| Author | Message | ||
     Snail |
I do a lot of Sport Tour riding, packing and camping, riding the roads less taken, often gravel, sometimes rough. I wonder how tough the Uly is? Will it be flimsy and break, or will it prove to be reliable and tough? I know there's some important lurkers watching this site, so how about the insider special anon. opinion. Will Uly be tough? | ||
| Court |
>>>>Will it be flimsy and break, or will it prove to be reliable and tough? Based on the assumption that the CYCLE WORLD article is accurate with respect to how the XB frame and processes were evolved to the XB12X, I expect it to join the XB platform as one of the most reliable (based on the manf std metric of warranty $$ per unit) motorcycles EVER produced. Granted the Buell sample size is much smaller than some of the major manufactuers, but the XB's, in service, appear to just not break. It rises to the point where Japanese manufacturers have traveled to East Troy to see how it is possible to build anything with this consistancy and quality. I'm optimistic. Court | ||
| Doncasto |
Next Question: Will the Uly's suspension be able to be adjusted for the combined weight of too much good living, fully packed hard bags (3) and a yet unnamed but still optimistically searched for two-up person of the female persuasion? The rebuild, repair and/or replace costs - required by the limited load rate adjustments delivered by the factory on the S3T - will need to be calculated into the buying decision for this 230 lb-er. Thanks, Don | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Paul, my upcoming ride should give a real world glimpse into what the Ulysses is all about in terms of build quality and reliability. i'll be doing some high-mileage humpin' on the interstate, a two-up assault on Pike's Pike, and some relatively serious desert thrashing, and i will tell it like i see it, good, bad or fugly. Staintune'd.  FB | ||
| Reepicheep |
Well, I have seen pictures here where the entire triple tree was ripped from an XB, and the frame *appears* perfect. We have another picture here somewhere of a perfect telephone shaped semicircle pressed into a stock XB exhaust (if you have ever held a stock XB exhaust, you understand how bad a shot this would require) that was fixed with simply a new exhuast. My XB9SX is now quickly approaching 7k miles. The only issue was a tach that sticks on initial bootup, never riding. Just like my Yamaha used to do (though that one would stick while riding as well). I don't have to tell you all the stuff I had already been done to the Cyclone at that point... you have been there, done that. Maybe I will stir up a knowledge vault topic and scare up some of those pictures. The exhaust picture in particular. That kind of shot on just about any other bike (BMW or VStrom) would have been a death blow. On the Buell XB, it was a $100 on ebay fix. | ||
| Trojan |
'The rebuild, repair and/or replace costs - required by the limited load rate adjustments delivered by the factory on the S3T - will need to be calculated into the buying decision for this 230 lb-er.' We already have aftermarket shocks available for the XB from Penske, Hyperpro and Bitubo, so I don't think it will take much by them to make one for the XB12X with more travel and more adjustment (if it needs it that is).  This is the new Bitubo shock for the XB9 & 12 models and the quality is absolutely stunning! Price is around US$900 plus shipping. | ||
| Henrik |
Reg lists load capacity at 452#. GVW = 950#, which btw. puts the Uly wet weight at 498#. Dry weight is listed as 425#. That's certainly better than the S3, but how the Uly will react to overloading ...? who knows. Henrik | ||
| Al_lighton |
Matt, Have you mounted that shock yet? Looks to me like the reservoir tube fitting is wrong and that you wouldn't be able to put the seat on with it. Am I missing something? Al | ||
| Snail |
I'm not so worried about the GVW, according to the specs. that will be fine for me. I'm wondering about how tight its screwed togeather. How's the wiring harness, any chance of broken wires/connectors? Will the turn signals, clutch and brake levers, mirrors, lights etc. handle a low speed tip over? Will the front end take a good shot or will the forks bend? Has Uly been worked hard on the rough stuff? Will Uly jump? I've been reading a lot of good posts by fellows that have the newer style Buells, and it seems pretty unanaminous that Buell has addressed the reliability issues that plagued my '99 S-3. But still, taking it off road opens a whole nother world. Reg gave a very good, detailed report on Sacborg, of street riding the Uly...Reg was impressed with the manners and handling of the bike. I'm pretty excited about the Uly. I want one, but I can't imagine how dumb I'd feel broke down out in the hills somewhere on another Buell. I'd probably go 'Cecil', and require mental help. Anyone know how hard they tested Uly in the rough stuff? Thanks for the thoughtfull responses, this thread is NOT intended to create animosity or a food fight. I'm seriously considering buying a Uly. | ||
| Court |
