The First 150-MPH American-Built Production Motorcycle Wasn't A Harley Or An Indian
Alright, motorcycle fans. Go ahead and conjure a mental image of an American motorcycle. Got one? It's likely a Harley-Davidson or Indian motorcycle, right? While Harley-Davidson isn't always America's top-selling motorcycle brand, Indian and H-D are the country's highest-volume motorcycle producers by a wide margin. That said, American motorcycles have been around for well over 120 years, and the two biggest brands certainly aren't the only domestic motorcycle marques. You might even be surprised to learn that the good ol' Bar & Shield wasn't the first bike brand to build a production American motorcycle capable of 150 miles per hour. Spoiler alert: it wasn't an Indian motorcycle, either. However, Harley-Davidson wasn't completely out of the picture.
The star-spangled speed demon came from a wholly unexpected source. It wasn't even the product of California-built Arch motorcycles and their big V-twin engines. No, the first production motorcycle from a domestic American brand traces its lineage to racing rider and visionary bike builder Erik Buell. That's right, the two-wheeled rocket was the product of the very same Buell badge you would have spotted on those itty-bitty 492cc Blast bikes from over a quarter century ago. Feel old yet? The bike in question is the Buell 1125R. An American bike so different, it traded rumbly pantomime for raw, not-so-naked speed. It used a good ol' V-Twin to do it, too. Not an American one, mind you.
The Buell 1125R was the first American production motorcycle that could hit 150 MPH and keep climbing
What's got a wide, sci-fi-esque face, an Austrian heart, and an American badge? Give up? Nope, definitely not a knock-off Robocop or Terminator. It's the Buell 1125R, and it's part of an objectively interesting chapter in American motorcycling. Erik Buell founded his quirky, unorthodox motorcycle company back in 1983. Until 2009, when Buell's parent company Harley-Davidson pulled the plug, most of the brand's bikes made use of Buell-designed chassis and Harley-derived V-Twins to create American sport bikes unlike the sort of motorcycles you'd find coming off the line in Milwaukee. Then there was the 1125R.
Instead of going for a spicier take on a Harley-Davidson twin, the Buell teamed up with BRP-Rotax to produce a dual-overhead cam 1125cc (69 cubic-inch) V-Twin. The Austrian-built engine was uncharted waters for the motorcycle manufacturer. The BRP-Rotax Helicon engine was the first liquid-cooled mill used in a production Buell. Push the 1125R towards its sky-high 10,500-RPM redline, and the Buell was good for 146 horsepower at 9,800 RPM. As you might expect with numbers like that, the Buell is fast. Superbike fast. When the 1125R was brand new, it could hit a top speed of 170 miles per hour.
That's not the only way the Buell was different, either. In the 1125R (and its more naked cousin, the 1125CR), the BRP-Rotax engine was a stressed member, meaning the swingarm bolted directly to the cases, making the engine a structural part of the sport bike. Also, unlike the more common chain drive in the segment, the 1125R makes use of a belt drive. Add a weight-saving, perimeter-mounted front brake disc with an eight-piston caliper, and the Buell is a lesson in the unconventional.
Mighty enough to hang with the European gang
At the time, the Buell 1125R had some pretty serious competition out of Italy. The Aprilia RSV1000R produced 143 horsepower and started at $13,999, three ponies short and two grand more than the Buell. On the other hand, the Ducati 1098 outmuscled the 1125R with a 160 horsepower L-Twin engine. That said, the Ducati came with a $14,995 price tag back in 2008. The Buell was brawny enough to fall between the Aprilia and the Ducati, while undercutting the Italian bikes in price.
The 1125R didn't have long to do its thing, though. The 2008 model year was the first for the 1125R, and by 2009, Harley-Davidson had made the decision to shutter Buell altogether. Save your tears, bike fans. The Buell namesake, despite not having Erik at the helm, is back at it. The brand's new Super Cruiser is extremely popular. How popular? Earlier this year, the revitalized Buell secured loans from the government to scale up production and get things up to speed. Things are looking promising.
Should you want one of these superbikes from the Harley-Davidson/Buell era, you don't have to dig very deep. When they were new, the 1125R demanded a starting price of $11,995 in the United States market. Today, you can get one for less than $6,000. That is, if you know where to look.