Author |
Message |
Norrisperformance
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 08:24 pm: |
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I was just thinking, would it be a good idea for Buell to make a limited edition XB series. Maybe one making a 140hp. Include all the Bells and whistles, Sale them for $25,000 Special order only. It would give all magazines something to talk and write about. Use the same color scheme as regular XBs, that way when a jap bike pulled up beside you, he’d be thinking is that one of those 140hp Buells. And no longer would Buell have to here their straight line performance was not up to the competitions . And offer all the performance parts and upgrades to the people who didn’t have $25,000.. I was just wondering if Eric thanks about this kind of market strategy. |
Slaughter
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 08:32 pm: |
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Call Hal's! You'd need a BIIIIG motor to have that kinda HP without melting once a week. (unfortunately from what little I know, the big HP FX bikes at 1340cc are running pretty high compression and high octane fuel) |
Bake
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 09:45 pm: |
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Last people I am worried about is the straight line racers! Maybe I am too old to be goaded into the Asian hp syndrome, my Buell is a treat to ride. bake |
Raraf
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 10:25 pm: |
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The Italians do that and they seem to be successful at it. Fun idea. |
BadS1
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 10:53 pm: |
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Not a economical business move.It wouldn't sell. |
Daves
| Posted on Thursday, April 14, 2005 - 11:06 pm: |
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Send me a check for 25,000 and I'll have one built for you. |
Stainlessmag
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 12:28 am: |
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They may not bash you for lack of straight line performance, so instead they would bash you for insane price. Plus for that price you could have a busa or other rocket so worked it would be sickening. |
Elyaswolffxb9s
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 12:32 am: |
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Or just get a 1600cc (sorry if I got the conversion wrong) crate motor from drag specialites. |
Tucsonxb9s
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 01:06 am: |
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I liked the idea of the "White Lightning" that someone photoshopped here a while back. (Glitch...was it you?) An XB9S with white plastics, blue powder coated wheels and header, and maybe a slight bump in HP. Sell it for $500 to $750 more than a CityX and you'd have an interesting limited edition Buell. |
Blake
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 03:10 am: |
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I know a girl in Florida who has a 150 rwhp Buell. Her name is Pammy Brown and she is half owner of Cycle-Rama. I'm gonna ride it the next time I'm there for a visit. And this ain't nothing to sneeze at in an 88" Buell... Want one? I don't think it would cost anywhere near the extra cash some might think... I want one! |
Blake
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 03:20 am: |
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Check out this 80"er... YIKES!
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Pammy
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 07:06 am: |
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Blake, that would be 156.2. Just wait until I get some proper fuel delivery...YEE HAW. I am in negotiations with my dear friend Chuck Jones, to take a run down the track with it. That should be interesting. At the Teresi dyno drags in October the old yeller Buell really embarassed a brand spanky new R1. Took home the trophy, the beast did. Not bad for an old raggedy Buell... Of course it coulda been the sound that whomped him...The thing will make your hair fall out just from the sound...almost like a top fueler. Stellar! |
Firewhirl
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 07:23 am: |
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Yeah, would be nice to have 150rwhp in a streetable package that would also not kill the buell handling and balance. But from what I have seen in my short time of ownership it ain't gonna happen. Sad to say but if that is the kind of power in a streetable package you are looking for, you will need to go Jap. Chime in if you know otherwise. Why do harley motors have such low HP for such a big CC. Are there not other twins with close to the same specs that have much higher HP? I'm thinking you may be better off with a power adder like a turbo or NOS or both. How well would a turbo work on a harley 984cc-1308cc engine that is close to stock specs? Of course you would probably needs different cams to work with a turbo. Hmmm.... I hate it when my brain states thinking of power... i get crazy ideas in my head...but they all cost money to do.... LOL |
Tomzweifel
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 08:21 am: |
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"Why do harley motors have such low HP for such a big CC. Are there not other twins with close to the same specs that have much higher HP?" Because they don't rev as high. Power equals torque times angular velocity. If you want to compare our engines to something similar, look at Aprilia's Rotax. Similar displacement with slightly smaller stroke equals slightly less torque but revs to 10k. More power, less torque. It's a trade off. Where you draw the line is a matter of personal preference, among other things. The big catch is that if your limiting factor is a pushrod valvetrain, you have to design your bore vs. stroke to emphasize stroke and torque. |
BadS1
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 08:26 am: |
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Yeah I've seen Pammys bike Blake and I know its that powerful but that bike would never be a production based bike.Also even if would it be a reliable bike for day to day use?? |
Smadd
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 09:24 am: |
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Realizing that there is a big (HP)difference between Pammy's bike and mine (that was modified by Cycle-Rama several years ago and is stock displacement)I will offer the following: Mine is still reliably running after 52,000 miles and I'm sure still putting out over 110 RWHP. After having to remove the head to replace a broken mount (my negligence... I hate to say), things still looked brand new on the inside. My guess is that yes, it might be difficult to have the reliability if it's a production built engine. But if an *individual* engine is built with care, skill, and knowledge, it might be more reliable than one might expect. Steve |
Slaughter
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 10:49 am: |
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I think everybody is still only looking at HP - I'd love to have the front and rear ends, suspension, brakes, wheels (and 'cause I'm a pervert - the chain! - I'm into chains) - that they're running on the Hals bikes. The motor is less than half the equation of going fast. I'm betting that if one of us "mortals" wanted to buy that jewlery, we'd be out well over $12K - more like $15K. Ohlins forks can put over $6k of hurt onto the Visa card. The Penske 3-way w/Ti spring and hydraulic spring perch is over $2K. Marchesini forged Magnesium wheels can be more than $5K a set or forged aluminum $3500+ - those brakes...$$??? Chain conversion is more than $2K... ME WANT (looking for smiley to express pure LUST!) I don't think Erik (uhhh... what's his last name?) ever intended these to be solely straight-line bikes (though they DO have that potential too). That being said, Dave S can get all the above - 'cept maybe the brakes... |
Kootenay
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 11:21 am: |
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I'm with Bake: Last people I am worried about is the straight line racers! Maybe I am too old to be goaded into the Asian hp syndrome, my Buell is a treat to ride. Maybe it has to do with where we live--there aren't very many straight roads to be found around here! |
Slaughter
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 12:34 pm: |
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I live in CA. A few of us living here are straight - but we like our roads twisted! |
Bonesbuell
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 12:46 pm: |
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There was a special Edition (paint job) for the Blade2 movie version of the xb. |
Stoobr2
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 01:02 pm: |
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This limited edition XB plastic set appeared in my local dealership on a City-X, shame the front shield remains black though (Message edited by Stoobr2 on April 15, 2005) |
Olinxb12r
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 01:06 pm: |
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That is a sweet looking paint job! |
Blake
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 11:35 pm: |
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Pammy, I KNEW I'd get a reaction if I rounded down that result. hehehe Thanks for taking the time between dyno runs to poke your head in and set me straight, again. Maybe you can give us an idea on what Cycle-Rama would suggest concerning streetable reliable HP in a Buell XB package with the full Wes/Pammy/Chuck treatment? I'm thinking that 140 rwhp ain't out of the question. The question is... how much $$? Didn't y'all once work over a Buell engine that made over 170 rwhp on pump gas for less than $5K or something like that?
