| Author | Message | ||
     Serpa |
I have found myself looking around at bikes a bit, after picking up a Blast for my wife to ride. Been off the street since 02 or 03, riding and racing dirt bikes with my kids. I've owned a few Harleys and have ridden just about everything. I always liked the looks of the M2, but the tube chassis X1s are pretty nice too. Besides the EFI and inverted forks, what's the difference? Any models to avoid? | ||
| Phelan |
The only tuber to avoid is mine! LOL. They're all great. Find what you like and look for it. I'm an S2 fan and spent a year looking, then found one 1600 miles away, flew up to pick it up and rode it home. My advise is find one out of state so you can make a roadtrip to get it  . | ||
| Serpa |
I think my biggest problem will be leaving it alone! Every one of my bikes ended up becoming a project. My FXR must have had a couple hundred dyno runs, along with three sets of crankcases! I remember how well those 88" kits run in the Sportsters. In theory, I'd like to find an clean, low mileage stocker and try my best to leave it alone and just ride it! LOL | ||
| Guell |
Id go with the m2, but im biased. The x1 fork swap is bolt on, and its comfier. Its just a damn good all arround do it all bike. | ||
| Tdman77 |
What kind of ride are you looking for? An aggressive or a more upright riding position? I love my X1. It has lots of power, can corner hard and isn't that bad on road trips. Each model has it pros and cons. Myself I like having fuel injection vs a carb. So my choice was either the X1 or S3. Which ever bike you choose you will be hooked just like the rest of us. | ||
| Stoked |
I do believe the X1 is the easiest to change the belt on. I could be wrong but I believe the other models get a little hairy in that aspect. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
More cornering clearance on the X1. The M2 has more legroom but the pegs are lower. I vote X1. Mine will never be sold. 84,000 miles and still wild as hell. | ||
| Akbuell |
Get the X-1. For my body condition (spelled age!) I put S3T bars on it, and have taken 3k mi trips. Great machine. | ||
| Serpa |
I have always liked the M2 since I fist swung a leg over it. I almost sold my Harley and bought one when it came out. I prefer a sit up riding position, but with the controls set back more than a standard bike. The 98 S3 I had put too much weight on my wrists. The cornering clearance of the X1 would be nice, but I should probably stay away from too much of that. I tend to get carried away. | ||
| Tdman77 |
The X1 was the most aggressive of the tube frames built. The M2 was a compromise between the S3T and the X1/S1, it is a little more aggressive than the tourer but also provides a more up right riding position. The X1 with 1" risers provides pretty much the same riding position. X1 has more clearance and also more hp. It's going to be tough for you to make a decision but which ever bike you choose you will love. After I get out of school (again) I plan on getting one of each. (Tubers that is.) | ||
| Serpa |
What type of fuel injection system is on the X1? If I do decide to hop up whatever bike I get, I'm gonna want an induction system that can keep up. I wasn't a fan of HDs Magnetti-Marelli system. Nice, I'm already not leaving it stock! (Message edited by serpa on May 12, 2009) | ||
| Buellsrule |
X1's use a VDO system. | ||
| Tdman77 |
The FI system is called DDFI (Dynamic Digital Fuel Injection) by Buell. Check out ECMSPY.com It is a free tuner for the DDFI system created by a fellow badweb member. This software lets you do just about anything you could want. And best of all it's FREE! You just need to get a cable or make one. You know you want the X1!  | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
X1 cams are designed for higher end hp while the m2 cams provide more low end torque. Imo my x1 has all the torque that I need. Like someone already mentioned.. The x1 is the only tuber with a removable section in the right side of the frame for belt changes. All other tubers including the m2 require removing the swingarm to change the belt. Another plus for the x1 (in my biased opinion) is the seperate plastic fuel tank and fuel tank cover. This means there's no need to worry about paint bubbles on the tank unlike the m2 tanks. Plus the '99 cover with nostrils looks SICK. I've got blacklight leds shining out of the nostrils on mine  (Message edited by pkforbes87 on May 12, 2009) | ||
| Guell |
Metal? What you talking bout! Its all plastic! Id love to have a polished alum tank though | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Just talked to an M2 owner that lives close to me.. the M2 tanks ARE in fact plastic, but no cover like the X1. My mistake. (Message edited by pkforbes87 on May 12, 2009) | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Find an X1 to ride, M2's are great all around bikes and have stock sporty cams. The M2 can be made fairly comparable power-wise with just a cam swap, mostly depends on where you're going to spend most of your RPM's. Up top for X1 power, lower for M2. 99+ model years all have the Thunderstorm (101HP) heads that came out in 98 on the S1W. Footpeg re-locators (not to be confused with rearsets) are easy to come by if you want a little more cornering clearance. That will give another inch which is just fine for street riding and okay on the track. X1's have more adjustable inverted forks, many have swapped them out to their M2's. That removable side plate for belt swapping might be the best thing about the X1, though... tough choice going into the Buell world! | ||
| Serpa |
I thought the M2s had the smaller Screamin' Eagle cams and the X1 had the bigger SE cams? I may be wrong though, it's been a long time since I had any Harleys or Buells apart. | ||
| Phelan |
Correction PK: the S2s and all tubers previous to it have sideplates that are removeable to change isolators and belts. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I quit. Apparently I'm lacking knowledge in the area of tuber history. Time to go study "25 years of buell" some more.. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Well Pk... ...you could call it a second generation tuber, and then you'd be right... ...if people here were willing to accept that term for the 99-02 model year(s) tube framed bikes... | ||
| Serpa |
Seems like there are more X1s out there for sale than there are M2s. How do you raise the bars on the X1 for a more upright riding position? | ||
| Buellsrule |
The standard X1 bars are very comfortable. My S3T has the touring bars and is very comfortable. My X1 actually has a riding position that I like very much. Aggressive but not uncomfortable. It's not your typical sportbike riding position but allows for aggressive handling. You can put the S3T touring bars on an X1 but I wouldn't do it. I don't think it needs them. Hope this helps. BR. | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
Two years ago I tried to answer a similar question: Would I be happier with an M2 or an S3T? There was a lot of conflicting information and many opinions so I decided to buy one of each, ride both for a while to see which one I liked best, and then sell the other one. That was a really dumb idea. I like both so well, for different reasons, that I don't want to sell either one! The good news is that I now have two very cool bikes that I really love - for about the same cost as I would spend on one nearly-new Japanese sport bike. Based on my experience I would say you can't go wrong - just get one in good condition. | ||
| Serpa |
I'll find an X1 and see how I like the riding position. |
