True to his word and backing up his comment months ago about his next EBR being the mother of all adventure motorcycles, Erik Buell has announced his new EBR 1190 AX. Adventure Sports model.
Nobody knows exactly when the EBR 1190 AX will show up, but we know it’s going to be a very interesting bike. An exclusive interview with Gary Pietruszewski, VP of global sales for EBR revealed that our guessing skills have only gotten better. After the supposition that KTM will dish out a “street-adventure” in the form of the 1050 Adventure turned out to be true, it was time to learn that the same future is envisioned for the upcoming EBR 1190 AX.
The fact that Erik Buell is “back from the dead” is well-known. After the H-D hiatus, Erik rose like a phoenix and established Erik Buell Racing (EBR), managed to get financing and even drew solid interest from the huge Indian bike manufacturer Hero MotoCorp.
Three new machines rolled out, the 1190 RS, the 1190 RX and the 1190 SX Street Fighter, all sharing the same 185 hp V-twin platform and promising to become a really hot presence in the high-performance sport bike segment. Still, it looks like EBR is more than willing to become a global player, so expanding the offer beyond fully-faired sport bikes and monstrous roadsters is the next step.
“The sport-adventure segment is becoming stronger worldwide and certainly in South Africa,” said Craig Langton co-owner and Sales Director for EBR SA and Cayenne World. “We’ve seen KTM and BMW unveiling their sport-adventure bikes at EICMA 2014 and both manufacturers admitted that this is the new fashion in the two-wheeled industry.”
More and more customers are searching for bikes with sport specs and a hefty dose of racey vibes, but they are also looking for day-long comfort inspired by the touring and full-on adventure motorcycles.
The manufacturers got the point and have tweaked their existing platforms. Smaller cast wheels replaced the wire-spoked ones of the off-road bikes, while the engines of the sport bikes have been loaded in frames with longer, more compliant suspensions. To some, this might look like lacking vision, but there is an actual demand for such machines.
“The new EBR 1190 AX is the perfect machine for people, who want to go road-touring aboard comfy and fast machines, and for whom short, easy gravel sections are more than enough, the 1190 AX fits that profile and is the ideal machine for the task.” said Craig Langton. “We cannot wait for its arrival, adventure riders who are considering a new motorcycle should add this unit to their shopping list. ’’
Still, there is a waiting period until the 1190 AX will be available, EBR has indeed mentioned it from the early days on their new website, but it looks like that name will still remain greyed out for a while. Pietruszewski confirmed that the 1190 AX is in the company’s plans, but with no certainty as to when it will be delivered; sadly they say it’s not going to be in 2015. But one never knows wit EBR
He confirmed that the AX will be a bike built on the same platform as the other 1190’s, thinking about the upcoming bike, there is one particular thing which puts an even bigger grin on EBR fans faces, and this is the perspective of a 185 horsepower engine in a sport-adventure machine.
This is still in the supposition territory, but there is one thing which might support this. Most manufacturers who produce naked versions of their sport bikes detune the engines a bit. This did not happen at EBR. The SX has the same grit the RX is so proud of, and we might simply get to see the AX with the same engine and transmission.
Does a 185 hp sport-adventure sound like a crazy idea? It might, but again, it looks like this is the new trend in the business. Nobody at EBR said these machines would be a beginner’s motor cycle.
Now, EBR will have one more advantage until the 1190 AX rolls out that is being able to analyze what works and what doesn’t seem to work in this new class. Observing how the others’ bikes perform will give EBR extra knowledge on how to build a successful sport-adventure machine.
For more information contact Cayenne on 011 244 1900 or visit their web site www.cayenne.co.za
