| Author | Message | ||
     1313 |
To refresh your memory, look here. With a bribe (reward, yeah that's the ticket) of a drink from Towjam, I was supposed to post my initial impressions of my XT. I didn't forget about it or blow anyone off, I just wanted a little more time with it before I put my 2 cents in. Since it was cold going to work and coming home last week (mid to high 20's in the a.m.) I pretty much just commuted on it last week, but darn it almighty do those heated grips provide some heat. This past weekend I put some real 'get acquainted with the XT' miles on it so I am now prepared to put my 2 slugs of copper on the table. I'm a little unsure of what will be of interest to most folks, but a little background is in order. My previous Buell, well I didn't get rid of it to get the XT so I guess I should call it the Buell I rode before I got the XT, is a 1995 S2 Thunderbolt that I've put just over 116,000 miles on (so far). Even though that has been the only other Buell I've ever owned, I've ridden darn near every other bike Buell has produced up until the XB's. And I have put some serious seat time in on a pair of XB9R's, and a XB12SCg. I've never ridden a XB12X Ulysses because I just plain don't fit. Call it low hanging fruit syndrome if you want, the tall version of the Ulysses just doesn't fit my physical form. Seeing the XT come out with a more user friendly seat height and all 3 bags, I thought I could enact my plan for my version of the ideal Buell Sport Tourer. So for those seeking a comparison between the XB12X and the XB12XT, my review will probably not fit that bill very well. First off, the bike is still a little on the tall side for me. Don't ask me what my inseam is, because I ain't got no clue, but I am only 5' 6" tall on a good day. I am pretty tippy-toed on the XT, even more so than on the S2 with a fresh rear tire (when the rear shock actually performed the duties of rear suspension). My biggest challenge, besides deciding what side to put my foot down at a traffic light on uneven pavement, is backing the darned thing up. For me, the rider's peg location is the worst spot - it's right where I would normally put my feet down so I end up either putting my feet in front of the pegs or to the back of the pegs - both do nothing to help my boots gripping terra firma. In fact if the rider and passenger pegs were able to swap with each other, or just having rider pegs that 'locked' in the up position, I would be able to manage backing up the XT a heck of a lot easier. Since I've spent no time following the Ulysses until I bought the XT, does anybody know if it is possible to switch the rider and passenger pegs, or is there something others have done along these lines? Also on the 'not ideal for me' list is the height of the handlebars. A little too tall for my tastes, but keep in mind that I never had the S2-T bars on my S2. My plan for the XT has always been to put City X or STT bars on it. I'm dumbfounded that I haven't been able to find a set in the classifieds or on evilbay. Anyone got a set of City X or STT bars that don't have a home? But I'm amazed at how much heat the heated hand grips put out. I've never ridden a bike with heated grips before, so this is definitely new to me. I still remember playing with them when I brought the bike home. I turned them on to the low setting and kinda forgot about them being on. A few miles down the road and I was thinking to myself, this is weird - the grips are getting hot, WTF is wrong? Then I remembered that I turned on the heated grips. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks because I've come to be used to them now. On low they throw out some great heat, and I have actually used them on high when coming home late at night when it was cold last week and didn't have my liner gloves. Heck, I wanted to test the grips out and see just how good they are. If the hand guards had a little extra height on top to keep the breeze off the backside of your hand they would work in concert with the heated grips. The seat is pretty amazing! Not that I find anything wrong with the S2 seat, either with the stock seat or my modified solo seat. It's just that there is so much darned room to move around on the Uly seat, it amazes me. Due to my physical build, I am usually attempting to mate with the airbox cover so that my feet have stability when I come to a stop. The shape of the front of the seat is conducive to one getting their feet down further. When I was 'getting acquainted' this past Saturday, I decided to move my butt back to see how much room I had. To my surprise, my rear end just kept going back further and further and I thought I would be hitting the beaver tail (oops, triple tail - or is it really only a dual tail on the XT?) but my rear end came to rest at the bump in the seat - which felt like was in another zip code. Plenty of room to move around! But all of you XB12X riders already know this. The most I've done in 1 day on my S2 was 900 miles. After about 600 on the S2 it's time to start the body motions (feet on passenger pegs, rest chest (belly?) on tank bag, etc.). Who knows what the limit is on the XT. Something tells me that I will find out this summer, but I think the 1000+ miles to Homecoming will just be getting me started. The powertrain is amazing! My S2 