What's your take on the Buell XB9s and XB12s

[RantyDave]

I rode one, was OK. Handling was OK. Brakes were OK. Build quality seemed good. Hated the engine, but then I like 'em to rev - it had lots of low down torque though.

I rode an SV1000 on the same day and thought it was shite - (as a benchmark).

I think you'd need to get used to one and then you'd love it. As an aside, you rarely see them embarrassed at the track.

Dave

[Ocean1]

As an aside, you rarely see them embarrassed at the track.

Dave

That's 'cause I'm rarely at the track dude.

[Harry]

I bought a new XB12SS just over a month ago - after going into Wgtn M/Cycles on a day off to take a Harley for a ride with no intentions of buying (how often does THAT happen...). I have always had Japanese bikes, as to be frank, i have seen mates with non-Japanese machines have no end of problems - although to be fair they were always on a certain red Italian brand...

After taking out 2 Harleys - one of which was the so called 'handler' of the range (like picking the best handling shopping trolley at a supermarket), i decided that i would stick to my 04 Z1000, although i had enjoyed the raw feel and especially the sound of the Harley mill. However i was talked into giving a Buell a go, and ended up taking a demo out for the day.

I found the handling amazing, so solid (although a bit slow in turn in) and the motor fill of the character of a Harley, but it went quite well and didn't mind a bit of a rev. This may sound strange but it reminded me of the handling and ride comfort of my '03 CBR600RR, but with a bloody big and unrefined V -twin replacing the gutless down-low Honda motor. Its a similiar size to the Honda as well.

The big thing for me is that its different and if you look close, fill of clever design features, combined with some rather strange details and a few downright stupid things (its good that i have a transparent airbox cover, so i can watch the airbox fill up with water when i wash the bike, and i've lost count of the plastic ties holding bits together...)

Its also a polarising bike in the biker community, from people saying I'm mad to buy one, to many fascinated at the essential difference from the norm that this bike represents - and Harley riders wave at you (not sure how to handle that...)

[Wingnut]

and Harley riders wave at you (not sure how to handle that...)[/QUOTE]

I rarely get that!

[hospitalfood]

OK.........HAVE THE 07 XB12R AND LOVE IT ! I prefer the look of the R to the S. DONT GET THE XB9 !!!

put the race computer in mine and got a factory race pipe second hand, better low and high end but feels like I lost a bit of mid range. for round town riding I would recommend standard set-up. if you change the pipe you need to get a race computer or a gadget that makes it possible to re-program the standard computer. heaps of info on buell forums about this.

the belt is great, no slop between gas on and gas off.
downside is gravel can break it if it gets in, but I have one hole in my belt from a small stone at present and its not a problem.

I would not worry about the pipe rust, it wont happen overnight. no biggie.

ride one, they are fun and cool and sound great and go round corners.
every time I stop somebody says nice bike, and I say thanks ( and mean it )

[discotex]

I think you'd need to get used to one and then you'd love it. As an aside, you rarely see them embarrassed at the track.

Except by how much gas they drink... You'll be needing a jerry can to get through a trackday. That 1200cc twin drinks gas when the throttle is wide open!

[Rashika]

Except by how much gas they drink... You'll be needing a jerry can to get through a trackday. That 1200cc twin drinks gas when the throttle is wide open!

really? Never noticed it on mine... always cheaper to fill than most of the bikes around me. And yes thats at the track and the road.

belt drive? frkn fantastic... what chain lube? Costly... errr not. Way cheaper for parts than other bikes I have had.

really if you believe what others say about them and not try yourself you are missing out. Still I wouldn't have a 9, nor an S... its the R the whole way for me

[discotex]

really? Never noticed it on mine... always cheaper to fill than most of the bikes around me. And yes thats at the track and the road.

belt drive? frkn fantastic... what chain lube? Costly... errr not. Way cheaper for parts than other bikes I have had.

really if you believe what others say about them and not try yourself you are missing out. Still I wouldn't have a 9, nor an S... its the R the whole way for me

Interesting. Wonder if that's the micron exhaust at work. Went down to MotoTT last week with my mate who has a Buell XB12SS. He hit reserve with two sessions to go. I think we'd done about 100km at that point. Had to pop down to the gas station and fill up. He was in group 1 (fast expert) though so was pushing it pretty hard.

Very cool bikes. I've never ridden one but I love the crazy looks and design. The sound with the full micron race headers and can is mean too. Much better than stock. Pops and backfires like mad.

Such a perfect design for city and twisty riding. Seems to handle itself really well on the track aside from the lack of top speed down the straight.

[Big Dave]

The 9 doesn't have the same torque as the 12 but it revs a lot sweeter.

