H2o,146hp, finally!

Well, I guess we all got that "real" American sport bike we've all be carping about. Good for them (and H-D) and let's hope they price it reasonably and that they sell enough. Now, time to watch the vid.

Well, must say it looks pretty good (as it should since it's a promotional video). Styling looks fairly distinctive; it looks like a Buell; maybe the headlight treatment and top fairing looks a bit too CBR/R1/1098, but that's a small thing. Speaking of which, the top fairing looks pretty wide (guess that's the aero/rider comfort thing in the vid), a bit of XBRR, but the profile looks intriguing, if a bit weird. I consider that an overall good thing.

Specs are right in line with the top competition (in other words, total overkill for a street bike); that puts them right in the ballpark.

Gotta think we could see a factory racing effort in WSBK from Buell/H-D or AMA if they follow suit with the 1200cc twin limit.

Oh, and Erik must be sporting a huge stiffy these days.

Looks like the Buell/H-D Gestapo got to the "insurgents." It must suck when they've kept this thing under wraps for so long only to have it leaked one day before the official unveiling.

A few more details I've picked up: The motor is definitely a Rotax collaboration. Twin radiators under the side shrouds with air routed through the scoops. Still belt drive, left side (nice), and supposedly the motor is capable of big power but is in a milder state of tune due to emissions (bet there will be a race kit). No oil in swingarm for obvious reasons. Test riders love the bike.

That is all for now.

It's now on Buell.com.

And it looks as if Erik and his minions did their homework.

Okay, from a styling standpoint, it's a bit odd, but those choices are supposedly functional. As par for Buell, a few interesting engineering features, too.

Looks like a contender, if only for the price...$11,995 MSRP.

Oh, sh*t! It's only $11,995! They do seem serious, don't they?

Eh, that should be $11,995. Why can't I edit my posts?

I say, leave it in all black (okay, maybe those "Cherry Bomb" wheels would look nice); it might look ultra dopey in another color. In black, it at least looks kinda Road Warrior-ish. It could be one of those bikes that looks a lot better in person.

And we've got at least two other threads in different sections talking about the same bike.