Buell Dirt bike???

[buelltech]

Ok I know it sounds weird and unlikly but I heard a rumor that before Buell closed there doors they had plans of production of a dirt bike in a few years. Has anyone heard anything about this? I can't see this being true but I thought I would see if anyone else heard of this.

 

[triple7]

Yep, you can read it for yourself in the Erik Buell interview thread! Sux, I would have bought one for sure.

 

[icepop77]

Yup. Rumor is true, so sayeth Erik himeself. www.motorcycle-usa.com has the interview.

 

[TooFst]

They should have kept there focus on the xb's. Insted of dumping so much money into 11's and dirt bikes. They would probily still be around

 

[Red93stang]

Toofst, thats a matter of opinion. The XB is a limited platform, aero package and air cooled motor. Cool bike dont get me wrong. The 1125 is consider a xb platform.

Yes, the dirtbike was true. It doesnt sound like Erik was too excited about the dirtbike. Harley has been looking into the dirtbike market for years that is probably why they put it on Erik's shoulders.

 

[Buellysses]

I agree Stang, I honestly think the 1125 line was what could have kept the company alive and something they should have had out years ago.

He even said in his interviews that liquid cooling was always the ultimate goal of his motorcycles. There is only so much you can squeeze out of the 1203 platform and still make it reliable. What they had out there for XB line was about as far as they could have pushed it with that big lump of iron we all love so much.

 

[konarider94]

the dirt bike market would be really hard to get established in. the companies that exist now have a huge advantage over anyone who would be trying to get into that market. look how hard it was for ktm to catch up to the jap bikes. they had a hell of a time getting their suspension to finally work good. i dont blame Erik for not being excited about it...its almost certain failure. hell look how hard it was for buell to compete with the existing sport bike market...and he has been making sport bikes for a long time.

 

[icepop77]

The 1125 was essential to make inroads into racing. Really, racing is where sportbikes gain their legitimacy. As much as we all LOVE the XB, the greater sportbike population doesn't see it as a legitimate sportbike. The 1125r changed that and is/was the key for allowing Buell to grow as a company.

If HD didn't devour the Revolution engine and "cruiserize" it, Buell might have gained that legitimacy even earlier in the AMA circuit. Buell might even be competing in World SBK at this point if that had happened.

Developing the XB line allowed the 1125 to have a ready made, race worthy chassis. This proves the XB's worth. The XL engine just isn't race worthy in the SBK class (or Sportbike class for that matter).

What would be great, downright awesome, is if a BIG player stepped up and consumed Buell. BMW, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki are all parts of a MUCH bigger operation. If someone like Ford (who declined the bailout, btw) took Erik in and let him build sportbikes under their brand name, imagine what kind of push Erik would get to achieve his vision? It's just a thought, something to ponder.

 

[fahren]

There are some very cool bits of info on Buell's dirt bike plans in this thread I came across:
http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/MotoRelated,20/Buell-MX450f-revealeda-little,783435

 

[fahren]

And if you want to see some incredible innovation and "out of the box" bike design, check out this Spanish trials bike:
http://twostrokemotocross.com/2009/11/revolutionary-new-two-stroke-ossa-tr-280i/
The text is a translation from Spanish, so it sounds like Yoda wrote it ("Mmmmm...A two-stroke you will ride.") but there's a lot of cool detail info.

 

[Sidewinder]

I find it interesting that there's 2 KTMs, Triumph, BMW motorcycles in the vehicles section in the auction site.

Anyways, perhaps if Harley didn't screw Buell by taking the engine now used in the V-Rod or VRSC, whatever they call it now, Buell might have been profitable by getting the product out there sooner.

 

[Red93stang]

Sidewinder, they always have other brand motorcycles laying around factorys. Thats how they keep up with what each other is doing in the manufactoring process.
Harley at one time had a couple of M109R's doing research and had them tore down to the bear bones.

 

[fahren]

Bear bones?

 

[Pockets]

LOL@typo.

 

[03Firebolt9R]

Dirt bike info

 

[nativeXb12Rbuell]

icepop i like what you had to said ,
.. food for thought as for the Vrod Engine.

Roehr Motorcyles is a small company making super sport bikes with the (V-rod) 1250sc 180HP, specially developed supercharged version of the HarleyDavidson 1250cc Revolution engine in it . Now they are the ONLY AMERICAN sportbike company still in production of street legal bikes. wonder if harley is or will stop selling them engines in the future, for fear of the competition, although I dont think they sell very many .. I want one, but I really want a 1125R first to go with my XB12R.
http://roehrmotorcycles.com/specs.html

as for the dirt bike it would been one cool looking bike, but even more competion against it.

 

[bguinn]

WOW,
If an outside company can do this with the VROD engine just think what Erik and Harley could have done with it. That could have been real RC51 competition even without the supercharger. I'm sure Harley could have brought it in for much less than $40K by putting it in the XB frame rather than going to the Rotax.

 

[shakeliner]

have you seen how massive the rev engine is. I think this bike is much too heavy. The rotax is much lighter. The rotax in the rr makes 175 hp na.

 

[loose1]

Here's my version of what a buell dirt bike should have been. More of a super-motard design.
Matt

 

[80rs427]

Loose1, that is a pretty neat Blast! Can you give some more details? How hard was the swingarm and front wheel transplant? I like it!