| Author | Message | ||
     Hiwaymanks |
First my apologies for lying about owning a Buell but if not for cold feet I would have picked it up today but first I have a cpl of questions if you guys don't mind. I have been riding Harleys a LONG time and I own an 00 SE RoadGlide ( red not orange lol with more mods than I care to admit) and an 04 Sportster. I have always liked the Buells and with the recent price drops am sure to own an XB12X very soon. How does this bike really handle the dirt? I have watched a lot of YouTube and everyone says it loves the dirt but they are only riding 10mph whereas the BMW F800GS is hauling butt in the videos. I am guessing the guys that haul butt on the Buells just don't have much time for YouTube crap. But lets say I take a trip to Moab, Utah to ride around in the desert, will I be walking out? lol (After 13 years of going to Sturgis I need some different excitement lol) #2 I see from some of your posts that Buells share the Harley venting problem and many of you have installed catch cans. Is there a reason you can't just vent it to the air?? maybe just use a small metal filter to prevent any debri from entering the hose you are venting?? It looks like it is 90% water anyway. #3 I see the new American Iron lists the horsepower at 85 and Buell says 103, is the 103 engine hp and not at the rear wheel or did someone make a mistake. I REALLY wanted a sporty with 103hp at the rear wheel. #4 As with HD's I know the first things to go are the airfilter and exhaust but I have seen people merely yanking out baffles in the muffler, is that just for sound or performance also. What are the mods that need to be done to make this bike what Erik intended it to be?? Many thanx in advance, the posts I have read before have been very informative and I appreciate any comments. | ||
| Obiewan |
Friend of mine has a Beamer, and is selling it to but an xb12x. He road the Buell and loves it. | ||
| Froggy |
1, post in the Big Bad and Dirty section, thats where us Uly riders hide. Short and sweet, the tire selection is the biggest limit for the Uly. No knobbies available. 2, Some people do vent to air with no issues. 3, its 103hp at the crank, 85ish at the wheel depending on dyno and your bike. If you want 103hp at the wheel, either get a turbocharger or and 1125R 4, Depends on who you ask, some do mods for more power, some do it for noise. There are 0 things that need to be done to make it what Erik intended, because it is pretty much is what he intended in the bike. Any customizations should be for your own comfort/preference.  | ||
| Mikef5000 |
1) Riding in the desert you'd need an auxiliary fuel tank and some better tires to say the least (like Froggy said, no knobbies exist). These bikes are heavy, so they're not great on trails or loose stuff, but gravel/dirt fire roads are just fine. 2) If you're going to reroute the breather lines, might as well just throw a catch can and breather filter on there. Otherwise just leave it stock. It doesn't hurt anything, just isn't quite as efficient. 3) What froggy said. 4) You really need to get on this thing before worrying about mods. They are plenty fast for any sane person. I would be very cautious doing exhaust and air filter unless your ready to tune your ECM. The bike will run quite lean if you don't tune it. If you just want the sound, you can usually get away with an exhaust without a retune if you leave the filter stock. Do mods for comfort/aesthetics unless you really need that extra 10 HP... then look into exhaust/filter/retune. | ||
| Skinstains |
Buells aint Sporty's. | ||
| Buewulf |
I recently picked up a used XB12X and have had it for about 6 weeks now. 1) I haven't ridden an F800GS in the dirt, so I can't compare. For the Uly, mud and deep sand are no-go's. Like the other posters said, the tires just can't cope. It is a heavy bike with a 17-inch front and kind of makes up its own mind where it wants to go sometimes when in the rough. It seems just as capable as my buddy's 1150GS in the dirt, though. In my opinion, it is really the ground clearance and riding position that lets you take the Uly places your Harley and other street bikes shouldn't go. (Though someone here posted a hilarious video of guy doing enduro on a dressed up Harley!) 2) I didn't bother rerouting the breather. The bike runs just fine. May try it at some point just to see if there is a difference, though. 3) I often do wish for more power (actually just a wider spread of power), mostly when my ego is trying to keep up with friends on faster machines. Most of the time, the power seems just right. Unless your Harleys are built bikes, the XB12 should feel quite fast in comparison, anyway. 4) The only changes I am making are tweaks to the fuel map. I haven't done any intake or exhaust mods mainly because I prefer quiet operation, and my experience with other bikes has yielded disappointing power gains for the $. The way I see it, if I NEED a dyno to tell me a bike makes more power, the effort is a failure. That said, some people claim to be adding 8 - 10 hp which is significant IMO for an 85 hp bike. May make some changes one day if I can sample a setup on another XB to verify how the mods work in real world riding as opposed to WOT, but probably not. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Kinda wondering how those folks yanked out the baffles in their Buell mufflers... Looks like it would take a torch and a welder to me. I agree that any mods are best left until after you have put some real miles and time and a machine. How do you know it is not Ok as is if you never tried it that way? Saves you a bunch of money as a bonus. There is plenty of real-world power there for the street, especially when it is twisty. Maybe not so much for the track, but that is not the bike's intended role in life (don't tell that to those on this board that have done it, though!). | ||
| Hiwaymanks |
Thanx for the comments and I now have an 08 Uly setting in my garage. Pretty impressive bike and yes my other bikes are all heavily modified, just can't seem to leave things alone. | ||
| Jraice |
Don't know about dirt. No need to do breather reroute, it helps a little. If your smooth down low (dont go WOT) it pulls fine either way. And some do vent open. For me it was mostly water. And its around 85 at the wheel stock, 103 is the motor but its MUCH lighter then a sporty. A Buell will be a lot quicker then a sporty with 103 at the wheel. |
