| Author | Message | ||
     45_degrees |
Liquorbox... My 60 degree DOHC/4V Rotax V-2 in my Aprilia reinforced to me how superior my 45 degree Thunderstorm in my Lightning is. The Rotax sounds like a bunch of old bearings running dry, ready to disintegrate at any moment and is absolutely anemic in the torque department at all the speeds my Thunderstorm operates in. Don't even think about running that engine below 3500-3000 RPM even in first gear. NOT POSSIBLE. I should point out that mine was the "tuned for torque" version in the ETV 1000 Caponord... ~ 98 HP at the crank. The comparison is also being made to my original Buell... XB9S. There is an extensive teardown required just to check and adjust the valves with the Rotax. I'm glad I sold that bike to get my Buell. Also, 45 degrees is what makes the Buell chassis dimensions possible. No way could a 90 degree fit. I don't like the feeling of riding around on a "video game" bike. I like how the engine rumbles... part of the character and a reminder that there is a beefy and reliable powerplant pushing me and my bike around. If I want buzzy smoothness and video game disconnectedness from my bike, I ride one of my Japanese inline-fours. You know what is absurd? Buying a motorcycle and thinking the engine is absurd. Someone would be better off to buy the brand with the engine they want. Why frequent a fanatic website about the bike with an engine you think is absurd... ??? You wasted your money man. You should sell it and buy a Ducati. As far as weight Sarodude... The Thunderstorm comes in at 169 lbs. including all engine mounting hardware (without muffler). Compare that to the Aprilia V-twin that is 147.7 lbs. without any hardware, radiator or the coolant. So??? | ||
| 45_degrees |
Liquorbox said... "the first thing I did to my Lightening was try and make it faster. I think just about everyone here is in the same boat?" Go find some canyons instead of the dragstrip... After 20 years of riding and twenty something bikes... My Lightning made me faster... through the corners. | ||
| Liquorbox |
I'm fortunate enough to own several bikes and appreciate each one for its individual assets, without being so "brand faithful" that I lose sight of reality. My next purchase will be a Duc 1098. I’m not trading in the Lightening for it, because I do enjoy that bike too. I haven’t been to a drag strip in over 25 years, but still maintain that no one bike is the be all and end all. If that makes me a Buell hater, please excuse me, I just thought that there were some fairly open minded people on here, unlike the Harley site. (Message edited by Liquorbox on February 05, 2007) | ||
| 45_degrees |
"I'm fortunate enough to own several bikes and appreciate each one for its individual assets" I think that pretty much sums up my point. If you really believed in this statement you would find reason and see the beauty in the Thunderstorm and not put it down... afterall, doesn't your Thunderstorm provide smiles, mile after mile? Mine does. ..."but still maintain that no one bike is the be all and end all" True... one needs a bike for all styles. For me, I need one for trail riding, touring, and the one I ride most is my all-around fun streetfighter that never gets boring... My Lightning Ss. I don't think I ever said more power is unwelcome... just keep the traditional overall design concept in mind. Its as simple as that. The 1098 has a lot of power... It won't be any faster through a twisty canyon. I guarantee it. However, you can't account for personal taste. Its still a motorcycle, and just about every motorcycle has potential to be fun when the right owner finds it. I think the only Duc I could own would be an air-cooled Monster. But no thanks. I like Buell better. Buell motorcycles have an advantage of being universally so much fun that even certain people will buy them and keep them in spite of their personal disregard of the engine. "I just thought that there were some fairly open minded people on here, unlike the Harley site." Thinking a Briggs & Stratton could substitute and nobody would disagree is open minded? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I am continually amazed at how controversial Buells really are. You throw any model Buell in the middle of a crowded room, and its very presence will incite a bench clearing brawl. Throw a GSXR into the same room, and its completely inert. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Tuber frame with obnoxious power, american made?... Its out there already, not sure I would want a Buell like this, but I can definitely appreciate the engineering  | ||
| Swordsman |
LOL! Hellcats are awesome! Let me just throw in how IMPRESSED I am with the civility of Blake, Hugh, and Spatten's discussion. Lots of interesting debate without any name calling or idea bashing.  ~SM | ||
| Liquorbox |
"The 1098 has a lot of power... It won't be any faster through a twisty canyon. I guarantee it." And, Buell will be winning GP this year! You guys are too much! | ||
