| Author | Message | ||
     Dr_greg |
Deer hunter is the parts bike. If this actually happens (unlikely) then some lucky recipient will get one of the best engines H-D/Buell ever made (uh, H-D did build the engines, didn't they? Even though Buell did some design work, I assume...). It still has hone marks at 55,400 miles, it has new valve seals, top-end gaskets, low oil consumption...all work courtesy of Doc himself! I might even autograph it with my engraver...  It was gonna be my replacement engine when I wear out the mill in S/N 564. Pending the weather I'm gonna rendezvous up at Sandia BMW Thursday morning. The sales guy (only one) won't ignore me cuz he knows me. Knows an easy mark. The 70-mile test-ride loop I wanted to go on is now snowed in. Dunno where to find some good nearby dirt. Wait...actually I do know! Now, if the snow holds off just a little... Full report on my BMW expedition will be forthcoming, complete with pictures. Theoretically, I could trade in Uly 564 (current ride), Uly 044 (parts bike), and '00 Aprilia Mille. Gotta keep the Ducati and the dirt bikes (could trade in Mrs. Greg's dirt bike) But much better to sell them all. Hey, even better to transplant the Mille engine into a Uly chassis! Like I said...THAT would be a bike! Man I worked so late last night (not fun work either) that I wanna go home. Stupid ME Dep't. Steering Committee meeting at 3:30...bummer. Well, as Mrs. Greg said over 30 years ago, "...if you had a REAL job..." --Doc | ||
| Gbaz |
i picked up a 2000 aprilia pegaso.... they made the gs650 for bmw up till 2000. figured it would be the cheap way to test own a bmw for a year or 2. wife does not want me to have more that 2 bikes  may get her to let me pick up a xbx becouse of the crazzy deals... good luck with the test ride. i had the pegaso for a day before i tore it abart to start cleaning and inspecting every thing. | ||
| Hmartin |
Doc - So did you ride it? What'd you think? | ||
| Cyclonedon |
hmmmm today is Friday and haven't heard from doc yet! I think the doctor is keeping us waiting again!  | ||
| Dr_greg |
Fellas, lemme tell ya, God must ride a Uly... 1. So I'm gonna go down to the BMW dealer Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Get there, and the sales guy is "in a meeting" and can't get out to sell a bike. Hmm...my time is too valuable, so I split. 2. So I try later that afternoon; riding up from my office at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Walking out to the parking garage I notice the odd snowflake...by the time I'm two miles up the road it is an absolute BLIZZARD! I barely made it home! One of the (honest) scariest rides I have EVER had. Face shield AND glasses fogged and iced up...yowza! 3. So this afternoon I finish a Ph.D. defense (not my student, but I'm on his committee) about 3:30 and---once again---head up to the Beemer Stealer. By the time I get there the traffic is heavy, the roads are still slick, and I'm bamboozled. Sales guy says "hey, come back next week when there's less traffic and you have more time." So PLAN B is to go to BMW next Thursday mid-morning; get the GS (they say a 2-hour ride is fine) and head for some local twisties. I promise a FULL report after that. Honest. BTW, when I visited the BMW folks I parked Uly next to a BMW GS "limited edition" or WTF they call it. Whaddya think? Did Uly hold his own? I think so.  Uly didn't have his "beak" extended (or I guess he did in his own way), but looks to me like he's sorta just thinkin'...figurin' out the best strategy to bring Doc back to his senses. Well, next Thursday will tell the tale. Sales guy says "no off pavement" on test ride but Doc knows better. Hee-hee, my "70-mile" loop is off limits, but I know an alternative. --Doc PS. In honor of Uly holding his own next to GS LE, we're taking one of my favorite rides into southern NM on Saturday (yes, the "deer-slayer" route). I might even write up a ride report. | ||
| Buellerxt |
We'll be interested in your comparison. BTW,your Uly outclasses that 'other' bike in the photo by leaps and bounds! (Message edited by buellerxt on November 01, 2009) | ||
| Jphish |
That Yellow Uly parked at the Beemer dealer is like a diamond in a sea of goat butts. They are SOOO homely... they're beautiful. My GS riding buddy thinks the Uly's are the baddest looking bike out there. And he's not necessarily a Buell lover - but does admire the quirky little things. Get what moves ya Doc. Good luck next Thurs & don't forget to stop at the car wash on the way back from your 'test ride'. j | ||
| Svh |
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder but that GS is not nearly as good(mean) looking as the Uly. Keep the Uly... | ||
| Jont |
Hey Doc, tell that slacker Dean that Jon from Utah says hi. | ||
| 4_pete_sake |
