I should mention that when I first came up with the wacky Cameron Beaubier theory, my thought process was something like this: "6 - what could six be? Could it be six new models? Nah, that seems kind of crazy considering where they are. Even if they've got 6 bikes in various stages of development, they wouldn't announce all of them at one time. Much better to release them as they're becoming available and spread things out. Six cylinders? There's an intriguing possibility . . . but since we already know they've patented a hybrid, they're much more likely to go with a smaller engine combined with and electric motor than a 6 cylinder. Besides, they've always done light bikes. Going from a twin to a 6 cylinder seems an illogical leap. I've always assumed the extra announcement would probably have something to do with racing, not new models. Wait a minute! 6 could be the number of a rider."
At that point I went to the WSBK website to see who was #6. It turns out there's a rider named "Vladimir Ivanov" who rides supersport. "Okay, could be him, but he's not a big name and it would seem strange to tease the idea that they might hire him like that."
Then I thought it was more likely a rider in the AMA and I started to think: "Let's see, if I could have any rider, who would it be? Obviously, Cameron Beaubier had a great year and he's young with his whole career ahead of him. I'd love to see him on an EBR, but what's his number?"
At that point, I went to the AMA website to see what his number was and very coincidentally it was '6'. That was roughly a 1 out of 100 shot at that moment, but it was the 1 number I was hoping it would be.
LOL. I stumbled onto Linkedin about a year ago, and started reading about people at EBR. It was very interesting to see how a lot of people had been with Buell, went on to find other jobs after the closure, and then eventually wound up at EBR.
BTW- our "in the know" person at Badweb says that is not Askenazi. I didn't ask about #6 (yet).
Woo Hoo!!! Looks like it confirms what we expected - that the RX is very similar to the RS. I find the exhaust the most interesting thing. It's definitely a visual improvement over the RS, but I was hoping they'd squeeze the whole thing underneath. Instead, it looks like they may have eliminated the underneath can and made the whole thing closer to a 'traditional', pre-Buell exhaust. Look at what we can see of the headers. That tube looks MASSIVE (or is that a heat-shield over a smaller tube?). I'm betting they've found ways to get more power from a lower-tuned engine . . . and hopefully that translates to even more power with race-tuning than they have with the RS.
The front brake cooler and rotor both look a little bigger than on the RS. I suspect they've made some improvements there. It almost looks like the rotor could be ceramic, but that would be crazy, wouldn't it?
Can't wait to see the whole thing and get more technical details! Thanks!
Last edited by Scott; 10-14-2013 at 03:20 PM.
I'm curious about the one under the cover. My guess is that's just another RX but they'll hide the others until they've done the official unveiling on Wednesday, but who knows? It would be cool if they show another model, but I expect we'll have to wait to see the AX and SX.
The pics have been pulled from Facebook and Badweb. Someone did spot something of interest- note the guy near the top center of the photo sitting in a chair that appears to be texting. Just past him, there's a black and white poster that appears to be an ADV bike, and it appears that the poster is within the EBR compound. AX possibly?
~4 hours, 10 minutes and counting....
First leak from the just-opened AIMExpo, courtesy of the BuellXB forum:
They say they're going to try and do a live video feed from the show; see thread here:
http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Foru...90RX-Unveiling