Hey guys,

Thought I'd post one of these customary "I'm new here" threads to establish myself.

I'm a diehard Lotus Elise/Exige fan, hailing from LotusTalk.com. I'll admit that before I started really looking into Buells, I thought that they were just Harley's playing dress-up in sports-bike clothing. Upon closer inspection, I was delighted to see many of the principles that so drew me into Lotus being used extenseively on Buell bikes. Low curb weight, Mass Centralization (Lotus are mid-engined), supreme chassis design, etc etc it's all the same stuff that makes Lotus cars great.

With that being said, I'm proud to say I'm quite seriously considering a new Buell before the end of the year. My first bike was a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 650R, which I've since had to sell for financial reasons, and since then I've been enjoying riding Harleys with my dad on the weekends (much to my surprise. I expected to hate Harleys)

Anyway, long story short, I'm between a 1125R and a 1125CR, and I have a few questions.

Now, according to what the Buell sales guy told me, both the 'CR and the 'R have pretty "sporty" riding positions, and the main difference is the fairing. Is this the only difference?

Also, I fear I must plead ignorance having only been able to look at pictures and sit on a few bikes, but is the 'R and more capable on winding mountain roads than the 'CR? The only reason I get the feeling as such is because Buell's ridiculous bike gallery shows the 'CR ONLY being used around town - much like any other street-fighter bike, while the 'R is the one shown being used on the twisty mountain backroads.

Sorry for the wordy post, just a lot of questions to ask. :D

Thanks in advance!

- Shorty

Anyone? Anyone?

Hey Shorty,
I too am interested in the CR. I've ridden the R on both the street and the track and luved it, but for the street the riding position was a little too "agressive" for MY aging body. I was hoping the CR was a little more relaxed, but to me they are the same. The CR, however, has the option of a more upright bar and I've been told that the CityX bar would also fit. According to writeups of the CR at the Buell rollout in Germany, the CR is a very capable machine, the chassis layout being similar to the R. It is also geared 8% lower,making it somewhat more manageable around town, but still having a 157mph top end(try to keep the wheelies down). It's on my short list, just have to figure out how to pay for it.
Pete