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     Jrh |
Darthane I'm from Ohio but the roads are flat+straight in my local too,but about 80 miles S.E. the curves start.The Holmes County area+farther S.E. is beautiful.I used to go there several times a summer with a friend or two on cycles and we sometimes camped at Mohican State Park,sometimes in just a farm field.This was about 20 years ago though,but many of the roads then were not paved,just compacted finely crushed stone,don't know if that's changed much by now.No doubt you'll find plenty of good paved roads to ride there anyways.The scenery is incredible;gentle rolling hills,curving roads,almost all farm land.One of the most Amish populated places in the U.S.,horse drawn buggies+wagons everywhere especially on weekdays, harvesting crops in the Fall.I don't think the horses would like a loud exhaust system though.Just a fantastic place to be,even not on a bike,watch out for deer though,they come running out of the cornfields at the least disturbance+run across the roads. Its kinda funny to hear someone talking about that area,because as soon as i saw the new "s"model a started thinking of Mohigan,one of the ideal places for motorcycles+the Buells would be perfect for that kind of riding. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Xb9 |
Darthane, Jrh is correct, Holmes county & south the roads get good. He is also correct in that these roads are not for the faint of heart. With Deer, farm equipment and buggies, rolling blind hills and dips, some with gravel in them, it makes for a thrilling ride! I belong to a group (CORE) that meets in Laurelville (southeast of Circleville) and there's a ride every Saturday, and sometimes Sunday too. CORE stands for Central Ohio Riding Enthusiasts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/corecentralohio/ Feel free to subscribe to this group and you can hook up with us anytime you are in the area. Laurelville is in the Hocking Hills area, which has some really good roads as you go eastward. The roads south and east of Zanesville,(Rt.555 is unreal)are good. Also Rt 9 South of Salem, Rt. 39, 151, 212,148, 800 (south of Uhrichsville) are good down in the East-Central area. My favorite is Rt 26 NE out of Marrietta, it has a nice mix, with some sharp tight stuff that is really FUN on the XB. This website: http://www.motorcycleridesinamerica.com/ has some good descriptions of the some of these roads. Let me know if you want to hook up sometime, we can plan a ride. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darthane |
Jrh, XB9, Thanks a lot guys. Spidey and I'll have to run down there for a weekend sometime soon and check them out...if he can get a couple days off work. Bryan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spiderman |
Day off whats that  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blake |
The bikes to which the Buell XB9R and/or the XB9S deserve comparison, in my opinion... 
Red indicates best of bunch. Bold indicates worst of bunch. All numbers are from Motorcyclist magazine's published test results. Dyno RWHP and 1/4 mile ET's were adjusted to compensate appropriately for varying atmospheric conditions. Gee, the XB9R is the least expensive and quickest of it's peers. So why is it that some of you think the XB9's are overpriced and underpowered again?  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reepicheep |
Blake... I agree completely, but would have to add the SV-650 in the list. That will require another column though, the "Looks like an Appliance" catagory.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eeeeek |
Blake: I could make that same graph and compare it against the R1, 954 and GSXR1000. In my comparison, it would be the slowest, heaviest, least powerfull and most expensive. I could go a step further and compare it against the R6, CBR600F4i, GSXR600 and ZX6R and it would again be last place in all categories. When Buell made the statement that the XB9R was the best handling bike made, he begged to have it compared to sport bikes. I found the review of the XB9R vs the CBR600F4i to be very interesting. The F4i just edged out the XB9R. The big difference is the F4i is a couple grand cheaper and Honda has one heck of a reputation for reliability. The humorous part of the article was how the reviewers kept saying the XB9R was an ill handling beast; yet, it kept up with the F4i pretty well. I, personally, don't think your comparison is valid for several reasons: the biggest is I have no interest in purchasing any of those bikes. I want an awseome handling bike with good power that will last at least 50,000 miles before I even have to start worrying about the engine. Vik | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spiderman |
