| Author | Message | ||
     Electraglider_1997 |
Count on it if they have any sense whatsoever. It isn't a trail bike so it doesn't need all that clearance. How many potential customers have walked away saying, "I'd buy except that it's WAY TOO DAMN TALL". Probably way more than has actually bought. Every time I get on mine I wish that it was a couple inches shorter and I'm almost 6'1". | ||
| Johnplank |
I think it works very well off road. I had mine through mud rock dirt and a pretty heavy water crossing. I'm glad I have all that space between me n the ground. By the way when you do some rough off road stuff don't take a passenger, I found that out quick, but did not have a chose If you cheat death only once your not trying. | ||
| Vic |
I'm one of those that are hoping for a lower Uly. I love my yamaha FZ6 for it's versatility as commuter/sportbike/tourer but I still think that the Uly's Vtwin makes more sense in an all around bike than my high reving engine  | ||
| Brad1445 |
I'm hoping for a higher one. I have smashed my muffler more times than I can count. | ||
| Ulendo |
I was one of the 'too high for me' buyers - slowly getting used to the CityX, and turning it into a mini Uly Absolutely has to have a lower 1st gear though - doing rail grinds on logs is killing me.  | ||
| Stevenknapp |
Brad, How has the muffler faired on your bike? I've seen many worried about it, but never any reports of damage. | ||
| Roadrailer |
I have a feeling that if the Uly is successful we will at least see some parts of it incorporated into other Buell models, if not totally new Uly variants. Although I doubt that would happen next year (unless it was already in the works when the Uly came out). That being said, I really don't get the issue with the Uly's height. I'm 5'9" with a 30" inseam and, other than having to be a bit more cautious when stopping or parking, I don't have any problem managing the bike. All it really takes is getting over the concept of needing to be able to flatfoot a bike to ride it. YMMV. | ||
| Mb182 |
No problem riding... it is an issue backing, stopping, etc on unlevel ground!! Getting on and off is manageable for me. An inch lower would be nice! MB | ||
| Chadhargis |
Pish! A lower Uly....blasphemy! That's what Lightenings are for. LOL!  | ||
| Debueller |
If the Uly had less ground clearance I wonder if the muffler would drag on flat ground with the front and rear suspension bottomed? During a situation that bottomed both the front and rear suspension I don't think I would want the bottom of the bike dragging the ground. Most motocross bikes have alot of ground clearance not for going over logs and rocks but because the suspension has so much travel the bottom of the bike would drag when landing off a high jump. In soft terrain (like sand) where the tires slightly sink into the ground the bottom of the bikes drag anyway, which sometimes contributes to a crash. (Message edited by debueller on May 31, 2006) | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
To lower the bike you'd have to forgo an inch out of front and back suspensions. The muffler shouldn't go any closer to the ground than it does now. At least I think so??? | ||
| Missin44 |
Though it would add $$ to the bike, have an adjustable height. Either air or electially driven, it could be activated with a button on the handle bars. | ||
| Debueller |
So what your saying is to give up 1" of suspension travel? The Uly only has 6 1/2" to start with. That would make the bike less worthy off-road. My brother's KTM 950 Adventure S has 11 1/2" of travel on each end. He already has his way with me off pavement. I for one wouldn't be willing to forego any off-road ability. I came very close to buying a KTM, I think that would have been almost enough to make me jump ship and go with the KTM. I gotta admit a lower seat heigth would be nice....but I wouldn't be willing to give up some suspension to get it. Of course that is only my $.02. Like I always say: motorcycles are different things to different people : (Message edited by debueller on May 31, 2006) | ||
| Mb182 |
"but because the suspension has so much travel the bottom of the bike would drag when landing off a high jump." Not a concern to me........ I gave up jumping (on purpose, at least) a long time ago - i don't heal as quick as I used to I want to put on the low seat before I would consider any suspension mods.. That is if Buell ever gets this crop of Naga's grown so they can harvest the skins! Then they can get the seats built and get them shipped out!! been almost a month now... MB (Message edited by mb182 on May 31, 2006) | ||
| Lorazepam |
I would like to see a Uly that was lower just to be a purpose tourer without the extra travel. To be honest with you guys, my R1150RS was just as capable as the Uly on gravel and light offroad. The Uly is lighter and way more fun to ride. It isnt an off road bike by any stretch of the imagination. If I want to flog something off road, it will be cheaper and easier to pick up than a Uly. | ||
| Debueller |
I also do not jump anything (my body included) like I used to. But there are other situations that could cause the both ends of the bike to bottom. How about railing through a paved corner with loaded luggage and encountering a sunken grade. A good belly flop would drive home the reason the engineers gave the bike some substional ground clearance. A properly engineered motorcycle, like the XB series bikes will not rub it's belly on the ground unless it was being severly abused. I cringe when I hear of people wanting to put shorter rear shocks, or sliding the forks up in the triple clamps strictly to "lower the seat". I think the tall 45 degree v-twin engine and the long travel suspension is the primary reason the seat is so high. Not to mention the underslung muffler. Heck, we are practically sitting on top of the rear cylinder. It's kinda the price you pay for that grunty air cooled engine with decent suspension travel. Now maybe a muffler with less girth.....? At least there is no centerstand to worry about. | ||
| Johnplank |
