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A New Bike Dealer for Lux to Visit

4K views 61 replies 16 participants last post by  Philthy 
#1 ·
I'm stoked. An American bike builder starting fresh.

Erik Buell Racing, in East Troy, says it has secured financing from GE Capital to build a motorcycle dealership network.

The company, founded by motorcycle racer and former Harley-Davidson employee Erik Buell, says the financing from GE Capital's Commercial Distribution Finance unit will allow dealers to stock, market and sell a wide variety of motorcycles and related products.

Buell's first production motorcycle is the EBR 1190RS, a street bike that sells for about $40,000. The company also says it's developing other models aimed at the high-performance motorcycle market.
 
#2 ·
Buell is a great bike, I was blown away when Harley dropped them after Danny Eslick won the Daytona Sportbike Class on a Buell. Great bikes, no top end but damn gutsy and handle great in the corners, I got to test a couple out at Spring mountain raceway back in '09. Erik is a class act, good for him...
 
#4 ·
I love the idea of an American company that is not based on heavy cruisers, but instead having a performance base.
 
#7 ·
I visited his shop with few friends last year. He personally gave us a little tour (we couldn't really go in the back cause they were working on some top secret sh!t) and we talked about his previous bikes and 1190RS. $40K+ is for 1190RS which he makes 100 pieces or so and it's over. He mentioned about having three models up his sleeve and depending on "how things go" he expect them out mid 2013 in the earliest or later as 2014 models but it was big "IF" at that time. He said he hopes for sub $15K in the beginning and if it takes off he plans to lower the prices if sales numbers pick up. Keep in mind this conversation took place last year and I believe things changed since than.

As always pics or it didn't happened - Mr Erik Buell and myself with 1190RS Carbon Edition
 
#55 ·
I visited his shop with few friends last year. He personally gave us a little tour (we couldn't really go in the back cause they were working on some top secret sh!t) and we talked .....He mentioned about having three models up his sleeve.....
Waiting.....:popcorn
 
#20 ·
Buell is still the worst bike I ever rode, Never again. I never wanted to be off a bike before in my life as badly as I did that day.
That's funny, the Buell I test rode said much the same about me and THREW me off. Then it had the audacity to slide into the ditch next to me and idle complacently as if nothing had happened. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you just break a rib or something, my bad" (or I might have been hallucinating since I just crashed and broke 7 ribs among other things)

I actually liked the bike but it is a bit to small and light for me
 
#10 ·
I rode the Firebolt and the Lightening. No thank you to anymore.

I did visit the new ProItalia Triumph shop the other day, still under construction.
Saw the Steve McQueen model, nice but like my Scrambler better.





And the brand new Panigale's, If I was younger I would consider one.
 

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#13 ·
Outstanding. I had heard "rumors" about this being on the table. I'm glad he can continue. I'm sure sales will mirror the Buells. I am always shocked by the lack of support here though, with all the blowharding about canyons and twisties and wide open roads, one would think the Buell would sell better. Lack of "status" maybe? It's absolutely perfect for that style. Other than a really high end sports bikes like MV, Aprilla Erik's handles better than most all. Phenomenal cornering and control. They sit just about like all the rest so I don't understand the comfort thing either.
 
#15 ·
Its a hard road, he is a good engineer, but will have to be able to provide parts and service in a timely fashion. Wonder how many dealers that carry other brands will pick up the Buell's? Harley could have kept a great engineer and perhaps improved some of their handling, fuel guage and other really annoying problems that after all these years they should have been able to work out.
 
#17 ·
Good. Having thrown away the hopeless Harley engines and got Rotax on the case, he was nearly there - just stupid styling (now fixed) and under-developed engine management holding him back. Then Harley dropped him...

I hope the engine isn't too old now.
 