City-X is superb.

I get 240km before the fuel light comes on every time on the Xb12X- and there are 61km left when that happens

DAMHIK

[Ocean1]

Interesting. Wonder if that's the micron exhaust at work. Went down to MotoTT last week with my mate who has a Buell XB12SS. He hit reserve with two sessions to go. I think we'd done about 100km at that point. Had to pop down to the gas station and fill up. He was in group 1 (fast expert) though so was pushing it pretty hard.

Never had less than 180k to the light from my R, and that's got Buell's race kit installed. Think the SS has an couple of extra litres too, if he only got 100k then I'd suspect there's summat wrong with it.

[Big Dave]

Article: Buell City X
Dear Ed,

The new recording equipment works a treat and I talked through the rides as they happened.

Thank you for making the Buell Press bikes available. After hours and hours of rigorous ‘testing’ around the City of Sails and Environs detailed transcript follows.

Hehehehehehehehehehehehe.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahaah!
Hehehehehehehehehehe.
I’m doing THAT again!!!
Yeeee harrrrrrr.
Comin’ Through. Woooohooooo!
Hehehehehhehhheehehehheheheheh.

Thanks again for the opportunity.

Big Dave.

Ends.



Oh, if life were that simple! After a series of heavyweight cruisers the Ed let me off the leash at the fleet of Buell press bikes.

Subsequently I completely smitten with the Lightning XB9SX.



‘The urban streetfighter is loaded with rugged style. Powered by a 984cc Thunderstorm® air/oil/fan cooled, Fuel-injected 45° V-Twin; you’ll be ready for anything the city throws your way.’

That’s what the Buell web site told me.

I disagree slightly. I actually spent a most of my time on this bike SEARCHING for ‘what the City threw my way.’

I haven’t has as much ‘silly’ fun on a motorcycle.

It starts when you first jump on it. It feels not so much like ‘mounting’ a machine, it’s so small and compact and minimal, that it is more akin to attaching a motor to your body. (Or ‘Sticking one to your butt’ as one of my one of my cultured American friends paraphrased.)

And as lovely a sweet revving, gem of a ‘compressor’ motor it is it isn’t the outstanding feature of the bike.

That plaudit goes to the way it handles, turns and corners with simply outstanding control.

It can make a mundane trip for the milk a giggle a minute.

Not very comfortable for a large man - but who cared! I loved playing on it and play I did.

I didn't find it as easy to stunt and do tricks on as the 1200cc versions, but I found myself careening down dead end streets so I could do repeated cranked over laps of the turning circle.

I was scouting the city with the same eye as a skateboarder. Something to jump - a cool ramp, anything out of the unusual to challenge gravity and make me laugh on the inside.

You just hurl it into U-turns or around roundabouts (or about the very late night mall car park) - with an enormous grinning confidence.

Counter steering loops of cul-de-sacs, around the industrial areas, jumping off gutters or launching it off deserted car park ramps and squeezing through obstacles and crossing courtyards and tearing up the vacant blocks and exploring the grunge parts of the city and, and, and…

A barrel full of monkeys in a motorcycle.



The overall length of the bike is exactly ‘Big Dave’ - 1,950mm, - a proportion of that is the overhanging rear guard and its ‘Cheese grater’ – a part that most owners will remove that as soon as the bike is WoF-ed.

More notably the wheelbase is only 1320mm.

Combine this with steep rake, centralised mass, huge lean angles, Pirelli Scorpion Sync Tyres, some trick 3 way adjustable Showa suspension at both ends and it is some of the best fun around town, sitting down, standing up, cranked over, one wheel or two.

Front brakes are Buell’s familiar rim mounted front ZTL-type brake, 6-piston, fixed calliper, 375 mm single-sided, inside-out, stainless steel, floating rotor which produces effortless two finger stoppies and are perfectly matched to the flick-able balance of the machine.

Quite the easiest bike to balance at low speed I’ve ever ridden too.



Experienced pilots will find they can sit almost stationary for lengthy periods before the need to put a foot down – even in heavy traffic, so low down and so well balanced is the mass.

The upright seating position and reasonably moderately tall saddle height have an off road sort of feel. It encouraged me to ride the City X more like a mountain bike. (I took it around some of my favourite tracks and paths).

Buell claim 83 horsepower from the 900 version. It doesn’t have the same twist the throttle stand up torque wheelies and ‘schtonk’ as the 1200 version – but it feels like its legs are sweeter for longer than the bigger bore.

It’s quite happy working around its 7,400 rpm maximum and has plenty of go around town. Due to hauling a moderate 177kg dry while developing 86nm of torque at 5,600 rpm it’s got some quite tasty V-twin pull down low – in a rollerskate.