Beemers.... I recently went for a weekend trip with another Uly and a BMW 1150 GS owner. The second night while talking over a beer by the bikes, I tell him we should switch sometime for a hour or so and check each others bikes out. He says sure, next weekend or something. So I then walk up a through a leg over his bike..... does nothing for me.... he then a moment later does the same to the Uly..... and he gives a head tilt, eye brow lift and slight smile when sitting on the Uly.... I grinned from ear to ear and beyond inside.... He'll never get one he is a Germany snob, germany engineering this and that.... but it still felt good, even if he said absolutely nothing at the time. Cheers- make sure you sleep on it for a night before you make any exchange of money's .... plus it makes the sales man sweat some.... | ||
| Rcf2 |
Just get home from a two days trip, 2 up and luggage, with a friend with his 1150GS. The Uly is smaller, lighter, faster and use 25% less fuel. If the 1200GS is not much better it will be no glory on trading the Uly for one. Again, best deal in motorcycles today is a new Uly with the discounted prices. | ||
| Dentguy |
The 1150GS is much different than the 1200GS. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Well, fellas, I think the Uly knows he has some competition. Executive summary: took my South-Central New Mexico ride today: Temp: from 30 to 70F Elevation: from 4,000 ft to 8,228 ft Total distance: 542.9 miles Fuel consumption: 10.85 gallons 49.94 mpg (let's call it an even 50 mpg) Moving average speed: 64.2 mph Max speed: 85.1 mph Oil consumption: zero (honest!) S/N 564 must finally be broken in :-) And this was with many stretches of 80-85 mph. Both side cases mounted. This route has everything EXCEPT any dirt. Tight, twisty corners; wide sweepers; long straight two-lane; long, straight four-lane...you name it. The '06 Uly was perfect. He did everything I could have asked. Why would I EVER consider replacing this bike? Well, at my current age of 62, in around two-three years I really DO expect to (1) retire from UNM with a pension, and (2) go to part-time work with one of the local ABQ companies. Motorcycling is a (maybe the) part of my existence, dating from 1957 (when I was ten years old). A large part of my recreation in the remaining years of my life will be spent doing motorcycle camping. With four kids and a full-time job I've been averaging around 20,000 miles/year. With a part-time job...well, I expect that to go UP... So...with those kind of expectations, I need a bike that I can rely on to support that. With an unknown number of years for parts for my '06 Uly, and certainly no more development, what can I expect? I've heard some say that "hey, we're still riding British twins, and they've been out of production for generations..." Yeah, but have you been riding them 30,000 miles a year? And doing solo trips into backcountry? Somehow I feel that BMW will still be around in ten or twenty years. And, yes, the bikes are complicated, the service is expensive (I've been told that routine maintenance is no more difficult than the Uly), and so forth. I would just like to have a bike that I can count on for another decade or two. The Uly was a very "fun" bike that had that promise. Sadly, that promise was not fulfilled. My test ride on Thursday awaits (I hope). If the BMW R1200GS (or GSA...good God?) is as hopeless as many indicate, I will remain with the Uly. If---on the other hand---if it delivers on the promise, Dr. Greg will have a tough decision. My shop is well-biased towards the Uly: VDSTS, tire mounters, tire balancers, clutch spring compressors, valve spring compressors, and Lord knows what else. I even have two Distanzia (R) and a (F) ready to mount when the PR2's wear out. It will be very difficult and gut-wrenching to convert this shop from Milwaukee to Munich (to paraphrase the EoR thread... Wish me wisdom. --Doc | ||
| Dentguy |
Good luck Doc. I have a feeling you might like the GS. Glad you're going on a long ride to give it a chance. Many times just a quick ride on something new feels different and people take that as not feeling right. They could be missing out on something good by not giving it a chance. Couldn't tell you how many times I have read about someone riding a GS and not getting a great feeling right away. That is usually followed by them saying that by the end of the day the bike is great and just flat out works. Can't wait to hear how it goes. | ||
| Armymedic |
Man, I couldn't give up my Uly. The only comparable thing even close would be a Ducati Multistrada but not a beemer. I do plan to add a stable mate soon...a Yamaha WR250R. That's nice! | ||
| Djz |
