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There have been some requests that I duplicate my thread from ADVRider here. Bear with me while I try to get stuff copied...this will be a cut and paste extravaganza!  (Message edited by eor on August 30, 2005) | ||
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I've been trying to figure out how I could make a contribution to this site and the purchase of the Buell XB12X may have provided me with an opportunity. Several folks here have shown an interest in the Ulysses and have allot of questions regarding Buells...their characteristics, reliability, dealer support, etc. I thought it might be fun to share my Buell Ulysses ownership "experience" with those who might be interested....sort of a long term review by a non-professional. I have owned Buells and am admittedly a fan of Erik Buell... his ideas, enthusiasm, and machines. That doesn't mean that if something goes wrong or there is something about the bike I don't like I'm going to gloss over it. I don't carry any pretentions of being an expert in ANY facit of motorcycling. In fact, I have only been riding bikes for a couple of years. But in that time I have ridden quite a bit and have played with several bikes. I'm a quick study and have an open mind. It's quite possible that I will misunderstand something or use the incorrect terminology..and I hope if that happens someone will correct me. Is the Buell Ulysses an "Adventure Bike?" I don't know. Perhaps in the course of this we will find out together. Doing this the way I want is going to involve some effort on my part. I hope I can stay with it and do the bike and ADVrider justice. I can't ride around the world, or even take off across our great land at this particular time, but I hopefully can do this. At some point the mods may feel that this belongs in "Ride Reports." I considered putting it there but while it may end up being an extended ride report I view it as a "bike ownership" report. Let's see what happens... Sign On The Dotted Line As soon as I saw the XB12X I was VERY interested. At the time I owned a Buell XB9SX [CityX] ana a BMW F650 Dakar. I had been following the rumor mill and was hoping that Buell would produce a bike that could replace those two. As I learned more about Ulysses I began to have doubts that it would be able to replace the Dakar. It just doesn't appear to have the off pavement orientation I was hoping for. However, the Uly does address the major issues I have had with the two Buell XB models I have owned...particularly rider comfort. I'm 45 and have tendonitis in my right knee. The knee bend on the XB's is a bit extreme for me. After riding for an hour or so, extending my knee is somewhat painful. The Uly also has luggage option. Until recently I have been happy taking 150-200 mile round trips a few times a week on one of the bikes in the garage, but now I want to go further. Doing so requires more gear than a cell phone, camera, handheld ham radio, and a ball cap for helmet hair [ well...I do have some left]. I also felt the geometry of the Buell XB models to be a bit too extreme and the handling, while good, was a bit unusual. Cycle Connection in Joplin was the only dealership in the region that had a Ulysses in stock. Last Saturday I made the 360 mile round trip on the Geezer Glide in order to look at the Uly and test ride it. It had been out of the crate for less than 24 hours and was generating allot of interest in the dealership. The service and sales people were fighting for an opportunity to ride it, but I got there early.  After the test ride, I went to the Geezer Glide, retrieved my checkbook, and placed a deposit on it. It was black. I don't like black bikes but they didn't think they would be getting an orange one until November. From calling around it appears that the current demand for Uly's far exceeds supply so I thought I'd better move on it. I returned on Monday and completed the purchase. Tradition demands that you ring a large bell on the showroom floor when you purchase a bike and everyone in the dealership applauds. I did first ask if in ringing the bell I had to buy drinks for everyone [hey...I may be an Arkie, but I didn't just fall off a turnip truck ] I had my picture taken and will recieve a framed version from the dealership in a few days. People representing the various departments of the dealership then line up and greet you with a handshake, a business card a small gifts...a quart of oil, a tee shirt, accessory catalogs, etc. It's all a bit cheesy and was somewhat embarrassing to me, but it does make you feel important and appreciated for a while..it was kind of fun actually.  Welcome to Your New Home I didn't have much time to ride the bike when I got home. The wife had this idea that she was entitled to dinner out since I had bought another new bike. While on the way home I had called her and she informed me that she had used my credit card to buy a new horse. I laughed. She didn't. I did take a few shots of the bike and posted them for the curious on www.badweatherbikers.com and here...    Tomorrow we will read the manual and setup the suspension. Stay tuned. __________________ "Just when you think no one has taken any notice to your birthday, here come two friends with an empty honey pot and a broken balloon." Eeyore Buell XB12X BMW F650GSDA H-D FLHTCI http://aa5ch.smugmug.com/ (Message edited by eor on August 30, 2005) | ||
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Read the Friendly Manual One of the most important things a new Buell owner needs to do is adjust the suspension. This should be done prior to riding the bike if possible, as I have seen some very strange suspension settings as they come from the dealer. The XB model bikes are EXTREMELY sensitive to suspension adjustments...a 1/2 turn here or there can transform an ill-handling bike into the machine that Buell enthusiaists rave about. I have always attributed this sensitivity to the radical geometry of the bike. Even the Ulysses with its longer wheel base [54 inches] and larger rake [22 degrees] is unlike any other bike on the road. You start at with the factory recommended setting for your weight [rider and gear] and fine tune from there per your riding style and preferences.  I weigh 180 -190 and assume my riding gear weighs 10-20 pounds. I decided to set the suspension for 200 -230 pounds, preferring to be on the stiff side. The front preload adjustment...  The front fork compression damping adjustment....  After dinner, I geared up and took a ride into the mountains on a familiar route. Stay tuned.... | ||
