Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

anyone had a ride/owned one? Keen to know what they are really like. As its american i'm shocked they can handle, but my fear was that the gear selection would be sloppy also.

I'm a big fan, if only visually/audibly. For a 1200 its still only got the power of my old 636, but in the end, thats more than enough power for the street.

I mate of mine has one and rides with us regularly. I dont mind it and it sounds glorious, but I have not ridden it yet. Generally it has been reliable except for bits falling off from the pulsing of the big twin. Loctite is definitely your friend! He has never mentioned anything about the gearshift being dodgy.

Two mates have them , one with the Rotax and one with the Sporty motor . Both love em , and no reported issues . Standard exhaust needs changing straight away , so heavy .
Will ask further about reliability and get back to you .
Ugly as fuck but

One of the guys I work with has an xb12r and loves it.
Handle great in the twisties, plenty of grunt but they run out of revs pretty quick
so you have to play with the gears more.
He hade a zx9r for years and went from that to the buell without hesitation.
They are an acquired taste though.

My old boss still has his. LOVES it.
Was & and still is one of the best handling bikes of all time. Has the the biggest lean angle of any production bike.
Awesome brakes. Parts are relatively cheap.

Now remember it is a harley motor so lots of trq not much power. standard ones put out 90rwhp 90ft or something like that. Also air cooled with Fan assist.

Wheelie machines any gear wheel up sound like a harley with a pipe. Also becoming quite rare.

So if you like annoying people by going around them and sounding like a tractor this is the bike for you.

This what you want....EBR 1190RS... http://www.cycleworld.com/2011/02/17/er ... irst-look/

Only issues reported to me has been some issues with wheel bearings . Not common and no big deal .

Love the look... always have

Nah not a fan of that 1

my uncle owns one and loves it the only problem he has had is a relay stuffed up once(would not start) and a riped drive belt(from a stone)they only weigh around 175 kgs and they do handle good

ive ridden one and prefer my (then) r6, they sound cool but as was mentioned above they rev out quick, i prefer 4 cylinder bikes to the twins.

Does turn heads though

I took one for a test ride a few years back, one of the Harley dealers down here had a come & test day so I was keen to give it a go.

As mentioned above, it does pulse a fair bit at idle, causing the indicators & mirrors to shake like mad also the cylinder head is right between your legs, so it does get rather hot. Red line is only about 6.5rpm, however as mentioned it has plenty of torque & pulls pretty hard. Handles great though. I was keen on one until I went & tested an 2003 R6 straight after testing the XB12R. The R6 for me was definitely more enjoyable, but I do like my bikes to scream all the way to red line Still I would rather my 636

You should go to your local Harley dealer & see if they have one that you can test ride & see what you think of it. I love the design of the things, the look, the efforts made to centralise & lower the weight of the bike, great concepts & great designs.

I must admit that i looked at one before a bought my 03 z1000 back then, it was on my short list!!!! Shit did i just admit to that!!!
Im a bad bad man.

I was at my mates last night and he has put his Black/Red XB12R Thunderbolt up for sale for $11500 due to a loss of licence. 2009 with a brand new Jardine exhaust.

Looks exactly like this one http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/photos/2 ... -XB12R.htm

Has me made an ad for the sale anywhere?