| Author | Message | ||
     Hillis3 |
Hey guys I would like your opinion (and I know you have them). I'm looking at a 1996 S2 and a 1999 M2 and was wondering what others thought about each bike. Thanks, Phillip | ||
| Swampy |
Get both, everybody needs two. | ||
| Kenm123t |
Like the S2 had a pretty tricked out one nice ride Beautiful and sexy curves. LOVE the M3t i built from my 99 M2 If i could only have one bike it would be the M3T We have S1W S3t M3T XB9S Uly and 1125r Court claimed the M2 wasthe perfect bike for years | ||
| Hillis3 |
Get both, everybody needs two. I agree, but this will be bike number 3. I have to build up slowly. | ||
| Hillis3 |
Thanks Ken. The M2 is kind of the direction I am headed. | ||
| Aesquire |
In overly simple terms. The S2 is a handbuilt machine with the very best of bits available. Great forks, shock, just a masterpiece of small company design & execution. The M2 is a production machine from a growing company with compromises made in things like shock, forks, etc. Style? that's up to you. Simple, huh? not quite. The S2 bits are state of the art for their day. The stuff is better now. The M2 has a bunch more power, ( Depending on year!) even though it's down 10hp from it's contemporary Buells, the S3, S1 & X1. The later M2's are very well sorted out, and only a few things need to be addressed to make them stone reliable. ( primary tensioner, valve cover gaskets, etc. ) The M2 is down 10hp from a X1, not because of the fuel injection, but the cams. The M2 cams are stock Sportster bits, and give less high end punch than the X1, but have gobs more low end torque. ( since the top end speed with U.S. gearing is the same, the stock m2 cams better fit MY riding style, YMMV ) The M2 has almost twice the power of a contemporary Sportster with the added advantage of Erik Buell's brilliant chassis and isoplanar system. Honesty compels me to tell you I have a '01 M2L. The L seat is not comfortable to me ( or males IMHO ) so I put on the "custom color matched" seat, and have made other mods like a S3 fairing, S3T bars, etc. to make my own personalized sport tourer. If I had the money, & I saw a S2 at a price I could afford, I'd buy it. It's a sweet machine. My M2 would have more balls, and maybe less maintenance issues, and, since I've "customized" it, I would keep it. I just can't afford 2 nice toys right now. Others will more eloquently tell you of the beauty of the S2. I agree with them. last word, I'd get the S2, I'd want a 2001-2 M2, since it's the best sorted out for problems, not the '99. | ||
| Aesquire |
I just checked your profile. ( should have done that first. ) The "tuber" bikes handle nearly as good as the fuel in frame machines...but not quite. A bit longer, not quite as radical geometry. They have a rawness and edge the later aluminum frames machines lack, ( though I'd just as soon deal with a carb than the earlier Buell XB injection system.....but I'm old. ) and very few machines on the planet are as capable at making going fast easy. ( and almost all of the "better" machines are XB's ) My final advice stands, with the caveat, that you should ride them first, and see which one calls to your soul. | ||
| Easy_rider |
Since you're looking at bike number three and not completely dependent on the bike for two wheels, go for the S2. The M2 would be a solid bike. The S2 will be a great mistress. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Come to MD, we have both ('01 M2L, '95 S2). We can go for a ride  My first bike was a 99 M2. 48k miles in 2 years. Awesome, basic, intuitive bike. Great low end torque, good high-end HP from the Thunderstorm top end. Not as peaky as, say, an S1W or an X1 - again, the cams - but a dirt-simple bike to ride. NOT upside-down forks, so handling at the limit is...well, you can tell they're not inverted forks. Ergos are neutral. Seat is comfy and cushy for a naked bike. Wind protection is minimal to say the least (think CR with high bars). You can ride an M2 at 10/10ths all damned day; it'll never complain and you won't be pushing the laws of physics in the process. S2...well, I will never get rid of mine. Ever. IMO, the sexiest bike ever put on the