Driving report EBR 1190 RS Special Edition

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Driving report EBR 1190 RS Special Edition
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Driving report EBR 1190 RS Special Edition

Second chance

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With Harley-Davidson behind them, Buells once vied for a special sportbike clientele. Now loner Erik Buell is returning to the world stage, with Indian millions, American perseverance and possibly new customers.

When I got the last B.When I tested it, I woke up at the University Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Five days later, Harley suddenly shut down the Buell halls forever, making me the last crasher of this brand. To this day I deny any connection between my cold forming of the 1125 RR prototype and the Harley-off for Buell – the repair would not have been that expensive.

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Driving report EBR 1190 RS Special Edition

Driving report EBR 1190 RS Special Edition
Second chance

All-American bike


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The fine carbon of the EBR 1190 RS Special Edition is particularly striking.

So the premium model of this plan now stands before me. In addition to the fine carbon, the Ohlins chassis and the one in Michigan from M & A Castings made magnesium wheels catch the eye. When I finally swung my leg over the rear, the EBR 1190 RS seems pretty high to me despite the sparse racer upholstery. Once it rolls, on the other hand, you sit very gathered on the two-cylinder superbike – and not all that uncomfortable for taller pilots. The stubs were inclined a bit far down for my taste, but every rider can decide for himself with the adjustable handlebar ends.

The sound of the Rotax engine is a statement. The water-cooled engine still sounds like an old-school twin – monumental, with the earth shaking under your feet with every turn of the throttle. Nevertheless, the harassment of sensitive neighbors remains within acceptable limits. Rotax twin? There are several stories about the origins of this engine, which was delivered to Wisconsin for the Buells from Austria. This is no longer the case today, the EWC is almost an all-American bike.

Be that as it may, the engine is not noticeable due to vibrations thanks to balancer shafts. The pressure around the bottom fits very well with everyday life, but if you reach 7000 rpm, the storm sweeps away. This is partly due to the relatively low centrifugal mass, which has been significantly reduced compared to the original 1125 Rotax of the last Buell models and thus increased the freedom of rotation. The RS picks up the throttle with an earthy twin grumble, without oversleeping the right start. Despite the lack of ride-by-wire, you don’t have the feeling that the grip on the Pirelli Supercorsa SP could tear off in an uncontrolled manner under the powerful torque if the throttle grip was turned too briskly. This has nothing to do with harmlessness, because the front wheel still rises to the power wheelie with dedicated effort, which is why we adjusted the setup and were able to iron out this wheelie desire, especially at the exit of the curve.

Only the translation was clearly too long


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The high-tech cockpit does not need a special display for traction control and the like.

The gear changes went smoothly even without an automatic gearshift, which I can expect in this price category. Only the translation was clearly too long. On the short test track of Blackhawk, with seven mostly brisk bends over three kilometers, almost everything went in second gear, and that was noticeable even on the country road lap. At the back of the 16/41 gear ratio, at least three teeth are missing for the chain. You heard that right, chain! Followers of the old Buell toothed belt drive have to come to terms with this paradigm shift.

Which does not apply to the brake. There Erik Buell holds on to the large mono brake disc along the rim. In contrast to many test colleagues, I think that’s not bad at all and also attribute the fine handling of the EBR to the reduced rotating mass of this design on the front wheel. Although the test bike required a lot of hand strength until the pads of the eight-piston pliers from Nissin could bite into the disc accurately, I didn’t notice anything of the moment of erection, fading or pulsing in the brake lever.

The bike feels like super sport


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The EWC constructed in this way is incredibly nimble and can be wonderfully tossed from one side to the other.

Perhaps the US Superbike has a disadvantage compared to the four-cylinder armada in the Superbike World Championship when it comes to acceleration, and it lacks a good 15 to 20 HP of top-end power. In return, the smaller and leaner EWC is much more agile. No wonder with a steering head angle of 68 degrees and a caster of only 86 millimeters.

But the frame construction also speaks volumes. In contrast to Ducati’s pseudo-monocoque in the Panigale, the EWC frame is a real monocoque for proponents of pure doctrine, which in addition to the engine as a supporting element also absorbs the 17 liters of fuel and the total weight to 176 kilos (with water and oil, without gasoline).

The EWC constructed in this way is incredibly nimble and can be wonderfully tossed from one side to the other. The feedback from the Ohlins fork is formidable, and without any sign of understeer when exiting a curve, the 1190 could be whipped with relish over the front wheel through even the tightest corners. Despite road-related add-on parts such as indicators, license plate holders, etc., the weight distribution was very sporty with 53 percent on the front wheel.

Even on the racetrack, the bike just doesn’t feel like Superbike, but more like Supersport, and so I increase the speed lap by lap over the entire cornering phase, until I remember my fall with the last Buell, who made me feel with similar manners, but then brutally promoted into botany without traction control. So as not to mess it up with Erik for good, I quickly take the 1190 RS back up at the exit of the bend, because it doesn’t have an electronics package either. At the moment, because in the Superbike World Championship one will be used that will soon be transferred to the series.

PS data


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The Rotax with the outwardly unchanged heads to the last Buell engine got more stroke, larger inlet openings and titanium valves. The relatively low flywheel makes it easy to turn.

drive
Two-cylinder V-engine, four valves / cylinder, 128 kW (174 PS) at 9750 / min *, 132 Nm at 9400 / min *, 1191 cm³, bore / stroke: 106 / 67.5 mm, compression: 13.6 : 1, ignition / injection system, 61 mm throttle valves, hydraulically operated multi-plate oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, chain.

landing gear
Light metal monocoque, steering head angle: 68 degrees, caster: 86 mm, wheelbase: 1407 mm, Ø inner fork tube: 43 mm, spring travel from / h .: 120/130 mm

Wheels and brakes
Cast magnesium wheels, 3.50 x 17 / 6.00 x 17, front tires: 120/70 ZR 17, rear: 190/55 ZR 17, 386 mm single disc brake with eight-piston floating calipers at the front, 220 mm single disc with single-piston fixed caliper at the rear.

