I rode a Buell today

[86GSXR]

First service due at 1600 km's. These things are tough, and seeing as the first one did 20000 km's in it's first year it shouldn't take long at all.

[Chrislost]

crossplane is way to go

Hell yeah, crossplane 850 V-TWIN for the win!!!

[vifferman]

Aren't V-twins where it's at....

v twins all the way, you just can't beat that sound

crossplane is way to go

Yep, that's right - V-fours are the way to go. All the benefits of the v-twins (slim width, nicely spaced power pulses, nice torque curve, gorgeous exhaust note) with all the benefits of an inline four.

[SMOKEU]

v twins all the way, you just can't beat that sound

A straight 4 sounds better

[scumdog]

A straight 4 sounds better

All two-hundred and fifty screamin' cee-cees of it....

[SMOKEU]

All two-hundred and fifty screamin' cee-cees of it....

Screams good around corners too.

[SixPackBack]

A straight 4 sounds better

Buuulllsshhit....nothing sounds like a v-twin.

[b1unt3d]

Went to the Harley "Test Our Metal" demo days today. Rode 2 Buells(XB12R and 1125CR) and 2 Harleys (Nightster and Night Rod Special.) To be honest, I wouldn't give my bike up for any of the 4.

The 12R was like a giant vibrator, sitting at idle, the ridiculous rubber side mirror were going crazy. It had the weirdest engine, only a 5 speed, and I didn't use 4th or 5th gear once. Redlined at I think only 8000 rpms. Had a nice amount of low end torque

The CR felt pretty bulky, and I had to twist extra hard on the throttle to get it moving. It seemed to give a lot of wrist resistance. The shifter felt very good, and it sounded pretty good but damn is this bike ever fugly :P

The Nighster was very boring to ride. Slow, and felt too light to be a Harley haha. I could flat foot it, which is amazing as I have short legs (5'6). I don't see how a big guy could fit on it, as it seemed to be the perfect size for me.

The Night Rod was a lot different than I expected. I could almost flat foot it, but I could barely reach the pedals. I had to use the tip of my toes to shift and brake, it was the most uncomfortable bike of the 4. The engine was nice once you got high in the rev band, but the bike did not want to turn. I can only imagine what extended forks would be like.

[imdying]

Buuulllsshhit....nothing sounds like a v-twin.

Didn't someone commission a study on this? I think the result was something along the lines of 'A vtwin resonates with the human body in some sort of complimentary fashion which is why they always feel the best to ride, the HD layout being the best of all in this respect'... I think it was basically geek speak for vtwins do indeed sound the best, and here's why...