2009 Buell 1125CR Street Fighter First Ride

The all-new 2009 Buell 1125CR. Motorcycle USA tests out the 1125CR. Buell's contemporary vision of a cafe racer on the street and track in Germany. Check out the video and then read the full review at www.motorcycle-usa.com

[@MountainStorm]

1125r here and I love it. 10K miles running stronger every mile

[@cms1172]

I just bought one of these things and wow does it ride nice, handling is awsome. And that is after riding an XB12 for the last 3 years.

[@whylie74]

HD is what went wrong with Buell, Imo we would've all been better of if the take-over was the other way around or HD had been left to go belly up in the 80's.

[@hellbentftw]

lol Millions of HD owners would likely disagree. Buell's problem was Eric Buell. Although a brilliant engineer, history shows he's a horrible businessman.

[@sfgiantsfan9136]

xtremedad71 umm buddy you got your facts wrong. hd bought another plant during the recession, when they literally didn’t sell enough bikes to use it. Then when they were loosing a ton of money they made buell pay them a certain amount per engine they build, it was 115,000$ at the end of the year. So then they blamed buell and cut them off. Hd is a bunch of retards trying to make motorcycles to compete with 1950s technology

[@hellbentftw]

@@sfgiantsfan9136 Eric's history of getting screwed over is well established. I.E. horrible businessman

[@rebelyell22]

I wish Buell was still in business

[@msrcracing8387]

great review thanks. Im looking into buying a used 2009 1125Cr

[@wilsonpd64]

well you just made your country really proud. wherever your from. God bless

[@mrbrunse]

i love it, i love it, i love it! i´m looking forward to ride one in late march.

[@misternippster]

its nice to hear good things about the CR... im trading in my XB as soon as possible!!!!

[@jboy2621]

It would have been nice for Harley to continue Buell brand with a Blast replacement in form of their new water-cooled Revolution V-twin (Street 500/750). Hopefully EBR lives on.

[@hockeyhotdog11]

They are, just not for public. However, Eric Buell has made hints to coming back.

[@RickOAA]

@germankid93: Well, then, if that is your stance then all I can tell you is to read the book or any insider article written on the situation. Harley hasn't made any large investment into Buell since buying a majority stake in the late 90's,

[@LuigiRoosendaal]

I'm gonna get mine in begin Januari ... can't wait to get the ride ... what color ... WHITE ... most exclusive in Europe !!!

[@RickOAA]

@germankid93: That is very inaccurate, At the time of their closing Buell was their fastest growing market segment and they had been funding their own projects for years. Steve Anderson wrote an article for Cycle World titled The Demise of Buell that explains the story. It was a decision to strengthen H-D's image, not finances. H-D's own financial wing shot them in the foot years ago. That was the true root of their troubles. They took a huge loss offing Buell and now MV.

[@RobertMayfair]

I want to see Buell make an equivalent to the 1198. It's well within their capabilities and it would really do wonders for them. Rather than competing with 600s, the 1125 engine needs to be doing battle with 1000s.

[@porcupine34]

just bought one today in black !!!

[@skeeterbuggy]

ugly is only skin deep.just like the vw beetle of many years ago. this bike has the heart of a champion thru and thru. the next 5 years are going to be awesome for this bike and company.

[@DJSL485]

I ride a harley now, but i wish buell still made bikes for sale. Then I could have my hd for easy relaxed rides and the buell for when I go hit the canyons with my friends. Hope they have luck with EBR maybe theyll come back.

[@germankid93]

@RickOAA well from the point of view of the majority of Harley (not Buell) owners the XR is Harley's own version of a Buell. Harley was also tasked with funding Buell since Harley kind of owned Buell, While Harley may have done a very poor job at marketing Buell, the fact is that Harley dumped large amounts of money into Buell. Harley saying they want to "focus effort and investment on Harley" means they don't want to keep spending money on a company that doesn't make any money back.

[@nickslick]

had the r, now the cr. the best!

[@RickOAA]

@fryloc359 If they were properly supported to begin with they would've been much better off. H-D always showed quite a bit of restraint in not fully allowing Erik to spread his wings. Buell was offed right before they unveiled what would've been their first sport bike with main stream appeal.

