Test Rode a Buell Rant

[Lupin]

Aren't KTMs mostly for dirt? dualsports right? same with the V-strom. i thought dualsports are terrible for freeway riding. And i dunno i feel that hte V-strom is way too hideous. I'm also looking for a "bigger" bike since i feel like a damn clown on my r6 hah...

GS's, KTM 950s, Wee Stroms, Tigers and the other large dual sport bikes ARN't dirt bikes. All of them are much to large and heavy to be effective dirt bikes. Think of them more as SUV's, the most you want to do with them (generally) is gravel roads and occasionally a bit of rougher stuff in order to connect to another gravel road. If your thinking of trails get a real dirtbike.

They are awesome bikes though. Most of them go like stink and handle great. The higher ride height gives you a commanding view of the road. My GS eats miles of pavement up without breaking a sweat or straining.

I used to ride cruisers, but after going dual sport, I'll never go back.

 

[flying_hun]

I've ridden the Ulysses, and while I understand the criticism of the powerband, it won't bother everyone. The criticism of the handling is IMHO less valid. The bike rails. Yes, you have to ride it the way it's designed to be ridden. When I demo'ed one, I had it for over an hour, and rode the hills in the East Bay, and was often surprised by its mid-corner speed. It never shook its head, or really even threatened to.

I am also a tall guy (6'3"), and I like the riding position of adventure bikes because of the legroom. I have also ridden the R1150GS and R1200GS, and love them too. If I were choosing between a GS and a Ulysses and money wasn't an issue (yeah, right), I would ride them both and take whichever I liked best. They're both fun. In the same vein, I would seriously look at a Multistrada. Both the Ulysses and Multistrada seem to be cheaper used than the BMW, and I would not hesitate to buy either one used, once I had checked it out.

As for all the other naked bikes listed, they're all fine. I ride a naked bike now. One of the best reasons to ride an adventure bike, if you're tall, is the legroom. As great as many of the nakeds are, most aren't nearly as roomy.

BTW, Com3 once posted that 4 of the fastest, scariest riders he ever encountered on the street were riding adventure bikes. I think he said 3 GS's and one MTS. Joe knows a bit about fast, scary riders, so that's valid input about their potential performance.

 

[hkwan]

http://a1264.g.akamai.net/7/1264/13....buell.com/en_us/news_events/pdf/CW092005.pdf

Here is a good review on the mentioned bikes in this thread.

The XB12X isn't 'only' for street.

 

[TTTom]

for a good 6 bike comparison article:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=2850

GS, Multistrada, V-Strom, 950 Adventure, Ulysses and Caponord

I think of bikes like the MTS, Triumph Tiger, Ulysses, etc as sport/adventure bikes. they work well for touring, work well on high speed stuff & really shine on rough twisty roads

given equal riders on a road like the front end of Skaggs Springs a sport bike will do best but once you get out onto the backside towards the coast something like a GS or Multistrada just kicks ass

 

[Teddy]

Juat wanted to say thanks to the peeps who have had kind words to say about us here at H-D/Buell of Fremont. We do try to be helpful and we do love the products that we sell.

 

[buellistic]

hm.... i am really curious about that FZ1 now. i am going to do some research on it and try to find one to sit on and see how i like the ergos. It seems to be what i need! too bad only 06+ models are fuel injected!

Wow! the black FZ1 with fullfairings is nice!

NO...NO...NO. .. YOU WANT A BUELL this one
(unless 159 lbs of torque is to much for you)
track tested tough and fast handling. but still street legal

 

[buellistic]

heres the other side

 

[ASADO]

 

[EbolaMonkey]

okay, that old buell is hideous.

hopefully, tomorrow i go test ride a ulysses!

