W hen Buell came out with their liquid-cooled 1125R, everyone was anxious to find out how it stacked up to other sport bikes. Most were impressed, and they should all take a look at the 1125CR naked version.

With just as much power as the “R," and a slight re-gearing, the “CR” is even better for day-to-day. It has so many changes from the “R” that it should be looked at as its own bike.

It stays true to the Buell spirit of doing things its own way, and along with that comes the attitude only a big bore V-Twin can offer.

Full specs and review under ARTICLE tab above.

SPECS:
MSRP: $11,999
146HP @ 9,800rpm
82ft. lbs. Torque @ 8,000rpm
375lbs. Dry Weight
5.3 gal. Tank

Photos and VIDEO at right.
Test drive courtesy of High Country Harley Davidson

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By Matt Wessels

W hen I walked up to the Buell 1125CR I immediately had an aversion. It looked like a transformer - a smaller bastard cousin of the Suzuki B-King. They say first impressions are important. What they usually forget to say is that poor first impressions can be overcome by impeccable character.

With my abnormally-tall inseam I straddled the beast, with plenty of room to spare, and thought to myself, "Great, here we go again."

When I started the CR, the stock exhaust note surprised me. The fact that the dash and mirrors didn't rattle off the bike, like they do on Thunderstorm-engined machines, left a good impression. The shorter gearing from the "R" was instantaneously noticed. The same featherweight clutch greeted me, and the bike pulled authoritatively towards a stop sign. I really didn't want to stop, but the "CR" obediently obliged.

As I pulled onto the highway I was again surprised by the fantastic torque curve - first gear topping me out at 65mph. At highway speeds the mirrors shook so hard everything reflected was a blur. But that's the case with most stock mirrors these days. Besides, there are more pressing things at hand, like comfort.

Depending on arm length, wind can be an issue without a fairing, but I found a nice little pocket where I was floating on the wind. Added to this "bodily aero suspension" there is very little to see up front. The display is there, but who wants to look at it and spoil the feeling of flying? The CR, with its forward position and small frontal footprint really creates the illusion of no limits; the rider is simply flying in space.

This experience is where my prejudice against the Buell faltered. A smile cracked on my face, and things were all gravy as I pulled off the highway and onto a back road.

The illusion of soaring disappears when approaching a corner, especially a sharp one. Being a fairly large American V-Twin, one would expect it to do the drag-racer-faced-with-corner routine: explode. Lucky for me, it's a Buell. It dug its huge paws in and swiveled. No longer was I flying without a care. I had been teleported into a P-51, destined to shoot down every corner. There must be another attack, another dive into and out of a sinuous track of adrenaline. When you get to the top as victor, there's no reason not to turn around and do it all over again. If a rider gets caught up in the moment, the ZTL2 brakes, with just one rotor up front, slows things down in a hurry.

Thus, in the end, after quite a few hours of riding, I am ashamed to say the keys had to be wrestled from me after a long and reluctant goodbye. I will be back again sometime soon.

THE FEATURES
Even though the "CR" is much smaller than the "R," it's still quite a large bike. Those with a shorter inseam are going to have to order the shorter, factory available seat, and probably lower the suspension a little.

The instrument cluster provides all the information one would want, from MPG to lap times, speed and RPM.

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2009 Buell 1125CR

2009 Buell 1125CR

The naked version of Buell's water-cooled 1125R comes to town with square shoulders.

PHOTOS

VIDEO

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