Cycle News

RACER TEST P138 EBR 1190RS Ohlins Superbike-spec suspension is fitted as standard equipment on the 1190RS. a single rotation of the wheel). The EBR's braking was really excellent, too, even if I needed to squeeze pretty hard to make the eight-piston Nissin caliper grip the rim brake firmly. But in doing so I didn't experience any of the brake fade or pulsing of the brake lever that some riders have claimed to experience on Buells with the single rim disc. I believe this brake is an intrinsic element in the EBR's stellar handling, and offers no significant disadvantages to offset that. The EBR may lack top-end performance and not accelerate as well, but being smaller and slimmer it's much more agile in terms of handling, thanks especially to the more radical chassis geometry, with a 22-degree rake and just 86mm of trail. This is no Schwarzenegger in terms of bulk, although the engine has plenty of muscle. It steers brilliantly, especially flicking so quickly and intuitively from side to side in turns - thanks to the ultra-effective mass centralization that the whole architecture of the bike incorporates - and it has a calculated, confidenceinspiring turn-in, with good feedback via the Öhlins fork from the front Pirelli. Plus, in spite of the far-out geometry numbers, it didn't ever feel as if it wanted to fold the front end if I tried trail braking deep into an apex. And there's not a trace of understeer once you switch the power on exiting a turn. In fact, it's noticeable how closely you can hug the curb in corners on the 1190RS, because it's so agile and tight steering. There are times when it certainly doesn't feel like a meaty 170 hp twin-cylinder Superbike. It's more like something half that capacity in the way it steers, thanks to the dialed-in chassis setup that lets you keep up cornering speed. But it does pay to remember the lack of traction control and try to counter that by lifting the EBR up early exiting turns. With no anti-spin control, no anti-wheelie control, no launch control, etc., this is a bike that the rider's in charge of, not the ECU, even if the World Superbike 1190RR will have an electronic rider aids package installed – something that will surely filter down from racetrack to showroom. With KTM so far reluctant to step up to the top level with its RC8R, Ducati hasn't had any twincylinder competition on the Superbike stage since the demise of the Aprilia RSV Mille a decade ago. But now here's the successor to that bike, albeit made in Wisconsin rather than Italy. Erik Buell and Hero boss Pawan Munjal will surely be hoping for a similar level of success with their American Superbike as Aprilia enjoyed with Troy Corser at the start of the millennium. But in the meantime, Buell is back – not that he ever really went away - and is enjoying closure after the demise of the company bearing his name. "This is exactly the motorcycle that I've wanted to build for the past 20 years," he says. "We finally got it done!" CN

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