 

[ASTONDOC]

I agree the Vstrom is FUGLY, BUT, you should test drive one BEFORE you make any decision.....I have rode my DL1000 for over 40 k in the last 2 years...Never a problem, and I like the way it handles over the Buell....I commute hiway 9 and used to commute Walnut Creek to Los Gatos with it....Handling is really neutral and the bike is comfortable for only being 520 lbs...also all black makes them a little less fugly

 

[ChuckBecker]

Ive rode my DL1000 for over 40 k in the last 2 years...Never a problem, and I like the way it handles over the Buell

No bike is trouble free (unless you never ride it). Riding partner of mine has a DL1000. 13K miles. It's leaking oil prodigously from the countershaft. Fueling sucks so badly that he stays above or below 4K rpm so it doesn't throw him off. Various bits and pieces are falling off. Plus, he has to buy 19" fronts, and the choices are limited.

Not to say they are bad bikes, but they are not more reliable or trouble free than most other bikes.

 

[EbolaMonkey]

I've done a lot of narrowing down. The BMW is overpriced IMO. I don't like the styling of the multistrada, vstrom, or ktm(their supermotos look coo tho) so i won't be really considering one. If i had to go completely objectively i would probably go with the V-strom... Its stupid of me i know, but if i ride it everyday, the bike better match my personal style. I like the full fairinged fz1, but i feel its not different enough from my supersport. The buell ulysses is kind of hideously different, but its so out there that i like it hah. I actually really like that...

The ulysses is also really big and tall, but the handling should still be good because of a really short wheelbase(the shortest of the bunch - almost as short as my r6) and a low center of gravity. Also, its as comfortable as it gets ergo wise - and has built in backrest for 2 up!(my gf is going to love that).

For maintenance, i'm not too worried about general maintenance, but for the worst case scenario, I live in fremont and the fremont HD/buell center seems really really cool - i forget who i talked to for the test ride on the xb12ss but he was really friendly and cool. It was my first time in a harley/buell dealer and i was suprised i did feel second-rate in the slightest.

I guess i've decided what i want! Heh i guess now to decide whether an 06/07 model will be good. I saw in advriders that there are rumors of some big changes/updates in the 08 model. Not sure if i can wait for that long!

this advrider report makes me want a uly badd too:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=165811

 

[nismodan]

I'm too lazy to read all 5 pages of this thread.



Has anyone said "TUONO" yet??

 

[longtallsally]

GS12 hands down. If you are putting that type of mileage on the machine, it is worth it. Yes they are expensive. But it is an INFINITELY better motorcycle. Mine is my car since I sold all mine and I don't for 1 second regret it. I'll offend everyone and their mother here by saying it, but Buells are poop.

Erik is a cool guy who makes THE coolest looking bikes on the planet- and I mean that. But it has a poop motor and the 80s styled switchgear kills it for me. Put a decent motor from someone capable of designing technology beyond the Model T and I'll get in line.

My GS now has well over 14k on it. Oh yeah, that is in 5.5 months too. Read that again, 14,000 miles in just over 5 months. Try that on a Buell.

The only other one that comes close is the 'Strom. I don't care for them, but they are pretty respected in the ADV crowd.

So let me repeat: the GS is perfect. I spank sport bikes in the twisties. I ride bumpy ass roads with more curves than Calaveras. I commute every day. I take it to dirt parks. I tour. If I don't get the 954 put back together by next Monday, I guess it will be my track bike as well.

I've ridden Tunitas Creek at night in the rain and was in 3rd and 4th the whole way down. I've put in 17 hours in the saddle in a weekend on long trips. I lane split for 16 or so of my 20 mile commute. I've ridden Metcalf, Hollister, Frank Reines, and Death Valley in the dirt. I've binned it 5 times (4 in the dirt) and damage is pretty much nonexistent.

So if you can find another bike capable of all that, let me know. I know this is a little full court press, but after riding sport bikes for close to 15 years and then switching to the GS, I'll never not have one. It is just too perfect. It fosters an inordinate amount of irresponsibility.

Here are some examples of stupidity:

Yes that is snow.

Yes it is that versatile.

Yes I am about 2 feet of the ground (sorry for lame quality)

Yes, I rode it there on tires that were just mounted the night before in driving rain and rode in soup all day and then in driving rain home.

Death Valley.

It does get sleepy. But that resulted in ZERO damage.

