Erik Buell Racing EBR 1190RS - First Look

[whodom]

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_news/first_looks_articles/11q1/erik_buell_racing_ebr_1190rs_-_first_look

 

[JamesG]

AKA: what the 1125R should have looked like in the first place and perhaps HD wouldn't have been able to cans Buell and Erik wouldn't be reduced to building a handful of boutique bikes that most of us will have no chance of owning....

[Schneegz]

Way to go, Buell!    I'm not too crazy about the exhaust, but other than that is looks great.  Besides, who keeps the original exhaust on a superbike?  It's pretty unique, too.  It doesn't stand out quite as much as a KTM RC8R, but it won't blend in with the other superbikes, either.  

Now, let's see how it does in AMA Superbike racing.

[Schneegz]

I love these last lines.

And also be assured that Erik Buell doesn’t plan on being in just the boutiquesport bike business; he intends to follow these $40,000-plus machines with more affordable versions. But as the first products of EBR, it shows what Mr. Buell can do unencumbered by Harley bureaucracy and product planning.

No kidding.

[Schneegz]

More pics from Asphalt and Rubber:

[falconati]

Looks phenomenal, sans exhaust.  Congrats to Erik and his team.

[Rogue]

Very nice.  

Are those what I think they are?  Cooling ducts for the front brake caliper?

[JamesG]

Yeah, looks like it.

I dig the exhaust. They are like an homage to 2 stroke stinger cans.

[R Doug]

AKA: what the 1125R should have looked like in the first place and perhaps HD wouldn't have been able to cans Buell and Erik wouldn't be reduced to building a handful of boutique bikes that most of us will have no chance of owning....

+1

Yeah, looks like it.

I dig the exhaust. They are like an homage to 2 stroke stinger cans.

+1

[Rincewind]

I love all the carbon fiber, Ohlins, and lack of pods.  But $40k is quite the chunk of change!  

[veefer800canuck]

I love all the carbon fiber, Ohlins, and lack of pods.  But $40k is quite the chunk of change!  

Price is expected to exceed $40,000 for the Carbon Edition

So I assume that a bike with ABS bodywork and a lower spec of suspension components, etc, will be cheaper.

For reference:

2011 Ducati 1198 R Corse $39,995  

[Tyrroneous]

As a Buell fan, I've been waiting to see this for quite a while now.    Although, from the limited pictures available, I think the Barracuda had a better looking front end.  I'm not a huge fan of the stacked headlights.  Overall though, very sweet and that tail section and trussed bracing is full of win.  If the package proves reliable in race trim, there is NO way they can't be competitive.    

I'm curious about the wheels.  The bike shown in the photos has two different sets of wheels on it.  Which ones are the super-duper low weight wheels?  

[Rogue]

I doubt if a "lower priced" version gets down to less than $20k.

[Schneegz]

More from Cycle World's Facebook Page: Gotta love this new media stuff.  In the old days we'd have waited at least another month for all these pics.




Here's the new muffler, which seems to confirm reports that it's designed to be easily removed.  Also, you can clearly see the main under-body muffler.  





I don't think I've ever seen so much carbon fiber in one place at one time!




Adjustable rear sets.



The new front brake.





Gee, I wonder why this thing is so stinking light!



Lucky bastard!

[Fourstring]

Any specs release yet?  

[Mastros2]

Wow!  And Yeah!  

[Kootenanny]

I hope Mr. Wandell is shittin' his pants...this coulda been released by a wholly-owned subsidiary of his company, but nooooo....

[Kootenanny]

Oh, BTW--I think the 1190 looks great, but...hmmm...until they come out with, say, a 750 version (at a more affordable price point) I think I'll be sticking with my XB9R.  I have enough trouble keeping my license clean on that...

[Rogue]

I hope Mr. Wandell is shittin' his pants...this coulda been released by a wholly-owned subsidiary of his company, but nooooo....

I doubt if he cares.  He has his Golden Parachute to fall back on if the H-D BOD fires him for not bringing H-D back to profitability.  Besides, it wasn't just him.  Most, if not all of H-D upper management were pretty happy to let Buell go.  What they should be shittin' their pants on is how to bring younger customers back into the H-D showrooms.  I can tell you this, I've been to their showrooms to buy Buell parts.  I'm probably the youngest guy in there and I'm not that young anymore!  All their clients are old and all their bikes looked older!  H-D is not investing anything in the future of the company.  They just want to keep selling bikes to the Geezer Glide crowd.  

It's really a stark contrast to when I enter a Honda/Kawasaki/Yamaha dealership.  These places have a lot of younger people in them.  

[Squidbuzz]

The whole younger crowd thing will be a problem.  Living in Milwaukee I get an interesting viewpoint of this and way too much information from people who think they are in the know.

The new HD custom order stuff is something they think will help, but I don't think so.  There are some younger HD owners in the area, but not as many as HD would like.  If they can't get the younger crowd in their own hometown, how do they expect to get it in other parts of the world.

As for Buell being the answer, I'm not sold there either.  The new bike is awesome, but I'm NOT that rich.  Hell, he could half the price and it would still be pretty steep for me.  So how does he figure on getting things out to the masses.  Apparently not for a while.  Maybe teaming up with BRP or Victory might be a better answer.