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An Interlude to answer some questions that have come up. Caffeind: Yes they are upside down forks. The rebound adjuster screws are at the top of the forks. The rear shock compression damping adjuster is near the rear brake master cylinder on the right side of the bike. Unlike the other bikes I have owned that had the rear preload on the right side, the Ulysses has it on the left side. There was a discussion at the dealership as to whether you could make adjustments while underway. While that is not addressed in the manual, my intuition suggests that would not be a wise move.  Westnash: The fuel pump assembly [including the filter] is located in the frame fuel cell. I had to look it up as I was unaware of its location. Out of curiosity, I ran a search for "fuel filter" on www.badweatherbikers.com and didn't come up with much pertaining to the XB model Buells. I am assuming that there have been very few, if any, issues with the fuel filter or there would have been more hits on the search. In the specifications section of the friendly manual, 91 octane is the only octane rating listed in the table. It does not specifically recommended in the text that you should use only 91 octane; however, it seems implied by that rating being the only one shown in the table. I have always used 91-93 octane in all of my bikes. In a related matter... I calculated fuel consumption at 51.44 mpg at my first refuelling stop. Obviously I've been riding pretty easy and keeping the RPM's down while under break in. Bob: Whodom is correct. You cannot upload/attach photos to ADVrider. You must link to them from a hosting service such as smugmug, photobucket, etc. BTW, smugmug is owned and operated by the same folks that own this place. It is a great service. While not specifically asked here yet...the Uly's seat height is a concern for many. In Harley and Buell literature, seat height is specified as laden, with laden being defined as having a 180 pound rider on board. The unladen seat height of the Ulysses is about 35 inches and this is the figure you should use for comparison purposes with other bikes. The laden seat height is about 33 inches. Yes....the Ulysses is a tall bike. To illustrate.... I am 5'10," weigh around 185 pounds, and have a 30" inseam.   As you can see...I can get both feet down, but not with enough "presence" to effectively push the bike around on anything but clean and level surfaces. You can lower the rear of the bike slightly by reducing the rear preload, at the expense of slightly slowing the steering. I'm going to have to pre-plan my stops and alter my riding a bit to accommodate this issue and I may order a low seat when they are available. I don't believe any dealers have them on hand yet. __________________ "Just when you think no one has taken any notice to your birthday, here come two friends with an empty honey pot and a broken balloon." Eeyore Buell XB12X BMW F650GSDA H-D FLHTCI http://aa5ch.smugmug.com/ | ||
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Getting To Know You After finishing with the suspension settings and checking the tire pressure, I headed off on a short ride through familiar territory....Highway 64 to Lamar and Highway 123 to Fort Douglas in the Ozark National Forest. It's about a 60 mile round trip and the road is typical to this part of the state...twisty [but not real tight] a lot of sweepers, elevation changes, very little traffic, and nice scenery. When someone gives their impressions of a certain bike they may be telling you as much or more about the bike they had ridden previously...the trouble is you may not realize it. Even though I own a BMW F650 Dakar, most of my saddle time this summer was on the Buell XB9SX [CityX]. Spending allot of time comparing the Uly and the CityX probably won't do most of you any good as you are likely to be looking at Buell for the first time and don't share that point of reference. Probably more are familiar with the BMW Dakar and the Suzuki V-Stroms. We owned a V-Strom 650, but it has been a while since I rode one so making comparisons there could be a little dicey. It is probably best to keep all this in mind if I start getting carried away making comparisons. The first thing I notice when riding the Ulysses is the difficulty I have smoothly modulating the throttle and clutch at take off. There is allot of power on tap here and I REALLY don't want to tap into it at this point. There appears to be a slight "stumble off idle" that prompts me to apply more throttle than I should need for a smooth take off. I assumed it was unique to my bike and was a result of it not being broken in or the ECM not having "learned" its environment. But the "stumble off idle" phrase comes from another Ulysses owner over on BadWeb www.badwetherbikers.com . He cured his by using a Technoresearch VDSTS [vehicle diagnostic scan tool software] to trim the air/fuel ratio and reset the TPS [throttle position sensor]. http://www.technoresearch.com/Produ...S-Motorbike.htm I might look into that in the future, but for now it is easier [and less expensive] to adjust to that idiosyncrasy of the bike's fuel map. Probably related to that stumble is the engine's tendency to surge [ever so slightly] when attempting to hold a constant speed at low RPM's...as you would while riding in town. The Ulysses [at least mine] seems to be happiest when it is on the highway, accelerating. Once you get past the rough spots at low RPMS, the power delivery is smooth, linear, and plentiful. The engine starts to smooth out nicely between 2000 and 2500 RPM. The clutch pull is noticeably reduced from earlier XB models and the smooth-shifting transmission will surprise those of you fortunate to get a test ride on a Ulysses. You can throw all those notions of Harley/Buell transmissions being rough and clunky out the window...at least with this model and the other 06's. This is a NICE transmission. The seat is firm. Everyone wants a soft seat...until they get one and ride more than 30 minutes. It reacts like a gel material, molding to you after some time on the road. I think this is going to be a long distance seat...a new concept for Buell, I assure you. Because of the seat height issue, I'm probably going to try the low seat. Low seats generally don't measure up in the comfort department...we'll see. The first part of the trip is over one of those tar snaked, heat-buckled, over stressed highways that are so common in rural America. Even with the suspension set a little stiff for my weight, the ride is much smoother than the CityX. I guess it is a result of the extra travel that you get with that tall seat. A small cold front had passed through before I started my ride and the ambient air temp had plummeted to 85 degrees. I was surprised at the amount of heat that was deing directed onto my right ankle and foot. Buell XB models have a cooling fan that draws air across the rear cylinder head when it reaches a certain temperature. During the course of a ride the fan will switch off and on several times and it runs for a couple of minutes after you shut the bike off... supposedly to prevent the oil from cooking off before having an opportunity to drain to the sump [or so I understand]. BTW... the fan has been a