| Author | Message | ||
     Ratbuell |
but to most of the rest of the MC world...the uly *is* a 'crotch rocket'. because its not an HD. just ask 'em. they'll tell you  | ||
| Conchop |
One other gripe about the Uly was the seat and the load capacity. The stock seat rolls you forward and gathers up blue jeans, sweaty underwear, skin, and hair. On a hot muggy day, I come to know what sushi feels like when it gets rolled up. The 06 tall seat was padded with a rail road tie. Nonetheless, I was always able to stay on the bike longer than any of my other 60 plus bikes over the years. But if there's big money on the line, I will be darned to want to go spend another 5 to 7 hundred on a seat. Get a big ol boy like me on a Uly and its capacity is almost there. Throw on a passenger and the idler pulley stretches the rubber mounts to the metal. The buzz that came from that made me question the true versatility of the bikes. That was NEVER an issue on a Victory. Those were close to a 1 ton truck. My last gripe was the biggest expense of Uly ownership - TIRES - what in the world is going on with a rear tire that is only good for 3 to 5K miles. All the gas savings go up in smoke because of sinking a small fortune in tires. Yes they hold the road BUT - so does the GS etc, etc. This bearing issue is an embarrassment too. I understand its been fixed BUT we are dealing with a bike that is supposed to make it from here tot he gates of hell and back without the back end falling off. Thats what the GS does - not an American engineered and built bike. This leads me to the final analysis - I learned from Quality Mgt studies that you can start with a final product that is completely ideal. Then you reverse engineer it. All our lives would be better if we were to imagine our ideal life and reverse engineer it. It could be this way for the ideal American made Adventure touring bike. Question - what is the ideal AT type bike. Seems that the GS has that part figure out. The Multi has the performance envelope bagged - the Strom has the price point. The Uly was really developing into something until the HD people went ignorant. All the rest of the "dirt baggers" fell somewhere in between. The real trick to all this is to build the best there is in all parameters and price it right - the world will beat a path to the front door. Since there are trillions less going into the economy there will be less money to go around for bikes, especially toy choppers and posers bikes. Wall St. recognized this and dropped like a homesick tombstone. A practical motorcycle stands a chance. An impractical bike will seem to be a luxury in hard times. So if Erik Buell Racing follows through, the Uly replacement will have to be the best there is at an incredible and justifiable price. I say these things with one qualifying thought - in so many measures - the Uly is the best bike I've ever owned. However, just a few more tweaks and I'm quite sure the Uly could have been the best bike ever. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I want top loading bags please | ||
| Hughlysses |
I think the Ulysses was a very remarkable bike considering how few parts are different from the standard XBs. It will be VERY interesting to see Erik Buell Racing's take on the same concept with the experience of the Uly under their belts and without HD management looking over their shoulders. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Conchop nailed it pretty well for me too. I understand the need to make a substantial profit and there is a market for a higher end dual sport but on the other hand, folks like me and some of the posters above will not be able to swing the budget for it. The answer may lie in two dual sport models. One with all the electronic acronyms on it like ABS ETC and who know what the creative folks at E-B-R will come up with. A fully loaded model with hard bags, maybe a navi. Then offer a more bare bones variant that still offers capability and has detachable hard bags for substantially less money. Those who desire and can afford a dual sport, farkled from the factory can have their cake while the workin man can still get his face in the wind. If Erik does this, I will buy it. I will not be able to own one for 20k, however. JMO Dan | ||
| 7873jake |
PhD...Panhead Dan. +1 +1 +1! (that's as close to a 'harrumph' as you or Mel Brooks will get out of me) (Message edited by 7873jake on August 07, 2011) | ||
| Conchop |
We're starting to develop a pattern. The GS is a good benchmark for developing customized bikes. Start with the bones, the start adding to it. Just like the original Uly - bike plus bags - easy enough. Then starting to add the worldwide travel add ons - to get the uber touring sled. The Tenere program seems to be a good way to get it to market. Order one, build one. In this market, nobody wants to commit financial suicide. Just start saving a lil money. If this thing hits, and you are really into AT bikes, especially the Uly's, you will want to bite fast. There will probably only be a limited run. If done properly, this bike should be a "home run". Nothing like being the first kid on the block with the new home run ball. | ||
