Buells anyone? 1

[tripleZ]

I'm tossing around a second bike now that my primary sportbike is getting full track livery. I'm tired of changing out fairings and tires everytime I go.

I'm partial to inline-4 600cc sportbikes primarily due to flickability, mileage, and the fact that they're easier on tires. I've found a few decent deals up here on used Buell XB9Rs. I'm looking for general opinions on the bike from somebody who has either owned or ridden one. My primary concerns:
- availability of reasonably priced parts. I know aftermarkets are few and far between.
- maintenance. I currently work on my own and don't use techs unless absolutely necessary. I've heard a few HD techs state that they hate working on these. How bad can it be?
- Street railing & touring combo. I like to rail the country roads up here (i.e. exceed the speed limit), but also tend to take the bike on longer touring rides. How reliable are these, and what's the comfort like when you're in the saddle for more than 5 hours straight?

Up until this point, I think I'm sold on a newer Kwak or a Triumph (675 is yummy but would be hell on the wrists for longer than 3-4 hours), but I found a deal on a twin and still have this strange nationalist thing about buying American (despite Buell's binned resale values).

Any honest opinions from folks who own and/or ride them?

 

[swall]

Sounds like you need to get a V-Rod!

 

[tripleZ]

No cruisers...I'm young, trim, and don't ride half-sauced.

j/k there...us ricers have to get our digs in somewhere.

No, I'm partial to sportbikes and prefer their handling and response to that of a cruiser. I've had nothing but luck with my current Honda. That thing has been thrashed and still runs like a champ. Hence the reason I'm keeping it for the track: it's bullet-proof thus far.

I like 600s for the reasons mentioned in the first post, and because I can keep my insurance rates reasonable. I can get up to a 1000cc while still being reasonable, but anything over that gets out of hand and frankly handles like crap for the type of riding I do. And a I know my throttle hand too well. I can handle a R1 or ZX-10R well enough for an amateur, but honestly don't need the power at this point.

The XB9R has more torque on the low-end and mid-range, so it won't handle like a typical liter bike. While I plan on doing a test ride or two, I'm looking for some folks who may have some long-term experience with the bike. I guess I think the bike looks decent, and has some really revolutionary ideas built into it. But I'm also wary of anything made by HD. And I'm not looking to fit into the HD crowd. I just want to know how the bike performs.

 

[tripleZ]

No cruisers...I'm young, trim, and don't ride half-sauced.

j/k there...us ricers have to get our digs in somewhere.

No, I'm partial to sportbikes and prefer their handling and response to that of a cruiser. I've had nothing but luck with my current Honda. That thing has been thrashed and still runs like a champ. Hence the reason I'm keeping it for the track: it's bullet-proof thus far.

I like 600s for the reasons mentioned in the first post, and because I can keep my insurance rates reasonable. I can get up to a 1000cc while still being reasonable, but anything over that gets out of hand and frankly handles like crap for the type of riding I do. And a I know my throttle hand too well. I can handle a R1 or ZX-10R well enough for an amateur, but honestly don't need the power at this point.

The XB9R has more torque on the low-end and mid-range, so it won't handle like a typical liter bike. While I plan on doing a test ride or two, I'm looking for some folks who may have some long-term experience with the bike. I guess I think the bike looks decent, and has some really revolutionary ideas built into it. But I'm also wary of anything made by HD. And I'm not looking to fit into the HD crowd. I just want to know how the bike performs.

Oh, and when I say "track", I don't mean dragstrip. Roadracing is more my style.

 

[swall]

Well then, how about a Suzuki V-Strom 600cc?

 

[dgallup]

Buells are dog slow compared to 600's but do handle well. Heck, they are dog slow compared to anything except another HD. In full road race trim they have not been able to get a whiff of the 600's in formula extreme despite over 2:1 displacement advantage. I'm not anti-Buell, I went to high school with Erik and would love to buy one if it had a real engine in it.

The early ones had awful reliability but supposedly the XB series is much improved.

Go with a Triumph Speed Triple. Great 1050 cc engine with good real world power band. Reasonable comfort, weight & handling. It consistently gets top ratings in all the comparison tests. I have owned 2 (just so you know I am biased).

 

[tripleZ]

Thanks dgallup. You're confirming what I've seen on the track. We've got local guy on a XB12R who gets through the corners pretty nicely, but it looks like he's constantly fighting to hold it in the rev range. I do like the Speed Triple. I've got a Triumph dealer down the street. Guess I'll have to test ride one of those in addition to convincing him to give me another spin or three on the 675.

How's the wind on the highways on those (say 75-90 MPH)? While the screens on the 600s don't offer much protection, they do help divert it some if you tuck in.

 

[swall]

Sounds to me like you are looking for us to validate your decision to buy a Triumph?

 

[tripleZ]

Not really. The cost of a new Triumph is the one thing that's prohibitive to me. I do like the partially naked design (which the Buells feature). The Triple and a Buell also have similar seated positions; the 675 and most other inline 4s can be pretty aggressive for long distance rides. The V-strom you suggested is a good choice for more "adventure" touring, but my riding syle is more road based and aggressive. And I still can't see myself on a sport-tourer yet.

Honestly, I like the looks of the XB9R. The deal I found (used bike) is really good. The drawback is that I know not one person who rides one on a daily basis. The guy I know who races them also races inlines; but Buell pays much nicer contingencies for placing. The ricer market is pretty brand loyal. You'll find a lot of guys with multiple Yamis, or multiple Hondas, in the garage. And every magazine I've read has panned both the XB9R and the XB12R. I'd just like to hear from somebody who has ridden one on a daily basis, has used it for various activities, has worked on them, and has more experience with them than a moto-reporter. I can get pan reviews on the sportbike forums anyday. I'm looking for someone with an engineer's objective reasoning to tell me what they've learned from personal experience.

