| Author | Message | ||
     Cafefighter7 |
So, Buell owners, tell me why a guy like me(who's all about streetfightered inline-fours)should go for a bike that weighs more and makes less horse power. My first bike was an air/oil-cooled Suzuki inline-four fighter. My current streetbike is a converted Triumph Daytona 600 streetfighter. I'm interested in the Speed Triple, XB9sx, XB12Ss, Super Duke and Street Triple. Basically I want more usable power, hooligan ergos, an awesome exhaust note, reliability, fuel economy and versatility (this will be my main transportation). I would also be interested in the 1125cr if there was a way to get rid of the ugly air-intakes and perhaps put a supercharger on. Also I've heard that tts-performance.com makes a supercharger for the Buell XB platform. Do any of you know anybody who has made this conversion? I want to know why all of you dudes chose Buell streetbikes over more performance based machines. What is it like to ride in traffic? Can you outrun the homicidal cars well enough? Good gas mileage?(I get 34 to 40mpg)Ease of maintenance/cost of upkeep? I want to know what real people think. I want to ride the bike not the spec sheet!!! | ||
| Js_buell |
It all depend what you mean by performance. I had inline fours sport bikes before, they were fun but a illegal speed only. I'm not a top speed guy, I like corner and that's where the buell shine in therms of performances. I also happened to love torque which my xb12s got and which is an other kind of performance. If you ask me I pretty much think that for my style of riding my underpowered 12s out perform any of the sport bikes I had before. The other points that made me choose a buell are 1 I really don't like being like everybody else and 2 the character of the tractor motor. I almost bought a superduke but it was 5k more then my bike and didn 't have the low grunt of my bike. Sure once it hit 6k rpm well it's an other story but I had to have a Buell anyway. | ||
| Roysbuell |
I like the torque of the V-twin, the power is always there. Inline 4's you have to kick it down 2 gears and rev the hell out of it to find your power. If your wanting a cool exhaust note, this is it. | ||
| Andymnelson |
honestly, go ride a couple. if you still need it explained to you then it's not the bike for you. if you get done with the test ride and you just gotta have one, then you'll know. I came from Yamaha and Triumph sport bikes, now I own a couple of Buells and haven't looked back. | ||
| Smoke |
2 words-DEMO RIDE!! tim | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
PLEASE test ride one. My buddy is (was) a DIE HARD R1 fan. He loved the top end rush you get from an IL4. He just couldn't believe that anyone would want a v-twin. Then he rode a white and blue 2009 1125R. He FINALLY understood what I have been telling him about becoming addicted to the torque. "I can't believe how much more power this thing feels like it has. I know it's down on power compared to my R1, but you don't notice it because the torque is so much stronger down low. Every where I roll on the throttle, there's power. I FINALLY get what you are talking about!" Now you live in Florida. Ain't like there are many curves. Corner carving may not be your thing. If straight line blasts at 150 MPH are what you do, you probably won't like the 1125R/CR. | ||
| Cafefighter7 |
We have a few good curves down here in Florida. My bike has dirtbike bars and no wind protection now that I've fightered it out so I'm not too concerned about 130mph plus speeds anymore. I like good acceleration and handling and strong brakes. The Speed Triple is supposed to make good torque too. So I guess I just need to see which engine makes me laugh the hardest when I open the throttle The V twin or the Triple. | ||
| Jake318 |
Similar story here as Ft bastard . My buddies with gixxers and ZX10s are always looking to steal my stock XB12R firebolt or stock 1125R . They are shocked that the bikes handle so well, especially the xb12. BTw the difference in performance of an 1125R and a GSXR/ZX10 isnt really all that great. Its only noticeable on a trackday. Im putting a HPE? racepipe/race ecm/free intake on the 1125 so the performance will be equal to the Inline 4cyl bikes. Hell Ill never get to ride the dam thing now lol. jake | ||
| Iamarchangel |
How many people use their bikes for its stated purpose? The power/speed of most bikes can only be used legally in Nevada, I'm not sure about that. Buell says it will corner and it will rocket to just over the speed limit. It will do both those dead easy. There's more if you want to dig. It comes easy as well but the police get more interested. I have to ride 45 mins to get an hour of twisties. Sure, I can go over 200 kph but I get more satisfaction/thrill about a certain corner that I'm now taking at almost 60 kph. (The highest posted speed in Ontario is 100 kph. You will lose your bike and license for a week at 50 over and then go to court for a $2000 minimum fine. Performance below 150 kph is much more valuable to me.) | ||
| Teeps |