Well Doc it seem to me you are just ready for a new bike.The uly will do all you ask it has proved that already and you have a spare bike for parts .I am much like you have had a motorcycle now for more 45 year i am 60 and still love to ride .I think if you like the bmw you should buy it.BMW has been working on that bike for many years making it better and it shows ..it is what we all wanted from Buell.Most of here have supported buell and now that it is gone and the way they did it is hard to be happy .I was hoping to see a 6 speed i am still trying to shift in 5th gear and some of the problem go away like wheel bearing leaking clutch cables that allowed water to get in gearbox the fan man it has really been a embarrassment a smoother motor or less vibration I think half the fun you have is getting to know your new motorcycle and figuring out how to fix it and make better.The gs has a center stand something all adventure bike need i have wonder why buell did not put one on the uly .Many here have come to trust and enjoy you me included and you may find many of us may do the same with r ulys i still do not know what i am going to do.I am up and down what bike to buy .I am hoping you really fall in love with Gs tell us all it is a great bike I think i already it is.For me i want a bike that is like the uly that can go do most any thing i ask of it .I also want it to be able to race with young and hold my own.I know you can only ride one bike at a time so it must be all you want in a bike.Like most here we all are looking forward to hear what you of it. | ||
| Fast_eddie_1956 |
Dr, after owning several GS's, I would tell you that the '05 and above have left me stranded several times. In four occasions they were items that I could not fix. Three times I had to call roadside assistance. My pre '05's didn't have the problem. These are my concerns with the new GS's; the cambus system, the fuel pump, the final drive, and the security ring. These were all issues that cannot be repaired on the side of the road. With your retirement scenario you may be aware that the final drives in the GS's are going out around 70K and they aren't cheap to repair. The positive side is that they are good at all types of riding, smooth and stable. Find an older GS with low milage and I think you will enjoy the ride. | ||
| Nose2wind |
Hello Buell owners, I am 5-10 and weigh 180lbs Current bike 2000 Moto Guzzi v11s Considering purchase of Uly xt and GS. Have ridden both for about 1hr. The GS feels taller and bulkier/heavier. However this deminishes as you start moving. Still the gs leaves me wondering how it would feel fully loaded and off road. Side Winds? The GS I found is an 05 and has been sitting a year/possible maint issues abs light flashing etc. Fast Eddie mirrored my concerns about the GS and what it might cost me with no warranty. A GS under warranty might not be a concern. Parts for the GS are abundant. The ULY has a 2 yr Warranty. However I question the service one might receive and the parts supply. Lastly the GS has a different personality and doesn't have the same character/soul that the Uly has to me. Ok, now for my observations on the Uly. Fun bike to ride light, agile, good power lots of personality and soul. Vibration but smooths out quickly. Heat on right side could be problem in hot weather. I rode at 80D with jeans. I usually wear better riding gear/pants. What happens at 100+ Does the comfort kit solve this? Wind protection lacking and bad buffetting. How has this been solved? My primary use is for 1 and 2 up longer distances and occasional dirt road/mountain pass type riding. Would like to try some camping. Would probably go for 2-4 weeks at a time all over the U.S. Can the XT handle the off road stuff? I tried to keep it brief. One last question I have read about bearing issues and people carring spare bearing/belts. Are there real issues here? Other issues with reliability? Any comments suggestions? TIA | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I think the belt issue is mostly causes by a type of riding that some do. Probably lots of wheelies and the like, ya know, where you are snapping the throttle hard all the time which snaps all drive components. I have 23,000+ miles with the original belt, original fan, original most everything. Just depends how hard you are on your bike. My opinion only. Heat is no issue if you set your bike up properly. Tall seat helps a lot of course and is much easier on the goads. | ||
| Old_mil |
Tia, with regards to wind protection, Parabellum makes an outstanding series of windscreens for the Uly. Similar hard luggage is available for the Uly as for the GS from the aluminium Touratech panniers to storm cases to the factory plastic luggage. The Uly is a much lighter motorcycle. The belt drive trumps the shaft drive easily. A lot of modern BMW riders have experienced shaft drive failures well within the 20k or so intervals at which belts need to be replaced at tremendous expense not to mention personal risk should the shaft seize while underway and oil your rear tire. | ||
| Svh |
Whichever you choose Dr_Greg, and I am rooting for Mr. Uly, I sure hope you stick around on here. Although they have been few and far between lately, your posts have always been top notch and I am a fan. Good luck on the test ride. | ||
