| Author | Message | ||
     Billyo |
Riding through the grass around the pickup is the most off road I intend to see with a street bike. A competitive sport tourer would be nice. Maybe we would need a "Big, Bad, and Clean" section on Badweb. | ||
| Beached |
I cannot see Eric being able to come close to building a new model of the Ulysses with with the characteristics that I adore on my 2007. I cover a lot of miles camping on fairly heavily loaded bike. Going any distance on this continent you turn a lot of miles on pavement. The bike does this better than most and still is rock solid on gravel roads or sand logging trails. The simple basic pushrod engine could be repaired by a tractor mechanic in the most remote part of the world and power band makes it easy to drive on poor sand or gravel roads in sporting manner. It is a bike designed for the long distance traveller who wants to get off the well travelled path to see all the sights. If I wanted to to break my own trails I would buy another bike but it would not be so comfortable to ride 500 mile days, days in a row. It is a lot fun once you set up camp and remove the saddlebags and just enjoy the power and the handling. | ||
| Conchop |
One other thing I want to add about styling. Lose the "beak look". So many of the Euro and Jap styles try to replicate the ridiculous but functional beak on the GS. The Uly X tried to mimic this with a functional front fender. Again, the styling of the Uly was put off by the ugly face. Looks like some praying mantis on wheels. The front end of the new 1190 is much more acceptable. BTW. The GVWR needs to be very high but at a low weight on the bike. Many motorcycle engineers show up at bike meets to find their engineering has grossly underestimated what Americans load on their bikes. The adjustability of the Uly is outstanding and easy. However, if I were designing the ultimate ADV bike, I would strongly consider a robust air suspension. Properly dampened, air always gives the best ride.... but... pop a shock and your day is screwed. Nonetheless, a good air ride is sweet. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I'm hoping the AX has at least 18 RWHP. If it had 30, I'd be *thrilled*. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I love the ULY look. I'm not in love with the shaky engine and I'd really like to have smoother, more controllable low speed control without having to do it all within the clutch's friction zone. It's funny because my big lumbering 97' Electraglide does low speed very easily and believe it or not, very smoothly. Yet, the ULY can't do it without worrying the clutch constantly. My ULY clutch is fine and never seems to need adjustment but I'd rather have a bike that can move in 1st gear smoothly down to less than 5 mph without the help of the clutch. The ULY certainly has a clutch crutch. | ||
| Ulynut |
What he said. Ditto. | ||
| Rcf2 |
Electraglider, I also not glad with the Uly bad handling of very low speeds but will not changing the primary help? | ||
| Ratbuell |
EG - without having the specs in front of me, I'm willing to bet your 800 lb FLH comes with a lower (numerically higher) first gear, just because of the sheer mass. I agree - the FLH platform is great at slow speeds. I won many a Battletrax on my 96 FLHP. But...I still U-turn my Uly on 2 lane back roads with no issues. Stock gearing. Stock '06 trees and forks. LEAN, don't steer. Ever see the MX racers do a tabletop up in the air? Try that. Opposite of "hanging off" - you stay upright, bike leans under you, U-turn complete  | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Ratbuell, That's the best description I've seen on the web regarding the '06 Uly turning radius. Well written, sir! Honestly, the only time the turning radius is even a small issue is INSIDE the garage. In fact, while under power at speed, a sharper radius would perhaps become an issue. Whenever I try to explain it, all I get is a blank stare. 9 gearing and a good tune does help with lower speeds. | ||
| Tankhead |
Where o where has our little frog gone | ||
| Ratbuell |
He's honoring the promise he's made to the folks who count. And staying out of this thread. (normally I hesitate to speak for others, but I'm pretty sure I'm on target here. And if I'm not...he's an admin and he can delete my post!) Dan - even though my 06 is all stock, I do run an EBR computer. Wow, what a difference. Nice and smooth. | ||
| Ulynut |
I'm running an EBR computer too. It hasn't smoothed out the throttle at slow speeds. Now that I think of it, I would really love to have a better injection system. | ||
| Ratbuell |
You should try a TPS reset. Mine runs as smoothly as any big honkin' twin I've ever ridden...1200cc displacement and 2 cylinders, eventually you just get below the "smooth" range. I really suspect the only way to get smoothness at the RPM some folks want, is to go smaller...which brings up an entirely new set of compromises. | ||
| Conchop |
This low speed control discussion is nailing it. Riding in rural Appalachia brought out the worst part of the overall driveability of the Uly. There are a million miles of one lane half paved and half dirt roads that take you to some amazing and historic scenery around here. The Uly wanted to zip. IMHO an ADV bike must be set and tuned to handle 10/20 MPH in complete control and comfort. Taking the Uly around a hair pin corner at the creek and going up a very steep and narrow road leaves you with the choice of fanning the clutch or going like a bat out of hell. This inflexibility in the Uly's character needs to be addressed in the AX. There are too many ADV bikes available that can handle 10 MPH to 125 MPH without any undesirable characteristics in their performance envelope. Electric smooth. | ||
| Tankhead |