>>>>who knows. ANSWER: Jon Bunne and his team. The Ulysses has had it's ••• kicked over and over. You'll never approach taking this bike through the hell it's already endured. Court | ||
| Bomber |
while I've not spoken to em re: the Uly, I've spent some time with a couple of fellas what tested the first XB series scoots -- they rode em hard, put em away wet, and did things to em that would bring tears to a strong man's eyes . . . if the testing protocol for the Uly is similar, I'd not be too concerned (most especially if your last experience was with a tuber) . . . night and day | ||
| Henrik |
Snail; the GVW was for Don. As for tip-over durability - I can vouch for the turn signals. I have XB signals on my mostly-track SV. I've crashed it 3 times on track - last time *hard* - and have yet to break a turn signal Henrik (Message edited by Henrik on August 04, 2005) | ||
| Doncasto |
Sir Henrick: Thanks for picking out one of the many details I must have missed in Reg's article. My recall (suspect at best do to an overburden of gray hair) is that the S3T specs, on paper, were respectable as well. In the real world many of us sent many green rectangles to outfits like Racetech, Traxxion, etc. to keep the front end from bottoming out. Trust, once lost, takes a long time and substantive effort to restore. So far, so good. Don | ||
| Daves |
Soon, one will be put thru the "Dave" test. Bwwwhahahahahahahahah! | ||
| Snail |
My last experience (and it continues) with Buell was/is a tuber. It was/is a dissapointment, but that's not what this thread is about. My current Sport Touring bike is a Hayabusa. I've had very good luck with it, having taken it off road a lot. Not exactly the bike one would think of when considering dual sport riding...but its worked fine for me. In a combined 20K plus miles, on two diff. Busas, the only ride related damage I've suffered has been a blown fork seal, a bent front rotor, and some air migratged into the steering dampener. Of partiular note, the first Busa, a '00 was rearended hard with me aboard. Both me and the bbike recovered, the '00 was fixed and is still a good strong bike. The shot to the bike ripped the entire exhuast system off the bike, ripped the sub frame from the main frame, and catapulted me over the bars in a flying somersault. My leg healed nicely too...after some Ti lagbolts were installed to hold the bones togeather. Hayabusa is a tough bike, but it suffers for ground clearence, and I have been thinking a Uly might be better suited for my riding needs. Is there any info available on the tests they did to the Uly off road? The Buell website seems pretty limited. I am concerned about the toughness of the bike. If I buy one it won't be to pose on, I'll ride it to its/my limit. And it better bring me home. | ||
| Daves |
Snail, Could I interest you in a trip to Wisconsin?  | ||
| Glitch |
I've beat the snot outta my XB9S ever since I hit 1000 miles. I'm at over 36,000 miles now with the ONLY problems being a bad belt (Buell has already taken care of that) and my stator going out at 20,000 miles. As far as off road, I've only done limited unscheduled off road jaunts, and got back on pavement ASAP, but it did do well for a Street Fighter on dirt/gravel roads. I can't see the new Uli being anything less than advertised. There was an article or two of people using their XB9Ss as super motos and even full on dirt bikes. The only thing reported in the articles to the negative was the lack of suspension travel, it is a street bike after all. The Uli will be a great bike, I'd bet money on it. I'd even bet it gives BMWs a run for their money as well. | ||
| Oldog |
snail: let me get this straight? you took a 'busa off road?  in the words of some of my southern friends here "Boy you ain't right!"  | ||
| Firemanjim |
Court said"You'll never approach taking this bike through the hell it's already endured." I guess you've never seen what sort of riding Paul considers normal for a Hayabusa,let alone a bike billed as having an off road capability--albait a limited one.Methinks he can, and will,approach/exceed those limits. | ||
| Snail |
Jim, thanks for that, comming from an accomplished dirt biker that's a compliment. But I'm no Jimmy Lewis or Richard Sanct. Daves, why Wisconsin, you have some sweet jumps there? I made it as far east as Des Moines, Iowa once. I started getting paranoid because there weren't any trees and turned back for the west coast. Here's a hypothetical test. Load Uly with a good pack, and then jump Uly over a second gear 5' jump and land hard a few times and see if everything still works. Then, lift the front wheel over 6" log, hitting the log hard with the back tire. Then, at speed, hit a series of chuck holes and ruts and see how the susp. handles it. I know Uly wasn't designed specifically for this type of riding, but if it can't handle that kind of abuse, intermittently, then it won't work for me. I have done those types of tests on the busa, and it does its job just fine, (except for the limited ground clearence.) | ||
| Eeeeek |
Snail's contageous. He got me to off road my 954. It did pretty damn well. Vik | ||
| Reepicheep |