Weight (without fuel): 176 kg *,
Tank capacity: 17.1 liters of super
Base price: 33800 Euro (plus ancillary costs) *

EWC 2014 in the Superbike World Cup


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The US brand should serve the Indians as a development engine for large bikes and as an image carrier worldwide. That is why the EBR racers compete in the Superbike World Championship with large hero advertising and as Team Hero EBR.

In addition to Ducati, a second manufacturer will compete in the Superbike World Championship with twin engines in 2014: EBR. The money for the adventure comes from Hero MotoCorp, India’s top two-wheeler producer (6.2 million motorized two-wheelers in 2012), which initially separated from Honda after almost 30 years of partnership and in July for an estimated 18 million euros 49.2 percent of the EWC Shares took over. The US brand should serve the Indians as a development engine for large bikes and as an image carrier worldwide. That is why the EBR racers compete in the Superbike World Championship with large hero advertising and as Team Hero EBR.

In order to be allowed to start in the world championship, EBR must have produced 125 machines as a homologation basis by the start of the season. There must be 375 by June 30, 2014 and 1000 at the end of the season. The series vehicle is expected to come onto the market as the EBR 1190 RX for around 14,000 euros. The successful AMA racing motorcycle is called the RS, of which there will now be an expensive, premium version with street legal approval.

Interview with Erik Buell: "We’ll soon be operating worldwide again"


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Happy about the end of Harley and the arrival of the Indian giant Hero: Erik Buell with his baby.

In 2009, Harley shut down Buell here. What has happened since then?
Buell: The end of Buell opened up a number of opportunities for me to do what I wanted, namely to build real and independent racing bikes, which would not have been possible with Harley. Now 110 people work here again – with 60 I have significantly more engineers at EBR than I used to do at Buell. In total, around 30 more should be added by the time the RX is launched this year. And we have temporary Hero engineering teams here.

How did Hero come to EBR?
Buell: I was introduced to Pawan Munjal a few years ago. We hit it off right away. He has a vision and is also an engineer.

That came at the right time with the Honda exit from Hero?
Buell: That was the reason one of my friends introduced me to Pawan at the time. He said, “You’re out of Harley’s and my friend Pawan just broke up with Honda – you should meet up.”

And then Hero wanted EBR entirely?
Buell: No. After we met and visited each other several times, it was clear to me that they believe in individualism and relationships. Pawan wanted more of a partnership than a subsidiary and he understood that we will both get more of this free enterprise at EWC. We also become Hero importer for USA and Canada. EWR is a US company from the conservative Midwest, but we think globally.

Up to now, the motors came from Rotax in Austria. Where will the RX engine be built?
Buell: Here we have to clear up a few misunderstandings: The 1125 Buell was developed jointly by Buell and Rotax. Harley had no capacity for such a water-cooled twin and did not want to take over the engine building. So it went through Rotax, even though it’s a stand-alone engine, the parts of which aren’t in any other Rotax engine. After the Buell-Aus, the engine went to Rotax and we bought it there. Today we choose all the suppliers ourselves and assemble the engine here in East Troy. Rotax no longer delivers. Even in the past, they only made three parts such as the crankcase and assembled the engine. I had to find replacements for these parts and can now build the whole engine myself. It is also not a souped-up 1125, but a 110 percent EBR twin with 140 completely different parts.

And now it’s off to the Superbike World Championship?
Buell: We’re going to be a global manufacturer – Hero too. We have to build this, and the Superbike World Championship is the stage for that. Hero is India’s number one and knows they have good products, but how do you get that across to the world? Hero is convinced that road racing in India will be a big thing in the next ten years, the Indians are very sports-obsessed. At the same time, EBR wants to take the technology to the next level, although it will be very tough. Still, we’re going to the Champions League and not the EVO class. They’ll beat us, but we’ll learn.


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The Munjal family (Image: CEO Pawan Munjal) from Hero is behind EWC.

Who will drive and who will lead the team?
Buell: We thought about whether we should just buy drivers and teams for this Europe-dominated series. But we want to learn in all areas, and we take the time to learn. I want American drivers on the team. That is why Geoff May and Aaron Yates drive with us, who already drove with EBR in the AMA in 2013. We have a lot of talent in the US, but the transition from the AMA to the World Cup is tough. It would be easier to buy Europeans, but I want to show people what kind of talent there is in America. Our guys don’t know the tracks and don’t have a chance to get to know them in tests. So it will be a dip in the deep end, but we have a mixed team in Italy that also includes Americans. The team owner is Claudio Quintarelli from Bergamo, and team boss Giulio Bardi worked for the SBK organization for a long time, sat in the team representation and was previously an engineer for Fred Merkel.

There have already been tests in the line-up and with a new bike?
Buell: In principle, we will start with the bike from the AMA, which of course is constantly being improved and developed. We will of course be there for the official test in Phillip Island in mid-February, but then there will only be a week left before the opening race. That‘s why we want to test it in Spain at the end of January.

Since you have to complete 1000 units for the World Championship homologation by the end of 2014, the racing motorcycle is based on the RX. When does the production of the machines begin??
Buell: It starts now in January. We actually wanted to start in December, but a few suppliers didn’t make the deadline. We want to get started right away with large numbers of items and have already built up a good network of dealers who have already made deposits and of course want to get the bikes quickly. We can’t make a mess of that, we have to mess with it. We want to build a few thousand machines this year. At Buell we produced 15,000 units in the same hall and we could build more now, but that will be the case in a few years.

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