| Author | Message | ||
     99cyclone |
I've got the new bike itch. I love my Uly and 12R, but they don't excite me much anymore. That got me thinking... With the spare parts in my shed I could put together the pieces to put a Firebolt front fork with the Uly top tree, a Firebolt shock that I had resprung stiffer for track duty. Could I bolt these suspension bits on the Ulysses plus a Firebolt fairing stay and front lights/bodywork? I also have a wiring harness that could be cannibalized if needed. A Ulysses with luggage combined with a Firebolt/Lightning suspension and sport touring looks would get me excited again. I'm just not into the ADV thing, and the Uly's height is a pain in the ass. I've never really felt short at 5'11", but the Uly's height is irritating. Has anyone done a similar conversion or built a 'bitsa' bike to build a hybrid? It'd serve my needs better - commuting to work and weekend 2-up rides with my wife. I've done some basic measurements (fork Øs, tree Øs, fork & shock lengths, etc) and it looks pretty doable. It seems almost too easy, yet I can't really find much prior info with a BadWeb search. | ||
| Froggy |
Something like this?  It is an XB12STT with Uly tail and Firebolt front. The Ulysses XT which came out later seems to have been inspired by it, as it is a Uly that isn't as tall and intimidating. | ||
| 99cyclone |
Exactly! I've got all the parts to make it happen without having to steal from my 12R, so this is really tempting. Is that your bike? Are the forks and shock from a Firebolt? | ||
| 99cyclone |
And with regard to the XT - I've always found them ugly. Something about the no-beak Uly looked odd to me. I like the Lightning variants, but not a no-beak Uly. The XT type geometry, or an S3T-inspired XB-platform bike is what I'm going for. | ||
| Froggy |
That bike is Steve_mackay's Ulybolt. Easiest approach would be to get a XT and swap the Firebolt fairing on. The 05+ Firebolt forks will bolt right up, in fact the 2006-2008 XB12SS uses the same forks as the Firebolt. The rear shock is different though, you would need one of them to maintain the stock 06-08 SS height. I do have a Uly tail on my 06 SS, it does all work. (Message edited by Froggy on May 26, 2017) | ||
| Ourdee |
I think 1313 is running a Drummer pipe on it now. | ||
| Falloutnl |
I recently completed the build of a Firebolt/Lightning/Ulysses hybrid with my dad. I'll make a thread with pictures soon. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Also, (looking at that Ulybolt) it is absolutely nuts how good these bikes look when you just mix and match them. A real testament to their design elements I think. | ||
| Schwiggy |
How about putting a Firebolt fairing on a X? Does that work or do the handlebars get in the way? I had this thought a few months ago and I tried to do some searches here on badweb and elsewhere and couldn't seem to be able to find anything. | ||
| 1313 |
How about putting a Firebolt fairing on a X? Does that work or do the handlebars get in the way? I've got CityX bars (same bend as XB Lightning bars, I'm led to believe, but with an additional crossbar) on mine (XT-BOLT; started with a Uly XT and added Firebolt fairing, etc.) and there is just enough room for them. I would think standard XB12X bars would interfere with the fairing. Oh, and I had to use a Zero Gravity windshield, too. HTH, 1313 |