‘Funny as’, and quite exhilarating.

Freeway and open road blasts were just as much fun.

The bike felt surprisingly (considering the geometry) solid, planted and rather smooth on the freeway.

The 900 is not as prone to the paint shaker impersonation at idle as the 1200, but like the larger version, it’s as sweet as a nut when on song.



Lynita fitted on the pillion ‘seat’ and found it ‘nice and close to the Hippie’ when they both hopped aboard. Co-pilot looked at what was left with me on it and walked back inside.

As you can imagine the sight of a gorilla taller than the bike is long has some comic consequences, so while Lynita was trying the bike on I drafted her to model the test ride pics.

She enjoyed it as much as I did. When I prized her off it I spent even more hours on it – see transcript and it was with more than usual regret I handed it back to the lads at AMPS.

The ed commented he doesn’t like the noise of the fan after shutoff (It runs quite loudly after shutoff – like a car’s) – I found it’s only a temporary niggle and after you have lived with if for a few days/weeks it becomes far less noticeable. Otherwise, just about everything in the design and execution of the bike worked for me as an Urban vehicle.



The motor generates its torque and usable power in the first half of the rev range is great for city work. It will pull decent speeds on the on ramp and carves up a Sunday afternoon in the hills with just as much glee.

The stop-turn-go-flick-able handling hit my gravity spot perfectly.

The dual-sport-ish tyres are ideal for coping with the run-off, wash-outs pot holes, foliage, pebble strewn laneways and detritus that the Kiwi urban environment can throw in its path.

It’s only a cylinder wide and if your shoulders fit – so does the bike, which leads to even further what’s-up-that-laneway exploration or effortless dispensing with lines of traffic.

With its belt drive and minimal servicing requirements all there is to do is check the oil and ride it.

I found it an attractive looking bike with real attitude and street cred.



If you live in one of the big cities and spend most of your time riding in an urban setting – drop in to a Buell dealer and throw a leg over a City X.

If you ‘get it’, I found one to be sensible, grin-a-minute, fun.

[Waylander]

if you can still get one, apparently they arent making them anymore, but there are heaps of aftermarket options, the full micron system is cool, and its pretty cheap.

Looks like horse shit in person and they have to cut into the belt guard on the swing arm in order to make room for the longer outlets, even on the longs.

These however look very nice.
http://www.r-r-customizing.de/shop_b...tml&lang=en-us



As for my opinion, if you're going to get one, get the 12. Felt more stable in a straight line than the 9 did on the open road and I rode the 12 on a day with bad crosswinds. And cornering was more assertive. Didn't have to feather the throttle as much to get it to stick to a line.

[discotex]

Never had less than 180k to the light from my R, and that's got Buell's race kit installed. Think the SS has an couple of extra litres too, if he only got 100k then I'd suspect there's summat wrong with it.

Mmmm dunno.. Open road and city is more like your kinda of numbers. Faulty sender on the reserve maybe?

Anyway.. For anyone thinking of buying a Buell (or who already owns one)

[YOUTUBE]P0UUnNjPzX0[/YOUTUBE]

[Rashika]

The day we raced the R at a BEARS meet I got around 160 max out of the tank, and that was full on racing, not a track day, with 2 different racers in 2 classes. About what you'd expect for hard out racing.
I mean to say 14 litres aint very much really!

Open road is different, it would be around 200 before reserve with somewhere in the vicinity of 60-80kms left, not quite sure cos there is always a few litres left when i full up, even at 250kms reading! Always less that the Tuono and the Guzzi to fill up... could be riders style maing the difference a bit as well.

And mine is race kitted, factory race kitted, dunno what they call em.

[madbikeboy]

My 2 cents...

I like 4 cylinder litre bikes. The same way a crack whore likes drugs. If I could wean myself off the horsepower, I'd buy an XB9S. My mate Phil has one - it's massively underpowered in comparison to scoot, but it's a lot more fun. It turns in really well. The front wheel is full of helium. It's compact, and kind of neat and sexy.

You feel upright, and this combined with high wide bars allows you to tip the bike in either direction using telepathy (no push required). The brakes aren't all that great, neat to look at though. And as an intellectual experience, the bike is novel and well thought out.

I know that I'm always keen to swap bikes when Phil is around, and I smile when I do ride the Buell.

It's not so wonderful on long trips. Being naked is cool for home life, but I'm always put off by the whole windblast thing. The gixer is a world of comfort and quiet in comparison, a big comfy armchair in the quiet corner of the room. Riding the Buell in the rain is like being hosed by the fire department...