[@germankid93]

@RickOAA that is my stance and it is based on info I have from people who actually work at Harley

[@RickOAA]

@germankid93: The XR and Buells are not nearly comparable IMO. Harley was tasked only with marketing and selling Buell, both jobs of which they did poorly. The official press release: The fact is we must focus both our effort and our investment on the Harley-Davidson brand, as we believe this provides an optimal path to sustained, meaningful, long-term growth. We believe we can create a bright long-term future for our stakeholders through a single-minded focus on the Harley-Davidson brand.

[@misternippster]

they just compared the 1125r to the kawi 600, and it was faster on the track. yes its ugly but it still performs. why bother leaving comments if its negative and you arent even basing it on any facts.

[@KingDookies]

The suspension is really uh.... sorted. You can change it pretty uh... pretty good. We were changing it all over giving it more uh.. well, more everything like.... compression rebound uh... People aren't a fan of the brakes but they're uh... really uh... quite good. It's uh... definitely a sports machine. The transmission is really really good. This bike is really really really good. What a shit host.

[@fotoflorian]

y cant u guys post the vids in HD???

[@germankid93]

@RickOAA H-D decided that since Buell had never made any money since launch, it wouldn't really make sense to keep funding them. I too wish they hadn't dropped them

[@enderwiggen100]

do they even export to europe or asia?

[@hzuiel]

@germankid93 Agreed on the second point, but I'd like to see these numbers you're talking about. Numbers can lie though, companies shift stuff around for their own nefarious purposes all the time. They could easily hide the money brought in by buell merchandising and the money made by their dealerships servicing buells. There's just been a huge strike at verizon over trying to slash employee benefits, because they claimed their landline service is losing money, when in reality they are using

[@Kendye346]

Nice bike but they need to increase the budget on these videos a bit. They are soo basic good god. I love Buells though. All American designed and built, arguably the best engine available for a motorcycle, and overall a great company with CEO Erik Buell at the helm. I can't wait to sell my ninja and grab an XB 12.

[@hzuiel]

@fryloc359 Why? there are many HD dealers that sell other bikes that aren't even associated. The HD dealer around here is also an authorized bmw motorcycle dealer. Most car dealerships sell at least two brands of cars, like ford and toyota, or kia and hyundai. I think HD had a good idea when they realized that the younger generation is growing away from cruiser bikes and brought erik buell back on board to make bikes. Somehow they forgot about that good idea and shat all over everything.

[@tank5617]

im pretty sure theyll come back they should

[@ExpressionOfShock]

An 1125 is a bit too big for me - I'm not into bikes for crazy performance or anything. But I've gotta say, that bike is so fucking sick looking. It's... Jesus.

[@germankid93]

@hzuiel just because something is priced over dealer invoice doesn't mean the company makes money. The amount of money that company spends to develop and produce the product still has to be eclipsed by the money made from selling products and service and that did not happen with Buell.

[@germankid93]

@RickOAA that's actually not highly inaccurate since it's coming from someone I know who is pretty deep in the Harley chain of employees. Yeah H-D did shoot themselves in the foot years ago and then shot themselves in the foot again when they fired a large majority of their staff, but still left a lot of the stupid people to work. I'm almost positive you're wrong that H-D tossed Buell for trying to change their image because right H-D is trying to replicate the exact image Buell had a la XR1200

[@RickOAA]

@germankid93: Unless those guys were an active part in those decision making processes, I wouldn't put much stake in that.

[@ridethatslapthat]

my dad has a Buell Cyclone... after having it for 3yrs its broken day atleast once every month and he has to get it serviced each time. hot bike but bullshit.

[@fryloc359]

@RickOAA HD should have sold Buells separate from their own bikes rather than in the same dealers.

[@nieseba2]

I'm so glad that I don't have to put one of those huge freakin' Euro license plates on my bike! Lol

[@hzuiel]

@germankid93 those landlines as the backbone of their wireless network, which is profiting massively. Not to mention fios and dsl internet sales. They're playing a shell game with their numbers to make it look like they can't afford to pay their employees the agreed upon wage the unions already negotiated, and was agreed upon. Buell could be no different. I've found from being a buell owner, that most of them are loyal customers, who HD pissed all over.

[@costasgeorgiou5015]

Why go to German for a release of a bike from Wisconsin?! 1:47

[@evodgamehunter4290]

Lets take a moment to remember the real Buell Motor Company and not the LAP BS

[@maggotpuke]

what a badass fucking job. i hate you...but i got my 1125r.

[@CBRboy1717]

Holy crap! Adam Waheed actually liked a motorcycle??? He always seems to tear bikes apart in the comparos.....

