| Author | Message | ||
     Gregoxb |
I cranked up my bike today and took it through some paces in 30 degree weather. Ran like a champion. So I was reminiscing today about when I purchased my Ss. When I sat on it at the dealer everything just clicked in my mind and I knew that instant I was going to buy that bike. I don't know what it was, but it was one of the quickest investments I have ever made. I'm still shocked how fast I bought it. 4 years later and I am still immensely satisfied with the bike. | ||
| Greg_e |
It was a dark night with the thing in the back of a pickup. Fired it up and found a broken Jardine hanging from the header. Next day looked inside and found the fuel fooler that had been wrecking it and set about returning it to stock... A long time and a lot of money later and I am happy with my XB9R, but it was a bit of a journey. Still way more power than I ever need, tough to ride it in that happy range without gathering speeding tickets. Not looking to get rid of it, but I would like a little 20 to 30 horsepower machine that I could thrash the entire ride and not worry too much about speeding. Also want a real touring cycle, not sure which one will come first. | ||
| Henshao |
"Not looking to get rid of it, but I would like a little 20 to 30 horsepower machine that I could thrash the entire ride and not worry too much about speeding." I got a Blast for sale. I never ride it, my Cyclone must not be as demanding as your XB9 in terms of it's happy speed. It only goes 93 miles an hour with the hammer all the way down but it does get, habitually, 65 miles to the gallon. I remember my first ride on what was to be my Cyclone. It scared the shit out of me. All the time I had been riding the Blast I didn't realize it was practically a scooter compared to a real 100hp bike. I still remember to this day how Mark, within 10 seconds of finally getting the engine to run, immediately (barefoot in his sweatpants) brought the bike up into a 6 foot wheelie past about 3 houses. He was really trying to sell that ••••••• bike. On the 2 hour ride home I got over my fear of the bike and now I ride my American Thunderbike year round. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I bought a Blast for commuting. (I had convinced myself that as an older rider, I had no need for any sort of real performance) I owned it for about two years, and did all sorts of mods. I started riding with the local Buell group thanks To Buellistic looking me up and giving me an invite. Before long, I needed a bike more capable (read more power, better handling). I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to buy, except I for sure did not want a bike that needed an act of congress to do a valve adjustment. I ended back up at my local Harley dealer. There sat Jezebel, my 2004 XB12S. It was bye-bye Blast, hello Jezebel. At this point, except for very rare occasions, all the people I ride with (an excellent group of skilled sport riders) ride "imports". I hope I am in good enough shape to still enjoy riding hard when EBR actually hits the market with something I can afford, that fits my requirements. | ||
| Teeps |
It was late in '05, when I saw the first Barricade Orange Ulysses parked in the show room of California Buell/Harley-Davidson. | ||
| Glitch |
I went to do a test ride after the XB9S came out. I was sold, probably the fastest sale ever. That was in 03, after nearly ten years, and over 70thousand miles, I've still got that stupid ass grin on my face every ride. | ||
| 1eyert |
I had been wanting a Buell for years and in 2000 finally was able to buy one. I had my eye on a nuclear blue/white S3 but they sold it before I was ready. I got my black/PM wheels one instead. I have been in love ever since. I now have another in the garage, 2005 XB12SCG. Would like an 1125 if I can find one decently priced. | ||
| Mtnmason |
I was actually in the market for an R6 after a buddy let me take his for a quick spin. I found an 07 12 'bolt in black/red online about 2 hours away. I researched it, drove to the used dealership, test rode it, signed some paperwork - haven't looked back. Brought "Scorpion Woman" home in May '11. We've fallen deeply in love with each other. She is now at my dad's house (2.5 hrs away) awaiting a RB gasket job. I miss her terribly. | ||
| Sparky |
After I had met Erik at the Love Ride show when he was displaying the new S1 Lightning for the first time, I knew that I had to get a '96 S1 as soon as possible. And even though I had placed a deposit for a new S1 at one dealer, there just happened to be a red S1 with polished PM wheels waiting to be claimed at another dealer that I also had a deposit with. Because the bright red machine with polished aluminum wheels brought back such vivid memories of my gone but cherished Riverside Red '63 Fastback Stingray with polished aluminum wheels, I knew I had to get that bike no matter what! So, 1005800+ miles later, I'm still riding it and enjoying every minute of it! | ||
| Xb9er |