conversation starter on numerous occasions. People often look at the bike with that WTF? expression and sometimes ask "Is it going to blow up?" One Buell rider reported that his stock answer to questions about the fan running after the bike was shut off was, " It's the flux capacitor recharging." Where were we?...oh...the heat on the right foot. This is an issue I had not noticed on the CityX to such a degree [so to speak]. There was a significant amount of heat coming off the bike on a hot day, but it was distributed over a wider area of my upper right leg and thigh. Perhaps the extended swingarm and the plastic trim has redirected and focused the heat coming off the Uly? It doesn't feel like your foot is on fire...only that your pants leg is on fire. This is not good...at least during this time of year. In the winter months it might come in handy, if the engine ever gets hot enough for the fan to engage. You won't see many squids wearing flip flops on a Uly, I bet. We'll hit the twisties and head up the hill in the next installment...stay tuned. __________________ "Just when you think no one has taken any notice to your birthday, here come two friends with an empty honey pot and a broken balloon." Eeyore Buell XB12X BMW F650GSDA H-D FLHTCI http://aa5ch.smugmug.com/ | ||
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A Photo Intermission and Some Housekeeping The Ulysses is the only bike I have owned that actually has some useable cargo space underneath the seat...  Another nifty feature is the bungie tie down points on the underside of the seat....  We have an inexpensive, generic bike bag in the garage. It seems to work quite well on the Uly...   And now for a demonstration of the "triple tail." The first step is to release the latch...  Use a key...any key... to depress the recessed release button.  | ||
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Grasp the triple tail and pull it toward you.  It is now free to move into one of its three positions.    | ||
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I visited the county assessor's office yesterday and recieved the standard " Oh my Gawd...what the hell have you bought now?" greeting from the clerk. That was followed by a trip to the Revenue Dept. where I paid sales tax, transferred tags from the old bikes to the new ones [I recently sold my wife's Sportster and got her a BMW F650] and renewed both for another year. We are both legal and good to go. Tomorrow is her birthday and she is taking off work. We plan to take a long daytrip on the new bikes. Her topcase for the 650 is in and we are going to Bentonville BMW to get it installed [nice folks there, BTW] . We'll probably swing through Eureka Springs and have lunch or dinner. Yes... I plan to take a few photos. I also received a call from the salesman, asking me if everything was okay with the bike and whether I was enjoying it. He also advised me that he had ordered an Erik Buell autographed windscreen for me. The first 100 Ulysses owners are eligible for one... I knew about the promotion but assumed I wasn't in that first 100. Cool. Meanwhile....back on the twisties.... | ||
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Thanks to all for the comments. I'm enjoying this. Yesterday I ordered an orange airbox cover and windscreen from Dave Stueve at H-D/Buell of Appleton, WI...the price for converting the midnight black Ulysses to barricade orange... about $250. That's another nice thing about Buells...in general, parts for them are quite reasonable in comparison to H-D parts. The barricade orange version has a different color seat, but I'm not sure what direction I'm going with the seat yet [standard or low] , so I'll keep the black one on the bike. So why am I ordering parts from a Buell dealer in Appleton, WI? Dave Stueve may be the most knowledgeable and enthusiastic Buell salesman in the country. He maintains a high profile on BadWeb and makes an extra effort to look up part numbers and find those parts after folks have given up on their local dealers. He responds to emails and provides price quotes in the Dealer section of BadWeb. I could say allot more good things about him but it might seem too much like a commercial. We'll get back to the ride after lunch. __________________ "Just when you think no one has taken any notice to your birthday, here come two friends with an empty honey pot and a broken balloon." Eeyore Buell XB12X BMW F650GSDA H-D FLHTCI http://aa5ch.smugmug.com/ | ||
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Getting To Know You (Cont) The break in RPM limit for the Uly is 2500 for the first 50 miles...uh...moving right along.... The limit for the first 500 miles is 3000 RPM. You can have fun at 3000 and below but it seems like you are "short shifting."  One of the first things I notice as I head into the hills is the Uly's ability to run the curves at brisk pace in fifth gear...while keeping at or below 3K and not lugging the engine. On paper, the Uly has 14 more foot pounds of torque than the XB9SX I previously owned...the difference on the road is quite significant. I had to keep reminding myself that I was at least pretending to properly break in the engine and needed to shift frequently...but it just wasn't necessary....a shame too, since they have improved the transmission so much.  The Ulysses handles more like a V-Strom or F650GS than its Buell XB predecessors. As I mentioned, it has been a while since we had a Strom but based on my recollection, I think Strom owners are going to feel very much at home on this bike... from ergonomic, handling, and power standpoints, but the suspension is better. It is MUCH better than the Dakar's...the Dakar turns in so nicely but the front end wants to wallow a bit. I now know why many Dakar owners install the Touratech springs. I've always thought it rather ironic, given Buell's marketing slogan of "Own The Corners," that the Lightning [S] models really don't corner as easily as their radical geometry would suggest. You don't seem to have the leverage needed to get one over easily and once there, keep it on line....and a light application of brakes makes it even harder. I have observed this with both XB9S models I owned. Riding those Buells helped me become a better rider, I believe...one that is more actively involved in the process, using my body and thinking more about my setup into corners. I don't think one really gets an appreciation for the Buell's ability to torque its way out of a curve unless you are in this mode of riding. I think the effort to reward ratio in riding a Buell may be largely responsible for the enthusiasm of Buell owners. The Ulysses is a different animal, though. I suppose it is a combination of the slightly increased rake, longer wheelbase, and suspension travel. Piloting the Uly through the corners is pretty much a "point and shoot" affair with minimal input required...no gymnastics or drama required to maintain a brisk pace through the sweepers. It stays where you put it, even when traveling over irregular surfaces like the one in the photo below. The tendency of Buell XB models to stand up under braking in a corner seems to be pretty well tamed on the Ulysses.  However, the Uly seemed to be "over-responding" to my steering inputs and I found myself deeper into curves than I prefer. I had to make mid-curve corrections to take a safer line on several occasions. I was able to tame it a bit by shifting my weight rearward, suggesting that I needed to fine tune the suspension a bit. [At this point I'll jump ahead a little and report that reducing the rear preload 2 turns [4 clicks] slowed the steering response enough to get me "back in sync" with the Uly.] Bear in mind that when I talk about a brisk pace, I am referring to roughly 1.5-1.75X he posted recommended speeds on curves. That may not be a brisk pace for you but it is about as fast as I want to go right now. I don't want to end up here prematurely...   | ||