From my experience I can only answer the last two questions: I get between 48 and 53mph xb12x/06 Maintenance/upkeep, well I like to list the Buell virtues by using the "NO Factor"; as in: No valves to adjust No coolant to worry about No timing adjustments No carb adjustments(fuel injected) No Chain to adjust and, best of all... NO BLING TO CLEAN! Buells have their own character you either like it or not, there's no middle ground there. +1 on the test ride; make it long as possible. | ||
| Oddball |
Hit the road and run to Rossmeyers. Demo day today so you could test and see. Looks like it'd be a long hike for you though. Couple hours for me, I better get my ass is gear if i want to try'em myself. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
what they said x34 | ||
| Blake |
I agree, best thing to do is go test ride one. I was shopping for a Speed Triple when I test rode my first Buell. That's all it took. But I'm not big on triple digit speeds. Once in a while, but 120 MPH is plenty and it gets there in short order.  | ||
| Sifo |
When I bought my XB12 I was also looking at the Speed and Street triples. The Street Triple was tossed out because of lack of availability at the time. I really didn't care about the top end the Speed Triple offered, but it does offer "bragging rights" if that matters. I really like that Buell is American made. The regular maintenance is simple to do in my own garage. At almost any RPM you would reasonably ride at you have about 90% of the max torque available. Even the Speed Triple needs to be wound up a bit. Having said that we just got a Street Triple for my wife a couple weeks ago. It's a great bike too. I could be very happy on a Striple all the time. The XB gets a bit better mileage though. Get some test rides on the bikes you are considering. That's the best decision maker. | ||
| Etennuly |
When you do your test ride, remember to shift! You have twice the torque of the IL bikes, but half the RPM range. Once you figure out how to anticipate the redline for shifting first second and third, you will have a real V-Twin seat of the pants experience. You don't shift when you get to redline, you shift on the way to it, I find it is best done when you get used to the sound so you don't have to look at the tachometer. When you have had the chance to do some twisties on a Buell, the word "permagrin" becomes understood. I never had heard of it or felt it on any other bike I have owned. | ||
| Demarsico |
i agree with blake . i ride with a bunch of inline 4 buddies and i hang with them everywhere to speeds of about 120 then they keep going but thats alright with me. it only lasts a short time and i mostly stay up front on back roads. TEST RIDE for at least 30 mins on all sorts of roads. they will go more than 120, just i dont see why you need to unless your on the track | ||
| Bromanowski |
I test drove some triumphs and ducatis before I bought my xb12. It's just such a different bike and rides different. You really do have to get onto one to get it. Also I don't get people thinking buells are so heavy. An xb12s only weighs 395lbs dry compared to 416lbs for a speed triple dry. Even the monster 1100's that are the lightest in their class are only 373lbs. There are many weight savings things integrated into these bikes, tank in frame, perimeter brakes, oil tank/swingarm, etc. My father was confused at first when he saw it cause the rear cylinder is almost entirely up inside the frame and he said "I thought it was a v-twin". These are very well packaged bikes. | ||
| Fast1075 |
As a new XB12s owner...(picked it up yesterday)...let me say this...WOW!...instant accelleration...my jowls hurt from the permagrin! I took it over to show it to a friend that has a ZX-10r....he rode it...all he could say was WOW!! Today I went to help my old racing partner with a nitrous tune problem on his dragbike...he rode it...same thing!! WOW! It is a definate case of the whole is larger than the sum of the parts... | ||
| Captcaz |
"I want more usable power, hooligan ergos, an awesome exhaust note, reliability, fuel economy and versatility" My XB9S has plenty of torque for me (150lbs), ergos, exhaust note with attitude (Spec OPS), and 50mpg. Everything I need ... but these bikes are not the perfect ride for everyone, so +100 on the test ride ... | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
i bought mine and never tossed a log over an xb of any kind.had not rode since 1981??? on a kids dirtbike back then.yamaha 175 as i recall. and never regretted nor looked back it is awesome love it! | ||
| Iamarchangel |
i bought mine and never tossed a log over an xb of any kind. Took a couple of readings to make sense of that. Tossed a log?? Oh, wait, leg. lol. | ||
| Teddagreek |
Test Ride...  | ||
| Brumbear |
For the money the CR is tops in my book I love my SS but if I wanted a tourquey streetfighter with uber perfomance the CR tops the list but the Speed triple is no slouch | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I LOVE the looks of the Speed Triple. The bike that made me decide I wanted to get back into motorcycling was seeing Ethan Hunt's Speed Triple in Mission Impossible.  Fantastic! I want to buy the XB12SS I have my eye on first. Then I wouldn't mind adding a Speed Triple to the mix. | ||
