| Author | Message | ||
     Ka5ysy |
Yesterday I finally got around to getting a test ride on the Uly at the local HD shop. Results: 1. Bike Height: I can basically get the balls of my feet on the ground with the boots on when stopped. No worse a situation than some of the dirt bikes I have played with, although it is a pain to walk the bike forward, backing is not an issue if necessary. Motors work really well to go forward ! Amazing. This was an 06 bike with standard seat, so I would assume the new 07 low seat makes flatfooting possible for me (5'11" 29 inseam). It is actually quite fun to be able to look SUV drivers in the eye at their level! 2. Steering lock: First thing I did was get into the parking lot and do some counterbalance loops left and right. There is no real issue with turns in the parking lot if you are comfortable counterbalancing properly. I was turning inside the drive lanes without any problem with the bike leaning way over to the inside while standing on the outside pegs, dirt bike style. 3. Power/acceleration: Wow ! Note to Erik, et al. - Somebody is filling the front tire with hydrogen gas... front floats up quite easily with aggressive wrist action. Power is not really an issue with the bike because it comes on very predictably and is not ragged like some bikes. Very smooth. At highway cruise speed 65mph in 3rd gear, if you need to accelerate for a pass simply roll on the throttle. The bike will shove you in the butt and get moving without downshifts! Very impressive available power. Deceleration with engine compression is very mild apparently due to the big flywheel mass of the engine. 4. Fan noise: Huh? This is a non-issue also. The pancake fan in the bike can be heard when stopped and is exactly like the fans in a lot of electronic gear. If if keeps the cylinder heads cool enough to prevent oil coking and warped heads and gaskets, that is ok by me! You probably want to run full synthetic oil anyway. It is way better than petrochemical oils in high temp usage anyway. That why turbine engines only use synthetic. 5. D606 tires/headshake/swimming: At legal speed 70mph I did notice a very slight low frequency wobble which I played with. If I was holding the bars firmly the wobble was noted, so I did what I do while flying aircraft: very relaxed arms (elbows down) with fingertip control on the bars. Wobble stopped. I would need to play more with this effect to see how it is induced, but again, no problem. I was expecting the D606 tires to be all over the road in the rain grooves. This did not happen on the test bike (40 miles on the odometer). 6. Cornering: Effortless. Simply think about the turn where you are looking and the bike will track to it. The bike roll axis is very quick. If this was an aircraft it would be very capable of doing fast snap rolls and click your eyeballs. 7. Heat-on-the-Leg Issue: Well, I did not notice it with my Motoport Airmesh Kevlar pants on over blue jeans. The temperature during the ride was in the 90's with 60% humidity. We south Louisiana folks are acclimated to high temperatures, so I may have missed something. I believe it would be an issue if riding in shorts, but that would violate ATGATT. You are ATGATT, aren't you ???? 8. General impression: Based on all the posts around the 'net, I approached this bike with some reservations about what to expect. Like all things, it is best to go see for yourself and not rely on hearsay from anyone. The bike is a very nicely executed ride which is clearly defined in its literature. I was happily impressed with it. If you have not actually ridden one, go find a dealer that has some idea of what it is and get a ride. That may be problematic as several dealers I have made contact with have no idea how to sell it or what the Buell line actually is, and prefer to put people on the big HD mules, which I simply do not "get". Once you do get a ride on one I believe you will be favorably impressed as I was. Thanks Mr. Buell and the engineering team for a nice bike. I guess I have to get one to keep my race kit company ! (DaveS keeps sending subliminal signals my way, even on vacation) (Message edited by ka5ysy on August 05, 2006) | ||
| Freyke |
Food for thought; I'm 5'9" on a good day (5'8" most of the time – joke). I always get off my Uly and walk it backwards. This is easy to do as the bike is relatively light and has the "chicken grips" on the back of the seat. Long story short; treat it like a dirt bike when backing it up. | ||
| Adrian_8 |
I agree with your assestments..I am 5'11" and I just tippy toe...but I have ridden dirt bikes and it is of no concern to me...get off the bike and shove it back with the grab handles.The principle is simple...long travel=tall bike. HD Low Rider..short..almost no travel.The steering lock issue..it is pretty hard to make a slow turn with the bars locked to the stops...it takes practice,,,when you learn to do it correctly you can turn sharp at slow speeds. Now moving it around the garage is another issue...Like you said counterweight the outside, look where you want to go and it will turn sharp. Great Bike..14K plus miles and happy. | ||
| Rkc00 |
Just turned over 12000 miles on mine today and loving every mile. Mike Long Island, NY 06 XB12X Black of course | ||
| Rubberdown |
" You are ATGATT, aren't you ???? " No. | ||
| M2nc |
Just under 11,000 miles and loving every mile of it. 5'7" 29" in seam and with the low seat I can back up the bike on flat surface, but if at an angle, I do get off and walk it back. Love those chicken strips. | ||
| Freyke |
I'm ATGATT... I don't care how hot it is...Well ok, if it's too hot say above 98 (East-coast humidity) I just won't ride... I see folks all the time in the summer, shorts, wife-beater, skater sneaks or even worse flip-flops, and the ever protective novelty church helmet... No thanks brother, ATGATT... | ||
| Chadhargis |
I'm right there with ya Freyke. Squidding it for me is riding in jeans. I always wear a jacket, gloves, full face helmet, and boots. About the only time I notice the engine heat is when I'm wearing jeans, or my vented pants. With my leathers or my Aerostich on, I don't notice it. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I really notice it heat when I ride in my thong and flip flops. | ||
| Ka5ysy |
"I really notice it heat when I ride in my thong and flip flops." WAAAAAY to much information there Electroglider! However, if some babe wants to demonstrate, I dont think anyone will notice lack of ATGATT. There is a dual standard at work here !  | ||
| Aeholton |
I really notice it heat when I ride in my thong and flip flops. I used to have that problem until I wrapped the headers and installed the right side air scoop. Now it's plenty cool for flip flops and T-back.  | ||
| Freyke |
Smoked sausage.. | ||
| Freyke |
Yikes! |
