Stolen from a UK publication, Bike Magazine. (4.5 Mb File is too big for me to include, but DM me if you'd like me to email it to you?)
#1 Buell Firebolt XB12R
£7745 »1203cc V-Twin »100bhp »135mph
And you thought it would be something from
the mainstream. Erik Buell’s creation may be
oddball, yes, but it’s also supremely satisfying, gifted and
rewarding through corners.
What we have is basically a lumpy, air-cooled, 1203cc
Harley-Davidson engine housed in a tiny chassis with the
geometry of a 250GP racer. It sounds like madness, but the
method uses several innovative techniques to minimise
weight and put what there is exactly where it needs to be for
handling. Fuel is carried in the frame and the exhaust is
under the engine to centralise the mass around the centre of
gravity, oil for the dry sump engine is housed in the swingarm
to dodge the need for an oil tank and allow a short
wheelbase, while the brake disc is mounted to the rim to
allow thinner spokes and lighter wheels. Pegs are high and
narrow and there are no unnecessary features, no clutter,
just the essentials for cornering perfection.
We love the Firebolt on Bike. It looks tall, short and thin,
like a bike built to murder apexes… and it doesn’t disappoint.
Road tester Mike Armitage: ‘It leans, leans and leans before
the pegs eventually skim the surface, going at least as far
over as an Aprilia RS125 or Ducati 999R and covering
ground at an alarming pace. But it does it with much more
stability and poise than the skittish Aprilia and takes far less
effort than the longer, heavier, slower-steering 999R.’
But it isn’t just in the hooligan category that the American
steed shines. Compared with a ZX-6R or the like, the bars
are relatively high and quite close, allowing easy pushing and
pulling for darting past obstructions and counter-steering
your way about the countryside. The thudding, slow-revving
V-twin may not be everyone’s ideal motor – Moto73
magazine’s Koen reckons being ridiculously short with a
weird power sensation of no revs makes it a fun ride, but he
doesn’t rate the big mass of the engine. Or, more precisely,
the heavy rotating internals. But though the vibrating,
shuddering lump lacks a howling top-end rush, it does
supply the expected, easily accessed torque that smears the
rear tyre against the road and kicks the bike out of corners.
It’ll pull strongly from 3000rpm, so it doesn’t matter if you
miss a downshift – get your gear wrong on a 600 or a small
two-stroke and your perfect corner is screwed. Not on this.
That isn’t to say the bike isn’t involving. Yes, it does all the
above, but it needs a rider to tell it what to do – there isn’t the
feeling of being a mere spectator to the cornering process as
there is with, say, a Honda CBR1000RR. The whole machine
feels alive and full of character, the rev range is quite short so
it needs a bit of monitoring and there’s a barrage of feedback
from the front forks. Do what it asks and it’ll change direction
so briskly you feel as if your head is going to spin round.
So it leans for England (well, America) without fear of
anything digging in or running off-line, responds rapidly to
every input and carries huge speed, well within its safe limits
with a predictable, effective yet gentle power delivery. It
remains as stable and composed in fast turns as it is nimble
and accurate in tight switchbacks, keeps you fully engaged
while riding and does it all better than expected. And better
than GSX-R riders expect when you pass them on their
favourite winding road.
That does it for us. ?
