a common problem with some rear disc brake systems.
You can trail that brake into a turns at Mid-Ohio all day long and never scare yourself.
Other details: The shift lever is very adjustable. Simple. But adjustable.
"When you see (them), you say 'Wow, they really thought about that.' "
He's busy pointing out design features on his baby to inquisitive journalistic types like us.
• There's one in every track crowd. (OK, a lot more than one.)
For example, what the heck is a vacuum-assisted slipper clutch? Well, in addition to hydraulic actuation (there's a bleeder nipple there.) the slipper clutch allows the rider to tap-dance shifter anywhere on the track, anywhere on the rev range, and never "chirp" the rear tire.
A nice thing to know when your grooving down to 51 degrees lean angle. Chirp that tire then, and your pucker factor will make a chirp of its own.
The slipper clutch idea came from Rotax, and was first used in Aprilia engines. But Rotax and Buell's relationship has proved to be a two-way street: Rotax didn't bring its ego to the party, just a willingness to deliver engineering Buell wanted — and improve on things, when it could.
• 1125Rs cook through a turn at Mid-Ohio.
Design features like those were among the hundreds of myriad decisions made in long hours of late-night "cuss and discuss" sessions inside Buell's East Troy, Wisc., headquarters, Heichelbech said with a laugh.
So how did those four years of development and meetings and supplier sourcing work out?
Just dandy, thank you very much.
Running mid-pack with the intermediate riders at a Buell Inside Pass track day, the 1125R showed off it's chops at every turn, every straight. Whether grinding down the sole of an armored road-racing boot in a tight right-hander, or stretching toward 132 mph in the back straight, the 1125R does it all in an unruffled manner.
No commotion. All forward motion.
• Note the darker asphalt patch that denotes the best line through the turn.
Downshift in the middle of a turn? No problem. The wide, torquey powerband has you covered. Gas it out of a corner too hard? The 50-degree lean angle on the Buell can handle it; just keep a-leanin'.
Tuck in for top speed on that straight? There's a bubble of smooth, quiet air behind the aerodynamic fairing that is probably quieter than your cubicle at work.
Roaring up too hot on the next chicane? A two-finger pull on the front lever can unload the rear tire so much it will startle you — without unsettling the suspension in the least.
Wait a minute ... what if you run wide in a turn and dump the bike and splatter parts in the infield? (No, we didn't.)
Buell has that angle covered, too. The twin, bulbous radiator shrouds flanking the engine have shock-absorbing support structures underneath. They are designed to sacrifice themselves to protect the bike in a spill. That's the difference between a totaled bike and a merely annoying parts bill.
• Funky? Sure. Fast? You bet. It's all part of a track day at Mid-Ohio.
Buell has been doing things different for a while. The subsidiary of motorcycling icon Harley-Davidson has focused on useable, streetable torque and horsepower for years — wrapped in unique frames that also serve as gas tanks.
All of which is kind of like the Buell Inside Pass days. Those track-based events have been taking place at racetracks across the country. (That's where we were at with the Mid-Ohio deal.) They were designed to get dealers and customers track time on Buells, Heichelbech said.
"Get butts on seats," is the way he puts it. "Dealers experience the bikes before the customer comes in the store," he added.
Because the dealers have ridden the bikes, and know what they can do, they gain instant credibility, he said. They can not only talk the Buell talk, they can walk the Buell walk.
In addition, customers at track days don't have to listen to some marketing spiel or watch a slick DVD; they get the real-time, real-world input in every turn.
OK, so the R is a little too intense for you. You want something a wee bit saner for the street. Buell can deliver. Check out the new 2008 Ulysses for adventure bike style and substance, or the TT for hooligan duty around town or down the road.
And, if you do any of that at all, get ready to party in 2008.
Because that's when the unique Buell brand turns 25 years old.
An American, grown-up company for American grown-up motorcycle tastes.
• Chillin' after a thrillin' day at Mid-Ohio: John Fiehn of Akron, Ohio and Rick Manett of Chardon, Ohio, do some bench resting after some real racing at Mid-Ohio.