| Blake |
I find the seating and ergonomics of the Uly to be fine. The seat doesn't roll me forward at all. The Uly is no "dual sport." That moto-category requires major off-road capability. | ||
| Blake |
I'm no fan of liquid cooled motorcycle engines. I like simple. The more simpler the better. It will be awfully difficult to beat the Uly for my next new motorcycle purchase. | ||
| Paul56 |
Blake- you said it! Air cooled Hydraulic lifters Belt (no dirty chain or heavy shaft) No cataclysmic converter NO CHROME! Just some of the criteria I use to compare the Uly to pretenders to the throne. | ||
| Kenm123t |
A Uly is a M123t Next Gen | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
"It will be awfully difficult to beat the Uly for my next new motorcycle purchase".  | ||
| Eulysses |
If someone had a retro kit for a 21" wheel and tire for my Uly...I would buy it. Spring load the belt idler...top loading side bags...we are getting close. Euly | ||
| Brucespoint |
Has AnyOne used the German "Kevlar reinforced Carbon Fiber" "Frame Shields"??? I ride the most Wonderfull little rollie Chipseal "Cottage lake" roads up north of Lake Superior, Roller Coaster, GRIP!!! but it is all the exact. same. color. when LoosSe! MuleUly Loves it. But I look at that frame... Thinking about buying a "scratched" Frame... finding a Fine. Welder. Stretch that neck out enough for a 19" Wheel... Or a Full On 21" Baja Ready. My home turf, past. Been dancin around Flat trackin on dirt with the Uly... it kinda Likes it! Armor. Bruce Of Course, After My first ride on the Uly, I looked up Ice Spikes! if ya haven't seen Buell on ice, do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9_fu2oaFo That's a tease... Watch, then tell me doin THAT on yer Uly wouldn't Max your Grin beyound... (Message edited by brucespoint on August 09, 2011) | ||
| Al_lighton |
My Uly-R is about as perfect a bike for me as there could be. Simple, handles well, decent wind protection, decent load capacity, as fast as I need a STREET bike to be. When it finally goes, I don't know what I'll replace it with. I'm tempted to buy another and mothball it for when this one dies.  Looking at the market today, if I had to get a replacement for it, the new Triumph Tiger would be high up on the list. But I really do like the simplicity of the air cooled engine. Al | ||
| Schwara |
Al ... your bike looks great. Do you have any more pics you can share as well as what mods and accessories you've updated her with? | ||
| Froggy |
Simple bike for simple folks?  | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Hey Al....let's see some more beauty shots. Thanks | ||
| Brucespoint |
Al, Love your bike, Know the Roads You Ride, Beautiful Bike, Sharp Looking!=8^D LOVE My Uly, Lusted after the XB Design as Soon as I saw 1st Designs, Damn Happy to be able to Afford it! Literally had to die to do it. But... I am a "equipment operator", Was damn fine one, Live to make Equipment DANCE. Operating a fine design, dancing on edge, is Life! I ride for jOy, as life can pretty much suck sometimes, so grab it when you can. Uly WANT's to PLAY! Damn fine design, KNOW it is an UNDER Valued Bike, Nab all ya can CHeAP! Please, spent My wad. Save a Straight, Scratched Frame for me, I'll BUILD a ""Play"" Uly Roller to Swap My motor in & Out of. dead serious, a Uly with 19" hoops & DT rubber Would Be a BALL!!! Just in from playin on Clay&rock forest road over hill&dale, while lite sprinkle, have a Clay stripe up my Face... And a Big Ass Grin! b. | ||
| Brucespoint |
Al, How does it "sleep", with the fairing? Stay straight? Tell me it Will, I Like the look, and had thought bout it... but "I" like cheep sleep in an "AdVenture" bike... Tires Dammit!!! but the Uly, she sWeeT in the Right Spot, I'm Wheely-ing out of clay corners now & then, just rootin around, no strain, little skatey in the gravel... but I've been practicing this shit for a long time. The Bike is a Wonderfull Handling package, & "HarleyD" DO know How to HooK uP on Clay track. =8^D | ||
| Blake |
>>> Simple bike for simple folks? Yep.  I got irritated the other day trying to reset the clock. I like the simple analog speedometer/odometer on the '97 Cyclone better. Turn the knob, set the tripmeter back to "000000.0". | ||
| Kenm123t |
Al built a UlyR like my M123t! | ||
| Blake |
Ken, I'll bite. What is your M123t? | ||
| Al_lighton |
More shots of my Uly-R are posted here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/171 43/634109.html?1312493387 The fairing/stay/headlights, etc. are all straight 1125R stuff. But it needed custom adapter brackets to mount the stay to the frame at the right height, and other adapter brackets to mount the cluster. Since the other shots were taken, I replaced the Renthal bar with an 1125CR high bar with riser adapters. I'm not a big fan of the Uly stock bars, way too high for me. Wind protection is quite good. In still air, turbulence at 80mph is minimal. But if I'm behind a truck, it seems a bit worse than stock Uly. It's pretty much a street bike, I have no intention of putting it down to sleep. I have dirt bikes and dual sports for doing that kind of stuff. The Uly stays upright. But I still keep the scorp syncs on it, it goes down plenty of gravel/rough roads. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the results. Al (Message edited by al_lighton on August 10, 2011) | ||