Bottom line; get my point?

 

[Aegon]

I just went to the Buell dealership and I'll share my story.

I live in Portland, OR. When you go to the buell bag promo page, you'll see that they don't have participating dealers in OR. But I figured I've swing by anyway since I like the neat engineering of Buells, I'm interesting in learning more about them, and maybe I'll get to test ride anyway (albeit without a free bag).

So I show up at the HD/Buell dealer. When I pull my bike in, there is an HD salesman smoking by the bikes. I hate smoke, and I hate being smoked around in an area that I have to be in. I could take up a regular parking spot and avoid the smoker, but I don't. It makes me think to myself about HD culture and, right or wrong, it makes me think that every visit to the dealer will make my good smelling Dainese leathers smell like my ass-hole.

Then I go indoors, in my full gear. I'm a sportbike rider in the land of HD. Half of the other people here are in tassles and t-shirts. The other half came in their SUVs. I stick out and feel weird.

I spend about 5 minutes looking at the Buells in the back corner -- hidden from view. I look around frequently as if to say, "come talk to me." Dealers see me and then look away -- I'm being ignored. After 5 minutes, I go back to the HD part of the store to make contact myself. I say, "I'm looking for a Buell salesman". She says, "I'm a Buell salesman!". But she seems reluctant (I ASSume that she doesn't know anything about Buell) so she passes me off to another salesman.

This new guy asks how he can help me. I said that I'm interested in Buell and ask if they are participating in the test ride event (which, yes, they aren't listed on the webpage. But I'd prefer to ask than to assume).

He says, "We don't give free bags away because then we get people who are only interested in the bag and aren't interested in the bike. We like to keep the miles off our Buells and we don't give test rides."

I'm not a psychologist, and I'm not superb at reading people. But I get a strong feeling that I'm being called a no-good-tire-kicker during his speech. So I say goodbye and retrieve my bike from the cloud of smoke.

Here is what I get from this:
(1) Buell is trying to get the word out by offering test rides -- even if many test rides don't result in a sale. Not all Buell dealerships participate, and some will make you feel like a freeloader for even asking.
(2) HD/Buell in other cities may be wonderful, but Buell is the red headed stepson of Beaverton Harley Davidson.
(3) Non-tassled riders with full gear don't appear to be welcome at my local dealership.
(4) Even if I wanted a Buell, I wouldn't buy one around here. I can't imagine trying to get these jerks to work on a Buell. If you plan on riding outside of the Fremont area, ask yourself how willing the other dealers will be to help you with your Buell.

This post has a lot of conjecture and "feelings" in place of substance. My gut says that Buell is out of the picture for me, and it will be a long time before I reconsider.

*EDIT* I also wanted to write a note to Buell about my experience and how I think that HD salesmen are not necessarily representing Buell well. But I couldn't find a feedback link on the Buell webpage. If anyone has an email addy, pls let me know.

 

[jiffy]

GS12 hands down. If you are putting that type of mileage on the machine, it is worth it. Yes they are expensive. But it is an INFINITELY better motorcycle. Mine is my car since I sold all mine and I don't for 1 second regret it. I'll offend everyone and their mother here by saying it, but Buells are poop.

Erik is a cool guy who makes THE coolest looking bikes on the planet- and I mean that. But it has a poop motor and the 80s styled switchgear kills it for me. Put a decent motor from someone capable of designing technology beyond the Model T and I'll get in line.

My GS now has well over 14k on it. Oh yeah, that is in 5.5 months too. Read that again, 14,000 miles in just over 5 months. Try that on a Buell.

So your a fanboi of BMW. Thanks for a non biased opinion.

Many people have ridden many miles on a Buell just like you have on your BMW so saying try that on a Buell. It's been done.

GS's aren't perfect either. Besides the outrageous cost they also have that whole catching on fire thing.

Point being to each his own we can bash a bike all day they all have problems.

I just went to the Buell dealership and I'll share my story.