Right, Well i just got off the phone with Henry Duga, they are developing a swing arm for the XB that will be able to use chain drive. They are also working on a belly pan for the Xb He also has a full race faring for sale with the head lights blocked out. They are also slowly working on a full race header for the Xb too. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blake |
Eeeeek, I feel the comparison is valid because it matches similar nitch type/semi-exotic, relatively low production number, air cooled liter class sport oriented motorcycles. My point is that if the XB9R is overpriced, what are all the other bikes in my list? They all certainly have a viable market do they not? They are all relatively successful are they not? Comparing such motorcycles' prices to UJM's is silly. They are NOT in the same class nor the same market demographic. That has to make some sense to you doesn't it? As to what Erik claimed... Don Canet, though seemingly biased towards the F4i, amitted that the XB9R did indeed live up to what Erik Buell promised. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Court |
That's an inaccurate and ill informed statement on the part of the journalist who penned it. Regardless of your personal position on the price point issue, the Buell XB9R has raised the handling bar of all sportbikes, regardless of price. Of course, the folks I get this from don't sell advertising for a living so their opinions may vary. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Court |
"Worst" is a funny word. The BMW is a bike that holds tremendous appeal to me. It's David Robb incarnate and is a painfully well executed bike. Pricey?.. yep. Fastest or lightest?..nope. In terms of shape, add an "elegant" column and let the poor Beemer excel. Worst?....hmmmm. Court-mudgeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grizzlyb |
Blake, consider this, In Holland The R1100S is $13500, The R1150GS is $13350, The Buell XB9R is $ 13550, (top) Ducati ss 900 is $ 10635, Ducati 900 monster is $11750, In other countrys in Europe its worse, the other bikes are even less expansive then the XB93. That makes it hard to buy a XB9R in Europe. Grizzly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buellzebub |
ROTFLMAO, the rr's and s1/s2's maybe... i'll admit the bike is fairly unique, but it is not a limited production unit, the company's betting the works on it and its sister. i'm wondering what the blue book resale price is on it? there are three of them on the floor at my dealership right now [16500 cdn out the door with extended warranty, while just down the street a gixxer 1k costs 15000cdn]and they haven't sold one yet. i thought the fireblast were the model that was supposed to compete with the mainstream. making your own bike catagory doesn't count and i have my doubts that the bike could win it next year, even after "inventing" the "sportfighter catagory" this year. it's a cute bike with a lot of innovative thinking. but not exotic by a long shot [outside of the pricing] although thinking so helps justify the exorbinate cost. harley mentality all the way, get it out the door with the minimum you can get away with. then nickle and dime the customer to death as they try to make it competitive. nice chrome parts and seats in the p&a catalog too, now where's the performance parts. rant mode off time to ride, S1's rule! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| José_Quiñones |
Is the XB an exotic? Well, think of it this way, you are helping Erik pay for all his patents..... The SV650 is an "appliance"? Go to any local track, Bill, and count how many SV's are out there. I guess a low priced, well handling and RELIABLE bike is something that is not desirable unless you're racing.......... Speaking of racing, the bikes Blake mentioned are not being raced by the FACTORIES in AMA or any other major santioning body (except the Canadian Thunder Series, but those are "True" Privateers). The bikes Vik mentioned are. So is the FIREBOLT. Where does that put Buell? With the SPORTBIKES, because that's what they want to be compared with. So BUELL is trying to race an street going APPLE (with extra displacement and parts that they don't sell to you and I) against a bunch of ORANGES designed to be raced with engines that are still displacing the same as the street versions. Yes they have won at Loudon(FUSA in the 600 class) and Laguna(AMA Pro Thunder), but those have been the exception, not the typical lead for a few laps, then break down/crash and watch the Ducs take over pattern that we have seen OVER AND OVER the last two years in Pro Thunder. BTW, they showed the pass Mike Ciccotto put on Kirk McCarthy at Laguna today on Speedvision. SWEET  You could also see Kirk's bike smoking before the pass happened. I don't think Mike would have caught him otherwise. Still a beautiful pass. They also showed Tripp Noble's bike catching FIRE after he crashed and Dave Estok's BIG crash at the top of the Corkscrew. I hope he's ok, he looked pretty shaken up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blake |