heehee... I dig that stoppie stand. |
Blake
| Posted on Friday, April 15, 2005 - 11:44 pm: |
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Frank Ammerman (Torqd) still hangin' round? He has a beast of a street Buell that pulls over 130 rwhp. Would be interesting to hear how his reliability is doing. He had that built by Brian Nallin back in September 2002, so he should know something about the streetability/reliability of the 88" at that level of performance. I tell you one thing, a Buell with 130 rwhp feels more brutal than any production bike I've ever ridden. The power is THERE, BAM, wack the throttle and you are taking your life in your hands on account of the front wheel is fixin to smack you in the brain before you have time to react. Brutal. Blake like. Who's with me? |
Sandblast
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 12:39 am: |
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Anyone know a good divorce lawyer? If I were single my credit cards would be maxed out by the end of the night. Must. Look. Away. Must Look. Away... |
Pammy
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 06:59 am: |
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"Didn't y'all once work over a Buell engine that made over 170 rwhp on pump gas for less than $5K or something like that?" Yeah. It went over 200mph at Bonneville. |
Pammy
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 07:01 am: |
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"Maybe you can give us an idea on what Cycle-Rama would suggest concerning streetable reliable HP in a Buell XB package with the full Wes/Pammy/Chuck treatment? I'm thinking that 140 rwhp ain't out of the question. The question is... how much $$?" I'll have to work on that... |
Pammy
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 07:05 am: |
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Smadd, hope you are riding now. The riding here(when I get the chance) has been perfect. A group of us rode(the long way) down to Solomons castle last weekend for dinner. Perfect...just perfect. |
Black_sunshine
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 09:51 am: |
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I have a limited signature edition XB (IMO). Custom made CF bits and Mr. Buell's John Handcock. 1 0f 1 Most everyone here makes their bike unique in some form or fashion. (Message edited by black_sunshine on April 16, 2005) |
Smokedaddy
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 11:54 am: |
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I asked that exact question here years ago and never got an answer. Like everything, it was debated, but never answered with a dollar figure. I'll say nothing over 130 RWHP will be reliable, plus engine life will be shortened and lower end problems are at risk, just like you're pocket book will be. <grin> I'll say it will cost you about $8,000+ for 140 ponies, including the lower end build up, exhaust (gotta breath ya know) and installation of all modifications. If you thrash it like you would a metric, its' lifespan will be much shorter. Just my opinion, -SD: |
Blake
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 03:55 pm: |
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Shorter than a new SV650? Recent reports are that they have a tendency to put a rod through the cases when pushed. See the latest issue of Road Racing World and Motorcycle Technology for more on that. I'm not so sure of that. If they can build a bottom end that will survive multiple 200+ mph runs through the long course at Bonneville, seems they can build a 140 HP street bike that will last too. My (ignorant) impression is that your dollar figure guesstimate is close, maybe even a little low. I guess it would depend on how many such bikes were to be built. If we could get a couple dozen here willing to hand over their machine for such work, the price might even be lower. That's an interesting idea, get a group of power hungry... errr, performance enthusiasts ... to unite and send out for proposals and competing bids on say turning an XB12 into a 140 rwhp XB14. May or may not get a response to that. And Jim, some of reason for the non-response to your inquiries might be due to a bit of shyness on the part of the engine builders to publicly share such information. Too easy for the competition to say that they can do the same for $100 less. If you are REALLY interested in pursuing such a beast, I suggest you talk to the pertinent shops, including our fine sponsors of course, to see what they are willing to offer. If an FX bike can survive hundreds of miles at full bore during a weekend AMA event, how would that translate into street miles? Sure is fun to think about. |
Kaudette
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 06:28 pm: |
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If I could just get someone over here (France) to do that to my 12S - even a 130hp jobbie would be fine - I wouldn't have these sleepless nights thinking about the orange Duke.... |
Diablobrian
| Posted on Saturday, April 16, 2005 - 08:53 pm: |
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We race an 03 sv650, no problems yet and my brother rides it pretty hard. LWSS LWSB thunderbike gplights and track days, dyno runs...etc. I guess we just got a good one if you believe the reports. I dunno, I think it may be over-hyped. |