I think it handles off road just fine. It just takes a little thing called skill to drive it of road, or to be a bad motherf*^ker like me  }If you cheat death only once your not trying. | ||
| Lorazepam |
I ride gravel every time I leave the garage. What I consider off road (singletrack) is not what the Uly is meant to be ridden on. My observation is the geometry of the Uly is way more aggressive than the RS was, and the RS handled the loose gravel in front of my house better. You want to do circles in the grass in the lot next door and call it offroad, fine with me | ||
| Johnplank |
I'm working on getting some pics and a video of my off road excursion on the uly. Its a little more than a ride on the grass or some little rocks If you cheat death only once your not trying. | ||
| Brad1445 |
Steve, I would say it has held up well. A few of the hits were just as hard as can be, I'm 230# and all three bags loaded. I have about a 3/4 inch dent near the front, no break or cracks so I'm happy so far. But really wish it was a bit more clearance, | ||
| Marks3tbillet |
I'd love to see a lower Uly with the 984 cc engine. | ||
| Crusty |
I'd love to see a lower Uly with the 984 cc engine I think that's called a City X | ||
| 12x_infatuation |
"but because the suspension has so much travel the bottom of the bike would drag when landing off a high jump." so with ~ 170mm of of travel (6.5" for you imperial folk), how far off the ground is the bottom of the pipe, unsprung, anyway? (hi all from noob - been lurking since last november, a week after my test ride!) | ||
| Debueller |
Welcome to the forum, Matt. I've been trying to get to measuring the ground clearance of mine. ('m guessing it is about 8"-9"). Remember there are other factors that would bring the belly of the bike to the ground. Things like tire compression, different tire heights, chassis flex, terrain irregularies, and the fact that the engine and muffler assy are rubber mounted. Engineers usually allow a safety margin in case there are several or all of the factors are involved at once. | ||
| Mb182 |
Pish! A lower Uly....blasphemy! That's what Lightenings are for. LOL! Yes, but you can't hang those big honken bags off the Lightenings!! MB} | ||
| Sleez |
lower uly, or 12SS with uly tail that will accept the hard bags, either one, i would be all over!!! | ||
| Buelldualsport |
We are currently working with three (3) suspension vendors for a lower stance for the Uly. Lowering the bike is a do able option, especially, when you consider that 90% of the Ulys sold are not ridden seriously off the road. The bike was not designed to be a serious off road ride, unlike the KTM 950, which is a dirt oriented DS as opposed to a Gravel/Dirt Road DS. The largest issue with the current Uly is that for shorter riders, even with the Low Seat, it is difficult to get a solid footing on off camber mounts/dismounts. If anyone is interested, ping us at BlacCatRacing and we will share the details of our Uly Low Project. Thanks | ||
| Bison |
I have lowered my Ulysses 1 and 3/8th inches internally and could not be any happier for my use. It has made a huge difference for me, again in my usage. It is far easier to balance at low speed and at stops since I am loaded heavy with panniers and an aux fuel tank over the passenger position. YMMV. regards ref | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Bison, How'd you accomplish the lowering? | ||
| Swampy |
Is there removable hard bags for the City-X? Is there 2 up seating suitable for M.O.L.s fat hind end? Is there? Thank you very much.... I think what is needed is a "T" model that was hoped for over a year ago. Ulysses....What a wounderful bike! What a beautiful execution of engineering. But I just don't know how to get my short legged overweight wife on the back of it without carrying around a stool. And since Kandie won't let me have Bobbie I'm stuck waiting for the next Buell....... | ||
| Bison |
With spacers and spring changes. I also did some revalving based on my weight and planned loads. If interested in the details contact Dave S and he will direct you to the source. regards ref | ||
| Bearly |
With the suspension set for my weight, I've bottom the front forks on a dirt road. I would like to see a Uly with MORE travel and ground clearance. Yea, I can't quite plant both of my feet on the ground, but I haven't been able too with the last couple of dirt bikes that I've owned. | ||
| Javadog |
Tom C/Buelldualsport where are you? I've tried contacting him and Black Cat Racing without success. Does anybody (Bigdaddy?)know how to contact him? | ||
| Az_m2 |
With the suspension set for my weight, I've bottom the front forks on a dirt road. I would like to see a Uly with MORE travel and ground clearance. Yea, I can't quite plant both of my feet on the ground, but I haven't been able too with the last couple of dirt bikes that I've owned. Have you tried setting the suspension for the next bracket of settings above your weight? That worked really well for me. | ||
| Ulendo |
I started experimenting a bit today with the CityX - best setup I've found so far is to increase the preload 1 setting, and to soften up the rebounding damping, but leave the compression damping as per specs in the manual. this seemed to let it drop INTO a hole faster, but restricted how quickly the wheel can come back up, preventing it from bottoming the forks. also found that my position on the bike made a huge difference to how well the suspension worked - getting up on the pegs was mandatory on steep / loose washouts, and made both ends more manageable on badly 'cratered' sections of the logging roads I was on. ( I refuse to call them potholes when they'd swallow volkswagons !) | ||
| Az_m2 |
That's the ticket for all of us, just keep trying different setups until you find the one that works for you. | ||
| Lowflyer |
I'd like it lighter; not lower, and with a bigger front wheel. Actually, 19-inch rims front and rear would be nice I think. | ||
| Buelldualsport |
Java: Ping us at BlacCatRacing@AOL.COM for the current lowering progress. Thanks |