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One of the moto-journalists that test rode the Ulysses mentioned its lack of engine braking compared to other models and he attributed it to a heavier flywheel. Over at BadWeb there was a debate as to whether the Ulysses does have a heavier flywheel. I don't know, but I will confirm that there is a significant reduction in engine braking. I had come to rely heavily on engine braking as a method of scrubbing off a little speed as I enter curves...it's a quirk of mine...I rarely use the brakes on my truck and used to brag that I once drove from Clarksville to Harrison 80 miles across the mountains without using my brakes. Well...one sometimes gets bored when driving. I'm having to use the brakes a little more now. Perhaps I will not eat rear tires as rapidly as I have in the past. And speaking of brakes.... The first few miles I rode on the Ulysses I noticed a slight clicking sound when applying the brakes. I think it was the virgin pads rolling over the cooling holes on the rotor and has gone away now that the pads have seen some use. The Buell front brake is unconventional, but it works well. I recall some recent stopping distance stats in which the Buell didn't stop quite as quickly as some other bikes, but it worked well enough when a doe and fawn ran out in front of me on the way home. I went from 65 to 10 mph pretty damn fast and didn't lock anything up. I generally avoid riding at dusk or at night around here, but I was eager to ride the bike after making the suspension adjustments. As you can see, even an attentive rider doesn't get much warning if something jumps into the roadway in this environment.  I did not like the Dunlop 207's that Buell offered as OEM tires on their XB models. They were prone to cupping and had a ridiculously short lifespan. Several instances of headshake on braking were attributed to those tires. Buell used Pirelli Scorpion Syncs on the CityX model and I was pleased with them. Supposedly, Buell had Dunlop design a new tire for the Ulysses...the D616. On a couple of occasions I THOUGHT I felt the tires trying to break loose the first time I took the Ulysses out. However, I probably was pushing it a bit on tires with less than 100 miles on them. Toward the end of the ride I don't think it was happening...whether it was the result of changes made to the suspension settings or the tires being scrubbed in [or a combination of both] I don't know. It's going to take a while to evaluate these tires. They look cool, though.  I'm getting some cramping in my shoulder blades when riding but that probably has more to do with a couple of herniated discs than the bike's ergos since it comes and goes and bothers me even when I haven't ridden for a few days. [I've got plenty of elbow bend when riding]. I wouldn't mind if the handlebars were a tad higher, but changing to a lower seat will accomplish that. There is a slight increase in wind pressure and noise compared to the Buell Lightning models, but this is understandable given the different angle of the windscreen and more upright seating position. If I straighten my torso a bit, my helmet gets into some very clean air. If I get lazy and slouch I pick up a slight amount of turbulence. Unlike the CityX, I can comfortably stand up on the pegs but the reach to the bars is a little awkward. My arms are pretty short. You know...I never realized what an anatomical freak I was until I started riding motorcycles....my legs are too short, my arms are short, my hands too small, etc. etc. The pegs are canted forward a bit but I didn't have any trouble staying on them....at least on the pavement.  My impressions of the bike so far are very favorable. My biggest operational complaints at this point are the heat that is being dumped onto my right foot when riding, the off idle stumble, and the slight surging at low engine speeds. The other issues [seat and bar height] are unique to me and can probably be addressed with the lower seat. | ||
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When I was fueling up the bike, a guy in a pickup at the pump next me asked, "What kind of bike is that?" "It's a Buell." "I thought it was one of them BMW's." WELL...I never seen a bike that looked like that before, but I really like it...it looks like it's got GUNS and •••• stickin' out of it. " Yep...Buells are real conversation starters. The most frequent comment I hear is...."Hey mister...one of your lights is out." | ||
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The [Not Quite So] Long Way Around Yesterday was Smiling Sue's birthday and she took the day off. The topcase and liner for her new F650GSA had arrived at Bentonville BMW and since she is intimidated by the freeway, I thought a trip there via the back roads would be a good break-in trip for both bikes. This would be both her longest bike ride ever and my first real excursion on the Ulysses. The round trip was about 280 miles and took us through The Pig Trail, Huntsville, Hobbs State Park, Beaver Lake, Bentonville, and Eureka Springs where we had a late lunch.  The primary highways were 23, 412, 12, and 62. Those of you familiar with those roads know they offer a nice mix of sweepers, a few switchbacks, hills, segments of irregular pavement, and varying amounts of traffic...in other words....a pretty good test of the Uly's back road on-pavement abilities. I had hoped to take more photographs but Sue gets rattled when I make sudden , unscheduled stops "for no apparent reason." The temperature ranged from 80 to near 100 degrees. It was hot and humid... a typical late August day in Arkansas. BTW... I caught my first a whiff of Autumn while riding through the Pig Trail. I don't know if it is something the trees produce or some sort of change in the earth that I am sensitive to, but I have always been able to sense an approaching change of season a few weeks in advance. I'm looking forward to it. We were lucky with a wet and mild summer last year, but this one has been more typical with temps pushing 100 for a few weeks and a shortage of rain. I have not ridden as much this summer as a result. So here is the data on the trip [the objective stuff]: We stopped for fuel three times and these are the fuel consumption figures... 