| Author | Message | ||
     Erwin8r |
My new-to-me S1W picture below (hopefully… lol). Drove six hours to meet seller halfway in Phoenix.    | ||
| 89rs1200 |
Lovely modified S1W. ~ That rear Penske shock provides a wonderful ride. FYI: That shock tube is aluminum and will wear thin, about 70K miles. Penske will replace with a steel tube at reasonable cost. ~ Appears to have fuel injection, or is it a Mikuni slide valve carburetor? ~ Aluminum oil tank, nice. ~ Have researched several sites and even the NationalMcMuseum states the 1998 S1W had TWO 40 mm Keihin carburetors! Whaaa?? TWO 40 mm Keihin carburetors?? Where did they put the second one? LOL | ||
| 34nineteen |
Nice rear swingarm. Looks like a Metmachex without the brace? Also, what is the speedometer used on this? The bike isnt to my taste, but its a very nice and clean ride.  (Message edited by 34nineteen on March 28, 2022) | ||
| Erwin8r |
Thanks for the positive notes. I love this bike. Took it on its maiden voyage yesterday, and it is beautifully handling, loud, and fun. Lol. It has one HSR 42 mm Mikuni, a MetMachex oil tank and swingarm, ported/polished NSHR heads, etc. The gauges are motogadget digital (earlier gen). I’m ordering up some Oberon turn signals, and then she will be complete. LOL I’ve owned a couple of XB’s, a custom Uly (purchased from a gentleman here many moons ago), but never a tuber. This is my first one, and I can say with full sincerity that this is probably the closest thing to custom American café racer that I’ve ever ridden. The smiles it elicits brings back fond memories of my early motorcycling days. Black Betty is a beast!  (Message edited by erwin8r on March 28, 2022) | ||
| Wcbrracing |
Great looking bike! Not a speck of white on it though! Should rename her “carbon flash” or “carbon strike” Enjoy the new ride! | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Looking really good! Isn't that Al's S1!? He had a buell parts shop American sportbike if I'm correct. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Looking really good! Isn't that Al-Lighton's S1!? He had a buell parts shop American sportbike if I'm correct. (Message edited by Brother in buells on March 29, 2022) | ||
| Falloutnl |
Well shit, someone spent a bunch of money on that thing. That's for sure. Beautiful find! Congrats. | ||
| 1313 |
B-i-b, My thoughts also. Has to be Al's S1W! | ||
| Erwin8r |
Maybe… but it’s mine now.  | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
So you did not buy it from Al then!? But it's definitely the S1 he put together! Have a search through this forum and you will find lots of pictures and info. Don't know the man in person but he and his wife had a buell parts shop and what I did read on this forum through the years they were very helpful in those times! It's a very clean and cool looking motorcycle you have there! Congratulations and have a great Buell season! | ||
| Jolly |
I remember seeing that in photos of his shop. Al and his wife were GREAT people, I always enjoyed talking to them both and our conversations often strayed far away from just a parts order. Enjoy the bike!!! | ||
| Court |
That's Al's old shop bike and it's an incredible bike. I love the USMC medallion. Reindog and I bought a good deal of the remaining inventory and I somehow ended up with all of his posters and shop memorabilia along with several thousand dollars with of next in the box Ulysses parts. My goal was to be able to build a Fly from parts. He had a couple bikes that he'd crated as kind of a show of what he could do. Al was, and is, smart as a whip and a talented engineer. I'm betting you will really enjoy the Buell. I'm preparing to dispatch all the Buell stuff I have in the cases and cases of stuff . . . I'll keep an eye out for anything related to that bike. | ||
| Xbpete |
Just was ready to buy Al's bike and Bartimus took her away to New Mexico. Dug out the link to Al's sale advertisement, listed are all the goodies of this fine bike,,, great score! http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/21/ 851308.html?1571045668 | ||
| Al_lighton |
Beat me to it, Craig. Yup, that was my bike. Looks pretty much just like it did when I sold it to Bart, other than the Marine Core Medallion on the timing cover that he added (was CF when I sold it). Technically, it wasn't an American Sport Bike shop bike, since I had it before we took over American Sport Bike from Tat. But it was certainly loaded with American Sport Bike goodies and some custom parts that I built just for that bike. I still have the shop manual and parts manual for it. They're a bit tattered but intact. Erwin, you can have both for the cost of shipping if you want them. I almost threw them out a couple weeks ago. If you have any questions about the bike that aren't already answered in the ad Craig posted above, just PM me. I don't hang here on badweb any more, but Joanne logs in occasionally, which is how I learned of this thread. Hope all of you are doing well, Joanne and I are well. I still have my Uly-R (CF Uly with 1125R fairing), ride it daily to/from Ultimate Frisbee. But that's about all I'm doing motorcycling wise these days. SCAB (SoCal Buell club) shut down about the same time as American Sport Bike folding, so haven't been doing any big rides like the old days. Best to all! Al | ||
| Ratbuell |
That's a nice looking bike alright, and Al always did top-notch work. Word of advice for you though - either don't ride at night, or add some aux lights. I have an 1125CR (which is where that headlight and front flyscreen come from), and those lights suck balls. I've tried HID, LED, high output halogens...nothing works well in them. I much prefer the old, serrated-lens H4 headlights on the tubers compared to anything XB or 1125...the reflector area simply isn't there in the newer lights, and they don't put enough light where you need it downrange. Still trying to figure a solution for my CR, because I LOVE the bike...I just need to be able to see where I'm going on it. Enjoy the S1W though - they're a ton of fun (I have one of them too!). | ||
| Erwin8r |
