Buell Ulysses XB12X

[rogson]

The write-ups I have seen on the new Buell "dirt-bike" have piqued my interest, so I took one for a demo ride.

Impressions in rough chronological order:
Looks great - muscular and very individual/unique
Very high seat - I'm 5'9" and used to riding dirt bikes, but the combination of high and wide seat had me on tip toes when stopped on flat ground. This could be a pain around town when you often have your feet down. Seat is comfy though.
Great seating position - upright and well forward, just like a dirt bike. Pegs/bum/bars positioning perfect - I loved it.
Thumps and shakes at idle and just above idle - charm/character?
Smooth runner once underway - felt I could ride it all day without shaking anything loose (on me or the bike).
Clutch is pleasantly light with plenty of feel.
Heaps of low down grunt - pulls away smoothly and strongly from standstill with strong urge that doesn't let-up. This is one of any Buell's best assets.
Jerky just above idle on-and-off the throttle - again could be a bit annoying around town, but I felt I could probably minimise it with more time on the bike.
Very, very light and nimble steering - apparently the Ulysses has a longer wheelbase than the other Buells but its still incredibly nimble.
Gearbox OK - a bit stiff with quite long throw. Not as slick as most jap bikes but OK.
Brakes - cracker!
Great suspension and handling - smooth, solid, confidence inspiring. I was attacking corners pretty confidently in no time - what more can I say!
Motorway comfort good - has a small screen which kept the windblast manageable with no buffeting.
Top gear roll-on a bit disappointing - gearing must be massive overdrive or something
Plenty of pose appeal - everyone was looking at me (or was it the bike?).
Pillon accomodations - there's an adequate pillon seat and pillion pegs didn't look to be mounted too high, but opinions will have to wait until Mrs rogson can try it out.
Its no dirt-bike (far from it) but I would be happy to take it on good gravel roads.

To sum-up - the seat height is my only reservation otherwise I liked it alot! In fact, I'm going back with Mrs rogson to have another go. Oops - that sounds ominous!

[rogson]

A couple of other observations I forgot to mention in the original write-up.

Steering lock is hopeless - I'm not sure whether you could get used to this or not.
Exhaust is too quiet - but I'm sure (know!) that it can be fixed.
And, from the brochure I was given the fuel capacity (in the frame) is 16.7litres which is over 2 litres more than the firebolt, etc, which will improve the range - but by enough to be reasonable?

[Bonez]

A couple of other observations I forgot to mention in the original write-up.

Steering lock is hopeless - I'm not sure whether you could get used to this or not.
Exhaust is too quiet - but I'm sure (know!) that it can be fixed.
And, from the brochure I was given the fuel capacity (in the frame) is 16.7litres which is over 2 litres more than the firebolt, etc, which will improve the range - but by enough to be reasonable?

Out of interest what fuel range does one get out of such a beast? Big Dave?