duggram

I strongly disagree that the Buell 1125R is not a good beginners race bike. For sure an 11 year old should not be on this bike. But if you have ridden on the street for a while and have any self restraint it's a perfect racer. The Buell 1125R is a very tractable racer. On my first trackday I was advised to put the bike in a high gear and ride around the track without shifting down. It was amazing to me how easy the 1125 was to ride like this which also gave me the confidence and skill to turn up the wick a little. In just a few track days I am now WFO and enjoying life. BTW I was being facetious about where the bike was built. Thought for sure you would see the humor. Also, I'm not interested where Eric was built. That's too creepy for me.

I forgot to point out that the 1125R Buell engine is made in Austria, the frame in Italy, the suspension in Japan and it's all assembled by gnomes in Wisconsin.

You guys are overlooking a great beginners bike, the Buell 1125R. Lots of torque and enough HP to be exciting. I can stay with the 1098's on a straight. Handles great. The '08s are as low as <$10K now with easy financing. Of course I have one that is used only on the track. My first race, last week, I was in the Beginner class. One of the more experienced guys on a 600 pulled up next to me on the short straight. I looked over at him, down shifted and pulled away. The bike is a lot better than me, but it also takes care of me. My biggest challenge so far is throttle control. The track I visit, Arroyo Seco, is very technical. It's easy to spin the tire with too much throttle. That is my only problem. Although I did get a GPR damper, you could go without it. I better comment on the early problems they had with the 1125. All bikes now are delivered with all recalls done. The only other issue is to buy an intake solenoid replacement piece for $6.00. Oh yah, I've also learned not to up shift with the clutch cause that makes the front come off the ground. The trans is so smooth.

My first race was last weekend. Previously I've attended 4 trackdays. I ride a Buell 1125R at Arroyo Seco, a very technical 12 turn track with an 1800' straight. The rules allow any bike to be entered into a given class as long as it doesn't have more capacity (cylinders or CC's). In the Heavy twins class was an Aprilla RS125. It really is a pretty bike and it is fast in the turns. All riders compete together in this class with no expert/amateur/beginner divisions. I was no match for the two expert riders on their SV650s. I beat'em on the start, they passed me within 3 turns and disappeared. I became cautious, slowed and began trying new lines and shift points. I thought the Aprilla was half a lap back. Half way through the next to last lap the Aprilla went by me going into the tightest turn. It was one of the biggest shocks of my life. I began laughing at the prospect of losing to a 125 when I'm riding an 1125. I knew he was fast in the esses before the straight. By the time we got to the straight he had 100' on me. Then the power came in. I get to just over 130 on the straight. That 125 is no match. I then proceeded to ride my fastest lap of the day! I not only learned the value of staying on point (don't slow down) but that weekend I learned about the amazing cornering ability of that Aprilla RS125. Of course the straights are its biggest enemy. Also, in our organization there is no class that the bike fits into. It would be great for a 125 class but it suffers in all available classes. It is a beautiful bike and really cheap. But I think the frustration with lack of strait line speed is a problem.