has always had quieter valvetrain than any other Buell I've been familiar with, even with the Lightning cams, but the XT takes the cake. It's starting to make more typical V-Twin noises as I put some seat time on it (and what really pleases me is that the exhaust is starting to be a little more vocal - it's still no match for the Drummer that is in my plans, but it definitely sounds throatier than the ride home from the dealership). The valvetrain is making a little more noise, but nothing out of the ordinary for a V-Twin. The vibration isolation system is worlds apart from my S2 as well. Admittedly, I have done some things to my S2 that don't help it in that respect, but boy is the XT smooth! If it weren't for the V-Twin valvetrain noise and exhaust note, I honestly wouldn't think I was on a V-Twin powered bike. Someone *bashed* the XT for not having the offset forks of the '08 XB12X Uly, but I have yet to experience any lack of ability in turning the XT in a parking lot - it still turns around in the motorcycle parking area at work just as well as my S2 and V-Rod do. I really don't see this 'shortcoming' as being a detractor. To each there own however, and if you base your judgment of a vehicle just by the specs alone without actually riding it...well, I rest my case... The height also affects my cornering as well, and I'm sure I just need a little more seat time to become used to it. Currently it feels like I am so high up and the ground is so far down that I am not as comfortable when the road gets jagged as I am on the S2. In the past, BattleTrax was the best thing for me to inspire confidence. If BattleTrax events were still held today, you better believe I would be out (or should I say up?) there on the XT. I don't know how well my initial impressions met with Towjam's (or others) expectations, but these are my thoughts from just under 400 miles with the XT. As soon as I reach the 500 mile mark and change oil (yeah, I'm goofy that way. Why one would want to be able to use everything you got when all that crap is in the oil is beyond me. But maybe that's why I am an old school'er at heart.) I will really be able to have a true understanding of just what the XT is. However - even at this early of a stage - I can already tell that this XT is the 2nd Buell that will be with me for MANY years to come. Sorry for my delay in posting my impressions. If I didn't touch on something that anyone is curious about on the XT (and I really think this to be true), just ask. 1313  | ||
| Froggy |
Great to hear, I can't wait to demo it so i can see how it feels compaired to my old X. As for the bars, I know Cityxslicker put Blast bars on his Cityx. | ||
| Darthane |
Thanks for the write-up, 1313...now I'm looking forward to taking one for a spin even more. ...now if we could just get rid of the eight freaking inches of snow on the ground here... | ||
| Rubberdown |
pics please  | ||
| Metalstorm |
Have you ridden on any bumpy potholed roads? I'm curious as to how well the suspension soaks everything up. Oh about the If the hand guards had a little extra height on top to keep the breeze off the backside of your hand they would work in concert with the heated grips., Tourtech sells handguard extenders that add about 2"-2.5" of height to the stock guards. I have them on my S and they're great. They allowed me to rotate my controls down a little more for better fingertip protection and still have the top of the hand protected. Thanks for the review. It left me hungry for more  | ||
| Crusty |
Thank you for the report, Brankin. Now I want to demo ride an XT more than ever. I really can see me owning one in the not so distant future. I really like my Uly, but the XT just seems to be more of what I want. I look forward to seeing you at Homecoming. | ||
| Towjam |
1313, Couple of follow-up questions for ya' while I sit waiting another two weeks for my XT... a) At 5'6" (my height too), how hard is it for you to mount and dismount with the luggage installed? On my GS, getting off the bike took a little finesse to keep from catching my right foot on the sidecases. b) Is the luggage keyed to the ignition key? Or do they require a separate key? Thanks for taking the time to post your impressions. Yours is the first ride review I've read - from anyone or magazine. PM me your PayPal address and I'll make good on that offer to buy you a drink! cheers! | ||
| Towjam |
One more question for ya'.... Any issues with wind buffeting at highway speed? (I'm referring to the wind turbulence which beats your helmet to the point of double vision.) | ||
| Blake |
Towjam, You ever try dismounting by standing on left side footpeg? If you deploy the side-stand and then stand up on the pegs while holding on to the handlebars then lean down/forward bending at the waist, I bet you'll find that you can easily swing your right leg up and over any side cases and even the tallest tail pack/bag/case. Heck, I'm 6'-3" and when I have bags and especially the Ventura pack mounted, I dismount from the pegs. Just be sure your passenger dismounts first, else you may end up playing a Chuck Norris on her head.  | ||
| Blake |
Nice write-up Brankin! | ||
| Towjam |
