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First Ride on a |
Pashnit about Motorcycles |
To be perfectly honest I know very little about Buell's. What little experience I do have comes from a fast jaunt some years back on a quickie test ride. The seat was too narrow, the breadbox on the side was confounding, and it sounded like a tractor. Not exactly the impression you were probably hoping for. So fast forward a few months, a few years to 4 am. The stars are out, the air is cool. I'm alone, covered in black leather. The night is still except the churning of the tires beneath me. No other light than the soft yellow glow of the twin headlights against the pavement. I was on a mission, given a task, intent on flogging this black on black machine. It c ould have been any other day aboard a motorcycle but this is no ordinary bike beneath me. It's the new 2006 Buell Ulysses XB12X supplied to me by McGuire Harley Davidson Buell in Walnut Creek , CA . I'd been asked to put it through its paces, go explore, get lost, get jiggy with it and generally find out why on earth someone would want one of these. |
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| Like many, I started riding on Japanese standards- universal machines that could travel, run all day, and were dead-set reliable. Yet they lacked originality, personality- and handling for that matter. They even gained the title “Universal”, as in ‘Universal Japanese Machine” or UJM for short. And over the years, the motors got bigger, the trips got longer, the mileage racked up and the motorcycle world changed around me. Been there, done that, seen it, ridden every road, owned every motorcycle, attended every rally, every motorcycle show, done the group ride, the solo ride, the touring ride, the distance ride, but dual sport? Now there is an idea- a logical evolution perhaps. Eric Buell seems to think so, and he's rolling the dice you're headed his way.
So what about this whole dual-sport thing anyway? The BMW GS is said to be the best selling bike in Europe . Surely that has caught someone's attention. A particular Mr. Buell perhaps. Yet if you do know anything about Buells- you at least know the basics upon which Eric Buell has built his empire. Sexy looking street fighters with low center of gravity achieved by gasoline in the frame, oil in the swing arm, muffler underneath the bike, perimeter front brakes – Buell trademarks. Oh, and don't forget torque. Mr. Buell and his team of mad scientists most certainly enjoy bringing that up. Add street fighter and dual-sport together, what do you get? I was going to find out on a 1600 mile solo ride, the majority done in just three very long days running around the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. |
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ABOUT THE BIKE Throughout my 1600 mile weekend with the Buell- the look continued to grow on me. To this day, I'm not sure how folks manage to deem a motorcycle ugly. In fact, I'm not sure if I've ever seen a motorcycle I would even assign such a definitive word. The Buell on the hand is just plain sexy, it has that mean street fighter stance, a look that'll bust ya in the chops if you look at it cross. And those wide dual-sport semi-knobby tires are just plain cool looking. Even when I looked at the bike, the styling lusted for adventures found beyond the paved road. I showed this bike to my coworker who doesn't ride, knows nothing about bikes and asked quite candidly, “So what do you think?” “That thing is just badass!!” he said. Now they say beauty is a subjective thing- you know the saying, eye of the beholder, blah, blah. But now, how can you not look at a Buell and appreciate the uniqueness, the niche that Erik Buell has carved himself. Nothing, not anything on the market, looks quite like a Buell. They are instantly recognizable, and that alone spells success as far as Buell is concerned for a decade worth of effort that Buell has strived to attain. |
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The kickstand, called a Jiffy Stand, is extra long to accommodate the tall bike which is said to have 6.5 inches of clearance. However, the kickstand is not the spring loaded pop-out ones many a motorcyclist might be used to, While there is a return spring there (I had to look to make sure), it seemed to have a mind of its own and I suspect such a simple thing maybe was meant to be that way. I also noticed the pivot point was near the front of the motorcycle, rather than in the middle like your average everyday bike. It deploys easily with the kick of a well placed heel and simply making sure the bike was planted when hopping off was the trick. The kick stand isn't hooked up into any kill switch, so you can start the bike and ride off with the kickstand down. Each time getting off the bike, it was essential to turn the bike off, leave it in gear and make sure the bike was firmly planted before walking away. While the average motorcycle would probably just idle quietly in neutral, this is no average motorcycle. The sheer rhythmic vibration of the motor at idle had a tendency to roll the bike off the kickstand with any sort of downward slope. So the easy fix was simply to turn the bike off each time it was parked, pay special attention to the slope of the pavement and you'll be fine. Keep in mind in a tip-over, there are no frame sliders and the first thing that touches down is the hand guards or bags. More on that in a second Danger Will Robinson:One alarming thing about the tall height is while parking the bike (as I did countless times