road. The bodywork, the craftsmanship, the details...just amazing. I did upgrade mine from the (quite literally) stock Sportster motor, to a Thunderstorm top end with X1 cams and a race ignition box. Aaaaahhhh...JUST what the doc ordered Stock, a great bike...but in the garage with my S1W, it was just lacking a little punch by comparison. Still stone-reliable, it now has the power that the handling can make use of. As noted, top notch WP Roma forks were used; PM brake up front and I want to say a Brembo in back but don't quote me on that. I have an EBC rotor on mine with stock pads. Not XB "whoa" capability...but more than adequate. I also upgraded/updated my rear shock to a Works shock (rebuildable, exposed spring, triple-adjustable). Minor upgrades in my book, still preserving the character of one of the best all-around motorcycles ever built. Ergos are near perfect (and I'm 6'4"). Fixed fairing is awesome. Bodywork simply absorbs your knees, your legs, your butt, your chest. You're nearly as out of the wind as I am on an 1125R and all day rides are no problem at all. I guess it comes down to...what do you want to do with it? What do you want it to do for you? Short hops? Canyon-carving on weekends? Daily ride? Longer rides? Luggage? Solo or 2-up? (I forgot to mention, Kim and I did the 25th Homecoming "Parade Lap", 2-up on the S2 with the big saddlebags and a tank bag, full-tilt-boogie...and the only complaint I had was that her legs were keeping me from hanging off when I was passing a line of traffic on the outside in a right hand sweeper at near 100mph!). I know. Less than helpful. But...I liked my M2, a LOT. It opened the door to Buell for me. But no motorcycle yet has spoken to my soul like my S2 does.  | ||
| Brinnutz |
In the bathroom at a bar Erik once told me the M2 was his favorite tuber... (Couldn't have been because I had M2 bleached into my mohawk then though right?) | ||
| Hillis3 |
Thanks for all of your help guys. Joe, I may take you up on that offer.  I'm going Saturday to look at the S2. It needs a little work but it already has the Thunderstorm top end with X1 cams so I'm good there. It's missing the turn signals but that should be an easy fix. | ||
| Whatever |
S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2S2 Would have gotten one but they are mostly too tall for me... I love the M2L, but I am going to try to make it into an S2 soon... | ||
| Easy_rider |
Another thought. There were more M2s produced than S2s. If both are available now, buy the one that's toughest to get. | ||
| Mueller |
Good question! I've been debating this myself for my 2nd Buell. I've wanted an M2 for a long time, before I bought my XBSs. Lately I have really been admiring the S2 though. What I am hearing is what I already assumed, you can't go wrong either way. | ||
| Koz5150 |
Gotta love the M2, less plastic = more fun. The bike is super comfortable and very versital. I ride by myself:  At the Track  With Luggage  Or throw on the Corbin seat with the back rest and do 300+ miles with the wife.  How can you go wrong | ||
| Spiderman |
but the S2 is just damn sexy  | ||
| Doug_s |
s2, hands down. of course, you want to upgrade the motor to at least the 101hp/90ft-lbs specs. this is the configuration of mine, plus i have the factory ecm/intake/hedder/muffler. inwerted front fork is also a plus over the m2's. amazing looking bike, fantastic ride, i have 40k on mine; it's been relatively reliable. i bought it in '98, (it's a '95); i loved it when i test-rode it in '95, but i wanted more power, and didn't have $13k asking price. when the upgraded motor came out in '98, it was time to find a used one & do the motor upgrade. like joe, i may get other bikes, but the s2 stays... doug s. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
I had an m2 and I loved it so much so that when I did have to sell it I made sure the guy I sold it to was not going to turn it in to a chopper as well as if he does decide to sell it I get first dibs on it. Besides that I can ride it anytime I want because we are really good freinds. However if I could have found a s2 when I bought my m2 I would have bought the s2 over the m2 in a heart beat and if I ever do have the money to throw around to buy another bike and see one I would grab it. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