I live in Portland, OR. When you go to the buell bag promo page, you'll see that they don't have participating dealers in OR. But I figured I've swing by anyway since I like the neat engineering of Buells, I'm interesting in learning more about them, and maybe I'll get to test ride anyway (albeit without a free bag).

So I show up at the HD/Buell dealer. When I pull my bike in, there is an HD salesman smoking by the bikes. I hate smoke, and I hate being smoked around in an area that I have to be in. I could take up a regular parking spot and avoid the smoker, but I don't. It makes me think to myself about HD culture and, right or wrong, it makes me think that every visit to the dealer will make my good smelling Dainese leathers smell like my ass-hole.

Then I go indoors, in my full gear. I'm a sportbike rider in the land of HD. Half of the other people here are in tassles and t-shirts. The other half came in their SUVs. I stick out and feel weird.

I spend about 5 minutes looking at the Buells in the back corner -- hidden from view. I look around frequently as if to say, "come talk to me." Dealers see me and then look away -- I'm being ignored. After 5 minutes, I go back to the HD part of the store to make contact myself. I say, "I'm looking for a Buell salesman". She says, "I'm a Buell salesman!". But she seems reluctant (I ASSume that she doesn't know anything about Buell) so she passes me off to another salesman.

This new guy asks how he can help me. I said that I'm interested in Buell and ask if they are participating in the test ride event (which, yes, they aren't listed on the webpage. But I'd prefer to ask than to assume).

He says, "We don't give free bags away because then we get people who are only interested in the bag and aren't interested in the bike. We like to keep the miles off our Buells and we don't give test rides."

I'm not a psychologist, and I'm not superb at reading people. But I get a strong feeling that I'm being called a no-good-tire-kicker during his speech. So I say goodbye and retrieve my bike from the cloud of smoke.

Here is what I get from this:
(1) Buell is trying to get the word out by offering test rides -- even if many test rides don't result in a sale. Not all Buell dealerships participate, and some will make you feel like a freeloader for even asking.
(2) HD/Buell in other cities may be wonderful, but Buell is the red headed stepson of Beaverton Harley Davidson.
(3) Non-tassled riders with full gear don't appear to be welcome at my local dealership.
(4) Even if I wanted a Buell, I wouldn't buy one around here. I can't imagine trying to get these jerks to work on a Buell. If you plan on riding outside of the Fremont area, ask yourself how willing the other dealers will be to help you with your Buell.

This post has a lot of conjecture and "feelings" in place of substance. My gut says that Buell is out of the picture for me, and it will be a long time before I reconsider.

*EDIT* I also wanted to write a note to Buell about my experience and how I think that HD salesmen are not necessarily representing Buell well. But I couldn't find a feedback link on the Buell webpage. If anyone has an email addy, pls let me know.

I agree that some Buell dealers treat them as step children. You just have to find a good dealership.

Many people have had the same experience at many Metric bike dealerships.

Again you have to find a good dealership no matter what your buying...a car, truck, HD, Honda, etc.

 

[Sidewalk]

I think part of the reason is that i'm 6'2, 190ish with a 35" inseam.

With your size I could see how the R6 would be misery. I haven't heard anything bad about the Uly, actually only good things (at least with my short memory). But I would consider a lot more options then just the two bikes. Both bikes are expensive options regardless. I know that when I have the money one of the first bikes I am going to look at is the V-Strom 650 folowed by a Bandit 1250 and FZ1.

The GS would probably be my first choice if I could find one cheap enough.

An air-cooled, two-valved single cylinder engine turning out mid-30's hp

he already complained about the wind blast. Not to mention that he had to haul it back home on the back of a truck because apparently he's losing oil somewhere (probably getting burned up).

Try 25 HP, I know, I put my wife's on a dyno

And tell him to get used to the wind and the burning oil. Stop for gas, add oil, stop for gas, add oil. The Blast burns an insane amount of oil, worse then my Nighthawk with a leaking valve guide seal. Not a huge deal, just carry oil when he rides.

