2025-on Buell Hammerhead 1190 review: Old school, new finish

The Hammerhead uses exactly the same platform as the SX but it swaps the naked bike’s flat bars for clip-ons, a move that isn’t entirely appreciated. If you are looking at buying a sportsbike you know what you are letting yourself in for when it comes to comfort levels but unfortunately for Buell, the Hammerhead’s riding position highlights some of its more irritating features that the naked SX is better at masking.

Set firmly on its fully-adjustable suspension (Wilbers forks, Showa shock) and with a stiff feeling from its chassis, the Hammerhead is fun on a smooth and flowing road but once you introduce a few bumps, quite quickly your wrists start to protest.

If the bumpy road is also slow, the pain is only exaggerated by a stiff clutch action putting even more strain on your wrists and the heat from the engine trying to cook your legs.

Not only that, the clip-ons trap your hands against the tank on full lock, not that there is much in the way of turning circle! And to be honest, the Hammerhead isn’t really in the same handling-league as a modern sportsbike, which is to be expected as remember, it is a ten-year-old design. So where does that all leave it?

As is the case with rival limited-run manufacturers, the Buell is an interesting machine to ride that has its quirks. Anyone who has ridden or owned a Japanese or European sportsbike will instantly feel it is well behind the game in just about every aspect, however fans of Buells will love the fact it retains the rim-mounted front brake discs (more on this later...) and its V-twin has a gruff and raw nature, which is very reminiscent of all Buell models.

And there is also an issue around ABS, which is a fairly major stumbling block for Buell’s expansion into Europe...

The Buell’s rim-mounted front brake makes fitting an ABS sensor much harder, which is why every Buell has to be individually approved by the DVLA.

Buell are working on a new twin disc model that will have ABS and can therefore pass Euro5+ (emissions won’t be an issue, the Buell can already pass California’s stringent limits) which will be sold alongside a ‘heritage’ model that will retain the rim-mounted disc and require MSVA-approval. Until then, no European country can road-register a Buell as only the UK allows MSVA approval...