2007 Buell XBRR Photo Gallery

The Buell XBRR has seen a lot of controversy and tribulation in its short existence. We thought we might have a go with America's lone roadracing platform.

Canadian Superbike champ Steve Crevier exhibited the potential of the XBRR while Kenny prepared to test his mettle on the FX machine.

The giant-sized ZTL (Zero Torsion Load) rotor is grabbed by an 8-piston Nissin caliper up front to provide excellent stopping power for the XBRR.

The front suspension is taut and the rear Ohlins shock jarred on the imperfect track surface, but the combination is fully adjustable.

The XBRR's bars are very low and the pegs were equally high, resulting in an extremely compact riding position that forced Ken up on the front of the bike's faux fuel tank.

The 1339cc Thunderstorm V-Twin is claimed to churn out 150 horsepower at its crankshaft (perhaps 135 ponies at the rear wheel), which combined with the purposeful track gearing made for easy power wheelies under acceleration in the lower gears.

As much fun as that V-Twin is, it is not the highlight of the XBRR: It's the chassis.

The 1339cc Thunderstorm V-Twin is claimed to churn out 150 horsepower at its crankshaft (perhaps 135 ponies at the rear wheel), which combined with the purposeful track gearing made for easy power wheelies under acceleration in the lower gears.

Thundering away at the heart of the XBRR is the 1339cc of sweetness generated by the Buell Thunderstorm V-Twin, which pumps out 150 ponies at the crankshaft.

Even with the controvery surrounding its racing inception, there were a lot of enthusiastic fans rooting for the American-based effort.

Getting into the AMA Formula Xtreme championship caused a bit of grumbling from the manufacturers already entrenched in the series, from what they viewed (with some justification) as a creative interpretation of the homologation rules.

Everything about the XBRR is tight as a drum. It responds very quickly to even the slightest rider input, which came as a surprise even after a day of riding the responsive Buell streetbikes on the same course.

After an inauspicious start where he popped the clutch, Kenny got a chance to play AMA rider for a day on the Buell XBRR which contests the Formula Xtreme series.

Shifting through the first few gears revealed a very tight and precise 5-speed transmission and a firm but not too difficult to engage clutch.

Hutch might not fly around the corner quite like a Crevier or McWilliams, but a low-center-of-gravity chassis combined with aggressive steering geometry of the Buell made him feel closer than he imagined.

Returning the $33,000 machine back to the Buell techs with nary a scratch, in his own way Hutch helped the XBRR's Formula Xtreme podium cause by not destroying the limited racing stock.

The XBRR competes against the already-established highly-developed Supersport platforms which provide the basis for the Big Four's FX monsters. Ken estimates the XBRR would hold its own against stock 600s and can say for certainty that it blows away its sibling Firebolt and Lightning models.

The XBRR's fortunes in its inaugural AMA Formula Xtreme campaign got off to a rocky start at the famed Daytona 200, when not even former MotoGP rider Jeremy McWillians was able to bring the Buell across the finish line due to mechanical failure.

Canadian Superbike champ Steve Crevier exhibited the potential of the XBRR while Kenny prepared to test his mettle on the FX machine.