99X1- my 1st buell. I had just sold my CBR. Toona went to pittsburgh to buy a 99 X1 to buy to turn into a redneck bike. When he got back into town he called me to help unload it off his truck. He also said you really need to see this thing. So I went down and unloaded the bike. I said this thing is like new and your crazy to chop it up. I said sell it to me and sell it to me now. He told me to come down tomorrow because he wanted to think about it. I went down the next day late morning and he said if I had money in his hand by noon it was mine. He had money in his hand 5 minutes later. The was the bike that really taught me how to ride. 0412s- went to work one day and saw a bike under a cover. I saw the amber wheels and thought no way, no way. I went into the building and asked who it belonged to and they told me. I worked with him 2 weeks later and ask about the bike. He said he was going to sell it in the spring. Of course I said I want 1st dibs. 4 months later I went and took it for a test ride. During the ride I turned the odometer to 4,000 miles. The bike was mint. I made it 3 miles and decided it was coming home with me. Way more top end and way more nimble than the x1. That bike taught me how to ride hardcore. I'll do anything to buy that bike back! 081125R- while deployed in Iraq I bought a 08 1125R when I got home, the next day I picked it up. I honestly didnt care for it other than the crap tons of power. I put a pair of PP 2ct's on it and fell in love. That bike taught me to ride like a man with a death wish. I then started doing track days 03blast- bought the bike to coach my MSF courses. First time I road it I laughed the whole time. That bike was just too much fun. I never had a dull moment on that bike. 06Uly-traded my 1125R for it because I wanted something more comfortable to ride since I now had a CCS 1125R for racing. 1st ride on the uly and i thought to myself how did I not own one of these sooner. What a joy to ride all day and feel great. Then I met my dream girl and it got pushed to the side. yeah yeah I'm a sucker | ||
| Phwx2 |
My xb9 - it was my bro in law's and I purchased it on a hot july night and rode in home through the backroads - great night and great ride. My 1125cr - Feb 2012 - very cold - salty roads on the test drive and the same when I got home. Not great. | ||
| Boltrider |
Mine was a total impulse buy. The dealer had it in my color and I went over and sat on it, and the rest is history. June 2008. | ||
| Brumbear |
I was at Americade and test rode an xb9cityX and fell in love. I then tried to buy one and there were none available buy October so I sat on an XB12ss that was it done out the door left the Triumph speedmaster sitting on the floor @ Ocean County H-D in NJ. | ||
| Jbolt |
I first fell in love with the Firebolt in 2003. I saw a red/amber one sitting outside the HD shop in Rocklin, CA. I remember being in the left lane and cutting across traffic into the parking lot to check it out. I had never seen anything like it and knew right there that I would get one, one day. In April 2008 I picked up my black/red 12R with 2.2 miles on it from Carson City, NV. That was one of the best days I can remember. | ||
| Srwitt |
I had dreamed of owning an XB since I had first seen one in 2002? In 2008 when we got those tax rebate stimulus check things I had a decent job, had the ability to support a payment, I took the stimulus money into the local Buell dealer, put down a deposit. I waited a month for it to show up from Wisconsin, went sat on it once on the day it was delivered to the the dealership, signed the paperwork, and came back the next day to pick it up after the dealers had done their prep work on the bike. I've put 23000 miles or so on it since 08. Not going to sell it if I can help it, those 25th anni badges gotta be worth something in this lifetime (dreamin). (Message edited by SRWitt on February 15, 2013) | ||
| Abenormal |
I signed up for a Buell track day in 2008 just because it was a cheap track day. I thought the Buell demo aspect would just be some parade laps like NESBA sometimes does with the Yamahas. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was full sessions on the Buells, and I was surprised again at how well the Harley Buells behaved, and I was surprised/terrified at how fast the 1125R was. When the fire sale happened in '09 I bought an 1125R, but wasn't very happy with it out of the box. A few hundred dollars mostly fixed it for track duty (EBR ECM, Pilot Power 2CTS, EBR rotor and mount kit) but it was still quite unpleasant in Manhattan traffic. Then it got stolen. A few months ago I finally bought the XB12STT I should have bought in the first place and I love it. | ||
| Ducxl |
My FIRST Buell was a compromise.That Ducati superbike was unobtanium,and the Ducati alternative Monster 900 to me was a glorified Buell.Walked in to buy a showroom new '98 S1W and bought,on the spot the '99 X1 that had just been introduced..Years later(after i got that Duc Superbike)the '05 XB12r did it to me again.GREAT machines..these Buells | ||
| Gunut75 |
My 05 12R got set on the ground on my test ride. It choose it's owner. It is sold now; 30,000mi later. Best bike I ever owned. Now things have changed course. My Stomper now resides in a heated garage, with a 12s at her side. I do have a buy-back option....................but I just can't wait to see what EBR comes out with.........  | ||
| Truss305 |
wanted nothing to do with sport bikes and wanteda yamaha roadstar warrior.. my mechanic had an 03' xb9r all white for sale. wasnt interested at all then he started it,an eyebrow began to raise, then i test drove it rode for 30 min with a hard on and cut him a check the second i jumped off the bike | ||
