| Author | Message | ||
     Okinawaxb12s |
what's goin on.hello from beautiful okinawa,japan.i need some help,i am the proud owner of a 2004 lightning i purchased through the aafes military program.i could not hear the bike so much as run before i bought it,because over here they do not prep them until they are SOLD.anyhow,i would like a little background on these bikes aside from what i have read on the internet.i road 4 cylinder sportbikes for years and this is my first Harley/v-twin.can someone help me out here,thanks. | ||
| Lovematt  |
Okinawaxb12s, Stock the 12s have a very good exhaust in terms of performance...the sound is a matter of opinion and some would buy a different can (the black part under the bike...not the headers). I too have had several inline 4 street bikes and there is a big difference in how the power comes on compared to a Buell. Your 12 will pull much much harder at take off from a dead stop and will top out at about 6000-6500 RPMs...but it pulls HARD from about 3000-6000. I mean like the front wheel comes off the ground. Handling wise your bike will seem more "lively" in that the steering will be faster than a standard inline4 will be. However it will not be unstable at all and while going through the turns it won't be unsettled by hitting bumps and what not nearly as much. There will be more vibration...this is a V-Twin motor after all but that is what gives the bike character. Finally I suggest getting the service manual from a dealer (check the buell web site...go to US location, select the find a dealer link, and select Japan for the country). If you can work on a V8 car motor you can most likely work on these bikes. I have over 11,000 miles on my bike (XB9R) with no problems other than a spark plug wire rubbing through due to improper routing ($3.50 for a new wire) and a speedo sensor going out that was covered under warranty. I love my bike! | ||
| Okinawaxb12s |
thanks.that helps out alot.i will eventually be getting back to the states,but it will be a couple of years before our tour in the air force ends here.gonna have to be careful about by mods over here.the japanese have this evil thing called JCI.that is Japanese Compulsory Insurance.you dont pass your inspection,you dont ride or drive.i know guys that have sportbikes here that have to take off their aftermarket exhaust,put stock on,go get tuned,pass jci,put good pipe back on,go get tuned again.but this is a beautiful place to ride a bike,and there are hordes of them over here. | ||
| Lovematt |
Yes...Okinawa is a beautiful place (I am a contractor for the military and have been there). I would have loved to have a chance to ride over there. Honestly I would leave it alone...there is more than enough power and in the bigger cities it will be the perfect bike for getting out of the way quick. | ||
| Okinawaxb12s |
will do.mine will be the only buell on the island being ridden by military.there are 6 others here,all owned by local nationals.they got 3 in when aafes did their order and they recieved the 3 as a test run.2 have been sold,there is one left.i do have the only red one though,as all of the others are black.thought that was pretty neat.should be riding by the 23rd of this month,i have to wait for the dealer here on island to prep it cause the h-d mechanics for aafes are not buell certified.just as well,i would rather have the japanese work on it anyway,they don't do anything half-a@#ed.after i update my msf course on the 23rd,that will be it.the air force will not let you ride if you haven't had one within 3 years.i am about 2 years overdue.half a day for the advanced rider course,no biggie.then it's on. | ||
| U4euh  |
Okinawaxb12s-enjoy, and be sure to post your first impressions, I am sure they will be great though! Just remember one thing, your rev-limiter will come on a lot sooner, going from an inline four to a v-twin, it took me a while to get used to the low rev range, but once you do it is all smiles!   |