S2. Period. I own both, even when the M2 is up and running, I ride the S2 more. Re the turnsignals. Pick up a set of X1 blinkers. Get 2 sets of rears, use one set in the front. they are about $15 each and still available. The XB versions will also fit but some are a bit longer. Brad | ||
| Hillis3 |
I went today and test rode the S2, WOW, what a bike. It's had a few performance modes made to it and it sounded really good. Like I said, it needs a little work to pass inspection in Virginia but it's nothing a few hundred bucks won't cure. Now I have to go and convince the wife to let me have a third bike.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Point her to me / my profile. We've got six. By comparison...three's nothing (and yes, FOUR are mine) | ||
| Tramp |
I own/ride the '96 S2, and have ridden the M2 extensively. My bullets: M2 has MUCH more generous steering radius, and hence is easier to turn in tighter/lower speed situations....the S2 can feel like a 12" over chopper in parking lots, due to the integrated steering stops and thick fork uppers. S2 is the last of the near-pure Buells, before the 98% (Help me out here, Court) HD buyout. The S3, M2, etc., are really HD products.S2 has more handmade parts, FAR more custom geometry, and that beautiful aluminum oil tank....feels more 'boutique' than the M2 (or the S3 for that matter). The two machines couldn't be more unlike one another: I prefer the M2 for dirt-squirt maneuverability, S2 for rock solid high speed cornering. Word of caution: If you're an unneutered male domestic shorthair, the S2's "organ grinder" stock seat could raise your vocal range to a Justin Bieber-esque castrato. BOTH are exceptional, benchmark machines in their own right, and I can impugn neither. Ride 'em both, first...just guard yer 'nards on the S2. | ||
| Buellish |
"If you're an unneutered male domestic shorthair, the S2's "organ grinder" stock seat could raise your vocal range to a Justin Bieber-esque castrato." A Corbin seat moves the rise 2" further back producing miles and miles of S2 smiles. | ||
| Tramp |
Gotta love Mike Corbin's " 'Nard-friendly" saddleworks... (Message edited by tramp on June 27, 2010) | ||
| Tramp |
 Here's the S2 with S3 front end (to allow for std. gauge bars and controls) and M2 saddle, with bodywork removed. | ||
| Tramp |
 Same scoot with M2 front end, installed so as to increase turning radius. Big mistake, I was shocked to actually feel the difference in unsprung weight at the wheel. In process of paying for new s3 front end- Which reminds me of another ergonomic issue with the S2: It has Harley controls, which are big gauge, and the throttle response is anemic even when adjusted tightly. The M2 comes with metric gage bars/controls | ||
| Tramp |
 left side, showing the far-sexier hand-welded Buell aluminum oil tank, which was quickly supplanted, on the S3 (and M2, etc.), by the cheap blow-molded polyethylene colostomy bag. Note the M2 front end on s2 frame. Note the s3T bars that would look more at home on a Puch... STBSC (Soon To Be Sh*tcanned) (Message edited by tramp on June 27, 2010) | ||
| Tramp |
The photo in the preceding post shows the odd fairing mounts integrated into the top/frontof the S2 frame. This frame has a more angled, trellised overall attitude- can't recall if there's rake difference at the steering head. The s2T features the lowered pegs, which considerably reduce knee issues for high mile running. Of course, you can mount these S2T peg mounts to most tubers anyway. The S2 frame has a lower CG at the seating area...bear in mind that the frame height is far different from the seat height in these tubers. (Message edited by tramp on June 28, 2010) | ||
| Hillis3 |
OK, I did it. I'm buying the S2. I go and pick it up Tuesday night. I will post pics once it is home. Thanks for all the feedback. It helped a lot with my decision (along with riding the S2). | ||
| Ratbuell |
Congrats! What number is it? Does it have the signature stuff? PM me if you want details on what to look for... |