to get my shots during my usual photo session of the roads), the bike will easily lift up on the back wheel and the kickstand. In turn, it was pulling the front wheel off the ground. Now mind you, the bike never did this on its own, or even got close, however, it was easily possible. All it could take would be a thoughtless instance on some uneven surfaces, or slanted ground while parking, and the bike could quickly get tippy. Even on flat pavement with the bike all loaded up, it was easily possible to pull the bike up off the front wheel. Keep in mind on the average sportbike, this is typically the complete opposite- the bikes will lift the rear wheel off the ground while pulled up on the kickstand. Despite this odd quality, the entire bike is very well balanced, but it was something to take note of. Realizing the bike would do this took me quite by surprise at first. |
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So any travel bike needs travel options. And besides the standard Triple Tail Luggage Rack feature, you also have the option of mounting hard bags on the Buell. At a cost of $995 for the complete set of three- saddlebags and top trunk, they're not exactly cheap. However, if your intent is to rack up the mileage like so many of us do, they'll pay for themselves on the very first ride and are a must have. After spending all that time on the bike covering all those miles, I couldn't imagine traveling without them. Saddlebags run $700 for the set and are cavernous affairs of usable space. You'll need the separate key to open and shut them each time. Plus on the interior, they have some handy elastic straps on each side of the saddlebags allowing you to hold things in place. The bags open a full 90 degrees for easy access and easily pop off. I struggled slightly trying to keep the sides aligned when closing and latching the bags, but I can't be sure if it was a design flaw with these particular bags or they just needed to be worn in. The top case operates much the same, keyed entry only and still plenty of space for quick items. I was hesitant to put anything of weighty origins in the top case due to the height, but this proved unfounded. Even with the saddlebags fully loaded, I never noticed they were back there. The luggage set matches the bike well, and by and large seem designed in conjunction with the bike rather than a forgetful afterthought. Other options are available for luggage carrying solutions and the matching hard bags are not your only option. A common solution is a tail-pack designed for the bike which allows the bike to retain its narrow stance and centers any addtional weight at center-mass on the rear seat (or just behind the rear seat), similar to if you were carrying a pillion passenger. |
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Now here's something I've only read about, mainly as a feature on some European motorcycles. I've even read on forums for example, that this is a popular mod to do. Riders seek to find the bar cluster that would include a flash-to-pass button and install it. No need for that, comes standard on the Buell. As long as the headlight is on the low beam, you thumb the flash-to-pass button with your left index finger. The button itself is on the front of the cluster, rather than on the rear where the turn signals and horn button are. Get some slowpoke in front of you and you can flash 'em to your hearts content. A rather minor wire guard covers the twin headlights but I suspect this was more a styling cue (it looks very cool actually), as the last time I busted a motorcycle headlight (and windshield on my vehicle mind you) while riding, it was a very small rock rather than a boulder being thrown at me. An aftermarket mesh screen or plexiglass cover may solve that problem. Aftermarket goodies like those are available through specialty suppliers like Touratech.com or one of the links listed below. (Also note the front turn signals in the pic below which are mounted on flexible rubble stalks giving some modicum of forgiveness in a tip-over.) |
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The dirt bike styling cues do run past just the aesthetic. I noticed that the turn signals are actually mounted on flexible rubber stalks offering up some degree of forgiveness in a tip-over or should you find yourself in the dirt. Large rubber bumpers or pucks have also been glued onto the frame by your knees to protect the frame from a similar fate. There are also small narrow pucks placed beside the footpegs so your boots aren't rubbing against the frame, but rather the puck. As for whether there are any aftermarket case guards to protect the bike motor remains to be seen. As most of the competing motorcycles in this class all have them, it would seem odd for Buell not to offer them. Tire choice for Buell seems to have worked out very well coming standard with Pirelli Scorpion Sync dual sport tires. The Buell front tire felt wider and planted, although it could have simply been my imagination. They performed flawlessly on smooth road, bumpy pavement, rippled gravel and only in sand did I feel like I was pushing things a bit. Gas it for safety when going off-road- isn't that the saying? |
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I made the mistake of doing just that- gassing it in some gravel thinking the rear tire would spin. The opposite happened much to my surprise, and audible consternation, with the front tire coming off the ground instead. Not what I was expecting. Have to be a little more careful about those things. These tires have bite!