52 mpg 53 mpg 56 mpg [the last leg was over flatter terrain] The bike now has 434 miles on the odometer. Over the course of the day, I added 10-12 ounces of oil. This oil consumption is typical of the other Harley and Buell V-twins I have owned, particularly during break-in. As a result of the relocated and redesigned dipstick, checking and filling the oil is much easier than on previous Buell XB models.  My ramblings[the subjective stuff]: When we first left, the Ulysses sputtered some on the initial throttle blips and surged during the first half mile or so. It then seemed to settle in, behaving much like a cold engine on a non-FI bike that was warming up. I am beginning to suspect that either I have purchased some poor quality gas or the air/fuel trim needs some "work." A TPS [throttle position sensor] reset is a part of the first service and has been known to correct some engine quirks. We'll see. The only adjustment available to me is the engine idle speed. According to the manual, the warm engine idle speed should be 1050-1150 RPM. Mine has been 900-950 as indicated [and interpolated] by the tach. Note/Question: Why do bike manufacturers use tachometers graduated in 500 RPM increments, and then spec idle speeds with four significant digits? At the end of the day's ride, I increased the idle speed....  On the next outing I'll see if the "stumble off idle" issue has improved any. Flashback 7-8 hours with me if you will.... I tried very hard to limit the engine speed to 3000 RPM and the bike's speed to 55 mph, per the break-in recommendations. This turned out to be rather tricky as traffic required us to maintain a 55-60 mph pace at times and the Ulysses is right at 3000 RPM in 4th gear. In 5th gear, the engine seemed to be close to lugging at 2500 RPM. This engine seems to be happiest above 2500 RPM, regardless of the gear. Someone had asked about the bike's low end performance. Frankly, I am a little disappointed with it so far. It's a little early to pass judgment yet, I think. When leaving Eureka Springs, we got stuck behind the trolleys and tourist traffic and had to creep along at 10-20 mph for a while and made frequent stops. I struggled a bit on the Ulysses while Sue was happy poking along on her F650. While the clutch pull is reduced, it was becoming a strain on me [I have small hands]. I had to spin the engine up faster than I am used to in order execute smooth take offs and have enough inertia to feather the clutch effectively. In contrast, the CityX could poke through traffic with a minimum of throttle input. The clutch pull was heavier, but didn't seem to require the finesse the Uly demands. I had heard that the XB9 models are more in-town friendly than the XB12 models. I think I found out why yesterday. The seat height issue assumed a higher priority when I had to stop while riding up a significant grade. On my first ride, I was troubled by the amount of heat that was being directed onto my right foot and ankle. I must have adapted to it, as it didn't seem to be much of a factor yesterday, regardless of the high temps. The cooling fan ran constantly the entire day. In fact, the heat and dehydration were the only significant "comfort" issues I had with the bike during [or after] the ride. I never experienced any discomfort that couldn't be eliminated by shifting my position on the seat or altering my grip on the handlebars. That's a significant development for a 45 year old with herniated discs, wandering tendonitis, and intermittent sciatica. It appears that my permanent exile to the land of the Geezer Glide has been postponed by the arrival of the Ulysses. The key to remaining relatively comfortable on longer rides seems to be the ability to shift around some...and you can do that on the Ulysses unlike other Buell XB models in which you are pretty much locked into one position. One of the benefits of having short legs on a tall bike is the ability to dangle your legs down briefly for a stretch. I was doing this once on the CityX while riding up hill when ... I think I have the suspension settings pretty well sorted out. I considered stiffening it up a tad after riding through the 10-15 mph switchbacks on Highway 103 but reconsidered after riding through a construction zone on Highway 62. The factory recommended settings appear to be a good compromise. Someone spent some time building that chart. The Ulysses was really in its element on Highway 12 and its gentle alternating sweepers...back and forth at 50-60 mph... sitting upright in clear air, fingertips on the grips, nudging the bike left and right with slight pressure on the bars, gently rolling the throttle on and off in fourth gear. I appreciate the possible explanation for the clicking noise I am still hearing when applying moderate brake pressure. I'll put that on my list for them to inspect at the 1000 mile service. I've had the Ulysses off road very briefly...on short, well groomed gravel segments linking paved roads. I haven't ridden enough yet to form an opinion other than it seems stable enough for that type of riding. I'm not sure that I will ever have the confidence to take off down an unknown gravel road on the Ulysses, unlike on the Dakar. Allot of this has to do with the seat height and my inability to get sufficient traction on uneven, rough surfaces. I worry about being unable to get the bike turned around in a tight spot if the going gets too tough. I usually ride by myself when off road and am very cautious [read puss ]. I have already had a couple of close calls on surface streets while on the Uly. The break-in period will end soon and I'll get to push the engine a little further. At roughly 500 miles, the only significant operational issue I am having with the bike is its performance just off idle and at low speeds. If this doesn't improve as the engine breaks in or as a result off the TPS reset, I may investigate an aftermarket tuning device. I was planning to leave to bike stock but I wouldn't mind a little more substantial sound out of the exhaust. I'm rested up and ready to go out on another ride. If the weather is agreeable tomorrow I may bust the 500 mile threshold and open the engine up a little. I think I'm going to be much happier when I can spin the engine up to 4000-5000 RPM before shifting. | ||
| Eor |
