Buell by Harley

[r6srider]

Does anyone here have a Buell bike sold by Harley Davidson? I saw reveiws and they were positive but are they that good of a bike and the price worth?

[swademaster]

Unless you buy a used one from a private party, they were/are sold by HD.

[salsashark]

Which Buell (http://www.buell.com/en_us/home.asp) are you talking about? 1125R, XB12, XB9, Blast?

[merlin]

Does anyone here have a Buell bike sold by Harley Davidson? I saw reveiws and they were positive but are they that good of a bike and the price worth?

I ride an '06 XB12R, and Bueller on here use to race one, I believe.

They are excellent bikes, within their design. They are *not* fast. Stock, mine is gear limited to 136. The price you pay for a belt drive. What you do get is world class handling, interesting tech (like fuel in the frame and engine oil stored in the swingarm.) Every test I've ever seen puts the Buell ahead of anything you can buy for less than $30K in the corners.

The numbers are... less than staggering. 103 HP and about 90 ft/lbs - from a 1203cc v-twin. An that's at sea level. What the numbers won't show you is the gobs and piles of power at around-town rpms, and a torque curve that makes the bike feel like it pulls HARD from idle to redline. It's a far cry from I4s, were you have all kinds of horsepower, but you have to ring the bike's neck to get at them. I've ridden both, and I prefer twins.

The handling is huge. It's why I bought the bike, and in fact one of the big reasons *anyone* buys the things. I constantly do things on the XB that I would never even consider on the CBR600 I use to ride- and even at that, the one constant in my life is hearing the bike whispering "pussy!" every time I brake going into a corner. You won't push a Buell to IT's limit on the street, unless your last name is Mladin or Rossi or something, and you have a death wish.

From the street hooligan point of view, the XB is a treat. A 52" wheelbase, lots of torque, and about 400 pounds (dry) mean wheelies are not only easy, they are *unavoidable*. Stoppies are easy too- even with that weird front brake.

The other thing I really like about them is the rarity. Not everyone rides a Buell. Hell, not everyone recognizes a Buell! I took all the badging off mine, and I get asked "What *is* that thing?" quite a bit. It turns heads, even stock- and some of the customs....

Buell trivia: The XB series are actually designed for wheelies. The steering head bearings are specifically designed to take the impact of coming down suddenly from the balance point, and one of the advantages of having the oil in the swingarm is that the oil pump pickup is always submerged- no matter HOW far the front tire is from the ground! The supposed reason for this is very simple- Eric Buell likes to do wheelies. So his bikes have design features to make them easier on the bike.

Last point in favor of the Buell- Gas mileage. I average about 55 mpg on mine. I don't ride to max out my mileage, I ride to max out my smile. If you keep your hand out of the throttle, and maintain a steady highway-legal speed, I've heard people talk about 65+ Maybe I'll try it some time. As it is, I get better mileage than some of my friends on 150cc scooters. I'll take that!.

Anyway, that's a little of the good stuff about Buells. I am quite sure there will be plenty of posts about thier shortcomings- and, like anything else, they do have a few.

Merlyn

[DavidofColorado]

Wow Merlyn,
Nice post about the Buell. Seriously!

David

[Bueller]

Merlin, I am so glad you like to type :lol:

Yeah, what he said.

It isn't the "cool" bike around the sportbike scene, but I loved mine.
They aren't for everyone but Buell riders in general are very happy with the XB's, not always so happy with earlier "tubers".

[DavidofColorado]

Maybe you can show some pictures for us? They seam to be the best kept secret in the MC world. But Vickers had one the other day.

[salsashark]

<snip> I don't ride to max out my mileage, I ride to max out my smile. </snip>

and this is why I'm strongly considering an 1125R

[TheStig]

I almost bought one when I bought my sv. I love naked bikes and I think they are the sexiest naked bike, maybe even sexier than the speed triple. I like weird vehicles though :). The 1125r might be my next bike!

[Sortarican]

It isn't the "cool" bike around the sportbike scene, but I loved mine.

It's a shame the way the Buell gets shit from the Sport Riders for being a Hardly and the Hardly guys for being a sport bike.

Screw them all, it's on my list of bikes to own someday.

I have heard that the latest incarnation isn't getting the greatest reviews but a lot of prior models have been well received by the press.

[salsashark]

cheggit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Dq1IJZR9M

Certified 100% Rick Astley free