Buellzebub, Glad you enjoyed such a good laugh. Apparently you didn't get the very simple gist of my post, that comparing prices between the motorcycles listed in my post and the UJM's is silly. Apparently the old addage is true in more cases than I realized... If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand. Yep, there you go, comparing the price of an XB9R to a UJM repliracer. Yawn. Gee that's an amazing point you just made! I have never heard such a cutting review of the XB9R's price point. You must be an economics genius! "i thought the fireblast were the model that was supposed to compete with the mainstream." Yeah, with a whopping initial model year production run of a few thousand motorcycles Buell obviously intended to completely dominate the sport bike world market. "it's a cute bike with a lot of innovative thinking. but not exotic by a long shot" I believe the term I used was "semi-exotic". In any case, the very first production sport bike to include perimeter braking, fuel in the frame, oil in the swingarm, and GP racer geometry in an initial production run of only a few thousand motorcycles certainly deserves such a classification. Heck, in my mind, the simple fact that it is an American sport bike makes it darn exotic compared to any other sport bike on the market. "..although thinking (that it is exotic) helps justify the exorbinate cost." Exorbitant compared to the other bikes I listed? Are those highly successful motorcycles grossly overpriced too? It seems to me at least that... "different", "innovative", "rare" and "American Motorcycle" have significant inherent added value over "conformist", "replicative", "common", and "Japanese Motorcycle." I guess you don't see it that way. That's your right. "...now where's the performance parts." Complete race kits are now available for under $700. JQ, "Where does that put Buell? With the SPORTBIKES, because that's what they want to be compared with." For track prowess and performance goals yes. For price/value point, no. See above. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bamaben |
Blake, You're on a roll man! Don't stop. I love this stuff. I have to agree with what you're saying. Some of you people have to get over this price ,value , power etc. problem and just go riding. This bike may not be for you or me but it rocks for some. The bike you want may be in the works. Then again it might not. I'll wait and see and in the meantime I will enjoy reading about the current XB owners adventures and attitudes. Lets Ride,Ben | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reepicheep |
José, I don't mean to offend when I call the SV-650 an appliance. If I do all the math, and look at everything objectively, it is THE bike to buy. In fact, it is the first bike I recommend to friends looking for bikes, and I helped a buddy buy one just two weeks ago. I worked hard talking him out of a bunch of other bikes. It was the bike that I had decided to buy, and went and sat on one, only to find that my knees won't clear the tank flare towards the top, which was awkward. I was very dissapointed and went back to the drawing board. The only other naked standard twin that I could find that was in my price range and might fit my height was... drum roll please... a Buell Cyclone. I knew next to nothing about the company or the bike at that point, but the more I looked, the more interested I got. The more times I looked at the bike, the more it got under my skin. One ride, and I was hopelessly hooked. Every time I ride an SV (I have had long rides on three different SV's), I think "this is a fantastic bike for the price, and I wish my Cyclone was half as reliable". My next thought is inevitably "I wish I was riding my Cyclone though". My humble opinion (with not a shred of fact to back it up) is that 20 years from now, the majority of SV's will be scrap, but the majority of tube framed Buells will still be running. They will be on their 8th engine, and there won't be an original part on the bike, and they will STILL be unreliable as hell, but somebody will still happily slave over them and get excited every time they see one in the garage. I can't really explain it, but when I look at and ride the SV, I see a fantastically refined bike that has been optimized in every measurable degree, and it bores me to tears. When I look at the Buell, I see a vision and an attitude, and a completely different approach that somehow manages