Ultimately I think Erik Buell's innovations don't apply as well to racing as they do to the street. Racing has advanced to the point it has sooo very little in common with the street that any innovations in either area are transferring less & less to either area. Buell's own XBRRs didn't use a belt drive which is a great example of what I'm saying. Buell's innovations are VERY effective for street racing which usually only lasts a few seconds. AMA races lasts 1/2hr+. No street race or run from the police on a motorcycle lasts 1/2hr+.
For sure! Look how far things have come. If you would've told me when I bought my first 1200cc buell that someday I could have a Heritage Softail Classic that would out run it in a straight line, I would've ask for a hit of what you were smokin' ! now I own one... no joke my 114 which I added a stage 2 kit to (cam exhaust air cleaner and tuner) is seriously faster than my Ulysses. A 700lb bike!and to BB's point, the only perfect bike is the next one.
Racing still very much has to do with street bikes. Even more so today. You can buy a new sport bike like a Ninja 400 for $6k, that has ABS.Originally Posted by VtwinXB12
But now that the 'recipe' for building a fast 2 wheeled machine is pretty perfected, you need to focus a bit. You won't see the 1/2* of rake change in the new MT-09, but you'll feel it. Wings, and other aero are obvious but racing innovation now comes mostly in the form of electronics and tire tech. Things like slide control, rear lift mitigation, wheelie control, lean angle sensitive ABS, and the fact that you can drag a knee, on the street, in the rain on your street bike.
The belt thing was not any "innovation" by Erik Buell. It was mandated by Buells parent company, to make them more 'relatable' to the H-D crowd. Including the 1125's.
Buells weren't sold out of dealers as racing bikes. The solutions to getting a racing motorcycle to go faster around a track do not always apply to a street motorcycle. If you want a racing motorcycle for the street, it's not gonna be a Buell. Ducati Desmodici, BMW HP2, HP4, Kawasaki H2RR. The BMW maintenance manual for the HP2 says the 5000 mile service requires a new engine. A new engine. See what I mean about assuming racing is better?
Fer sher! POWA! 800ccs with 140hp, and in a 360-ish lb package is no joke here either, and most performance bikes are even better HP/Lb than that today in 2021.
800cc! Thats less volume than 2 pints of beer, and they stuffed 140 horses in there!
Diavel, Rocket III, and again with the H2R... man today is a great day to be a motorcycle enthusiast (before they make us all go electric). I wonder how they figured out how to get that much power out of a relatively small motorcycle engine? Hmmm....
165HP out of 30.5 cubic inches.....on gasoline pre-mix....normally aspirated...in a 255 pound package of dynamite.
world GP500 champ, the beloved Wayne Gardner, explains it best. "You need to understand these things very well before you touch the trigger." one of the top 5 statements in cycling history.
2.jpg
Last edited by Barrett; 04-21-2021 at 05:20 PM.
Are you referring to the MV Agusta deal?
There's just nothing better on two wheels IMO than splitting lanes @ 2x+ the posted limit on my XB12r howling so loud you can hear it echo off the buildings on BOTH sides of the 5 lane boulevard. If I would've had something like this in 1995 I'd be dead w/out a doubt.
Last edited by VtwinXB12; 04-21-2021 at 08:48 PM.
For me there's better things, like living long enough to watch my kids grow up. You do you though...
I didn't say in life I said 'ON TWO WHEELS'.
Lets see here...
There's just nothing better on IN LIFE IMO than splitting lanes @ 2x+ the posted limit on my XB12r howling so loud you can hear it echo off the buildings on BOTH sides of the 5 lane boulevard. If I would've had something like this in 1995 I'd be dead w/out a doubt.
Oh, well yeah thats totally different. I don't know what that RidetheLightning guy was thinking.
But don't let us stop you. 2021 could be your year for splitting lanes @ 2x+ the posted limit.
That is an interesting formula... 2x+ the posted limit? Wouldnt it have been easier to just write "3x the posted limit" ?
If the speed limit is 55mph. 2 x 55mph + 55mph = 165mph
or 3x 55mph = 165mph.
You may need to trade up to at least an 1125, unless you are sticking to side streets.
PS. Hey RidetheLightning, I will probably pick up my fuel pressure gauge and cam sensor NEXT week.
Last edited by 34nineteen; 04-21-2021 at 09:50 PM.
Posting Permissions