Can you clarify on the 5 foot high jump? Do you mean effectively riding off a 5 foot shelf and just slamming the bike to the ground? I would not do that on an XR250, much less a Ulysses or Busa. Or do you mean a 5 foot high high hill, where you land on the downhill side of it (but with the hill still going down hill). That would make more sense. Or do you mean a "whoops" section where you jump from the front of one hill to the back of a second hill with 5 foot height in between? | ||
| Newfie_buell |
I got to question that Busa 5' Jump thing too!!!!And OFF ROAD!!!!!!! Yeah Right - I want to see video or pictures of that one. Dropping an XR/DR/DRZ etc, etc, etc off a 5' drop won't necessarily kill it but its sure gonna hurt if you don't land it right. I have a DR650 which is an absolute pig off road but I love it, its about 350lbs of fun with me on it roughly 550lbs. I wouldn't ever imagine dropping a Uly like that, however, I would ride it in some pretty unique places. The only thing I'd worry about would be the belt drive, I have had absolutely zero luck with Buell Belts on my Tuber. I'd like to see what Buell did to test the belt and its durability for pebbles, rocks, mud, sand, etc, etc - maybe even SNOW. Will extreme cold cause it to be more brittle? Back to the Busa and the 5' jump. - I really want to see that!!!!! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Newf, i hear it's cold at the top of Pike's Peak. i'll get back to you. | ||
| Daves |
Snail, Come to Wisconsin, buy the bike from me, ride it back. Be a great trip and we have plenty of trees in Wisconsin. Ever use any paper products? They probably come from Wisconsin. Don't worry, plenty of trees left. | ||
| Snail |
Newf, I have a jump in my yard that Jim took a Honda 110 over, got about 5' of air. That's what I was thinking of when I made the jump statement. I've made the same jump on the Busa, got maybe half that much air. The jump itself is about 5' high, and its an uphill landing on gravel driveway, with a tree...I don't have any pics. I don't want to overexaggerate my dirt abilities on any bike, whether its my Busa or my CRF450R, I'm not that good, I just like a good challenge and ride for fun. Nothing to prove here. I'm 57 years old, and my good day is gone. We ride hard in the mountains, and that's what I like to do. I want a bike that will take me there, and bring me back. The Busa wasn't meant for this type of riding, it just got put into service for that because its what I had. It (busa) has surprized a lot of people (including me) on how well its done. A good bike, like a good boat, should be more capable than the rider who sits on it. | ||
| Eeeeek |
I will confirm that every word about the abuse Snail put's the busa through is absolutely true. I didn't beleive it, either. I figured it must have been an old fisherman's tale. Then I went riding with him. He knows how to load abike for a long trip, too.  Vik | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Not being too overly critical because I think the Uly is a great looking machine, but, I think if it had some kind of under tail exhaust and a REAL skid plate under the motor it would be a much more versatile bike as well. I would say losing the woodstove style muffler would give it another 4-5 inches of ground clearance. I'd say the aftermarket suppliers are already working on this stuff. | ||
| M1combat |
"I'd say the aftermarket suppliers are already working on this stuff." I'm sure... And I think that someone who wants to convert it to a very capable off road/rock crawler/mud slinger/round the world/through the Jungles of Borneo type bike won't need to make too many mods to it  . Maybe I'm just too overly optimistic though. It could happen . I do think that the muffler will make a fine skid plate for now. As Blake mentioned a while back, someone could mount a true bash plate using the spoiler mounts. Aside from that... yes, a muffler that's half as thick and with some good re-inforcement would be a nice addition. I would want something to guard the oil filter as well, and I would probably take an extra set of oil lines that run to the swingarm. I'm sure I would only need them if I got careless though... One of the qualities of a good rider is taking steps to preserve the equipment... /EDIT - Unless they moved those oil lines??? (Message edited by m1combat on August 04, 2005) | ||
| Snail |
Dave, I live on a timber farm, I sell pulp logs as well as saw logs and peelers. Newf, I went out and checked the jump so I could un-exaggerate my jumping. The jump is approx. 10 elevation change, with a 2' 'lip', lip is pretty sharp because of the 450 knobb. So I took the Busa out and tried it again, thinking maybe I could get my grandson to take pic. He was laughing too hard to get a pic. First run I was way too slow, spun to the top and bobbled over the top. (James snickered) Next run I had some speed and lofted the front over the top, but the back wheel stayed on the ground and spun. Nice soft landing. (James laughed). Third and final try I got both ends off the ground, hit the revlimiter and landed pretty hard. Didn't bottom, but was close. (James howled and pointed at me and made circle around an ear with a finger) I'd like to get 'er up there high enough to do a knack knack... |