to come together and work with flair, and it really pushes my buttons. The SV has a twin so refined it might as well be an inline four (all the power feels like it is up top). The Buell is all power down low with a gasping and weak top end... arguably worse but somehow I like it more. Everything else with its refined and optimal short stroke and massive big top end power feels "wrong" to me now... even the XB9S that I secretly lust over may feel just as "wrong", I won't know until I can get somebody to let me ride one. I know it's not really apples to apples in theory, but in practice it is hard to find a used SV650 around here for less then $4k or so. For $5k, I can pretty easily find a similiar milage used Cyclone. Even if both bikes fit me, having pretty much experience with both, even with the litany of reliability problems I have had with my M2, I would take the Cyclone in a heartbeat, even if it cost $3000 more (and I'm a terrible cheapskate). Just my humble opinion, and I don't claim to be anything other then a fool. So I call the SV an appliance, not because I wish it or anyone riding it any ill will, or because I think it is anything but a fantastic bike, but simply because it is (to me) perfect in every regard, but impossible for me to get excited about... Like my home air conditioner, or my VCR, or my minivan. It's just me, and I apologize to anyone I offended. And maybe it's semantics, but I still don't see why the XB9whatevers are not considered an exotic. Had Ducatti, Aprilla, Cagiva, Triumph or BMW released the identical bike, the U.S. motorcycle press (and us for that matter) would have gone bezerk over the collection of features at a $10,000 price. I don't see why the fact that it is built in America disqualifies it as an exotic or (perhaps more reasonably) a semi-exotic. I saw more Aprillas, BMW's, and Ducatti's then I saw Buells on my last trip to Deals Gap. When I come back out to a parking lot, more times then not somebody is asking me about my Cyclone. If I strike up a conversation with the owner of a BMW, Ducatti, Triumph, etc, we are both very interested in each others ride, but generally uninterested in the latest repli-racer, even though we both know it is superior to our rides in just about every measurable regard. Although to come full circle and undermine my original point, this same group always has gobs of respect for the SV-650, even if they would never own one  Bill "on a rant again" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Raymaines |
Would you own one if it were a SV 1000? I agree with everything you just said but I'd have to admit that size motor would make the bike a whole lot more appealing to me. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hans |
Thanks Bill: You have put in words precisely how I feel about those bikes. Hans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grizzlyb |
Hi Bill,
That quote reminds me of some track days on a Voxan Roadster an the Voxan Café Racer. They are both Exotic, has 1000 V-Twin engine and... It made me want to ride my X1 (that btw was riding in front of the Voxan every time we switched) It had that inline-four feel. I rode the SV and had the same feeling you described so well. With a TL 1000 engine? I would like to put that one in the XB9R and probably never want an other bike again. IMO the XB9R is beautiful and most exotic bike. I have the highest respect for a designer who has the guts to put a bike like this in production. Grizzly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reepicheep |
There is "kind of" a SV-650 with the TL1000 engine, including much better suspension and brake components, and I got to sit on one in my trip to Germany (and in fact the guy I was visiting bought it). It was the Cagiva Raptor, and looked to be an amazing bike. Naked standard, nice looking, TL1000 engine with a hopped up ECM. Very compelling package. Of course, it was a well used dealer demo, and sold for over $10,000 (as I recall, there were exchange rates involved). It was compelling, but given that or the XB9S (they are about the same price) I would take the Buell easily... it lacks on power but wins on handling and looks lots better (all IMHO). Note that this bike will probably hit the US next year with a new (claimed lighter) 1000cc twin. And isn't there a Japan only SV-1000? Does it have the upgraded suspension? Whats the price going to be by the time it gets to the US? The VStrom is the bike I was begging Suzuki to build, but when I saw it I was uninspired somehow. I have yet to see or ride one in person, but thus far it has not gotten me as excited as I expected. Like the SV-650, it looks very good for the price however. Man there are a lot of really good bikes out there right now that are within reach of real everyday people... (and the XB's are two of them). Court called it... it's a great time to be a rider! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grizzlyb |
