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Thread: Buell 1125cr tail mod

  1. #1

    Buell 1125cr tail mod

    Hi guys,
    I’ve been away for some time as I bought a KTM RC8 after selling my XB9S.
    Although the KTM is a great bike and a big improvement over the XB with regards to BHP and the additional 6th gear, it could not prevent me from starting to miss my Buell.
    As it is a bit of a difficult bike to sell, at least in Holland, where in general superbikes are no longer very popular and the KTM is a quite particular bike which you either hate or love, I decided to try and trade it for a bike which is even more difficult to sell; the Buell 1125CR!
    Nobody wants it, which has maybe something to do with the fact that on photos the side scopes seem bigger than they actually are, probably due to the fisheye effect of the lens.
    To be honest I thought the same until I saw one pass my by on the motorway, which was the first one I ever saw. It is that rare in Holland!
    The test-drive was very familiar. The turning of the 1125 is great and feels the same as my XB. However with the additional BHP (almost the same as the KTM) and the 6th gear.
    I was sold in a minute and so was the Buell which I took home with a big pile a cash I got for trading in the KTM. Truth be told, the KTM was brand new with only 5000 km, but so was the Buell which had even lower mileage.
    Besides the great handling, etc, the Buell also permits a little customizing, which I also did on the XB9 and which was impossible on the RC8.
    Without wanting to offend anybody, let’s be honest, Eric Buell might be quite good in the engineering part of building a bike, but the styling of the 1125CR has a lot of improvement possibilities.
    The first thing I’ve decide to start with is the tail section, which is in my opinion to bulky and it does not flow with the lines of the side pods. Also the rear shock absorber is almost invisible, which I think is a shame.
    In the photoshop rendering you can see, what I intend to do.
    I already started to cut the subframe to remove the batterybox, passenger side pegs and all the additional extending parts so it will be possible, hopefully, to swap the bulky plastic bottom of the tail with a flat aluminium sheet. I saw that someone else already made changes to swap the 1125 tail bottom with one of an XB, but I want to go all the way. It will require to swap the battery for a lithium ion one, which is almost half the size.
    This will also mean that the taillight will disappear. Instead I want to add a small taillight to the number plate bracket.
    I also want to cut the lower part of the fairing on both sides so part of the subframe and almost all of the rear shock will become visible. Obviously the subframe will be powder coated after tidying the welding spots a little bit.
    This should further reduce the bulkiness and the tailsection will line up with the sidepods.

    I’m interested to hear any comments or advise in case this modification has been done before!
    Last edited by bikeryoke; 08-06-2015 at 09:28 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Chicknstripn's Avatar
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    I say go for it. It's your bike, make it into exactly what you want. That photoshop rendering looks pretty good. I like where you're going with the modifications.
    Keep us posted.

  3. #3
    Senior Member heagachongoose's Avatar
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    That is how my tail was, I eventually put the tray and undertail back on. As long as you have the small cell battery, you should be good. I dont really like the li-ion batteries, so I opted to keep the original battery configuration.

    What are you doing about the tail light? I will no longer be using the buell tail light and have a rediantz integrated led strip for the tail light.

    If you need an extra subframe, let me know. I know where you can get one cheap.

    Here is what mine will look like once I reassemble. Pm me if you have any questions. Keep us posted on your work, I like your style. PicsArt_1438474439270.jpg

  4. #4
    Senior Member mrlogix's Avatar
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    Hey goose, what air box cover is that?

  5. #5
    Senior Member heagachongoose's Avatar
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    Its one I made. The prototype is made from pieces of a cbr1k tank cover and a buell airbox cover. The interior directs the flow of air down and around into the tb's. It's fiberglass.

  6. #6
    1) make a photoshop rendering
    2) start the actual mod ��

    To be able to have a fully flat panel below the tail piece, all extending brackets as well as the batterytray had to go.
    Here are a few pictures of the subframe during cutting.





    Although it probably only took about 10min to weld everything on the subframe in the factory it took about 4 hours of cutting, grinding, filing and finally finishing it with sandpaper to get everything off again..
    a few pics:







    As the lower mounting point on the subframe will be visible once the tailpiece has been cut, I grinded the welding spots so the are no longer visible. I did not grind the inside of the frame as I do not want to risk weakening the subframe.



    After mounting the subframe back on the bike I was able to put the tailpiece on to see how much the bracket at the back of the subframe which houses the lock of the buddy seat extends below the tailpiece. I was a bit worried that I would have to shorten it to such extend that the locking mechanism would have to be altered do to lack of space, but this is not the case. There is in fact more than enough space as you can see in the next picture



    Now that everything is gone, I could finally fit the first carton mockup I made earlier.



    Does that look clean or what?��
    Last edited by bikeryoke; 08-11-2015 at 04:25 PM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member mrlogix's Avatar
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    nice job. You can do mine next. lol

  8. #8
    as i said, it took hours to do it (and it is not finished yet as the batterytray etc will have to be welded back) and together with shipping to and from Holland, that would probably cost you a small fortune, but thanks for the compliment��

  9. #9
    Senior Member Chicknstripn's Avatar
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    I love what you're doing! True custom tail! Love it. You're modified subframe looks A LOT like an xb subframe. Does the 1125r have the same subframe as an xb?
    Anyway check out pics of xb subframes. You might be able to modify one of em and not require welding.
    Just a thought since the two look so similar.

  10. #10
    Senior Member mrlogix's Avatar
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    mounts are different from what I remember



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