| Fahren |
Bought my 06 Ss sight unseen from a fellow badwebber in FL who was swapping it for a Uly. Great bike. Straight up seller - made me feel good about badweb right off the bat. | ||
| Good |
My xb9sx is the first motorcycle I've ever owned, and the only to date. The first motorcycle I ever wanted was a Buell X1, I was 17 and I dreamed about it, but my parents would never let it happen (a smart choice for them in retrospect, I was a wild driver back then, I imagine I'd be dead by now). Having not been from a biking family, I knew I'd have to make it a goal on my own to learn to ride and get myself one of these. Around 18 years old I headed with my buddy to a local Harley dealer in Chicago that carried Buells and we drooled over them together, but it was still just a pipe dream at that point. Got a girlfriend around that time and she had an uncle that died on a bike, and would not allow me to ride a bike so long as we were together (turned out to be a two year turn around thankfully). That's enough back story, but you understand how long I'd been dreaming of getting one of these things before it actually happened. A few years after the break up I was now 23 and had a little cash and some free time so I signed up for a motorcycle class at the local community college in my then hometown of Eugene, OR with my brother who also wanted to learn (wish I still lived there so I could take the racing courses from the same instructors, they were great!) The only open times were in late winter early spring, so I spent a lot of hours in their parking lot freezing all my extremities off, with breaks every hour to hop in our cars and get the feeling back in our fingers. The final pay off came later in 2007 when I had my brother drive me an hour and a half north to Tigard Harley Davidson to pick up my very own brand new Kick Ash Lightning. The salesperson, a rather attractive young lady whose name I've forgotten at this point, took me upstairs to a storage area above the workshop to roll my very own Buell onto a lift to take it down to the showroom. I'd never even driven one before, but I knew after years of research that I didn't need to. This was the only first bike I wanted by a long shot. So much so I was risking starting out my riding career on a nearly 1000cc bike instead of taking the safe and recommended route of a much smaller engine. The sales lady was continually urging me to take delivery on my bike as it was a completely free option and it was supposed to start raining very soon. I refused, despite the overwhelming amount of gray taking over the blue sky with every passing minute. And it was with that decision that my very first ride on my very first bike would end up initiating me very literally into the world of Bad Weather Bikers. After all the paper work was finished I rolled my bike out of the showroom and started it for the very first time. I was all nerves and giddyness, not entirely sure yet if I was about to kill myself by hopping onto a 984cc bike when I'd only just learned how to ride in a parking lot on a 150cc dirt bike a couple months earlier. "Here goes nothing" I thought to myself and set off in 1st with my brother following to make sure I made it home alive. The ride home went from a lot of sunny skies to a light rain in about a half hour. I was taking the side roads as they told me I should be shifting a lot through all my gears and taking it easy for the first too many miles while breaking it in. The 1.5 hour trip ended up taking about 4 hours because of this, not that I cared. In another half hour rain turned to downpour. My brother later told me he was following in our Volvo S80 with the wipers going full blast and he could barely see me just some 50 feet ahead. I didn't feel that effect, apparently the new helmet was very good at shedding water away for visibility. What I did feel was the extreme wind. I was pressing hard just to stay in the middle of the lane, and every time I passed a row of pines I'd suddenly shoot back upright to avoid flying off the opposite side of the road. To this day still probably the 2nd windiest conditions I've ever ridden in (had to park my bike under a tree on the side of the highway on my way to Joshua tree once when crosswinds were hitting near 70 mph). Every time I'd hit an exposed straight I'd be trying to push as hard as I could while still keeping an eye out for standing water that might cause me to hydroplane. Needless to say, it was very stressful and scary and stupid, but also the most exciting first ride I could've asked for. The final clincher was after I pulled in at my home across from the University of Oregon campus. We hiked the bike up over a curb to get it to a dry spot (even though it had just seen a year's worth of weather in one ride anyway) and I ran inside needing a pee quite badly. Nearly wet myself 'cause my hands were so numb I couldn't feel the buttons and zipper on my pants, nor could I operate my fingers properly. I walked back out to the living room and looked out the window and snow was falling down for what I think was the only day that year! I had been riding in a rainstorm in what was probably 31 - 33°F weather for the last 10 minutes or so. I'll never forget it, and I'll probably never sell that bike either. |
