Erik Buell Racing 1190RS - Exclusive First Ride

[Tpoppa]

http://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle_roadtest/first_rides_articles/11q2/erik_buell_racing_1190rs_-_exclusive_first_ride

[1KPerDay]

After riding it for about 50 laps at Road America, during a test session that had originally been intended for EBR racer Geoff May alone, I was almost speechless. But May, who was trying the street machine for the first time, wasn’t: “This thing is too good to be a streetbike,”

sounds encouraging... 

[ray916mn]

Very interesting. They are clearly morphing the bike a little. The bike last weekend didn't have the CF brake ducts.

The EBR folks were driving by the Round Barn Lodge in Spring Green, WI where we having the MSTA TWiSTAR rally on Saturday and they stopped and unloaded the same bike that Cycle World tested, #11 so we could get a good look.

Go here http://s583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/ray916mn/Buell%201190%20Carbon/ to see a bunch of photos of the bike.

The most intriguing detail to me was the half clam shell swingarm construction, which is shown in the photos. The swingarm arms are not boxed fully, but rather are open on wheel side. The engineer who was with the bike stated the arm was built this way to allow tuned flex.

FWIW

[Rogue]

I remember Honda stating that during racing development of really stiff AL frames that too much stiffness is not a good thing.  So they "tune" the chassis to provide some flexing and improve handling feel and traction.

[falconati]

[2DFlyer]

The most intriguing detail to me was the half clam shell swingarm construction, which is shown in the photos. The swingarm arms are not boxed fully, but rather are open on wheel side. The engineer who was with the bike stated the arm was built this way to allow tuned flex.

Coming from EB it is very interesting.  Doesn't this run contrary to the trilogy of tech?

[Tpoppa]

Coming from EB it is very interesting.  Doesn't this run contrary to the trilogy of tech?

In what way?

[2DFlyer]

In what way?

mass centralization, low un-sprung weight, and stiffness.  I thought the XB's were all about just that and assumed it would carry on.  Tuned flex doesn't sound stiff.

[Brad1445]

All that stuff was forced on him by big bad Harley.

[ray916mn]

mass centralization, low un-sprung weight, and stiffness.  I thought the XB's were all about just that and assumed it would carry on.  Tuned flex doesn't sound stiff.

Tuned flex has been around for a long time and is critical for making a chassis resist chatter when a bike is leaned over. When a bike is leaned over the fork and shock can't compress to the same degree to absorb shock since the impacts are lateral to the suspension, so the frame needs to give a little or else it chatters. Many manufacturers have built flex into the frames, but what EBR has done is to build it into the swingarm. This is departure from previous Buells which not only had a "boxed" swingarm, but used the swingarm as an oil tank. Little flex, and heavier from holding oil are less than desirable attributes for a swingarm since the swingarm represents unsprung weight. Unsprung weight makes proper suspension control difficult. It is also a departure from what every other maker is doing at this time as boxed swingarms are pretty much universal. It is likely this design also helps centralize mass, and allows the frame to be built as stiff as possible, unlike the frames of competitors which have to have some flex built in, since their swingarms are designed to not flex.

[2DFlyer]

Tuned flex has been around for a long time and is critical for making a chassis resist chatter when a bike is leaned over. When a bike is leaned over the fork and shock can't compress to the same degree to absorb shock since the impacts are lateral to the suspension, so the frame needs to give a little or else it chatters. Many manufacturers have built flex into the frames, but what EBR has done is to build it into the swingarm. This is departure from previous Buells which not only had a "boxed" swingarm, but used the swingarm as an oil tank. Little flex, and heavier from holding oil are less than desirable attributes for a swingarm since the swingarm represents unsprung weight. Unsprung weight makes proper suspension control difficult. It is also a departure from what every other maker is doing at this time as boxed swingarms are pretty much universal. It is likely this design also helps centralize mass, and allows the frame to be built as stiff as possible, unlike the frames of competitors which have to have some flex built in, since their swingarms are designed to not flex.

I've heard of it in context of other mfg but never Buell's especially with the XB into.  But I guess all this is just Buell continuing to go against the grain.  Gotta love it.

[Tpoppa]

The 1190RS definitely looks cool & the review is quite positive.  I am still waiting to see:
1.  How competitive it will be on the track, and
2.  What the dealer network is going to look like for the 1190RS and the other EBR models that are in the works.