| Hooper |
I believe there is an economic concept known as "dis-saving", where you're spending money that you don't have yet, but that is coming. I learned this term when I was a senior in college. We were mostly poor, all hoping for job offers. But only my buddy Eric had received one...he accepted, and with it came a $1,000 signing bonus. He was RICH! When he accepted that offer, we went out to our favorite bar and lit it up. That was "dis-saving": even though he barely had any scratch on him then, he knew he was going to have it later, so we painted the town red (on him - still a good friend 16 years later). In the GS vs. Uly debate here, I think I'm trying to make the opposite point: until you "need" that new bike (be it a GS or whatever...the Multistrada seems to have a more sporting nature to me, and are much more attractively rare, like the Uly), the money you haven't spent is the money that's still in your bank, making interest. The longer you keep your Uly, the longer you have that money in your pocket. The GS is expensive. You can get a high-quality car for that, or pay for a year of tuition at a good school, or open another Roth IRA and fund it. You may decide that 2011 is your year for the GS, if you like it. Therefore, that's two years of Uly love, two years of respect for the bike, two years of hopefully decent support from H-D part suppliers, and two years to wear our your current Uly, making it much more logical to want to replace it. Unless, of course, you have an uncontrollable urge for a new bike, and that's just hard to fight. I get that every few months... | ||
| Rcf2 |
Be THE Doc here, the guy people travel to have a pic with or another beemer out there? I just love to explain people what a Buell is, his history, the triple tail concept, the handling, etc. I really like to be part of this small family. | ||
| Pso |
Doc: Seems like we are thinking the same way. I also am same age as you, going to retire in a year or three and want bike that I can count on in retirment. Plan on going to sisters in Spokane from Eastern Shore of Md, by way of Canada as retirment present. Probably 2 months trip. Anyway I am thinking of a DL650 Wee Strom. I used my wifes for a 10 day trip to Vermont and NY last summer. Impressive bike but I would want to reworkl suspesnsion. I do not totally trust Uly for trip like that. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
My ULY has run flawlessly for over 23K miles and that would almost circumnavigate this earth. I'd trust mine to go anywhere. In fact my son and I are going to travel out to the west coast from Nebraska after he graduates next spring from high school. Both on ULY's. | ||
| Dr_greg |
A few Sunday night thoughts---after spending most of the evening on the cam design homework solution for my mechanisms class. Boy I wish I had a "real job"...no more evening and weekend work. Oh, well...
I hear you on the engineering note. Creative engineering is why I purchased the Ulysses in the first place; I liked the "outside the box" approach. Still do. However---no disrespect intended---Erik is the not the only good motorcycle designer on the planet.
Well, I think the current 1200GS is a little better than the older GS series. And I already have (two...er, one and a half :-) Ulys, which is enough for me at present. It will be VERY DIFFICULT for me as well. After over 70,000 miles on the '06 Uly(s), which have absolutely given me the most enjoyment of any motorcycle in over 50 years of riding...it will be difficult indeed.
Yes, indeed. When I rode Forest Road 76 at ADV WestFest '07 we came upon a new GS ("Art from Estonia") who was stalled in the road with an EWS problem. He had to have his GS transported via pickup to the dealer in Santa Fe for restarting. Mrs. Greg said "no GS for me" after hearing that story. You are absolutely correct in that they are complicated and not easy to repair. Point taken.
My original belt had almost 50,000 miles on it when it snapped during a "tip-over" in a parking lot (the maximum belt extension occurs when the swingarm is fully extended). I'll bet that---except for that tipover---I'd still be on my original belt. I am not hard on the bike.
Well, thank you very much. I have to say that Mr. Uly is top dog right now. For many reasons. He is paid for, I have lots of spares, I know (almost) everything about him, and he is a ton of fun. The long-term ownership issue is the only negative. I'm tired of buying bikes (e.g. '00 Aprilia) that end up being orphans...
That makes a lot of sense. I am certainly NOT going to run out and buy anything. I'm (hopefully) riding this GS to get a feel for the beast. The Uly(s) will stay in my garage for a good while hence...
Well, I DO trust the Uly for pretty much any trip. The spark plug blowout has been my only "showstopper" and I truly believe that was a real anomaly. Other than that the Uly has never let me down.
