Quote:
Originally Posted by Rider
Yeah but they are no more powerful than a 599cc I-4 
My insurance company bases it's rates strictly on engine size. Why in the world would I pay higher insurance premiums than I would on an R1 but only benefit from the power of an R6? 
I know Buell doesn't give 2 shits about what insurance companies base their premiums upon, but I'd have to imagine that it would affect their overall sales. Which is why If I was Buell Id figure out how to make a 1125R more competitive with a liter bike instead of a 600. 600 riders might have been their intended market, I don't know but you know as well as I do, Americans are obsessed with size. If your going to spend the money on a bike with 1125cc's you should get liter bike performance out of it. Just my thoughts on it.
Again I have nothing against Buell personally. Everything I've heard they are great bikes. As a matter of fact I've never heard a Buell owner complain about them. |
Very good points but you very rarely hear any "boutique bike" owner complain about their machine. I don't know what some of you are talking about but I rode several of the first generation Buells and I'm here to tell you that they were not good. They were using the old HD 1200 motor at the time and the vibration was horrid. They had oil issues, electronic issues, parts literally falling off. Yet to the Buell faithful, they were wonderful machines. The same can be said about Triumphs, Big Dogs, etc. Quite frankly, ownership of a lot of these brands is an emotional decision and facts, figures or even reality itself will not deter the faithful.
Besides, they were hyping the shit out of this new bike before it was released as "competition for the big four" and now that it's here and we expect "competitiveness", all I'm hearing are excuses. This reminds me of when the BMW "Hypersport" came out as a "Hayabusa Killer" only to fall far short of any hope of beating the 'Busa performance wise. Of course afterward it was designed as a "sport tourer" and was never meant to compete against the ZX-14 or 'Busa ...