Motorcycle specifications RoehrV-ROEHR 1250 SC 2010 Fast or Furious...

when I say American motorcycle, you think Harley-Davidson. When I say American sportbike, you think Buell. And if you're looking for an American hypersport, in the vein of the GSX-R and ZXR? Well, there's not much out there. Until this V-Roehr 1250 SC. At last, the States is not only producing talented racers; it's also producing its female pistardes... in small numbers. For the V-Roehr is not a mass-produced machine built by a major manufacturer. Rather, it's an enthusiast's bike, built in quantities of a few dozen units a year, like Bimota... no, Vertemati, Borile...

what you have here is a pure American, but one whose design is more akin to the methods of Bimota or feu Mondial. In fact, don't you think it looks a bit like a 1000 Piega...? And the frame, doesn't it remind you of the SB8K spars? Race-ready on its Marchesini rims, the V-Roehr is racy, as befits a machine of its calibre. But the styling isn't thrilling. The 1250 SC seems to draw its design genes from the great references, without finding its own personality. With its air intakes and stacked double headlights, the fork head looks like a mix of Yamaha R1 and the aforementioned Mondial Piega. With its monobars and pots under the seat, the carbon rear shell is not lacking in elegance and finesse, and furiously reminds us of the rear of an R1 or an MV-Agusta F4. If the visual identity suffers, the way the V-Roehr is designed is far more appealing.

why am I talking about design methods? Because, if we go back to the two Italian manufacturers mentioned earlier, Bimota and Mondial, their chassis are home-made, but the engines come from outside (Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati or Honda). The V-Roehr's big liquid twin comes from Milwaukee, in other words, the state next door. The Russians make Rican bikes. Patriotism is deeply ingrained in them, and to power one of the very few American hypersports, Roehr took a heart from the country. A big heart, open at 60°, with 4 valves per cylinder, super-square dimensions... A powertrain we're already familiar with, as it comes from the famous V-Rod, Harley's bolt-on custom.

japanese and Italian superbikes have nothing to worry about. The twin-cylinder produces 125 hp - the best blades on the market all exceed 170 horsepower. Do you think the Roehr workshops only installed the boiler in a frame...?!? Far from it. They've grafted on a big pacemaker: a compressor. Enough to fill the engine with plenty of water without any response time. And blang! Uncle Sam's sports car now boasts 180 hp and, above all, a huge dose of torque, peaking at almost 16 mkg. This value, obtained at 7,600 rpm, shouldn't blind us to the essential: the supercharger, a device that makes the engine much more available, as if the muscle were more there, fuller, over a wider rpm range. And if you want even more wattage, a little mapping adjustment allows the compressed 1,250 to slam the 200 hp mark. The V-Roehr has just won some fans. This, of course, remains a matter for civilians or for pleasure on the racetrack. After all, this machine can only be entered in a handful of competitions. In SBK, twins are limited to 1,200 cc. That leaves the prototype category... or the good graces of certain points in the regulations - Buell did win the American supersport championship in 2009 with an 1125 R...

but what good is a sportbike packed with power if the chassis can't keep up? In this respect, there's nothing to worry about. The V-Roehr's frame consists of two chrome-molybdenum spars anchored to aluminum side plates. Footpegs can be adjusted to different heights. Suspension? Öhlins front and rear. At the end of the brake lines, Brembo 4-piston radials. And last but not least, a pair of Akrapovic mufflers. In short, there's a lot of hardware and big watts on this sporty bike. However, at 196 kg dry weight, the extra weight will be felt - the competition is 20 kg lighter, a considerable value in this sector.

the 1250 SC V-Roehr has a lot to offer, but above all, it's a machine for pleasure, not for the competition. A machine for aesthetes, not to be consumed like a Big Mac. Forget its ridiculous range (12 liters in the tank) and focus on the beautiful parts and promises of the American twin. And to get one? The usual mess of importing a foreign machine, shipping costs, homologation, taxes, VAT, plus the not-so-so-social price of $50,000.

M.B - Manufacturer's photos