Guys, thanks for the history and connection regarding this bike. I love it. What a jewel and a work of art. Bart was a great seller, and a good caretaker —the bike is clean and almost immaculate. I will, however, Ride it as it was intended…  This is the second Buell I’ve purchased from this forum (the other was a stunning Uly, with tons of Carbon bits, nice exhaust, etc.). (Message edited by erwin8r on April 04, 2022) (Message edited by erwin8r on April 04, 2022) | ||
| Falloutnl |
"I have an 1125CR (which is where that headlight and front flyscreen come from), and those lights suck balls." Coincidentally the only thing I would change about this S1. Stock light and flyscreen look way better. But no one asked me so I'll not mention it :P | ||
| Court |
Perfect. Always reminds me of when the Guggenheim wanted to send Horseless Carriage to collect the RS1200 for The Art of The Motorcycle. They went into the entire spiel about humanity control. security, having someone onboard to insure proper care . . . I told them . . . . (and Aaron, who's bike I had volunteered was on board) . . . if you can't ride it. . .why own it? I rode the bike all the way there and into the exhibit . . .covered in bugs . . . the next day it was pristine and the hit of the show. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Man, does this thread bring back memories! I do miss the old "Buell Days". I bought many parts from Al and Joanne, I loved getting the little "treat" and hand written note from Joanne. Ahh, the good old days. Brad | ||
| Bartimus |
The bike sold exactly as I bought it. The steering damper clamp broke within a week or two of buying it, and there never was a carbon timing cover. Just the steel plate. I felt the bike was perfect, AL did a great job putting this bike together and it shows. I would never have sold it, if it wasn’t so painful on my right hand to ride. Brad, I miss the ‘old days as well 🙁 Court, after 22 years in the Corps, I put a Marine Corps emblem on all my bikes | ||
| Al_lighton |
Doh...you're right, I hadn't put a CF cover on that bike. The other tubers I had were all fitted with the American Sport Bike CF covers. I think the S1W had just the stock aluminum cover that I took off, polished the crap out of the back side, and put it back on. Looked good, but the Marine Corps emblem looks pretty cool too :-) Yea, wrist and butt...I love S1s, but I think they're a young man's bike. They make a great "primary" or "second" bike, but they aren't very good "only" bike. | ||
| Falloutnl |
"Yea, wrist and butt...I love S1s, but I think they're a young man's bike. They make a great "primary" or "second" bike, but they aren't very good "only" bike." Yeah, an X1 maybe, a Ulysses sure, the S1, not so much... though I have to say, I had my seat re-filled/upholstered by a guy here in the Netherlands. It replicates a performance part that Buell itself made at some point I think and it is a massive improvement in terms of comfort. Stock seat (which tbf was over 20 years old already) would start to hurt after an hour. I can do a good couple of hours on it now. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I can confirm that... S1 is my only bike at the moment, and it gets used as a daily commuter. It's less than ideal for the circumstances, but I'll say even though an S1 isn't a great "only" bike, if I can only have 1 bike, I want it to by the S1. Luckily my commute is 12 miles/30 minutes, so it's not long enough for anything to get too sore. Coming up to 40 though, I think I'm ready for something a few inches shorter, with a windshield and saddlebags. | ||
| Victory |
Sport touring or big bagger touring is where its at. | ||
| Erwin8r |
It’s comfy enough, and far better than my Duc… lol. | ||
| Falloutnl |
"if I can only have 1 bike, I want it to be the S1." This I can understand. It's still glorious to ride. Friend of mine had a go on it the other day and there were a bunch of expletives when he discovered how brutally fast it felt off the line. "Coming up to 40 though, I think I'm ready for something a few inches shorter, with a windshield and saddlebags." We're just about the same age then. And what do you mean with a few inches shorter? In terms of how tall it is? I've just added an 1150GS to the stable. It's replacing an almost new KTM 1090 that I'm just not bonding with. Poor build quality and a completely shit rear brake are what finally soured me on it. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Yeah, lower seat height. I've been eyeing up an Indian Scout since they came out. I'm comfortable enough with a tall seat height, but with as much of my commute as I spend in traffic and red lights, I think being a little lower would be nice. My wife used to ride on the back of my Speed Triple and had a really tough time getting on and off the back. I think she'd appreciate the height as well. Just one though, I'm not looking for a full shift to cruisers. I've seen that bike referred to as the cruiser for guys who hate cruisers, and after doing a few demo rides on them I can confirm they're fun bikes to ride. The motor reminded me a LOT of my old XB9S, just without all of the shaking. Any other bikes I own aside from that one would still need to be something sporty. Testament to how good of a bike the S1 is... a few years back I did a demo ride on a $22k Panigale. Leading up to it I was pretty worried that after 20 minutes on the Ducati I'd get back on my beat up old S1 and have a pretty depressing ride home. Fortunately the S1 was just as enjoyable as it has ever been, and the Panigale wasn't everything it was cracked up to be. I'd still like to demo a superduke someday... I'll see how the S1 feels after that one.  | ||
| Erwin8r |
Make sure you have a look at the new Harley Sportster S too. Great bike. | ||
| Falloutnl |
"Fortunately the S1 was just as enjoyable as it has ever been" Yeah, I doubt there's anything that really measures up in terms of raw excitement. Yeah a Panigale is twice as fast, but it still won't feel as visceral. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
"Make sure you have a look at the new Harley Sportster S too. Great bike." I do think those bikes look nice, not sure about that giant front tire. If the updated standard sportster looks nearly as good I'd definitely consider that as well. I wouldn't mind some normal fenders and exhaust. I don't see anything their website, have any pictures of an updated standard model been released/leaked yet? |
