| Author | Message | ||
     Beachbuell |
I know the W is the "upgraded" version of the S1. But, what exactly are the differences? Thanks! | ||
| Sleez |
larger gas tank ("Manta"), thunderstorm motor (101hp versus 91hp), and its associated hardware. color choices were different but the tank and engine are the big changes. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Also 2 1/2 in exhaust instead of the 2" version. Wasn't the S1W only available in 1998? (This was when I first saw a Buell in the flesh, ah... love at first sight... sigh) The Ice White Pearl paint was a S1W only option if I recall correctly, but many other paint options were available.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
From my '98 Catalog: "As a tribute to the faithful, Buell took the liberty of taking the Special Edition White Lightning to a few extremes. New for 1998, we've included a 101hp Thunderstorm motor; 5.5 gallon contoured fuel tank; stainless steel muffler; Pro Series solo seat; and color-fused design with Ice White Pearl bodywork, frame, and wheels." I seem to recall - and Court recently posted elsewhere - that there were four frame and four body colors for the S1W. I *think* those are black, orange, white, and maybe billet (body); and black, white, nuke blue and silver (frame). Not sure about that though...and, the catalog only lists the Liberace paint scheme. Mechanical differences in the motor are the T-storm heads and pistons (heads are black, on a silver motor) and higher compression; lightning cams; different spark advance curve; I want to say a lower final drive ratio. The exhaust, in addition to the stainless muffler, had a 2.5" header instead of 2". | ||
| Phelan |
Also the crank on the S1W was lighter. | ||
| Sleez |
all those engine parts go hand in hand with the thunderstorm engine. the s3 had the same engine! you might as well say, "valves, heads, cams, etc." hence the ..."associated hardware" statement above. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Doesn't the W come with the Marchesinni wheels? | ||
| Phelan |
no, the W had Buell wheels, made by an Austrailian Aluminum plant owned by HD. The Marchesini wheels were on the '95 and '96 Buell S2s and '96 S1s. Maybe '97 as well but I believe Buell switched to the Aluminum wheels in '97 the same time they introduced the S3 and M2. | ||
| Billetmetallic |
my 97 s1 has marchesini | ||
| Beachbuell |
Very interesting! | ||
| Ratbuell |
My S1W has Buell alloy wheels, that are visually VERY similar the Marchesinis on my S2. I believe the Buell-branded alloys were made by Castalloy? Visually they're so similar, I'd suspect (PURE speculation here) that in the S2 days Buell didn't "rate" their own wheels so they bought from others; after the S2 was a smashing success, someone decided to have an "in-house" wheel (and they could afford it). Along those lines - and *nearly* related - does ANYone have a source for the "Marchesini" decals on S2 wheels? Mine are white wheels, have a clear decal with a medium-blue lettering on them. Some bonehead (hard to point at oneself and type at the same time) hit them with brake cleaner and a couple have lost their letters.... | ||
| Beachbuell |
Marchesini wheel decals are all over Ebay! I'm in need of a set of the wheels themselves though! | ||
| Phelan |
When Harley bought majority stake of Buell in '94, they rushed the S2 onto the market as a halo model. Every one they built lost money because of expensive design features like billet triple clamps on the early models, Marchesini wheels, WP suspension, etc. Harley through the years has tried to bring everything "in-house" over the years and piece by piece to lower production costs increase profit margins of each model. The Aluminum Buell wheels were a spawn of that process. That curved 3-spoke design of that wheel is very popular. Brembo made thousands of wheels, in that very pattern, for Ducati. Which makes sense, because Brembo and Marchesini are in cahoots together somehow, whether by merger or one owns the other, and Brembo wheels are the cheaper variants of the Marchesini models. (Message edited by phelan on November 12, 2008) | ||
| Firstbuell |
didn't S1Ws have a specific, different initial in the VIN? | ||
| Court |
>>>When Harley bought majority stake of Buell in '94, Harley did not buy a majority stake in Buell until February 1998. >>>Harley through the years has tried to bring everything "in-house" over the years and piece by piece to lower production costs increase profit margins of each model. Just the opposite is true for both Harley-Davidson and Buell. >>>The Aluminum Buell wheels were a spawn of that process. No they were not. >>>Brembo made thousands of wheels Brembo does not make wheels. The do however sell Marchisini wheels. You'll find a link to Marchisini on Brembo's website. >>>didn't S1Ws have a specific, different initial in the VIN? Yes, they did. | ||
| Jos51700 |
VIN starts with 4MZSS for S1 4MZYS for S1W IIRC. They might be reversed. | ||
| Phelan |
Harley did not buy a majority stake in Buell until February 1998. you are right, my apologies. Harley bought 49% in '93, and a majority stake in '98 Just the opposite is true for both Harley-Davidson and Buell. No they were not. my apologies again, I misrecalled previous information I learned a few years back. I looked it up and found that Harley DOES own CastAlloy, but they did not purchase them until '06, so my previous deductions on this subject were upon false foundation. Brembo does not make wheels. The do however sell Marchisini wheels. You'll find a link to Marchisini on Brembo's website. I only stated that Brembo made wheels at one time. They DID make some of the stock Ducati wheels for a period of time that look identical to the Buell CastAlloy and Marhesini wheels. I have not found a definitive picture of them in recent, but there is a set on ebay, and I have a link that proves that Brembo did make wheels. http://www.ducatimonster.org/forums/parts-sale/186 243-3-spoke-brembo-front-wheel-rim-black.html . Scroll down to the pics and you will see BREMBO cast on one side of each wheel the guy was selling. RAM uses a Brembo Ducati wheel for their Buell single-sided swingarms as well. If you look at RAM's website, http://www.ramitalia.net/ buell.html , you will notice the wheel is opposite direction of the front. That is because Ducati is left-side drive. (Message edited by phelan on November 13, 2008) (Message edited by phelan on November 13, 2008) | ||
| Beachbuell |
 | ||
| Jos51700 |
That Brembo wheel looks like an old FZR600 wheel. Neat! | ||
| 1313 |
Jos is right. YS = S1 White Lightning, SS = 'normal' S1 Lightning. 1313  | ||
| 80rs427 |
So were the handlebars different between the S1 and the S1W due to the manta tank? | ||
| Billetmetallic |
I dont think so, i put a manta on my S1 without any handlebar interference | ||
| Court |
No | ||
| Tombo |
Court, my 96 S1 bars were different than the 98 S1W bars. They have less bend to them and are a tad lower. The S1W bars seem to be the same as my S3 bars. I can't say if the 98 S1 and S1W bars are different, but the 96 S1 and 98 S1W bars are. | ||
| Phelan |
Found something interesting the other day. I'll have to go back and get the pics, but I was looking at one of my favorite wheels, a factory Ducati 999 front wheel. It is a Marchesini 10-spoke wheel, and it has the Marchesini logo on the lip (as all of the 999 wheels do), but on the edge of one of the spokes next to the hub... BREMBO (and logo) was cast into the wheel. I believe it was off an '02. Interesting.. | ||
| The_italian_job |
my MV Agusta Brutale 910 S had Brembo wheels, so i must say Brembo does wheels... | ||
| Beachbuell |
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