Racing a Ducati 748 Trough The Ozarks [And Beating The Wife On Her BMW F650] The Ducati won...by a fairing...  What are the chances of coming across a 748 at Fort Douglas, Arkansas...with a rider wearing a Buell helmet and Husqvarna Tee Shirt? A nice guy...from Peoria, Illinois. He said he trailered his Husky dirt bike and the Duc down to ride the area. He had already been on several of the forest service roads I have mentioned in my Wandering About The Hundred [Thousand] Acre Wood Ride Report...I need to get back on that, come to think of it. I broke the 500 mile threshold between Ponca and Jasper on Highway 74. I began to flex the engine a bit, but am still being pretty conservative. The engine [and I] seems to be very happy at 3500-4000 RPM and feels like it is solidly into its power band in that area...it has some roll-on guts there that don't seem to be present at less than 3500. It looks like my typical operating range is going to be between 3K and 4K, with a little time up to 4.5K. I'm not a "rev-happy" guy and not likely to ride much harder than that. The relative lack of engine braking almost led to some drama this afternoon. I had just passed 500 miles and was riding a bit more aggressively. I was approaching a 15 mph downhill curve and downshifted to scrub off speed as I've always done... but very little, if any, speed came off. I found myself using up curve territory to brake and had to begin my turn late. The bike got closer to the double yellow line of death than I care to get. I'm not likely to make that mistake again. We rode about 150 miles today and I measured the fuel consumption at 51 mpg...this was after I began to spin the engine up a little more. I added about 4 ounces of oil when we returned. The heat on my right foot became quite noticeable again for a while...it seems to be related to which way the wind is blowing...really. We were riding south and I didn't notice it. We turned east for a few minutes and I thought..."Damn...my foot is getting hot." We then turned south again and it went away....go figure. This is a typical scene... me explaining the Ulysses to a curious bystander. This particular guy said that he had met Erik Buell several years ago and discussed the design of mountain bikes...small world.  The missus wanted me to report that the new and improved tail light on the Ulysses is "really bright."  That triple tail thing sure is a handy place to stick a helmet when you stop. Increasing the idle speed does appear to have helped the stumbling / coughing off idle. | ||
| Eor |
Abbey Road Revisited I wasn't planning to ride any today...really. My after-lunch plans got scrambled and the temperatures were lower this afternoon so I thought I would try to find Buell, Arkansas and take a photo of the bike in front of something that said "Buell." According to my Delorme' Atlas/Gazetteer, Buell should be on Highway 45 between Highways 71 and I 540 on the east side of Fort Smith. I guess it was a small community swallowed up by the sprawl of Ft. Smith. I found nothing with "Buell" on it. However, I did spend some time wandering around the abandoned army base of Fort Chaffee....  It is an interesting and somewhat creepy place. There are more photos of it in my ongoing ride report here on ADVRider if you are interested. I saw a guy riding a black BMW 1150GS south of Ft. Smith. I thought he was going to run off the road looking at the Uly as I was stopped at an intersection pretending to do some work via cell phone. A little later when I returned home a guy on a DRZ650 nearly rear ended a car on Main Street checking the Buell out. My wife and I saw him from the restaurant window...she even shut her eyes, certain he was going to crash and not wanting to witness it. Todays route was about 150 miles again, but this time I was on very different types of highways from what I have been riding so far on the Uly... pretty flat terrain in the Arkansas River Valley, with scattered small towns and the usual speed zones.  My average speed on the "open" road was about 55-60 mph, much of it in 4th gear as the engine seems to be happier at 3500 rpm than 2500 rpm. I had the opportunity [and the necessity ] to pass a River Valley By-Products "gut" truck and got my first opportunity to see what passing power I had available to me. I was already in 4th gear so I got on the throttle and WEEEEEE! Bye Bye smelly gut truck!... Hello rear end of slow moving Dodge Omni with handicapped plates in a long no passing zone. My right foot got hot today...what a surprise. I'm really looking forward to trying the low seat for the Ulysses. While the stock seat seems to be getting more comfortable with each ride [either it or my butt is altering shape] I am still spooked whenever I need to stop or turn at slow speeds. It's dampening my sense of spontaneity somewhat. I was afraid I might fall into that dip over by the abbey and have to ask the monks to help me pick it up... I stayed clear of it.  The return trip was via I 540 and I 40, running about 75-80 mph. And yes...I did shift into 5th gear for that. The bike had adequate power, but I was expecting a little more roll on from 75 with 100 horses on tap. It came on rather soft, but was there. You will speed up faster than any of the cars around you but you are not going to throw yourself back on the seat doing that....that's okay with me. The engine at 75-80mph at 4000 rpm.....smoooth. The wind blast at 75-80....not so smoooth. We had some gusty winds here today that effected my impressions. I'll need to ride the bike on the freeway when it is calmer, but here are my observations so far.... The winds were pushing the bike [and my head] around a fair amount...nothing spooky, but I didn't feel like I should take my left hand off the grip momentarily as I usually do to relax some. Bear in mind my other touring bike is an 800 pound Electra Glide Classic with the batwing fairing....the Uly isn't an Electra Glide, but it is no worse and probably better than some of the other "naked" bikes I've ridden. An odd thing though [at least to me]... on every bike I've ridden with a windscreen of sorts [including other Buells] , I've been able to tuck in and get my head in a turbulence-free quiet zone. On the Ulysses, that zone is only obtainable if I sit straight up and stretch my arms a bit to the bars. Of course when I do this, my chest catches a bit more air...but not enough to make me struggle to hold myself up. It's odd...sitting that upright at 80 or so with your head in clear air. Based on what I experienced today, I think some longer distance highway riders may find the wind blast on the Uly a bit more than they are comfortable with. I made note of this when I did the test ride and got up to interstate speeds...65-70 mph seems to be the point at which the nature and intensity of the wind blast becomes a factor for me. I'm going to go waaay out on a limb here and predict that there will be numerous aftermarket windscreens available for the Ulysses. Because of the snap-in design, they will be easy to swap and experiment with. Something happened to my fuel consumption. I think it may be related to those 4th and 5th gear roll on experiments I kept repeating during the afternoon. I measured 46 mpg today...a bit lower than