| Tpoppa |
"If the Buell/Sportster engine is being considered as a sophisticated, or modern design, I beg to differ." Right, cause a radiator, water pump, all that associated plumbing, quadruple the number of throttle bodies, quadruple the number of valves, double the number of cylinders, chain driven cams, a valvetrain that requires periodic maintenance, a wet sump, catalytic converters, inferior fuel efficiency and a power-band that doesn't come on until 8,000 rpm is so much more "modern". Not in my view. By that logic, the B&S engine in my lawnmower is the most sophisticated engine available today. | ||
| 45_degrees |
"And, Buell will be winning GP this year!" They're racing GP on public canyon roads now?? Wow, I didn't know DOT was so open minded these days. That would be like Isle of Man TT.  If you really believe HP is the only way to be quick on a bike, good luck. Tpoppa... actually your B&S engine is not sophisticated at all if the correct definition of "sophisticated" is applied... deprived of native or original simplicity, or... highly complicated or developed, complex. However, I do see your B&S as highly developed to do what it is designed to do very well... spin a cutting blade to cut grass. | ||
| Liquorbox |
...And I guess that would make Buells great parking lot racers?? | ||
| Swordsman |
Hey, not to threadjack, but anyone ever looked at the Confederate logo closely? What IS that? A naked guy climbing a hill with a whip??? ~SM | ||
| 45_degrees |
You know what I meant... excessive amounts of HP for the street... basically unusable power for the average mortal. | ||
| Blake |
Swords, Dr. S. Freud would like to talk to you.  | ||
| Swordsman |
Blake, I had no idea how bad that sounded until I went back just now and re-read it!  Seriously though, have you LOOKED at the thing? It's obviously a naked guy with his foot on a rock, but just what is that he's swingin' over his head? Yes, I KNOW it sounds perverted, but that's what he's doing!   ~SM | ||
| Blake |
Ack! What the HECK is that?! LOL! They put that on their motorcycles?! Pretty queer looking to me. | ||
| Spatten1 |
That's totally messed up. Dear G-d, what kind of logo is that? I'm sure they have some long-winded esoteric explanation on their website. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Man, I pulled my "Ninja" stickers off my ZX-11 as soon as I got home. I'd make the Conferderate dealer pull that thing off my bike before I paid for it. (Message edited by spatten1 on February 06, 2007) | ||
| Liquorbox |
I think it's a "sling" and it's supposed to be "David", as in David slaying Goliath. "Goliath" being Harley?? Just MHO. | ||
| Blake |
Dale, I think you nailed it. If you read their website propaganda it is all about hatin' Harley-Davidson. LOL. I've lost respect for the brand after reading that miserableness. Promote your product on it's own merits, not via attacks against your competitor. Source: Marketing 101? Topic drift anyone? ![: ]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| Liquorbox |
Yes, I wouldn't even consider the Confederate a "Sophisticated" bike. Now if we're talking Bimota Tesi 2.0... Another story. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Was David really naked when he slew Goliath? I don't remember that from religious school. | ||
| Swordsman |
The great (gay) sculptors liked David that way! Michaelangelo. Donatello. Not the Nija turtles, the artists.  | ||
| Blake |
David was a scrawny kid when he took on Goliath. And the way that sling is portrayed is so wrong. The string stays straight. Goofy company with a goofed up logo. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Hey they may have something on a string (not sure what, or maybe it's a whip?!), but it's obvious from the nude photo what they are definitely missing! | ||
| Pushrodpete |
Suggested caption for the Confederate logo: "Finally! I thought I'd NEVER get that thing outta there..." | ||
| Teddagreek |
"The worst are the Harley Davidson clone creators. They possess neither theme nor storyline and live only as symbiotic parasites within the organism of the donor enterprise" http://www.confederate.com/index.php Actually go to the website... Go to company and read about how the company got started.. I just don't see bashing you guys are talking about. | ||
| Skully |
Liquor, 45 is right. Horsepower does not necessarily make you fast. At our local CMRA track (cmraracing.com), Oak Hill Raceway, the track record is held not by 1000s, not by 750s, but by 600s. Several national and international champions began their racing careers on that track: Freddy Spencer, Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards, etc. | ||
| Blake |
"...but it's obvious from the nude photo what they are definitely missing!"  Good one. | ||
| Crusty |
They ain't missing balls. Just take one out for a ride. |