Blake, I know it would be much easier to mount/dismount using the side stand but frankly, I don't think they're designed to support the full weight of the rider (210lbs) and the bike. And you have to admit that the reputation of Buell's side stands ain't exactly stellar. (Fortunately, all my riding is solo so I don't have to worry about mounting passengers.) | ||
| Gotj |
I mount using the right-side footpeg mainly because of the weight issues already discussed. When I step on the peg, the suspension compresses some and unweights the side stand some. If I tried, I could tip over the bike but I've learned to get MY center of gravity over past the centerline of the bike. I do that on all of my bikes. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
nice little right up 1313. been longing to hear about it myself and i guess you'll be riding that up to marchbadness. i think i would enjoy demoing the xt more than the 1125. i've demoed the x and they are a little to tall for me(barely 5'8")and i've demoed the tt which suits me pretty good but i really like what the xt has to offer in the way of amenities probably because of having an ultraclassic too. and if you don't get around to posting pics here, i'll get some pics of you in a few weeks on it. | ||
| 1313 |
First off, some pictures. When I picked it up:   After 46 miles I decided to *finally* swap out the rims. My new rims had arrived on my doorstep the previous day. These pics are from the 2nd day. You can see the new color of the wheels, and as I like to call it the "now you see 'em, now you don't" removal of the warning labels.   Maybe the reason the warning labels peeled of so easily and didn't leave any residue is because it was on day two... Then it was time to go take some beauty shots.   When I changed the color of the airbox letters is when the natural world really started to take an interest in it.   See? Some bird liked it so much he left a deposit on it. And then this pic from today  along with the oil and filter change I gave it - just because - means now is the  Next, to answer the questions. I haven't adjusted the suspension yet, and I am definitely in excess of the 95th percentile riders weight, but I am amazed at how well the suspension absorbs abnormalities in the road. It's just like I remember riding the S2 back when it was new and was amazed how still the bike was as I was going over a bumpy section of road. The suspension did all the work of absorbing the road irregularities and yet I couldn't feel any movement in the bike. You know how on most bikes you try to avoid 'bumpy stuff', well on the XT it is almost like a game - You intentionally try to hit the bumpy stuff to see what it will feel like but you don't feel a thing. Of course there are limits with rough railroad crossings and such, but without fine tuning the suspension for my weight I am very impressed with its performance! Mounting and dismounting for me is more akin to climbing than anything, really. Seriously, the put your left foot on the left side peg, up and over with your right foot onto the right peg maneuver (while holding the front brake during the whole dance) is the only way I've successfully mounted and dismounted without hitting the bags. Heck, the first time I sat on it I tried 'normal' mounting at the dealership - hit the right bag with my right boot and in stretching my leg up so high I thought I had gone back to the days before puberty. Honestly, the up and over method has been working great. My only wonder is how this method will work in the rain. Yeah, go ahead, call me a pansy - when the forecast has said it would rain I would ride the S2 instead. Someday (very soon I'm betting) this bike will see the rain. I'm somewhat concerned about putting all my weight plus the bikes on the sidestand as well, but if the XT is the bike for 'road trippers' then the sidestand should be up for the call of duty. The luggage requires a separate key from the ignition, but the good news is that all 3 bikes use the same key, so there are only 2 keys you need. A far cry from the 3 that originally came with the S2 (ignition, forks lock and gas cap) and the later 4th with the addition of the saddlebags. With the XT I was given 6 keys total - 2 ignition, and a total of 4 for the luggage, but 1 ignition key and 1 luggage key is all that needs to be carried while riding. Jimmy Buffet doesn't like in Key West anymore... Oops! Sorry, it just popped into my head. As for wind buffeting my helmet, I haven't really noticed any. Lately it has been windy here so it's been difficult to quantify the bike vs the environment. I do remember playing around riding it home from the dealer placing my hand in various locations to see where the wind off the windshield went and do remember that it doesn't really go over my helmet - but I did not notice any ill effects from it. Sitting on it the windshield is just below my neck and I was expecting it not to work as well as it does. Nevrenuf- I will definitely be riding it to March Badness. I just hope I can get another 500 miles on it and the 1st *official* service done before I leave. I'd hate to be in the mountains and have to tread lightly with it. Truth be told, I will probably still be in the 'getting acquainted' phase, especially on the AWESOME roads around TWO. Sure wish the landscape here was a lot more like it is in Suches! But then again that would mean I would have more of a winter to deal with... 1313 | ||
| 1313 |
