| Author | Message | ||
     Cadhopper |
Well once again I'm looking for something different. I have a buyer for my 05 BMW R1150R so I will be without a two wheel ride by the end of the week. I've been looking at what's out in the market for dual sport/adventure bikes and have narrowed the list to the following bikes. 08 Buell XB12X, $11495, I'll have to see if they will come off the price a bit to get rid of the 08 model. 09 Buell XB12XT, $12995 09 BMW F800GS, $13171 OTD 08 BMW R1200GS/Factory Lowered, $17650  The reasons I would buy a Buell; 1. American made, keeping the money at home. 2. Belt drive, I hate doing chain maintenance. 3. A bike you don't see on every corner. 4. Bullet proof motor, no valve adjustments. 5. Easy maintenance schedule. 6. Decent suspension. 7. Good luggage for XB12X and XT. The reasons I hesitate to buy a Buell. 1. Dealer support, the only dealer near me is Colonial HD. Not a sponsor of Badweather.  2. Heat on the right leg/butt and the loud cooling fan. I'm sure I would put the ceramic coated header that Al sells. The reasons I would buy a BMW. 1. An excellent local dealer, Morton's BMW. 2. ABS brakes, ability to turn off for dirt. 3. Shaft drive on R series is very smooth. 4. Decent suspension. 5. Good luggage for R and F series bikes. 6. Many options for crash guards. The reasons I hesitate to buy a BMW. 1. More complex maintenance schedule than the Buell. 2. F800GS is chain drive and has tubed tires. 3. 1st year on production of F800GS. I really miss being able to ride mild off road so that may rule out the XB12XT. I'm also starting to look at the cost of ownership/ease of maintenance and having owned a XB12 ,R1150 and a F650GS it seems that the Buell would be the cheaper bike to own and maintain. The down side to the Buell is the dealer support. Does anyone have any experience with Colonial HD/Buell? In the end what I'm looking for is a bike I can ride comfortably coast to coast and up through Canada. Any thoughts or insight on the bikes I've listed would be appreciated. (Message edited by cadhopper on February 22, 2009) | ||
| Mnrider |
Reasons to buy the XB12X Belt drive is light and maint. free Engine is low maint. Fully adj. susp. Good luggage options. Good HWY. manners. Dirt and gravel road capable. Better looking than BMW. Great fuel mileage. Made in USA. Great BadWeb. support and fun. Need I say more. | ||
| Old_man |
1. American made, keeping the money at home. 2. Belt drive, I hate doing chain maintenance. 3. A bike you don't see on every corner. 4. Bullet proof motor, no valve adjustments. 5. Easy maintenance schedule. 6. Decent suspension. Those are some of the reasons that I bought a Buell I would add, air cooled,light weight,and superior engineering. | ||
| Itileman |
#1 Reason: It's the most fun! Just got in from a 150 mile ride: dirt, gravel, snow & highway. Incredible acceleration and handling. The heat & fan thing is over-blown (no pun intended). OBTW this is an 09 XT. I traded my Road King for it after a test ride. | ||
| Ulynut |
Thats easy. If I were to ride coast to coast, and up to Canada, it wouldn't be on a F800GS. The R1200GS is too expensive to buy, and maintain. I've never ridden one in the dirt, but I'm sure it aint no dirtbike. (either is the Uly) Like mentioned above, the heat issue, in my opinion, is really exaggerated. I have actually come to enjoy the sweet sound of that fan. Its even better when you have 3 or more of them screaming away in some parking lot, in the presence of the uninitiated.  The XT isn't as dirt-worthy as the X. I would go with the X. | ||
| Big_b |
Agreed the heat and fan thing doesn't seem bad to me. And as for dealer service. The service work on these bikes is so easy you could do it yourself. Your not going to find alot of people here that will pick the BMW over the Buell. And vice versa on the Beemer forums. Ride both you will know witch one you want. | ||
| Beachbuell |
If I were to add a new bike into the stable I think it would be a Triumph Sprint ST. Love them bikes! | ||
| Brumbear |
I don't know why but I like the HP2 BMW | ||
| Cadhopper |
The R1200GS is too expensive to buy, and maintain. I've never ridden one in the dirt, but I'm sure it aint no dirtbike. Your not kidding about that. I just dropped $750 on a 6K service and new tires. #1 Reason: It's the most fun! Just got in from a 150 mile ride: dirt, gravel, snow & highway. Incredible acceleration and handling. The heat & fan thing is over-blown (no pun intended). Sounds like you ride your XT pretty hard. How does the shorter suspension handle the rougher dirt roads? The funniest thing I remember about the fan on the XB12SS I had was when a guy came running up to me from the parking lot to tell me I had left my bike running.  Thanks for the opinions. I had pretty much already made up my mind but it's nice to get other opinions. Of course it all hinges on the guy buying my R1150R on Friday because I only have room for one bike. Now I need to decide if I want to buy a new bike or wait to see if I can find a used one in good condition with a clear title. | ||
| Itileman |
Cad - I've only been able to ride off and on since I got it - winter, go figure. I've had it on gravel roads, both large and small gravel. Also in surface mud, slush, grass and it handles that stuff well enough to stay upright. Have done a little mild up and down in some fields, again with no problems. One thing I did notice today was going over some small heaves in the two lane along the Yellowstone River. They are hard bumps and I've hit those kinds of things on my Road King and Dyna Low Rider and about lost a kidney when the forks bottomed out. The Uly was pretty smooth at 65 mph. I'm 165# and have it set for a 180# rider because I like a very firm suspension. That's one thing I really like about the bike is the ease of suspension tuning. I'll get more into fine tuning that when summer comes and I get out into the boonies. It's not at the same level as a KTM or an 800 GS, not a rock and stump jumper, but I'm mainly a road guy who wants to ride the gravel back roads and forest service roads. I'm also going to be 64 pretty soon, but that has nothing to do with it. Ride what you're comfortable with. Service and parts played a big part in my decision to get the Uly. There's no BMW shop within 130 miles of here. I've only seen a couple of Beemers in town and they were the K1200's. The local Harley dealership is one of the best in the country and they are aggressive with the Buell line. Couldn't be happier with the Uly. Ride safe on whatever you get. See you out there. http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb108/itileman/?action=view¤t=SANY0016.jpg (Message edited by itileman on February 22, 2009) |