previous rides. I only filled up when I got home so I don't know if my higher fuel consumption occurred during the first leg of the trip on the two lanes with some stops, or the second leg which was all freeway. I'll do an "all freeway" ride soon. I added about 5 ounces of oil when I got home, taking it all the way to the "Full" mark on the dipstick for the first time. I have been leaving a little cushion at the top for possible expansion [a Harley service manager suggested that to me once ] but I haven't seen much evidence of that on this engine. I am expecting [and hoping] that the engine's rate of oil consumption will decrease within the next couple hundred miles and settle in to the rate typical of other V-twins I've owned. The bike currently has 726 miles on it...first service and installation of the luggage isn't far off now! __________________ "Just when you think no one has taken any notice to your birthday, here come two friends with an empty honey pot and a broken balloon." Eeyore Buell XB12X BMW F650GSDA H-D FLHTCI http://aa5ch.smugmug.com/ | ||
| Eor |
Whew.... I'm tired. Going to bed now.  | ||
| Blake |
Really great stuff! Thanks for posting it here. Looks like you photos are not too big at all. They would easily fit within the 70 KB limit. so if you want to upload them here and save space on your smugmug account, that would be fine by me.  I look forward to meeting you in person some day. Maybe this fall during the bi-annual East Texas Big Hairy Biker Escape to the Ozarks. Sounds frightening. It is a ruse. | ||
| Court |
Brad: Fun stuff. . . . glad to see I am not the only F650 owner smitten with the Ulysses! Keep it coming! Court | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Eor, thanks for re-creating this thread over here on BADWEB. i know it's a ton of work, and i appreciate your comments yesterday about me and my upcoming ride. i (all too briefly) rode the Ozarks last September on my "Out of Words" ride, and sure dug the place. looks like you'd be a perfect tour guide. see you on the road. FB | ||
| Eor |
It's on the map.... it just doesn't seem to esxist in corporeal form...sort of like Brigadoon.    | ||
| Captainkirk |
What an incredibly cool thread!  | ||
| Eor |
More Permanent Than Photoshopping When I arrived home I had a couple of packages from Dave Stueve  Time to give Ulysses a face lift....  Four bolts hold the air cleaner cover in place and six hold the windscreen.   The only complicated part of the whole operation was removing the grommets from the old windscreen and putting them on the new one...  The windscreen simply snaps into the grommets...  Before...  After...  | ||
| Eor |
Here's some Ulysses Porn....    | ||
| Spike |
Eor- you rock! I never thought I'd say this, but the yellow actually looks better than the black. It creates a nice contrast between all the dark gray colors on the bike. The 2nd to last picture with the bike in the grass is fantastic. It really gives the bike an athletic look. I'd like to see what it would look like with slightly lower bars and bar end mirrors. Keep up the good work! | ||
| Eor |
Ulysses Visits Ben Hur  I haven't had the bike out for a few days. I traveled south to assist with communications at a Red Cross Shelter and have been monitoring amateur radio frequencies the rest of the week...hoping to have some messages to deliver to Arkansas friends and family of hurricane victims. Unfortunately, nothing for this area has come through yet. I have placed my name on a volunteer list to be "deployed" into the effected area, but have no idea if I'm going, or for how long...my justification for a longer ride today. This afternoon's route was 320 miles into the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks and back to the River Valley through Marshall, Yellville, and Mountain Home. I rode a couple of highways very popular with motorcyclists, but a little outside of my normal wandering range....Arkansas Highways 14 and 341 [ aka The Arkansas Gap]. I kept the engine at 3500 - 4000 RPM most of the trip. Uly really likes it around 4K but my fuel consumption has increased a bit some since I started hanging out in that vicinity. I measured it at 46, 49.5, and 49.1 mpg...for an average of 48.2 mpg. At Marshall, a sign on the pump advised purchasers to DOUBLE THE PRICE SHOWN ON THE PUMP! Many pumps at the smaller stations apparently cannot display prices greater than $3.00 I understand. When I was finished, the pump indicated $3.37 for 2.1 gallons. When I went in to pay, the clerk told me I owed him $3.37. Who was I to argue? So I bought 93 octane for $1.69 today. See...not only is riding a Ulysses great fun...it is economical. I stopped at the same place on the way back and the clerk did the same thing...but I couldn't take advantage of him again and paid the correct amount. I bet the register / fuel sales ledger is shot to hell at the end of his shift. The bike now has 1047 miles on the odometer and I am parking it until I can get it in for the first service. I was planning on riding it to the dealership but the 1000 mile service and installation of the luggage could take most of the day. Sitting in a Harley dealership watching the Sturgis 2005! video loop for 6 or 7 hours just doesn't appeal to me. I need my truck so I can go to Applebees, the Gentleman's Club, or buy lottery tickets...Missouri has it all. Since the service is next, I didn't top off the oil as has been customary following a longer ride. I estimate that 5 ounces would have been required to bring the level back up to the FULL mark on the dipstick. Even though I've been adding oil periodically, the level has never dropped to the ADD mark on the dipstick. I don't think the front brake rotor is clicking anymore, but I'll check it without my ear plugs in when I drop it off at the dealership. Otherwise, I have nothing to bring to their attention at this point. I received an invitation to attend the dealership-sponsored New Owner's Workshop on September 6th...free food, too. I regret that I live so far away ..I wouldn't mind going. Another nice touch by them, IMO. I made a couple of observations regarding the Ulysses today. I now know how to describe its barricade orange color....  It looks allot like a freshly painted highway yellow line, also. Someone at the mothership has a sense of humor, methinks. My other observation is perhaps best illustrated in the two photos I have used in this posting. Notice the angle of the bike with the side stand on a slight uphill slope? It's damn near vertical. I think the sidestand may be a bit long for this bike, especially if your legs are short and you have to mount it using the pegs. I thought it was going over to the the right when I got back on at Ben Hur. On the bright side, the photo would have made for a hell of a caption.... Ulysses Falls At Ben Hur's Feet! I wised up by the time I got to Welcome Home....  I felt pretty good after logging 320 miles on the Ulysses today. I wanted to stop and take more photos but I was dodging thunderstorms and I got off to a later start than I should have to make that long of a loop. I don't like riding at dusk in the hills...too many critters. I had to quick stop twice this afternoon...to miss wild turkeys and deer. The brakes work well. Although hardly noticeable on the other XB models, the brake dive on the Ulysses does take some adjustment. Stiffening up the front suspension will reduce it, but at the expense of the bike's ability to glide over rough pavement...I don't want to lose that. Some segments of the roads around here are pretty dicey and the Uly has handled them well so far. Hopefully, the next time you see the Ulysses, it will have luggage installed and we can see how it looks and works. It may be a few days...stay tuned! | ||
