| Author | Message | ||
     Dynasport |
Has anyone turned an SX into a sport tourer with bags and some wind protection? I'm going to need to replace my XT at some point and would love to do it with an EBR. I know the AX is supposed to be released at some point and it may be a more suitable replacement, but if there was a way to mount some bags on the SX and get similar wind protection as to that I have on my XT, the SX would work as well. Maybe it's a stupid idea. Maybe I'm too old to be EBR's target market. So, anyone know if it's already been done? | ||
| Crusty |
When I took my demo ride a few weeks ago, the guys from EBR were saying that an accessory windscreen is going to be available soon. I'm also wanting a Sport-Tourer. I'm waiting to see what the AX is like. If the bike is too tall, then I'm hoping that the bags will mount up to an SX. I know that the factory can do a better job of making mounts than I can. If they don't offer hard bags, I bet I can do a fair job of cobbling up some mounts. I have a preference for Hepco & Becker 30 liter Junior bags (I came up with a decent set of mounts for my Ex's Lightning Long); though lately, my interest has been piqued by Givi Trekker bags. If you haven't ridden an SX yet, then I strongly advise you to do so. It's so sweet that you'll be champing at the bit waiting to see the AX like I am. | ||
| Dynasport |
I mentioned this in my post on the AIME Expo thread, but since this thread was started specifically for this reason, I thought I'd mention it here as well. At the EBR tent today, an EBR guy told me in the not too distant future they would be releasing a windscreen and soft bags for the SX. The guy said the soft bags would have some sort of metal protective screen. I didn't understand what he meant, but I didn't ask for clarification because I was about to ride the bike and wasn't thinking straight. It will be interesting to see what they look like when they come out. I'd much rather have hard bags, but I'll keep an open mind until I see them. | ||
| Finedaddy1 |
That sounds promising, I'll take the above w/ a belt drive kit also. | ||
| Crusty |
Back in the mid ‘70s, I rode a Sport Tourer. I had a Moto Guzzi V7 Sport. It was considered a sport bike at the time, and many people told me I should get something more touring oriented, and that my bike wasn’t comfortable enough for long trips. However, I rode that bike all over the country. It saw the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Gulf of Mexico, I used it for a daily commuter and I even raced it in local club races. There were more comfortable rides out there, but I was young and able to appreciate the better qualities the Sport had to offer over its more plushly appointed brethren. It had a “Cammy” engine and it handled beautifully. My next Guzzi was a used 850 T that I bought in March of ’79. It was the same basic engine and frame, but the engine lacked the “Kick” of the Sport. I liked the bike, but it never even spoke to me and the song wasn’t there. It was time to move on. Time went on and I got away from bikes that were more sport oriented. But I always remembered the feeling of how that Sport felt when it “came up on the cam”. In 1998, I bought a Buell S3-T. I flat loved it. It had an engine that made the right kind of power (It didn’t have a lot of low end grunt, but get it over 4 grand and it just sang to me). It handled so good that it made me a better rider. It was also beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, it had its share of problems. After two years of the love/hate relationship, I moved on. I traded it in on a M2. The M2 was a good bike and I kept it for a few years. I adapted a set of S3-T bags to fit it, but it didn’t have the same feel as the S3. Back when Buell unveiled the XB platform, I had a chance to ask Erik when he was going to build another Sport-Tourer. He told me that, unfortunately, Sport-Tourers don’t sell. The Magazines love them and the owners tend to be a bit more knowledgeable and more dedicated (I think he was blowing a little smoke at me with that line) but sales wise, they sat on dealership floors. There’s a lot of evidence to support that argument. Think about the Yamaha GTS, the Aprilia Futura and the Ducati ST 2/3/4. Then again, to be contrary, BMW sells a shitload of bikes that come with bags, and quite a few of them fit into the category of Sport-Tourers. And of the Sport bikes that they offer, BMW also offers the option of hard bags as an accessory. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate hard bags. When I had my V7 Sport, I was really happy when I got a set of leather saddlebags for Christmas. They were a real step above the backpack I would strap to the back seat when I was traveling. Then, a few years later, I found that if I had hard bags, I didn’t have to put all my clothes in a garbage bag to keep them dry if it rained. It’s nice to be able to carry things on my bike when I’m also carrying a passenger. Now, last month I took an EBR 1190 SX out for a Demo ride. It felt wonderful. It was more comfortable than I thought it would be. It made more than enough power for my needs and it handled like a motorcycle Erik Buell was involved with. The engine has that kick. The leader of the Demo group took us over some very convoluted back roads that had little traffic, and the bike just sang to me. When the guys back at the dealership told me that a windshield was going to be available, and probably soft bags, The squirrels in my head started racing on their wheels. I don’t expect Erik to build a Sport –Touring version of the 1190. I don’t want all the features that are “Necessities” on Sport-Tourers. I don’t like ABS (I have it on my Norge). I hate music systems on motorcycles. I prefer to use an old fashioned paper map over a GPS. If I want Cruise Control, I'll buy a Throttlemeister. What I want is a basic sporting motorcycle with reasonably basic instrumentation (speedo w/ trip meter, Tach, Clock and probably Air Temp, as well as the usual idiot lights for oil pressure, charging system, neutral, high beam and turn signals). An SX; but offer the accessories to make it a Sport-Tourer. An effective windscreen is a start, as are soft bags, but maybe some hard bags would be a good thing, too. Offer heated handgrips. These are not extravagant luxuries, and they are unnecessary for a pure sport bike, but they open up sales to the few nut cases like me who use their motorcycles as more than just a toy. One more suggestion; offer a belt drive kit. If Buell could offer a chain drive kit for 1125 owners, then why can’t EBR offer a belt kit for those of us who prefer the ease of maintenance a belt offers? Anyway, As a former owner who has put almost 200,000 miles on my assorted Buells, and as a potential future owner who likes the SX a lot, I just thought I’d put in my two cents worth. (I've put my two cents in enough times that I'm probably getting up close to a buck!) Supposedly, someone at the factory follows this stuff. I hope so. I'm also going to post this over in the For The Factory section just to be sure. (Message edited by Crusty on October 19, 2014) (Message edited by Crusty on October 19, 2014) | ||
| Dynasport |
I wonder if a belt can handle the 185 or so HP the SX puts out. | ||
| Pmjolly |
Even the chain is stressed by the 185 HP. Mine is stretching quickly. My RX has seen an even balance of street and track. | ||
| Crusty |
Well; the Indian Scout that I rode had a belt that was about an inch wide. Now, it makes about half the horsepower that the SX makes, so I figure that if a narrow belt can handle half the HP, then a wider belt should be able to handle the power output of the 1125. Of course, I'm just using seat of the pants engineering, and I could very easily be wrong. I'll leave that decision up to the engineers. But it would be a nice feature. | ||
| 46champ |
The chains are 520 chains not 530. And they have aluminum rear sprockets, both of these things are potential wear items. | ||
| Firstbuell |
no, the 520 parts'll absolutely wear out more quickly than 530 | ||
| Malott442 |
A belt retrofit kit would be pretty cool, I'll admit. I have the gut feeling it would be just fine with an 1125 belt on it. At least without a passenger on it. |
