Looking for another Vtwin project. I've done many italian things, and thought maybe I'd change it up and try a Buell. Aftermarket looks almost nonexistent for them, but does anyone have any significant time on them? Are they decent trackday/amatuer race bikes?
I just got pointed to this group in my SH thread, Bear Racing in the midwest. Looks like they're playing around with all sorts of modern and classic Buells.
I’ve raced a Buell / EBR for just shy of a decade. Shoot me a PM with your contact info and I’ll be happy to share my experience.
I owned one: - They handle amazing - Incredible rear tire feel - Light side to side direction change - Revvy motor, not really that much torque, stock - Slow..... - FUN to ride - Swap an R6 front end and brakes on it and ride the crap out of it. Ken
I never dyno'd mine, but it felt like it made around 150HP, maybe a bit more. Off a corner, a good 750 was hard to pass. I consider good torque as similar to a 1199 or CBR1000 of that era. I rode around many litre bikes of that time (GSXR1k, ZX10, S1000rr) and it got yanked pretty bad. It for sure was a fun bike to ride, but it never laptimed well, even with some cool suspension bits I received from Showa. I know the motor was capable of more, but mine was all stock and I wanted to leave it that way. Ken
@gpstar748 raced one for a while with Splitlath. IIRC the verdict was super fast but a challenging chassis.
I messaged a guy from another race org cause he used to race one - his reply was one word "runnnnnn" lol. He said he never finished a weekend on his without some type of mechanical issue. Sounded worrisome, but it's only a sample size of one. So I figured I'd ask the idiots here. I'm completely not worried about the engine not being as fast as a new Pani v4r. I currently ride old Ducatis and a little Triumph 675..150hp will feel wicked. I just didn't want to get wrapped up in getting one only to find out the front brake is a hugely limiting factor, or that the engines grenade constantly if rev'd hard in racing environments or something like that. The lack of support in general for these is concerning. At least with my old ducs, there's a large group of race/track people who support them even if parts are costly and harder to source than the average japanese machine.
I saw a post on FB that whatever group owns the last crates of EBR stuff are showing off a 'special edition paint job' 1190... maybe they'll do a run of brake rotors again?
You can buy brake rotors from them (the New Buell) currently. And from NCCR in Sweden, Twin M/C in the Netherlands, Chaz at Aagard Moto Foundry here in the US. OE brakes are fine up to a pretty fast pace, with some minor upgrades. If you're used to setting track records, upgrade the front. I've never "raced" one but plenty of trackdays on 1125's and 1190SX/RX. IMO, being a mostly analog bike, they are MUCH more friendly to work on then anything else the same age/HP range.
Loved my 1125R back in the the day. It would be fun to have a go on the 1190, but I wish they would make a more affordable middleweight bike.
I have hundreds of race starts and thousands of track miles logged with 2 dnfs due to a breakdown. Once on an 1125R and once on an 1190RX. The bike was competitive in Club Race settings until advanced electronics became the norm. it’s a fun bike to race and still capable of hurting feelings.
The other bikes I'm considering are 1198 and 1199 Ducatis. Neither of which is anywhere close to current level of 'modern' electronic aids, so that certainly wouldn't deter me. I love twins and want another that's faster and just maybe a different feel to my current 998.
I raced a bone stock XB12R and a modified XB12R. This- - They handle amazing - Incredible rear tire feel (mine ate Pirellis, but loved some Stones) - Light side to side direction change - Revvy motor, not really that much torque, stock (My stock I ran on a belt. Caught an extra gear on a downshift at Road Atlanta. Finished 2nd. In the pits, I noticed a "birds nest" on my belt. It shredded a few teeth when I caught that extra gear). - Slow..... When I was on my game I could run 1;25s at JGP. Others have run lower lap times on an XBR. - FUN to ride- YUP!!! Never had a mechanical issue. Laid it down twice and only minor cosmetic/simple mech damage (levers/shifter/fairing support). The modified XB had a chain conversion. I was only about 1 second faster on lap times over the belt. But it was somebody else's bike and I never was comfortable enough to throw someone else's bike down the track. Rode an 1125 twice on a track twice. Handling was much the same as the XB12R, but the bike was obviously quicker. Never rode an EBR. Yours and others results may vary.