Oh, and I'll test ride anything a dealer lets me take out...I prefer to overanalyze motorized purchases. =)

 

[dgallup]

Wind blast gets pretty bad above 75 mph on the Speed Triple. Nobody makes a really effective wind screen for them either. The Triumph "Pixie hat" is a joke, I had one on my first bike, saved my money on the second. There is a Triumph dealer in Chattanooga that under prices and out sells any other dealer in the US. Do a web search and check them out. I seriously considered the Buells too. I really like the look and some of the design features. But we had 2 test bikes at work (not current models) and it felt like they never made power.

 

[R1100S]

tripleZ,

Maintenance on the Buells is simple enough. It's a Harley engine is a simple chassis. Compared to a 600 they're much easier. Parts shouldn't be too hard to come by. They new ones are VERY reliable. Unfortunatly, they are not good motorcycles. Their fuel injection is off, the handling is slow yet nervious and they stand up when on the brakes. I

 

[Craighell]

As a Buell owner I can tell you the following:

vailability of reasonably priced parts. I know aftermarkets are few and far between.

Stock parts are chesp. Import dealers almost never price at retail. At the shop I worked we marked up retail 3x. Harley Buell parts are usually retail. i.e Cylinder head for import V-twin.....$1200. Two heads w/pistons-rings and gaskets for a Buell (upgraded lightnigh htop end to Thunderstorm top end) $560.00. Mirror...Expect $65. Import bike $260.00

- maintenance. I currently work on my own and don't use techs unless absolutely necessary. I've heard a few HD techs state that they hate working on these. How bad can it be?

H-D mechanics are not savy and sportbikes are out of their world. EFI bikes blow them away. they also think Buells are like Jap bikes so they are hated anyway..


- Street railing & touring combo. I like to rail the country roads up here (i.e. exceed the speed limit), but also tend to take the bike on longer touring rides. How reliable are these, and what's the comfort like when you're in the saddle for more than 5 hours straight?

XBs are very short. Not sure how long you can endure.

Mechanicly My Buell has never let me down. The runors come from the poor reliability of the 99s and 2000 models. The engines had lots of issues with alternator rotors coming loose, dropped valves etc. The Sportster and Buell motor production lines were moved to a different state in 19998...I had predicted the reliability issues at that time.
The Buells spin way higher than sportsters thus I believe the Buells found the assembly errors first. Also the VDO EFI on the X1s and S3s at the time absolutely sucked!

The EFI on the XBs is far superior. You can get Technoresearch software to adjust most functions directly in the ecm so no dealer relationship is required to service your EFI.

In general Buells will impress you with monster torque just off idle compared to even a 1000cc inline four. They go fast enough to keep up with anything on a back road ride. They will not break on a ride and will draw more attention at riding hang outs. Sportbike guys will shun you as well as the H-D crowd. You will however with practice launch way harder away from trafic lights stunning all your riding buddies.

once the road opens up in long sweeping hillsa nd straight aways, the Buell will be left behind. Hayabusas make better than 80 ft-lb torque at 3000 rpm and will make around 98-100 ft-lbs at peak. lightly modified they make a good 115 ft-lbs and 170 hp. You will never keep up with a bike that has those numbers on a long stretch of road as they will hit 150 to 160 mph in the time it takes the Buell to hit just over 120.

A good XB9 will push 75 to 80 hp. A good XB12 is around 90-93 hp. W/cams and a good intake and exhaust a 100 ft-lb 100 hp XB12 is not out of the question.

This all might be BS so take it for what it is worth. I do however own a highly modified '97 Buell Cyclone converted from carb to homemade EFI as well as a GSX1300R Hayabusa and a GSX-R1000. I have some knowledge of the whole picture. I also own my own dyno shop so I am fairly good with knowing the representative numbers these babies put out.

The Buell is fun and will trounce other bikes on a twisty back road, but is left behind quickly in the really fast sections. still a very fun bike that is easy AND fun to work on.

Craig

 

[bladeblaster]

Would think a buell would be pretty uncomfortable for long distance given the vibration you get with most twins, also poor fuel economy compared to a 4. If you want a bike for every occasion, but edge more towards sport, I would suggest a Blackbird awesome bike. I do big miles and track days on my Blade but I am only 5' 6" so comfort isn't as big a problem. Alternatively how about the Z1000, fun bike, the aftermarket screen does make some dif, and very comfortable.

 

[Craighell]

Less vibration above 3K than my GSX-R1000. Buell's uniplanar engine mounting system works well. Shakes a great deal at idle but not once the engine spins up to usable rpm. I could go 112 hour days with my wife. Infact she likes the Buell better than the 'Busa for sport touring.

Expect about 50 mpg with the Buell. Mine gets 53 during commuting, but it's hot rodded. Most get better than 50. Some guys report upwards of 60 mpg.

My Busa gets about 2 during commuting. My GSX-R gets 45 to 47. I have a 50 mile one way commute with a combination of back road and highway. I generally use that as my bench mark.

Buell dips into the 40 mpg range during hard riding or going fairly quick two up. Busa sees low 30's doing the same.

 

[tripleZ]

Good posts and points Craighell & Bladeblaster. Thanks for the info. The 1100 and the Busas are a bit chunky for me. I like cornering those about as much as I like cornering a TLR...it feels like you're trying to toss around a whale.

I did find a decent XB12R on one of the salvage sites I frequent. It doesn't need too much work, and might be worth the price (about 60% off sticker if the bid holds). Guess I'll see whether or not I have another bike in a day or so.

Thanks for the info guys!