[1] I don't care what the red line is. Any engine that really only works for 1/2 the revv range, be it the 3k to 6k on a Buell or the 8k to 16k of an R6, is a peaky engine as it has a narrow powerband. Contrast with say a VFR which will work from 3k/4k to 10k+, or a WeeStrom which can work from 2.5k to 10k.

People choose to ignore that. The torque band on my 1000RR was huge, and had more peak torque, but the Buell junkies would still try to tell me I had a boring peaky inline 4 engine with no torque.

Think Buell Ulysses is perfect design for a Dual Sport. Low center of gravity has gotta pay off, riding off road. Near Sportbike suspension for on the street.

A dual sport is good for both sports, not just one. The Uly may be able to go in the dirt, but not really play there. From all the reports I have read, no one has taken an Uly where I wouldn't have taken my 1000RR (and yes, I did hit some rough stuff).

A KLR is a dual sport, the V-Strom and Uly are not.

Yeah i really worry about buell durability. Maybe not the best choice for the time being and wait a little while to see their durability.

The current Buell XB line has been out as long as the Honda CBR954RR. Honda has completely replaces the 954 with the 1000RR, and completely changed that since then. If Buell can't get a bike right after 5+ years, then they never will. So you can judge them now without waiting.

I can't remember which moto-rag I'm quoting, but I loved this description of the K1200R's looks: "It looks like someone rode a magnet through a junkyard."

God that bike is hideous. Now the S, that is a different story.

i'm surprised sidewalk hasn't piped up yet

Sorry I am late. I was going to stay out of it, but then I kept reading more posts, and well I couldn't resist.

I think I got the better end of the deal still with the KTM

Buy the Buell - unless you are thin skinned and care what others assume.

2003 xbr with 12K and other then maintenance I have had to replace the drive belt and front wheel bearings.

I had double that mileage+ (over 26,000 miles in two years) on my 1000RR and all I did was change the oil every 5000 or so miles. Replacing wheel bearings every year would get old. At least my 1984 Nighthawk is more reliable so far.

 

[longtallsally]

So your a fanboi of BMW. Thanks for a non biased opinion.

Many people have ridden many miles on a Buell just like you have on your BMW so saying try that on a Buell. It's been done.

GS's aren't perfect either. Besides the outrageous cost they also have that whole catching on fire thing.

Point being to each his own we can bash a bike all day they all have problems.

So am I supposed to be non-biased?

Talk about fires, isn't it Buell that has that problem?

Either way, I'm not going to argue, I was merely presenting my point of view. Read that article posted a bit back on the comparisson. Read Bike magazine a few months ago (GS 1150 Adv was rated the coolest bike of all time). Watch Long Way Round (lame example, but still). Look at most adventure riding sites and in all cases you will see that the GS is the weapon of choice. Sure you can make darn near anything capable as a do-it-all machine. Heck, a guy rode an R1 around the world. Have fun with that.

He mentioned he was thinking about a GS and I thought I'd add my thoughts and experiences.

Buells are still poop.

 

[Sidewalk]

Again you have to find a good dealership no matter what your buying...a car, truck, HD, Honda, etc.

Funny, I haven't had to find a good dealer with any of my other bikes, only the Buell's. On everything else I didn't have to worry about getting work done, or when I did it was no problem getting it done. When I had the Buell I was always having to call around looking for parts because no one ever had them. I called 4 local dealers (San Fran, Fremont, Walnut Creek, Bob Dron) to find a damn clutch cable, and only one dealer had it. Ever since Modesto stopped selling Buell's I had a tough time finding things.

Modesto is the only place I never had problems with. Fremont guys always talk about how great they are, but the couple of times I went there I was not happy. Seemed like people that were anxious to take my money, not make me happy.

 

[jambimmer]

Whenever I do some adjustment on any of my bike it feels like a different bike. I dont know how anyone can pass judgement on any bike for one ride. When I bought my 07 gix i told myself why did I buy this bike. My back hurts, the gear is not crisp, the throttle is jerky. Then i got used to it and worked around the imperfection and now i love it on the track. The same with the buell I have learned to work around its imperfection and now I love it on the street. Then i ride my cruiser now thats a totally different bike and riding style.