Motorcycles

Typhon 1190: the badass Buell streetfighter that could have been

Typhon 1190: the badass Buell streetfighter that could have been
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
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View gallery - 18 images

Erik Buell never got a chance to build a proper naked version of his final Buell sportsbike, the 1125R. We'd like to think that if he did, he'd have ditched the bulbous side-mounted radiators and found another way to water-cool his new Rotax engine. Either way, Germany's Pegasus race team and Gruner Engineering have paired up to build an 1190 Buell superbike racer into the tarmac-ripping streetfighter that could have been. One hundred and eighty-five horsepower, 161kg dry, buck-naked and ready to roar – meet the Typhon 1190.

The final generation of Buell sportsbikes were a huge leap forward in performance terms, but the move from an air-cooled Harley engine to a water-cooled Rotax had one nasty side-effect: the side-mounted radiators left the 1125R looking bulbous, misshapen and generally butt-ugly, particularly next to the bulldog-tough XB series bikes it replaced.

The reason comes down to priorities, and we'd have made the same choice; sticking a radiator on the front of the engine would compromise the famously short Buell wheelbase, and adversely affect the machine's handling. And whatever you could say about the XB12's engine and gearbox, the only bad thing I ever heard said about its handling was that it was too agile and sure-footed, almost feeling as if the corners had been straightened out for you. Sacrificing looks to keep this mad handling advantage was the only practical choice.

Or was it?

The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter

Gruner Engineering, in conjunction with the Pegasus Race Team that has just punted a last-generation Erik Buell Racing 1190 RR-B to victory in the 2010 Sound of Thunder Championship, has set its engineers to work building a naked version of the Buell superbike – with a focus on making the thing look more like an XB-series streetfigher. And boy have they done a good job.

The Typhon 1190 brings back the hard-as-nails flat screen and goggles that have graced the front end of Buell's XB-series nakedbikes since 2002. It keeps all the important signature Buell innovations – fuel in frame, oil in swingarm, underslung muffler, rim-mounted single disc – but ditches the ugly plastics and side-mount radiators that made the Rotax Buells so unappealing.

To get around the radiator space issue, the Pegasus/Gruner team constructed a front-mounted radiator system that extended deep into the bike's bellypan, and provided a hole in the middle for the front header pipe to poke through, squashing the radiator far enough back to give the wheel clearance space and providing a striking visual element to boot.

The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter

Other nice touches include a motogadget dash, LSL brake and clutch fluid reservoirs, a beautifully machined set of triple clamps from DKG, and a set of control blades and air splitters designed to help airflow at speeds of 250kmh and beyond. That's hang on tight time on a naked bike!

The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter
The Buell-based Typhon 1190 streetfighter

Using the 1190 motor Buell specced-up to go superbike racing with, the Typhon 1190 will go like a rocketship – it makes a brutish 185 v-twin horsepower (claiming 5 more than the Ducati 1198R) and weighs 161kg dry. Ample.

The best news to come out of the Typhon 1190 press release is to learn that Erik Buell himself is still working hard making motorcycles. His small team is engaged solely on getting the 1190RS superbike ready for production, and he helped the Pegasus/Gruner team out with CAD models and design assistance. In effect, the Typhon 1190 is just a show bike, perhaps to be developed into aftermarket kits for the XB and CR series Buells. But Erik Buell is far from finished with motorcycles, and we'll be hearing more from this American genius in the future.

View gallery - 18 images
10 comments
10 comments
mrhuckfin
Now put a nice looking fairing on that thing and it would be a kick ass looking bike! :-D
robinyatesuk2003
good luck Erik. you deserve the chance to build superbikes without the Harley motor
SteveO
That radiator looks like it will get destroyed by any road debris/sand. Otherwise, very cool bike.
Muraculous
Agree, put on a debris screen for the rad and a bolt-on fairing and I\'m in (don\'t like breakdowns or getting buffeted and flicked around at speed). And, come on... you have to do better than a saggy chain and sprocket...lets get a belt on that puppy. Has anyone tried dual belts - one per side?
Mr Stiffy
Harley Water Pumps..... 2 cylinders for the price of 2 V8\'s... and you get the cars thrown in for free.
Chris Blake
I don\'t do crotch rockets, but if I did this would be #1 choice!
Kyle Kudelin
@Muraculous:
2 belts would rob serious power from any motor. would be extremely counter productive. The chain is merely there because this bike has been mocked up by the race team. Belts do not exist in racing, with a chain you can adjust sprockets and add or delete chain links on the fly to acheive the best lap time possible. not so possible with a belt, at least time wise.

To everyone else, and not just the people who ommented before me, i dont understand how so many people still cry over the look of the 1125r radiator scoops. Some people are afraid of different. Function over form all day. and besides, how can u \"see\" ugly, when im blazing past your gsxr in any corner..or anywhere actually.

Ask danny eslick how the 1125r compares to a gsxr. Im sure the check in his pocket right now will make him say the gsxr is better, but that boy dominated the track on that buell. i can still here the jap fan boys crying. LONG LIVE EBR
Mark in MI
Best line in the article: \"But Erik Buell is far from finished with motorcycles, and we\'ll be hearing more from this American genius in the future.\"

I will hate Harley forever for crushing Buell like they did. Buells were by far the best thing coming out of Milwaukee.

Belts don\'t rob power. The sprocket ratio changability is the only reason they are not used in less powerful classes of racing. Other makers don\'t use them on road bikes because they are a \"Harley thing.\"
Kyle Kudelin
I didn\'t say belts rob power. I said 2 belts would rob serious power. As would 2 chains or 2 driveshafts.
batman6669
This is the sweeeetest bike that I have ever seen!! How do I get one? I want it!! Please ship it to me. I\'ll road test it !!!