Fred M. -Why can't the Japanese make more competitive bikes?  August 4, 2009 08:36 PM
Why do the Japanese need to have twice as many pistons to compete with the Buell? Why do they have to turn 16,000 RPM to compete with a Buell that redlines at 10,500 RPM? Why do they need to have weights added to the Buell when they already have twice as many cylinders, twice as many firings per revolution of the crankshaft, and a 50% higher (screaming) redline? Why do the Japanese bikes only make about 35hp at 6,000 RPM while the Buell is making 80hp? Why do the Japanese bikes only make about 43 foot pounds of torque when the Buell makes over 80? Why can't the Japanese do innovative things like use the frame to store the fuel and put the heavy muffler below the bike to centralize the mass? Why do the Japanese need two discs and calipers up front when the Buell needs only one? Why don't the Japanese use rim-mounted brake disks to reduce unsprung mass like the Buell does? ______________ See, we Buell fans can trash talk as well as you Japanese fans can -- and be just as illogical. You're hung up on displacement when horsepower is simply (torque x RPM) / 5250. Want to double the horsepower? You can spin twice as fast or you can double the torque at the same RPM. There's nothing more pure, good, decent, or honest about using a lower displacement and spinning faster. There's nothing evil about using fewer cylinders, more displacement, and spinning slower. Neither shows more engineering prowess. Me? I'm buying the bike that works best on the street. F*ck the rules-du-jour in some made-up racing class. You take your 600cc Japanese 4. I'll take my 1125cc V-Twin Buell. The bikes will weigh about the same but mine will be faster and more pleasant to ride. I'll have better roll-on throttle response, less need to row through the gears, and won't get off of the bike with my ears ringing from the screaming high RPMs.

chris -buell 1125 vs 600  April 12, 2009 10:46 AM
Does no one understand what DMG is trying to do? The idea is to have competitive racing, and this class is not a 600 class, it's a basically stock class, and yes the buell requires a larger displacement motor to compete with the 600's. It looks bad, but it's the way it is. In any event, is it not exciting racing? When was the last time people actually spent more than 10 seconds talking about AMA racing? Is it not nice to see 6 different manufacturers in the top 6 positions? Anybody watch World superbike? Ducati is allowed 1200cc to race, and their motor is state of the art as it is, yet still requires a little more displacement to be comptetitive. See who's winning all WSBK? Why no bitching about Ducati's diplacement advantage? Why no bitching about Aprilia yet? I guess that when Chas hits the podium then they will get the same treatment. Take it from someone who races Buell's, the 1125 is in the right class competitively. It has an advantage in HP and TQ, but it's heavier, and regardless of what Buell says, they don't handle as well as the 600's. Racing against 848's is an even match, but 1098's will stop an 1125 (with equal caliber of rider). Every engine has it's own qualities, and twins will always need more cc's to compete with I4's, that's been proven. People also need to start looking at the races to see that the Buell is not the fastest in top end speed, nor is it getting the fastest lap times. Eslick seems to have this bike figured out, and he seems to be able to put together consistent laps. Where was he before the other riders crashed? When you get riders like Hacking and Zemke crashing, the door is open. Remember that this is the first year of this series, and it's going to take everyone a bit to get the feel of what works and what doesn't. It's almost like F-1, and the Brawn team. Fresh out of the box and they're winning, but I'm guessing Ferrari et al will have something say about that in the next few races.

jjsipe -buell  April 7, 2009 03:09 PM
is a joke ,in one of the races he out ran the field by half a mile and added insult by riding a wheelie the last quarter mile ! 599 cc verses 1125 cc somebody at buell manufacturing has alot of pull! sounds like politics to me ? it's not fair to the other riders who make there living racing in the 600 series 599 cc!!!!

Dunclay -Mike  April 5, 2009 08:18 PM
“It's amazing that a v-twinn can compete...or rather...dominate these tricked out 4 cylinder Jap bikes”. Mike, you obviously have no idea of what you are talking about. The 600s are not “tricked out”. Have you even gone to the AMA website and read what modifications can be done to any of the bikes in this class. All of the bikes in this class are very close to stock. The new rules are even stricter than last year’s 600 supersport allowances. I’ll bet you can’t name one “trick” on any of the 600s that isn’t also being used by the Buell.

Joshua -What competition?  April 5, 2009 06:51 PM
Sounds like most of the people Eslick was racing against crashed! I will have to watch the race before I make any accusations.

shnapper -Buell Chit  April 5, 2009 05:53 PM
They need to allow for a Buell only series and let the big twin chase it's own tail.....No need to pick on the small Japanese fours using a bike that clearly has an unfair advantage....