Rat, I was just kidding. I have a feeling the ax.might not have a motor that takes gas. Just sayin | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Because I teach MSF courses I have become very adept at u-turns with the ULY. I practice them every class before the students return from lunch break. It really improves my balance of the bike to do this every chance I get. BUT,in the peanut shaped "race course" of the BRC2(formally the ERC) I have a heck of a time demoing with the ULY so I usually will use one of the newer Suzuki TU250 fuel injected bikes. The ULY just bucks and jerks me all over the place if I try to do the peanut without a whole lot of clutch so I hate using it for that particular range exercise. | ||
| Tootal |
EG, the reason the big hog runs smoother at low rpm is because of the compensator nut on the crank. The sportster and Uly don't have one and that's the reason they are not as smooth. I'd like to see a compensator nut on the Uly but it might not fit in the primary case and I'm sure a good one would not be cheap. | ||
| Etennuly |
 You said "compensator nut "!!!! Greg, is that why you like a "big" bike?  .....it has all of the parts you need? (Message edited by etennuly on November 27, 2011) | ||
| Blake |
Someone please explain why the desire for such slow speed operability absent clutch? I don't get it. What for??? | ||
| Billyo |
I've done patriot guard rides that had times of very low speed. The Uly wants to run instead of lope along. Working the clutch for long periods of time can wear on your left hand. Also, working the clutch usually leads to speeding up and slowing down - not very smooth. If you don't live in an area with occasional traffic jams and backed up accident or construction detours I envy you. We decided to ride on black Friday and the last 20 minutes getting home was backed up. If we could have let the clutches out and crept along it would have been a painless end to an otherwise nice ride. | ||
| Ulynut |
Someone please explain why the desire for such slow speed operability absent clutch? I don't get it. What for??? Traffic for one. | ||
| Tootal |
Greg, is that why you like a "big" bike?.....it has all of the parts you need? Same reason you have the B A W!  As for the reason for slow going, try making a 180 degree switchback with big rocks going up hill. Heavy traffic, parade duty and off road. XB9 helps but my Harley will literally crawl compared to the Uly. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Do the XB9 primary swap if you want better low speed handling. I've been tempted, and everyone that has done it is happy with it. | ||
| Portero72 |
'Someone please explain why the desire for such slow speed operability absent clutch? I don't get it. What for??? ' Off road, traffic, construction zones, tip toeing through loose conditions... | ||
| Etennuly |
The low speed thing would have been nice for me a couple of years ago when I was traveling North on rt 79 in West Virginia. It was 95F mid sunny day on new black top on the Interstate when on a three mile up hill grade traffic stopped as far as I could see. The pavers were working way up ahead of my location. Traffic was moving at about three miles per hour. I was in full black Buell gear on a hot Uly. The incline was too steep to push the bike up with loaded bags. It was too hot with no shade, to pull off, and the wait could have been for hours. Slipping the clutch on a bike that idles at 10 mph was not working. I am sure a lower gear would have helped here, but I ended up with a richer experience not being able to "walk" the Uly in the heat. I finally cut across the median to go back the other way. I did secondary roads for a few hours to get ahead of the traffic snarl. That break from the highway actually made it a great riding day. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I can live with the ULY as is. No desire to change out the primary ratio. Maybe if I tried one out I might change my mind but I can't see how increasing rpms in 5th is something that I could be talked into. None of us wanted to see the demise of the Buell factory but in retrospect I think our quest for a better adventure bike from Erik Buell is probably more likely now than it would have been in the old factory. No matter how many might say how great the 2010 ULY is, there are very very few who can speak from actual experience. One thing that never changed was the primary or transmission ratios, rust prone muffler, wheel diameter, or engine for that matter. | ||
| Blake |
I guess I've never noticed the need for it, but I have no aversion to using the clutch when needed either. I do agree that a six speed with a bit higher top gear would have been nice. Surely that would have eventually happened if not for HDI killing off BMC. In fact, wasn't that one of the things that Steve Anderson mentioned in his article about developments to come at Buell? | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Blake, try riding in a toy run with 500 bikes. At the end your motor is HOT, and your clutch is burning. You pull pull into the kids home lot, and the smell alone tells you (Well, at least told me) - There's no way in hell I'm doing this next year! Last two years I show up, donate a toy or cash, watch everybody leave, then head straight to the party. I can easily see the need for low speed operability. | ||
| Conchop |
Like I said, low speed driveability is the Uly's biggest flaw. The Uly's "Lightning" genes really come out in it. If you live in wide open country, chances are you'll never have to crawl along. But the really tight, twisty, and steep "green lanes" make the Uly really uncomfortable and that gets transmitted to the entire experience. I'm curious about the new Triumph Explorer. Wonder how it's going to behave when the going gets tight and slow. You can just about bet its going to go like a strapped ass ape on the open road. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
You'll never get fuel in frame on a Triumph. That Buell frame is one tough cookie. |