One other thing. Did you know the darn thing has a clock on it! Chuckle if you want, but I had forgotten all about it. I knew that way back in 2002, the XB gauges debuted with a clock. It's what irked me about my 2003 V-Rod's cluster not having a clock. Buell did it at a much lower price point than the V-Rod, so why didn't the V-Rod come with a clock? Okay, make that a couple of more things. If I hadn't taken the airbox cover to check it for myself (or notice the cable on the muffler during today's oil change) I would've sworn that there was not interactive exhaust valve on it. The thing is SO SMOOTH! The biggest complaint from my extended seat time on a XB12Scg (other than that horrendous seat, mind you) was that the actuation of the interactive exhaust valve was very noticeable. It's actuation was right where I would always be tempted to 'have a little fun' and was comparatively hard which made me hold back from truly enjoying the Scg. The actuation on the XT is seamless! I'm relearning the left side only turn signal switchgear. I learned it in the past, so it's gradually coming back to me. The great news, when I picked up the bike, was that they had an updated service manual (that included the XT) in stock and on the shelves. Well, it's not on their shelves anymore. For all my bikes that I intend on keeping I always get the service manual and the parts manual. Even dealing with Harley parts I find it a lot easier just to give the parts counter person the part number than try to have them look something up. The bad news though is that - even to this day - there is no parts manual that exists that covers the XT. For the Xformation I am getting closer to the initiation of I am down to just figuring out if the XT has certain parts that are slightly different from the same parts on other XB models. Even (known good Buell) dealers have been unable to provide aid in my quest. Need 2 sleep, 1313 | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Beautiful bike Brankin. I can't wait to see in in Suches! I know you are excited! | ||
| Metalstorm |
Thanks again 1313 Beautiful pics of a beautiful bike  | ||
| Xbimmer |
1313, congrats on your XT! The wheels are a great touch.  Regarding height of the bike, have you considered the Buell Low seat for the Ulys? Lots of BB&D BadWebbers like the seat. Drops the height a bit more than your stocker, and considerably more than the '06 Uly seat. I would get your creature comforts dialed in during break in and take your time, you'll love that bike as you get accustomed to it. Plenty of time for farkles and stuff. Buell handlebars are cheap, I have a new set of Lightning and also CityX bars in the garage, bought them to try but I'm pretty fine with my Uly's stockers. If you're having a problem finding some pm me, I'm a parts hoarder but ??? Both bars have a great bend and height for me but be aware they are narrower than the Uly (XT too?) bar. Could make a difference in the feel of the handling, little less leverage. I'm really wanting to know how that XT shield works! | ||
| Towjam |
Regarding height of the bike, have you considered the Buell Low seat for the Ulys? Lots of BB&D BadWebbers like the seat. Drops the height a bit more than your stocker, and considerably more than the '06 Uly seat. FYI - the XT (as well as the '07 and '08 X) already ship with the "low" seat - there isn't a lower option. | ||
| Froggy |
Towjam, the low seat is still a hair lower than the seat on the 07's and 08's. Between both the low seat and 07 seat, i felt that the 07 seat is more comfortable. I have a low seat for sale. | ||
| Gotj |
1313, If you want to relieve some of the load on your sidestand when you mount, you might try using the right side peg. I do but am 6'1" so I can get my weight over the center of the bike easier than you I think. However, I weigh about 100# more than you so it is more important for me. | ||
| Msparks |
Congrats on the XT. Looks great with the New Badges and Wheels. Wow that front fender looks so different than the X. I think I like the Beak on mine better. Great pics though. | ||
| Metalstorm |
If I had the money to buy an 1125R right now I'd wait a little bit and save up the extra $$ to buy one of these XTs instead. The 1125R is the bike I want but... The XT is the bike I NEED. I keep coming back to this thread just to drool over the pictures. I have a whole roll of paper towels next to the monitor for clean up  I hope the next buyer gets one in red and posts pics here. | ||
| Dldeano |
Stone Mountain near Atlanta has one in the back. Not on the floor yet, but I asked nicely about the '08's and they let me have a look see. My short self still wants an X...but this is a good option. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
the bike looks great 1313, very impressed and i have to say you are so lucky. i do think if i get another one it definitely will be the xt. | ||
| Towjam |
I have a whole roll of paper towels next to the monitor for clean up So wrong. On so many levels. | ||
| Metalstorm |
 I meant for the drool!  | ||
| Court |
Brankin . . . that really looks GREAT and I can't think of a better qualified person to put the first big miles on an XT! This is a Buell that even tempts me. . . it just looks like a bike that is ideal in a lot of roles. Looking forward to your next report. Court |
