| Author | Message | ||
     Kdh_98 |
A brand new 08 Suzuki V-strom non ABS, or a 07 used Buell Ulysses. Anybody have experience w/ both bikes? Thanks Will be using for 5mi commute, joyrides, and fire roads. No big adventure trips. Thx | ||
| Crusty |
Buy the OCC Chopper. | ||
| Etennuly |
A five mile commute? Don't buy the Buell. Many BadWeB riders living within a few miles of their jobs have been taken aback by a major issue with a Ulysses. They start leaving early to take the long way to work, riding fifty mile jaunts for lunch, and then returning home four hours late because it is a fifty mile ride to this cool road you found and fifty miles back after riding the twisties for a couple of hours. Next thing ya know, you sell the boat 'cause it just never gets used, fishing gear goes with it. The other bike, be it a dirt bike or cruiser just sits and the tires weather rot. The spouse usually enjoys the ride enough that you won't necessarily have to dump her(although all you will talk to her about in the future is the ride you wish she had been there for). Gas mileage won't matter because you will ride so many extra miles you will use the same amount of gas anyway. So get the utilitarian tool and don't let the onset of permagrin from riding the Uly tempt you!  | ||
| Gotj |
A five mile commute? Skip the Uly. All you will be doing is changing fouled plugs unless you follow Etennuly's prescription. | ||
| Bertotti |
I do short jaunts on my Uly 99 percent of the time and have not had a problem with fouled plugs. Start it let it warm up and don't lug it. | ||
| Andrejs2112 |
I have a five mile commute and have never had to change a fouled plug in my 06. Never had a fouled plug either for that matter. And yes, you will leave for work early and leave work early to ride. Although my commute is 5 miles, it sometimes turns into 50. | ||
| Etennuly |
My point was that it is done just because it is such a fun bike to ride!!!! If you read anything else into that, oh well!  | ||
| Xbimmer |
 Seriously, the Uly might be more bike than you actually want or need, like the others suggest. Have you considered the smaller Vstrom or a KLR 650 or Versys? | ||
| Gtmg |
Kdh which Vstrom are you looking at? The wee Strom or the big one? Seriously both bikes are great bikes but different. Suzuki you get Japanese quality and engineering. It rides great and is enjoyed by many if not the collective as some say because there are so many out there. I believe they have a very good forum similar to Badweb. You will not be unhappy but.... you might be bored. I have a Uly. It is a great bike. Handles well. Ez maintenance and like many on here say is just plain fun to ride. It is not the best for stop and go traffic honestly though. | ||
| Froggy |
5 miles? Get a electric scoot. If you still want a Uly on the side, thats cool too, infact if you can afford it i say get both.  | ||
| Panhead_dan |
I have a Uly and ride with a guy on a V-Strom. We have several thousand miles side by side on twisties and on dirt/gravel roads. The Strom was a tiny bit faster till I put a Special O.P.S. pipe on my Uly. The Strom does not like gravel, I suspect tires as the culprit. The V-Strom's speedometer is waaay off. The Uly's speedo is accurate. They get very close to the same gas mileage. The Uly makes a nice deep gnarly sound. The Strom makes a whining sound. The Uly has had several failures. The Strom has had zero failures. Both are daily ridden year round. Bottom line; we both think our bikes are better than the other. I do not enjoy waiting for parts while he is out riding however. | ||
| Irelage |
Stroms are awesome machines. I went with the Uly for chain-less, valve-less maintenance. I also wanted something that could fall over and not crack plastic. I liked the overall engineering and the sporty ride. I've taken it on a couple 700+ mile rides and it is great. I commute 90 miles round trip to work and enjoy every minute. Like Etennuly says you will discover reasons to ride. The Strom will get you where you want to go but the Uly will get you there with character and pizazz. I would like a Wee Strom as a second bike for sure. | ||
| Kdh_98 |
Gtmg, I am looking at the 650 because the weight is about the same. An electric scooter would be best for my commute, but I may have led you astray, I do ride. When I said no hardcore Adv touring I meant AK or Baja is not on my near to do list. But I do 4 day weekends all day in the saddle. Panhead thanks for you advice/honesty about the breakdown issues. That is not something I think I could deal with, even if it gets 2x the cc for the same weight. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I would save gas if I wasnt doing the Etennuly commute, 35 miles for breakfast, a tankfull of gas after work, a full moon ride every month, mud slugging through rain washed roads just for fun, trips to the airport for pie and watch the touch and go's.... I live 12 miles from work, most times I dont get home for HOURS  | ||
| Nutsosane |
What's your local Buell dealer like? NUTS | ||
| Chadhargis |
My friend has a V-Strom, and he get's MUCH worse fuel mileage than I get and his bike has been back to the dealer more than mine too. He had a terrible time with a fueling glitch that finally ended up with him getting a new ECU. All I know is that he and I ride at the same level on the track, turning almost identical lap times on nearly identical bikes. But on the street, I can walk away from him on my Uly like he's riding in quicksand. The Buell is by FAR a better handling bike than the Strom. But I sure would like the liquid cooling. His Strom doesn't knock and ping if it gets hot, and he can run regular unleaded fuel. | ||
| 4_pete_sake |
kdh_98 local fella around here is actually selling his Strom to get a Uly... for me it was a no brainer... especially left over models being discounted to take away the price advantage of the Strom... but for me that was the only adcantage the Strom had... and money-you can aways make more... NO REGRETS!!! pete | ||
| Johnboy777 |
For me, it came down to the color - I wanted the black one, which was a Uly. . | ||
| Gtmg |
Just to reply, I have 11000 miles on mine with no problems. I did take in the shop this week while traveling to have my fan replaced. The bearings were going bad. Kind of a known problem. My rear bearing (another common failure) looks good but I do have the dealer do my tire changes. I think the xb platform is exceptionally reliable. If you ride, I honestly think you will be happier with the Uly. great handling good comfort, simple maintenance you can do yourself and IMHO a much better looking bike than the Strom. The Strom was my second choice honestly and I looked at it very very hard. The only other negative that I can think of is the frame heat in the summer time. It gets hot if you are not wearing riding gear and there is no way you could wear shorts. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder and unfortuntely for me, nothing looks better than the xb's or tuber's. i like the xt just the way it is. | ||
| Atoms |
Get the Uly. I loves my Uly, but I ride an early 80's Schwinn for my 8 mile commute. Stop and go in rush hour traffic is not what the Uly was meant for. I save it for those 4 day weekends! The Stroms are surely great bikes, but they have no soul. | ||
| Old_mil |
Get the Uly. The best bike I've ever owned (same could be said for all the Buells, really). It has more soul in a single valve stem than most Japanese makes have in their entire product lineup. If you're going to go the other route, get a Silverwing scooter instead of the Wee and save a bundle on gas. |