That's not enough. Call back when you're over 50K miles. I had a number of "issues" during the 30K-50K mile period. With 22K on '06 Uly #564 I'm interested in what the next 25K miles brings (assuming I have him that long). I was looking at 100K, 200K miles on the Uly, I like him that much. Had my legs sawed out underneath me when Buell went belly-up. Like I said, when I retire I'll average 30K miles/year and I need a bike that will handle that. Don't give me the Commando act; how many Commandos do 30K/year and are in backcountry? Folks, for all the GS-bashing out there (and I may do my share after my test-ride) there are a TON of the darned things sold, and NOT EVERYONE is a sucker. BMW invented the class (no?), and they are not junk. Expensive, complicated...well what high-quality machine isn't these days? If your Uly dies in the outback with some weird ignition problem can you get it running with bailing wire and chewing gum? CANbus? My '02 VW Golf TDI runs on a CANbus and has been as reliable as a stone, and I do all my own maintenance. CANbus technology has been around for over 20 years; was developed in Germany. We use it in our research lab to communicate with robots at 1 Mbit/sec. It's been bulletproof. Do you want to go back to mechanical ignition points? I still have a Snap-On tach-dwell meter you can use! C'mon, give me a break. Old-school is not better. Not necessarily defending BMW here. I have personal experience with a GS leaving someone stranded. I believe I've heard of the odd Uly leaving someone stranded too (would have happened to me if I weren't a mile from home when it happened). Everything can break down. BTW, I'm probably not going to check out the KTM twins because my riding is mostly pavement, with a little dirt thrown in (typically dirt roads back to camping areas). I don't really want a "dirt bike" that can also do road; quite the reverse. Seems like the Uly and GS are the main game in town. No, no Strom or Tiger or Multistrada (already have a 2-valve Ducati) for me, sorry. --Doc | ||
| Eulysses |
Doc, nice to met ya. Just thinking as a retired guy when the cash flow slows and every penny gets stashed to work for you somewhere to keep you fed until 100...especially with Obamaflation staring at us...this is me. If I had your working knowledge of Ulys and a spare motor/parts it would be a real bonus on top of driving my 09 into the next ten or 15 years. I am going to run it til I can't. Keeping the DR650 for the real dirty chores. I have no doubt these two bikes can keep me grinning a long time. Your $$$ situation is same as mine...(I already retired) and $$$ start dictating different when the flow slows. We make do with less. I am guessing you are itching for a new techno adventure with the rationalization that you would buy a bike now before retirement (surely the wife would vote yes!) and ride it till you drop. I bet you could get 10 more years of Uly (lot cheaper) then buy something if you wanted. Buy some gold instead and let that gold be your next ride when it is impossible to keep a Uly running. Then make it a goal to keep it running...which we all selfishly would appreciate, thank you very much. Yea team! | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Doc, I was looking into getting a BMW back in 2005 and was talking to my local Buell dealer. I was telling him that I had out-grown the Buell M2 Cyclone for the comfort that I was looking for when he told me to hold off on the BMW because Buell was coming out with a new bike. I did as he said and in about a month Buell released the Ulysses and I eventually purchased one and that's the only reason I didn't end up getting a BMW. I think they are great looking bikes, a little pricey, but nice! | ||
| Dentguy |
Folks, for all the GS-bashing out there (and I may do my share after my test-ride) there are a TON of the darned things sold, and NOT EVERYONE is a sucker. BMW invented the class (no?), and they are not junk. Expensive, complicated...well what high-quality machine isn't these days? If your Uly dies in the outback with some weird ignition problem can you get it running with bailing wire and chewing gum? CANbus? My '02 VW Golf TDI runs on a CANbus and has been as reliable as a stone, and I do all my own maintenance. CANbus technology has been around for over 20 years; was developed in Germany. We use it in our research lab to communicate with robots at 1 Mbit/sec. It's been bulletproof. Do you want to go back to mechanical ignition points? I still have a Snap-On tach-dwell meter you can use! C'mon, give me a break. Old-school is not better. Not necessarily defending BMW here. I have personal experience with a GS leaving someone stranded. I believe I've heard of the odd Uly leaving someone stranded too (would have happened to me if I weren't a mile from home when it happened). Everything can break down. Well said Dr_greg. I think some of you guys need to lighten up a little and just let the man take his test ride so he can decide for himself. (Message edited by dentguy on November 02, 2009) | ||
| Fast_eddie_1956 |
"I think some of you guys need to lighten up a little and just let the man take his test ride so he can decide for himself." I'm not trying to bash the BMW, I actually love them. The GS was the perfect bike for me ergonomically and I did several LD rides with it. What put me off was the lack of local dealer, that I could buy two bikes for the price of one GS, and in my opinion, for the money, I shouldn't have to worry that a ring in my ignition will not let me start my bike in the middle of no where (It happened to me). I agree that any bike can leave on the side of the road, so, what it comes down to is which bike is the most comfortable to the rider for the type of riding you want to do and how much money you want to spend. Dr. Gregg, I hope you find that bike, be it a Uly, GS or whatever. |