| Niceguyeddy |
A test ride is a must. Nothing could take away the joy from this morning's ride through the corners (on an scg). As was stated earlier, like most things in life...everything is not for everyone. Best of luck to you. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
lmao off LOG??????? sorry guys LEG i meant LEG!!! | ||
| Oddball |
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| 20buellteam |
Hadn't ridden or owned a street in 19 years But I previously owned about every thing Honda ever built, I4's V4's Vertical twins and singles, Then when gas prices shot through the roof a few years back I bought an old '83 Honda Ascot 500 V Twin basket case off ebay-got it going and commuted daily but parts were a growing pain on a 21+ year old bike that Honda never built too many of originally. But the V-twin bug bit me & I knew I wanted a new or newer V-twin, and nothing else would do. So I waited for the new Harley XR1200 gave it up when it shipped to Europe and then waited for a KTM Super Duke and just gave up the wait again.  Then My wife said Go Ahead your budget is $10K go get yourself a new Bike before I change my mind.....so, off to the local H_D dealer to get a test ride on a Sportster XL1200R. When I get there the sales guy knows I realy wanted the higher performing XR1200 but he has a Buell Lightning XB12Ss parked next to the Sportster. He says test ride the Sportster and then try the Buell if you don't mind half the weight and twice the horsepower. Up until then I didn't know much about Buells but that morning I had to ride the Lighting twice and that was it for me I was sold. | ||
| Cafefighter7 |
My local H-D dealer is going to start selling Buells soon. It's a sign. So I guess now that there is going to be a Buell dealer in my city I have no excuse not to test ride some Buells. I'm going to hit up the XB9sx, the XB 12Ss and the 1125CR!!! | ||
| Boltrider |
You will have fun on all of those. My problem would be picking just one. I could make a case for buying all 3. | ||
| Froggy |
It makes less power on a spec sheet. Thats about it.
You summed up the XB pretty well. I love my 65mpg, but I use my 85mpg Buell Blast for commuting as its cheaper to run/maintain.
Those "Air intakes" are the radiators, and they work fantastic. Because of the split mount radiators, the engine is mounted more forward improving the center of gravity and weight distribution. Another bonus is that the split radiators are not blocked by the front wheel, so they can be smaller as the wheel isn't blocking the air. Free Sprits came out with a kit to redo the pods and make them look better, but all it did was cause bikes to overheat. Another bonus of the pods is they have little leaf springs in them, they will absorb a blow should the bike tip over and prevent further damage to the bike. There was some guy toying with the idea of a supercharger, I never head anything come it.
Because I wanted a streetbike! I also got the 1125CR now too, best of both world
Heat can be a bit of a bitch on a hot day in bumper to bumper traffic, but I have noticed this to be the case regardless of machine. Clutch can get annoying too at times in traffic. Not that it can't do rush hour NYC commuting duty, there is better tools for the job.
0-60 in about 3.5 seconds, quarter mile in the high 11's. I can keep up with traffic fine on my 25rwhp Blast.
Yes, I can't even get it to drop anywhere near 40mpg while doing a burnout.
Yep! No valves to adjust, no chains to lube, no coolant, no carbs, no any of that crap. Change the oil, transmission oil, fork oil, brake fluid per specified intervals, and tires as needed.
Ride one, or two. or three! Only real weakness of the Buell's is the dealers, if your new local dealer understands Buell's and can help you out should something happen like warranty/needs parts/accessories/etc, then you are golden | ||
| Jraice |
If you demo one try and find a piped bike. I enjoyed the demo of the XB12R I did but until I got a drummer I thought my bike (XB12Ss) sounded pretty lame. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
For the street, riding at semi-sane speeds, I REALLY like the XB platform. The CR is great too, but I really like the XB platform. Add to that a stone ax simple engine, and the XB has a real benefit to it. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
+1 on finding a bike that is piped. When I bought my first XB12s, it had the factory race kit installed and I truly thought it was running rough when the seller started it up. It had the seriously low "potato-potato" sound of a Harley that I had not expected. After almost 20,000 miles, I learned how much I loved that sound. This past year when I took delivery of my XB12XT, I was disappointed at the lack of sound. But at my stage of motorcycle driving, it is actually appreciated as I spend more long rides with a passenger. It still sounds way better than in I4 though. Good luck! |