Bill, I rode a day on a track with the Cagiva Raptor to. The Kicxtart magazine was testing it (against my X1 with kit.) We swapped bikes several times. It had better ground clearence and revved faster. Apart from that I could keep-up nicly and in the corners overtake it. It had 106 HP. After 1 hour the exhaust from the Raptor fell apart, 30 min later the turnsignals came loose. Quality of the parts was real bad. I was not impressed with that Cagiva and was happy to ride home on my X1. Grizzly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Henrik |
Reepicheap; insulting my "appliance" SV - well, I for one am thoroughly upset But I guess the "appliance" appeal was just why I bought it for track duty. A great platform that responds *very* well to few and not too expensive suspension and performance mods. And crashes well to boot  A huge aftermarket and relatively cheap parts only adds to it. Power wise it's not at all like an in-line. It's actually quite twin-like, only not nearly as much of it and without the Buellish vibrations. As for ownership appeal - well, I've grown to like the SV, but it doesn't spur the "Man, that's a nice bike" feeling when I look at it like the S2 does. That only comes when riding it, hurtling into a corner, everything work perfectly together. I doubt the SV will go away anytime soon. It'll likely be like the EX500 and the Honda Hawk. It'll be raced for years to come. If the Firebolt is anywhere near the modified SV in handling it'll be a great track bike/backroad strafer. And if you like the styling, which certainly is more "bold" than the SV, it too will be able to elicit the "proud owner" response. Henrik | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Davegess |
Blake, go boy go!!!! I do not understand how an XB or any Buell except the Blast (heck even the Blast is very limited production)is not an exotic. TVR (not anymore but 10 years ago), Morgan, Lotus 7, Bristol, DeTomaso Mangusta, Cobra, and several other cars all are classed as exotic and use rather pedestrian mass produced engines. In fact most of the engines are STOCK pushrod lumps only mildly tuned for the exotic car they are in. Why is the Buell not exotic? Could it be 'cause it is mass produced? Is 11000-12000 units mass produced? That makes it one of the smallest production motorcycles in the world. How about technolgy? Oh yeah it has stuff on it that has never been done on a produciton bike. And not jsut one thing but several. So it can't be that. Engine? That could be; it after all is a H-D lump. Of course it has been massaged to the point that it actually puts out pretty good power and does the job. In my mine this is the biggest reason and a false one. Many cars and not a few bikes are exotic without having a real exotic engine. You don't need to be the fastest to be exotic, in fact most of the real exotic stuff is quite a bit slower than the HIPO Japanese stuff. Perhaps the real reason is that it is made in the USA by a company tied to H-D, folks just can't link those two things with EXOTIC. In my mind it is just about as exotic as can be and well worht the price. Nothing else on the market has the same combo of cool stuff, excellant performance and a price that is very resonable. dave | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Court |
Make that two of us old feller.....If Bimota, who gained some attention packaging leftover engines in finicky packages, is dubbed an "exotic", the Buell qualifies easily. Peoples mindset and mental inertia prevent them from dubbing this bike exotic and frankly, I could care less if they do. The greatest compliment that can be slapped on a Buell is FUN and these bikes seem to deliver. Court | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mikej |
In 49 of the United States coconut juice is exotic, in the South Pacific apple juice is exotic. It's all a matter of personal perspective. IMHO. Excuse me now while I go back to my exotic peanut butter and chocolate chunk granola bars.  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leeaw |
Exotic. Intriguingly unusual. Case closed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two_Buells |
Exotic is as exotic does | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elvis |
exotic - adj. - strikingly, excitingly, or mysteriously different or unusual Based on this definition, the Firebolt is more exotic than any other motorcycle currently being produced for mass consumption. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Court |
Darn. . . just our luck. Turns out the Firebolt is "normal" and Jose' is exotic! |