#22 ·
I've had a 2003 Buell XB9r and a 2007 XB12S. GREATEST handling bike ever that couldn't stay running off of the lift for a repair for more than 1,000 miles! Buell's ROCK for the handling but really SUCKED for quality....as does that Arnold Schwarzenaeger Austrian built Rotax hunk of crap motor. Go look on the Buell forums and see the massive amounts of expensive problems they have with them....and I won't even tell you the trouble they have getting warranty work done at the Harely dealerships. LOL V-Rodder's have it a lot easier at the stealers! ;)
 
#47 ·
I'm scratching my head over Louis contention that the Rotax engine in the 1125/1190 is stale technologically. Compared to what? From what I can see the only major change Ducati made to bring us the Panigale was to dump the timing belts for timing chains. The rest falls into the normal tuning and tweaking that goes on year after year on all engine designs. Aside from that, the desmo valve gear pre-dates WWII and was used by Mercedes in some 1950s GP engines. That's state of the art? Desmo valve gear was a crutch for weak valve spring steel. It isn't necessary today. The finger follower set up in the heads of that Rotax/Buell engine are the state of the art, and aside from Buell is used only by BMW in the K1200/K1300 engine family and the S1000RR. The K1600 reverted to sized buckets, meaning no shims, you swap the whole bucket if a clearance needs adjustment. Everyone else is still using shim under bucket like the V-Rod uses. Louis calls that a Cosworth design but it dates to the early 1900s and Peugeot, and again in early Moto Guzzi racing singles circa 1924.
Unlike BMW, Rotax/Buell made designed their valve train so changing shims can be accomplished without draining any coolant or removing the cams. It is a very clever design. A plate is loosened allowing the fingers to be slid out from above their valves so the shim can be accessed with the cam still in place. Nice. BMWs take on finger followers is much less maintenance friendly.
Rotax also put the cam chains for each cylinder on opposite sides of the engine, opposite the side of the crank the con-rod rides in order to keep the cam drive and overall engine width narrow. A lot of forward thinking went into the Rotax/Buell engine. Tell us again Louis what engine has a more advanced architecture. I don't see any.
 
#49 ·
LOL! I've asked him that a few times myself. I've quit.

You make great points about when and where all this "tech" originated and how long it has been used. I've said it many times. The Revo falls into that category so why all the fuss over who did what? Nothing much is new, nothing much is unique anymore and most all is a slight variation of previously used designs. What gets lost most of the time is the "reliability" factor. There are radical / race applications and then there are street applications. Short term/long term. The 2 get often get layered. The Ducs and Rotax are not the most reliable or durable. It's a trade-off. Always is.
 
#48 ·
Cheap left over 1125 vs nose bleed expensive 1190? I defy any street rider to use everything the 1125 has on the street. If you think you are going to go faster on your favorite canyon road on the 1190 you are deluding yourself. Buy the 1125 and use the money saved on some well chosen upgrades to the suspension and dyno tuning what you have. There is more capability in that 1125 than any rider can use fully on public roads. You need a race track to exploit the difference between the 1125 and the 1190, and even then few riders are that good. Most of us would circulate the track with the same lap times on either bike.
 
#57 ·
Custom: Bott XR-1

Looks kinda like a Harley XR1200, right? It’s not. That bike makes 85bhp and weighs 573lbs. This bike makes 100bhp and weighs 374lbs. That’s because it’s a Buell motor, wheels, brakes and suspension housed in a custom steel spine chassis. The Bott XR-1 is going to rip.
The XR-1 is the product of Spain’s Bottpower, maker of that impressively intricate steel trellis-framed Moto2 racer and previously a girder front end CBR954RR. The project’s been in the works since last year, when a customer commissioned the firm to build him a Buell street tracker.
“Tt took a lot of time to make it, mainly because we did it thinking in building several units, not just one bike,” Bott’s David Sanchez tells us. “We plan to start selling the kit soon, and we are working on some more special parts and options for this bike.”


The chassis is impressively simple. Simply a steel tube connecting the swingarm pivot to the head stock. Unlike standard Buell’s, the fuel is housed in a traditional tank.

Since the stock swingarm is retained, so is the standard Buell shock position and belt drive. Basically, this thing could quite easily rolled out of the old Buell factory.
“The front fork and 8 pistons brake caliper are from a Buell 1125,” explains David. “Front master cylinder and clutch lever are from ISR (including the push buttons). The bike aslo has a Motogadget display, and an Easton handlebar. Rear shock is an Öhlins from the Buell 1125 race kit.”

The oil cooler is tucked away behind slats in the carbon number board, next to the dinky projector lamps.

A tidy carbon seat/tail/number board completes the incredibly clean package. It appears to be supported by a small aluminum subframe.


 
#60 ·
I like the idea but how the details are executed is everything. One thing I do not like is a fork mounted oil cooler, both from a steering inertia standpoint and because it is vulnerable in even a minor crash.
 
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