| Iamike |
Brad- Nice write-up on the Uly. I rode a demo one last night that Dave brought down. Next summer when we come down to visit the Eureka Springs area I give you a shout and maybe we can meet up | ||
| Henrik |
Brad; thanks for keeping us up to date on living with the Uly. Henrik | ||
| Eor |
It's All In The Timing... First Service Report I called the dealership yesterday morning to check on the luggage...it still had not arrived. I started to reschedule my appointment in the hope that I could get the first service and luggage install done at the same time, but was informed that the next available spot was Sept. 29th. Apparently the service dept. is going to be shut down for a few days for some sort of V-Rod thing. I thought it best to keep the appointment and headed out this morning at 6:30 for a 2.75 hour drive in a raging thunderstorm. I was told the service would take about 3 hours, so I had some time to kill. I checked on the bags and the parts guy told me that according to his computer, the bags had been "packed" but were still in the warehouse in Milwaukee. When I came back from lunch I visited with John, who I assume is the lead Buell tech for the dealership. I told him I was really enjoying the bike but had a few minor complaints... the low end performance, the stumble off idle, and the surprisingly narrow powerband. I told him that the engine seemed a bit cold natured and had even popped a couple of times when blipping the throttle before being warmed up. At that point the bike was done, but he said that it sounded like the timing needed to be checked and they would take it back and look at it. About 30-45 minutes later he came back to the service desk and said that the timing was indeed off [cam was 12 degrees advanced, IIRC], that they were going to set it, and would zero the TPS again. Apparently the symptoms I described are typical of a timing problem. He told me that changes in the timing during the first couple thousand miles are not uncommon and that it may need be checked again at 5000 mile inspection. I only had an opportunity to ride the bike briefly before loading it up and heading home but I could tell a difference in the throttle response and the low end power....much better. Obviously, I'll have it out quite a bit in the next few days and will have a better opportunity to see what difference it has made. The total cost for the 1K service/inspection was $214, the majority of which was 3 hours labor billed @ $60/hour. I don't think they charged me additional labor for the timing adjustment as I was told the service would take 3 hours before there was any mention of timing. I was asked three times if I wanted to go synthetic. I plan to, but am driven by the conventional wisdom/ urban myth that you should put a few thousand miles on an engine before switching to synthetic...something about Dino helping the rings get seated properly. None of the Harley techs I have visited with will confirm nor deny this "wisdom" and a couple have reminded me that the Screaming Eagle /CVO 103cc engines come from the factory with Syn as do some high performance automobiles. Regardless, I plan to switch to Syn at the 2500 mile oil change, which hopefully will coincide with the installation of the bags. I'm really glad the Buell tech took the time to come out and ask me about the bike. I had already accepted the quirks in the engine performance as a characteristic of the FI tuning and something to be coped with until I was able to address it with an after market tuner or exhaust. I'm sure there is still room for improvement but my initial impression of the engine performance after the timing adjustment is very positive...stay tuned on that front. We discussed the clicking heard from the front rotor when applying moderate to heavy brake pressure. He recreated the sound by repeatedly pressing inward on the rotor, demonstrating that the rotor is spring loaded at the wheel mounting points...I had never realized this.   He said they would check to make sure everything was within specs. I did confirm with the service writer that oil consumption less than one quart per 1500 miles was acceptable. I was informed that they found a small amount of oil inside the timer cover and told if I saw any oil seeping from the cam positioning sensor cable cut out to let them know and they would do a warranty fix for me.  To date I have not seen any oil seeping from anywhere on the bike. Dust has adhered to a slight film of oil on the oil cooler fittings that I have always attributed [perhaps mistakenly] to condensation. I've seen this on all three Buell XB models I've owned.  We also discussed my perception that the throttle response of the XB12 engine seemed to lag a bit, compared to the XB9...that the power seemed a little sluggish coming on. Along with the timing issue, it was his opinion that the adaptive exhaust valve on the 1203cc engine may be responsible for this delayed response to throttle input. He said that installing a race kit on the XB12 engine had helped that in a couple of instances. I really enjoyed visiting with the guy and appreciate the time he spent discussing my concerns and experiences with the Ulysses. Although I am disappointed in the inability to get the bags installed, I'm feeling pretty good about the service dept. of the dealership at this point and am optimistic that I'm going to be happier with the engine performance this weekend than I was when I last rode it. | ||
| Coolice |
Great report Eor! I talked to my dealer today,(traded my Road Glide for Uly). I wanted the orange too, they have a black in stock which I already rode, so they ordered the orange seat,airbox cover,windscreeen. As soon as it comes in I'll be doin the 500 mile "slow ride". And waiting for the luggage too. I rode it offroad around some bean fields and ditches, handles well, tires are not aggressive enough tho if its soft and I am your size so dropping the Uly doesn't appeal to me. Keep the info coming, I'm sure enjoying it. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sounds like a darn good dealer! Thanks for the updates, they are a great read! |