[@mateo3713]

actually buells are really popular in europe lol

[@B06LBHEAD]

It's not a street fighter it's a Cafe racer (cafe racer owns ;D)

[@Texarmageddon]

Harleys should have been canned. Only bikes they have worth a damn would be the V-rod series and those bikes are Overpriced for what they are....Despite the part dilemma I'll still pick up a 1125cr and for cruisers I'll only go Victory.

[@hzuiel]

@germankid93 I know exactly what is involved in turning a profit and it's still horse crap. There is no way that buell was losing money when using many parts from HD's stockpile and in the final years, buying engines from rotax. Plus the RD that was done, often benefitted HD because it presented ways to improve their own engines and spawned patents which could have been utilized to gain an advantage over competition or leased to other companies for production rights.

[@toobularmarketing]

APRIL 1, 2012 - I have a 2009 Buell 1125CR for sale..only 340 miles on it, custom exhaust in perfect showroom condition. Email me for details.

[@GermanSniperBayArea]

buell is trying to take a shot at the japinese sport bikes with this ogre? i know the hayabusa isnt the most sexy bike out there but i find the looks of this bike hidious.

[@jimbaroch8871]

an 8 valve cylinder head, wow thats a first hahahahaha

[@lukie69]

@curtmastor Yeah man ;-)

[@60viking]

Vevaxx you didnt say where you come from but it must be Toykyo. the v max gave you away.

[@hzuiel]

@germankid93 Buell not making money is crap though, lots of buells sold, and the stealerships sold their typical overpriced merchandise to buell riders too. A buell riding suit was overpriced just like a harley one, and they got to sell generic oil and filters with the HD name on it and charge people 40 or 50 bucks for a simple oil change, and 65 dollars an hour for service. All the buell manuals say bring it to a HD dealer and only use HD products in and on the bike.

[@RickOAA]

To make things clear, Buell hasn't gone out of business. H-D decided that Buell did not fit in their business plan and shut them down. There's a huge difference. It is an outrage. I hope H-D the worst. Buell was the only innovative product they had.

[@vwflat4driver]

3 things would actually be 1. does the buyer rider like it? 2.can he/she afford it? 3.go like the clappers,stop faster than a nun in a compromising position, turn!

[@dirtdawg21892]

why would you go to germany to ride an american bike? sweet bike btw

[@lukie69]

@germankid93 Facts are Harleys make the company a lot of money, they are over sized, and over priced but dumb middle age men buy them because number 1: they think are going to look cool, and relive their youth number 2: because middle class, middle aged guys can afford them, number 3: they don't want a machine to go fast through corners, just want a bike that goes in a straight line, makes a lot of noise, and did i mention "makes them look cool" The recession hit Harley, Harley fucked off Buell!

[@tpooleATL]

thats the most ignorant thing i've ever read. buell makes the best handling bikes on the road its a fact.

[@steady2wheels]

they roar?? I thought they screamed.. like a girl runnung away from a booming european twin?

[@hagaxxx]

for the price of this bike you get two Z750, one in green and one in black...thereofore is not worth the investment value for money. and also you want to sell it after a while you´ll get not even to buy yourself a damm bier. Sorry but in europe is like this.

[@raynic1173]

How can you review this bike and not talk about those freakin' bizarre intakes, talk about the 'elephant in the room'!

[@deepsudeep]

as good as any japanese bikes lol

[@lukie69]

@backintack The reason they are not, is because Harley didn't want to down size, and they fucked up, by making to many Harleys (then the recession hit) so they binned Buell... I hate them for doing it!!!! Buell were world leaders in technological advancement in the motorcycle business (frame design, under bike exhaust, all the centre of gravity ethos etc) now the the modern super-bikes of today have followed suit. But the stupid oversized out-dated Harleys are still been made WTF. SHAME :-(

[@HybridSprinter08]

too bad their going out of business...

[@hagaxxx]

Are you american? Only that can explain such sad comment. Read again...I was not saying nothing about bad riding, what I said is that it has a quite high price.

[@colew8g]

buellshit? if hes had it for three years and breaks down every month, he should have bought a warranty, If he does have one, he should of complained a lot more, a lot earlier. I'm pretty sure they don't want to loose a valuable customer due to perhapspe a lemon motorcycle...

[@ronanrogers4127]

Shitty exhaust note

[@JohnAnthonyDorian]

come get some? xD its the ugliest bike i've ever seen. no wonder nobody drives buell bikes in europe or asia