| Conchop |
Now we're really getting somewhere. Al has built a masterpiece. The Corbin seat - the fairing - the way nicer pipe - the carbon fiber. American Sport Bike is really the place to go for bringing a Uly into focus. As it stands IMHO the Uly needs: seat xb9 primary drive pipe ebr computer K&N I'm diggin on the fairing - aka - fxrt retro wit big round light. 6 mm front rotor rubberized 2" risers heavy air shock spring loaded idler pulley aka free spirits - GB comfort kit 1" lobbed off each end of the handlebars that front fender on Al's bike rocks re- engineered gel filled front engine isolator - come on now - the stock isolator is stone age 3 bearing rear wheel THEN - you would have an ultimate ULY! | ||
| Brucespoint |
"It's pretty much a street bike, I have no intention of putting it down to sleep. I have dirt bikes and dual sports for doing that kind of stuff. The Uly stays upright. But I still keep the scorp syncs on it, it goes down plenty of gravel/rough roads. " Road is What I am Riding on, NorthWest OnTario, Canada. Frost Heave. Pavement Crumbles. So they Have Beautiful "Dirt" HighWays. Lovin it! NOT decomposed Granite San Diego Style, Crushed Rock Roads, Very Well maintained, Great Drainage, Think Finland Rally Racin! But Yes, "Sleep" happens. So do Moose. and deer, and bears. Already Bagged My limit on the Moose@90kph. The Uly is the Most Competent "Street" bike I've ever ridden, at reasonable sane speeds,just flow with that motor, grunt out of the corners, then roll off, slow down, then Repeat, PermaGrin. it's truly a classic no Bullshit piece of Balanced Design Art, and I Collect My kinda Art. I'm hopin to give it to my Grandson, if I can protect the frame from all the Rocks they build Roads from Up in the North of Ya'll. Hang On to yer Uly's, their Art. b. Will be Happy to revisit all my old SoCal rides, Al, Think West Palomar Mountain rd, with clay over well drained crushed rock, like a Saturday nite Sprint Car race traction... leetle cheese grater thumbsize surface rocks, packed tight. some/most of the roads are coated with calcium chloride for Winter, So its ALL one color... & loose stuff Too. GRIP. then not. But Wide, Graded. Quite Civilized here. cept the Black Bear's, just this week, bit a tourist on the ... I'll get a picture, think SharkSkin sandpaper, and twisty little cottage rd's round lakes, Tree's will get ya, so low speed, Just Grin's, rollin'it at the SkateBoard park. =8^D (Message edited by brucespoint on August 10, 2011) (Message edited by brucespoint on August 10, 2011) (Message edited by brucespoint on August 10, 2011) | ||
| Wbrisett |
I want top loading bags please So did I, so I bought a set of Hepco & Becker Gobi's. They fit on the stock Uly luggage and they are top loading. Not only that, but I just added the water spigots (one on each bag), so now I can carry 2 gallons of water (one gallon each bag) without taking up any additional room! Very cool idea. If a new Uly style bike is built, I highly recommend they look at these bags. Wayne | ||
| Kenm123t |
Blake I put S1 forks on my M2 along with a S3 hard bag set with a m 2 tail modified to fit the S3 lower rear bag support section. Its badged M2 looks Factory My S1W has a polished 99 swing arm polished triple clamps race kit and PM wheels. Ill have to get some pics up loaded | ||
| Conchop |
Road is What I am Riding on, NorthWest OnTario, Canada. Frost Heave. Pavement Crumbles. So they Have Beautiful "Dirt" HighWays. Lovin it! NOT decomposed Granite San Diego Style, Crushed Rock Roads, Very Well maintained, Great Drainage, Think Finland Rally Racin! THAT SOUNDS GREAT!!! I live in Appalachia so when the little 1 lane chappy paved road turns to gravel and dirt, the mud accumulates on everything and the creek crossings wash it off. Repeat the process. The Uly is a really good platform for riding all roads. Its just a matter of fine tuning it for our uses in our location. Few other bikes have the MOJO the Uly has. If Erik Buell Racing can come up with a suitable replacement, I;m sure it have some MOJO too. Here's a thought for those of you talking about air cooled engines, here's a thought - go with the Victory motor - best air cooled motor I've seen - bull dozer guts. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Another thought on air-cooled engines for Erik Buell Racing (mentioned previously): Erik Buell Racing has a relationship with S&S now, and S&S has that "clean sheet" design X-Wedge engine they introduced a few years back. The current iteration has a separate transmission (like an HD big twin), but there was some talk about them coming up with a "unitary" version. That would seem to be a good fit for a new bike. OTOH I think it's much more likely we'll see water-cooled Rotaxes across the board for new Erik Buell Racing bikes. |
