Amazing things happen when you replace the HD engine with a Rotax.
The 1125R/CR was THE bike Erik and company have ultimately wanted to build for a long time. If you read any of the reviews on the CR (don't bother with the R reviews, the fuel mappings and other things really hampered the first year bikes), they have nothing but positive things to say about the bike, which is a first for Buell. It would have been the start of something awesome.
The 1190, which Erik is currently building as a race bike only, was suppose to be the 2011 bike for Buell. That bike as a race bike is doing pretty well on the track right now. Team Pegasus in Europe took delivery of two bikes and on their very first event took the podium with it, and in one race they raced the standard inline 4's from Japan and still won, so there is something to the magic of that remarkable engine from Rotax. Here in the US the team is also starting to put together some wins and take some podiums.
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From Memorial Day Weekend:
Taylor Knapp, of Lapeer, Mich., won the second annual Lucas Oil Superbike Challenge GTO race on his No. 44 Suzuki, posting a 7.030-second margin of victory over Chris Peris on the No. 10 BMW. Geoff May was third, riding the Eric Buell Racing 1190R, with Chris Siglin and Ricky Corey filling out the top five.
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So as you can see, it was the way Buell was finally going to make progress. At least from my perspective. There was a downside though and that is HD. Selling sportbikes at Harley dealerships simply wasn't a great mix. If they could have figured that one out, then maybe they would have had a better shot at things.
One final thing. If you buddy doesn't like the cafe bars (I thought they were too low), there are some high bars that Buell/HD sells. Apparently the kit isn't available anymore, but for the same price as the kit, you can buy the brake line, clutch line, throttle cable, and bars as service parts. I found this made a world of difference on the bike. On the 2010 models that were released, the high bars were stock on the bikes. I love them, but some who switched ended up switching back because they like the cafe bars better.
Wayne