It may sound somewhat trivial, but the XB12X comes with wide footpegs. The first time I experienced something like this was on a BMW Rockster, a bike with some similarities to the Ulysses. The simple act of widening the footpegs gives the sensation of your boot being on more of a platform, than those minature footpegs we've come to know and love on your average sportbike. The wider footpeg as seen at left gives you more of a solid platform while in the dirt plus I'd even go as far as to say helped on longer days in the saddle with more support. Could be my imagination though. And by Jove, it has a helmet lock I thought after wondering aloud where to put my helmet. While the hard bags will accommodate a full face helmet, while traveling, the bags were full. On the left side of the bike was indeed a helmet lock- right where it was supposed to be. It's the little things that count you know. |
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If you've been around long enough, you remember the signature Buell feature of the breadbox air cleaner on the right hand side of the bike. Well my friends, those days have come and gone as it's now located under the plastic faux tank cover directly in front of the seat. An single air scoop takes up residence on the left side of the bike and gobbles up air which is sent to cool the cylinders. Right below that is a smaller air scoop feeding air into the oil cooler, then the charcoal canister blended in behind that. It's all rather seamless, and barely even noticeable. Now this is not an air cooled motor despite the lack of bodywork, rather the radiator resides under the seat with a cooling fan that seemed to have a life of its own. Get to that in a second. Keep in mind you can also buy as an aftermarket item a matching right side air scoop to direct additional airflow towards the rear cylinder. Not cheap though though at about $220 for just that little plastic piece. But hey, for around $270 you can get it in carbon fiber!! So far, I've seen two versions of the right side air scoop via aftermarket companies that specialize in Buell goodies. (Also note you can click one of the links below to source aftermarket goodies like this.) |
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I hadn't actually paid much attention to the handguards, other than to note they look just plain cool. Another added element to the styling of the bike. It wasn't until I was tooling down the road at around mile 800 when the one on the left popped off. Is it suppose to do that? About than I realized that it just clicks onto where a bar end normally resides (no bar end weights on the Ulysses). A short post where the bar end bolt would be sticks out, and the hand guard simply clicks onto that. The handguard itself rotated forward on its front bolts and it was about then I realized these aren't exactly industrial rated. Any spill, and they'd probably just break right off. My rocket scientist brain began to envision a modded handguard with a metal bar along the inside perimeter of the handguard. Maybe that'd do the trick to actually strengthen up the guard. Overall, it's just a piece of plastic, and good moreso for deflecting wind on the freeway and any minor contact you'd have while on some deserted fire trail. Just don't expect them to protect the clutch and brake lever which can just as easily snap off in a tip over. Possibly in later years Buell might find the time to create something other than an aesthetically pleasing looking hand guard as the design of the bike improves with time. So the the more I stared at the front of the bike, the more I thought the comment my co-worker had said was spot-on. My co-worker was right. The bike is just freakin' badass. Buell made little attempt to hide his efforts to convert one of his existing street fighter motorcycles and morph the look like it was headed off-road over yonder. The double fender common to dual-sporting motorcycles entails a mud guard fender mounted over the rear of the wheel and attached to the fork. Another eye-catching feature was the plastic fork guards that take up residence in front of the fork- rather stout looking guards the protected the lower downtubes from dirt, debris, and rock chips. The whole thing was all one piece. Another fender higher up sits below the headlight with remarkable similarity to the BMW GS. |
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The year 2005 Buell Ulysses came with a seat height at a towering 35 inches. In the year 2006, common sense prevailed and the lower seat at 31.8 inches became available, and then I was told is now a standard feature. Playing with the pre-load knob on the rear shock dampening allows the bike to settle in with your weight on the bike per the owners manual in setting up the suspension. (The lower seat is listed as a $220 option.) The owners manual goes as far as to provide a chart to find yourself, and in turn tells which setting to place the pre-load on. The seat shape is said to have been designed with the help of detailed study of pressure points while riding and like-it-or-hate-it reactions to seats likely vary quite widely. The aftermarket seat industry is a mulit-million dollar business so the Buell Ulysses won't be immune to such modifications. I have ridden on aftermarket seats for the last 80,000 miles so it might give you an idea of which direction I'd be headed with my hard earned dollars regardless of what the marketing materials might tell you. However suffice to say, for the average every-day rider, the majority will find the seat functional. It's roomy and long enough to allow for scooting rearward in the seat to move around on a long day in the saddle. Your height & shape will have a lot to do with whether you'd find that comfortable or not. |
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LOWER SEAT OPTION The lower seat option was a welcome addition, and not sure what I would have done with the 35 inch (unsprung stock height) seat height. The lower 31.8 inch seat delved out a good riding position, although the rear of the seat is tilted forward (hard to see in the photo above) which was a bit confounding since the design encourages a bolt upright straight back. Scoot back in the seat and you felt leaned forward which might feel a bit unnatural- it did for me. Seats are highly subjective and so the height, weight & girth of the rider will have a lot to do with whether not you find the stock seat comfortable (not to mention the type of riding you do). However, any rider that is covering 300 plus mile days with any degree of regularity would probably feel inclined to invest in a custom fit seat. In my case, after spending 20 straight hours on the bike covering 600 miles of twisties, I began to loathe the seat and fantasized the miles away with a trip to Hollister, California to Corbin to get a seat custom fit to me, myself and I. |
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| Special thanks to McGuires Harley Davidson which supplied the Buell Ulysses XB12X used in this Road Test. |
