The 1125 or the 1190? In 2009 weren't there 1125R's being raced in both the 600 and the 1000 classes. I believe they were called Daytona Sportbike and Daytona Superbike that year?
Not sure if JBraun was talking about the 1125 or the 1190 being hugely different from the street variant, but I definitely remember in 2009 in the DMG 'Daytona Sportbike' days Eslick kicked ass on the Buell 1125R against the normal field of 600s. Lots of people cried foul because of the displacement, and perhaps fairly, but ultimately if the HP wasn't all that different, who cares? The twin would definitely have advantages and disadvantages compared to the competition then. Motorcycle people in general seem so hung up on displacement being the deciding factor in 'fairness' of racing classes. Meanwhile Mustang guys with 5.0L v8 are perfectly happy racing Camaros with 6.2L v8s ultimately making about the same power just in different fashion. I like when the racing classes have a big range of bike types that have distinct advantages and disadvantages based on the track.
Guys are calling the bike a pile of trash… it isn’t. I’m sure there has been, but I don’t follow everyone all the time so ♂️
Many folks seem to forget Chaz Davies was seemingly flying quietly under the radar on the 1000cc RSV-1000 that same season as well. I guess those extra 125cc's of the Buell made all the difference. I would have thought the Priller's chassis would have been far better suited for the racetrack.
Thé 1125r was a fun bike to ride. The pre production units had some issues, particularly with the rotax, but once sorted it pulled like a freight train. It turned and transitioned from side to side effortlessly. Actually a good bike, very good. Who else in here making comments has ridden one at pace?
I have, well my pace anyway. And it took a hell of a lot of effort on a 1299 to beat my best times on the Buell by one or two tenths at Grattan and Nelson - lap times that were surprisingly easy on the Buell when they came to me.
Dude, I meant to ask you if you still had it. If I remember correctly you got one shortly after the Motor Company shuttled Buell. That awesome.
Man, great memories for me. After Higbee got injured while racing at Iowa Raceway in Newton, Buell still had a couple of endurance/longevity test they wanted to perform, so after the Inside Pass/ Back to the Track event at Cresson, Tx concluded I stayed over for the next day and filled in for him. The only directives given were, ride at 80% of pace with full 100% throttle application acceleration through the gears, don’t wad it and when you come in, get off the bike and don’t touch anything and get out of the way. LOL. So I did five, one hour long stints, trading off with Trey Nobles. They had the bike set up with all the diagnostics and track position etc. It was an eye opener looking at the data and seeing how consistant Trey was. He was fucking spot on lap after lap. I was riding braille compared to him. But man it was fun. The 1125r was an awesome bike.
Sadly, the DMG pace bike concept never came to fruition as I was one of the riders tasked with this endeavor.
I raced an XB12R back in the day and still have my Buell S1W. They were/are pure fun to race and ride. I miss racing, but the wallet couldn't support the habit. Still have my Buell S1W street bike and take it out on occasion.