About Buells...

[nallac]

Say that at a Buell factory event and you can hear a pin drop.
'There are very few shared components'.
'Oh' says David.

Ok, I should say they were based on em ...with lots of changes

[ajturbo]

Hi its Buellbabe here (in Welly for the wkend and hanging with AJ).

Just saw this thread and thought "WOW! 90 replies! Gee I didn't know there were THAT MANY Buell OWNERS on KB..."

Assuming that this would be yet another thread full of non-Buell owners dissing them I haven't even bothered to read it all. Apologies if I have made an incorrect assumption.

Instead I am just gonna answer the question.

As a Buell owner I can honestly say YES! They are a very reliable bike.

[Scarydog]

I have had the XB12R for 18 months now and it hasn't missed a beat. Lots of fun, but not the best 2up. Nice not having a chain to maintain too. I'm thinking of selling the Buell and getting a Superduke, but I am sure that I will miss the low maintenance of the Buell. There is just nothing to do apart from warrants and oil changes :-).

It's great on gas too, though I do ride like a nana.

[dangerous]

Say that at a Buell factory event and you can hear a pin drop.
'There are very few shared components'.
'Oh' says David.

Thats what I thought...

the 9 is a destroked 12
you can stroke a 9 to 12 but can't bore a 9 to 12 as in a 883 to 1200
the 9's not quite a thou .but can be bored to just over a thou.

the buell engines are based on the sporty with a few mods that can be retro fitted to the sporty engines. And a few improvements such as oil jet cooling which was done to the sportys.


And the heads which are a big improvement if you want to chase power espically with a 1450 kit fitted.

Ok, we are both on the right track, but...
The 9 was released in 03 the 12 in 04
the 9 engine was a new design from casings up, the 12 was devloped from it by stroking as theres no meat left to bore out 200cc (9 is 998cc IIRC)
The sportie (HD engine) that is in the tubers cant be compeared to the XB. The HD engine was not up to the performance Buell wanted much over 110Hp and they would blow the cranks.

Exactly. The Japs have been there and done that and moved on. It's not too surprising that Buell is a couple of decades behind.

and it was done before the japs even knew what a wheel was... they have only ever improved a design...
point in case.. 1920 guzzi had a dohc 4v head, suspension and the wast oil from the head gear was saved and channeled to the chain as a auto lube system

[AllanB]

the wast oil from the head gear was saved and channeled to the chain as a auto lube system

Old Triumphs had a similar auto chain oiler, however the factory never worked out how to stop the engine oil from coming out after you turned off the bike

[jrandom]

'There are very few shared components'.

I don't suppose you thought to ask what those shared components were.

('Block, pistons, crankshaft and valves' is, after all, only a 'few' components, etc.)

I find it interesting how one can't make negative comments about a motorcycle without those comments being distilled down to "it's shit".

Anyhoo, subjective impressions are all that's been posted on this thread.

Have Buells ever been given the 'Masterbike' treatment, or something similar?

[Ocean1]

I don't suppose you thought to ask what those shared components were.

('Block, pistons, crankshaft and valves' is, after all, only a 'few' components, etc.)

I understand there's just 6 common components, (presumably outside bearings etc, which are common to a wide range of machinery), none of the above are HD stock items. The engine's claimed to be derived from the HD sporty, but a brief glance at both the engine itself and it’s spec's should tell you it hasn't merely been mildly breathed upon. To get that level of improvement here's not only some serious breathing improvements but significant structural ones as well.

I find it interesting how one can't make negative comments about a motorcycle without those comments being distilled down to "it's shit".

Anyhoo, subjective impressions are all that's been posted on this thread

It’s easy to find objective comparisons if you’re happy with numerical descriptions. For the realist subjective is all there is.

Have Buells ever been given the 'Masterbike' treatment, or something similar?

Don’t know what that means. Although I’m surprised there’s not more available in the way of off-the-shelf mod’s for the Buells. Then again I’m surprised there’s not more available to help broaden what I see as being a fairly narrow OE choice across the entire market, particularly wrt ergonomics.

[dangerous]

I don't suppose you thought to ask what those shared components were.

('Block, pistons, crankshaft and valves' is, after all, only a 'few' components, etc.)

I find it interesting how one can't make negative comments about a motorcycle without those comments being distilled down to "it's shit".

Anyhoo, subjective impressions are all that's been posted on this thread.

Have Buells ever been given the 'Masterbike' treatment, or something similar?

Ok we need to find some writen proof of thes engines cos as far as I know "Block, pistons, crankshaft and valves" are not the same as the HD engines, not by a long shot.

Whats the 'Masterbike' treatment?

[Big Dave]

I don't suppose you thought to ask what those shared components were.

Yeah I did ask and was told how many there were. Forget. Might have been single figures.

I was more intrigued by the vehemence of the response at the time.

Buell people, whist duly respectful, are keen to highlight the difference between theirs and the parent company's products.

Owners generally are proud of the '3%er' tag - their slice of the overall H-D sales figures.

[Big Dave]

I also have an excellent tee shirt that says 'LOUD FANS SAVE LIVES'.

[jrandom]

Whats the 'Masterbike' treatment?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterbike

[Big Dave]

Up until the rotax they weren't masterbike material.

'Providing optimum enjoyment at around about the speed limit' isn't one of the criteria.

Nor was 'sick fun in an urban envioronment' from what I read?

[Fatjim]

Rode Rashikas Buell from Akaroa back to Chistchurch (at pace in the twisties) and had no issues from it re instability - despite being a cruiser rider with NO sprotsbike experience,

If by "cruiser rider" you mean cruiser speeds then the answer is right there. Peter Fonda thought his chopper was stable too.

My mates Buell has been reliable for 20,000ks +

20,000ks with no problem is not "reliable", yet. Your yardstick is a few feet short.

[Thunder 8]

Old Triumphs had a similar auto chain oiler, however the factory never worked out how to stop the engine oil from coming out after you turned off the bike

hahaha very good.

[jrandom]

Up until the rotax they weren't masterbike material.

And, I think, that's the sum of any criticism that I would be personally inclined to make.

You must admit, Buell haven't historically advertised their bikes as 'optimum enjoyment at around about the speed limit'.