| Author | Message | ||
     Sanchez |
Hello, all. After months of wrenching and riding on my M2/XB9/S1 tuber hybrid, I finally decided the time was right to add a Ulysses to the stable. I'm heading out on the 9/11 Memorial Ride in a couple of weeks, and a 98 S1 seat is just not what I want to spend the better part of a week sitting on.  Impressions ... - Wow, this bike is comfortable! Unlike my other Buell, both butt cheeks fit on the seat at the same time. There's also much less vibration through the pegs and almost none through the grips. - The transmission is night and day better. Shifts are smooth, precise, and firm, with none of the slop I get on my M2. To be fair, I caused quite a bit of the slop myself when I scraped the linkage off at the track and reattached it with a drill and some random bolts, but even at its best, the M2 tranny had nothing close to the feel of the Uly. - Even though the Uly allegedly weighs about the same as the M2, it feels much heavier. The higher center of gravity is very noticeable. - I LOVE having luggage. - The S1 tank hits reserve at 80 miles. It was nice to go 170 on my first tank. - The foot pegs seem a little low.  - Handling up in the mountains is pretty darn good for what the bike is. It won't keep up with a Lightning or Firebolt (or even my tuber), but it's still fun. I tried to shift my weight off the seat in some corners, but it seems like no matter how far over I slide, there's still more seat. Questions ... - The recommended shift points in the manual seem awfully low. They have you shifting from first to second at around 2000 rpm. As with my M2, the engine feels a lot happier at 3000. Will I get better gas mileage by keeping the revs that far down? - Are there any options for highway pegs? The closest I've seen was a Uly on eBay that had a custom engine guard. The owner had only mounted lights on it, but it looked like a great spot for more pegs. That's it for now! Now it's time to go back out and put some more miles on. | ||
| Chris_in_tn |
I usually don't shift till around 3k or so as you suggested. I would imagine the 2k range will obtain the best fuel mileage but not the best performance. The engine guard you saw is one intended for a Lightning or Firebolt as a stunting cage to protect the bike when it is dumped doing a willie and such. It will apparently fit a Uly too. Someone here has a link to the company, I can't remember the name of them now. | ||
| Gamdh |
I seem to recall that the consensus on the engine guard was that it was attached to the engine mounts and would likely transfer vibrations. As for shifting... if riding aggressively I don't shift until 4-5K.. if just cruising I shift just over 3K.. trying to keep the Uly around 3K... seems pretty happy there. My best gas mileage riding 'spirited' was about 53mpg. Also.. was that you on the Orange Uly pulling into Dale's on Sunday (about 11:15 or so)... I was just about to pull out when 3 Buell's showed up followed by the Uly... Thought it might be you and some of the other 3%er's. | ||
| Sanchez |
Yeah, that was me, Black_sunshine, Wags, and Drift. We should meet up for a ride some time. I could use some company back there behind the Lightnings. | ||
| Gamdh |
sounds like a good idea.. I generally ride every Sunday .. my window of opportunity on Sundays is usually about 10 am - 1 pm.. more or less. Of course, we could really have fun and take them down the forest service roads =).. About every other week or so.. we ride up 129 and over 180 over to Dales.. then we get on the forest service roads and make our way back to Dahlonega.... I love living up here... | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Gamdh, Anything new to report on the Parabellum? | ||
| Gamdh |
Nope...Charly was way to busy last week to work on it so he asked to postphone. I'm trying to see if we can get together on Wed (maybe). | ||
| Whodom |
Handling up in the mountains is pretty darn good for what the bike is. It won't keep up with a Lightning or Firebolt (or even my tuber), but it's still fun. Sanchez, are you sure it wouldn't keep up with your tuber? I ask because several people have commented that they felt like the Uly was slow and mushy in the twisties, until they looked at the speedo and realized they were going 15-20 MPH faster than they thought they were. That cushy suspension and better engine isolation might fool you. | ||
| Sanchez |
Gamdh, I won't be riding this weekend because my mother's coming into town for a visit, but I might be able to get out the weekend after. I'll drop you a PM if so. Whodom, there's definitely some truth in that statement. I do remember being surprised when I looked at my speedo once on Hwy 60. My tuber is still faster though. Depending on my familiarity with the road and the people in front of me, I keep up with the XBs on it pretty well. At any rate, I can keep them in sight. On the Uly, though, they were just gone. To be fair, I wasn't pushing the Uly very hard at first. I think I could've kept them in sight on some of the stretches if I'd been hard on the brakes into the corners and wide open out of them, but on the tuber I'd just have been rolling smoothly on and off without using the brakes at all. On a road like 180 with lots of sharp corners and no real straightaways, there was just no chance on the Uly. I did find, however, that the front brakes really stand the Uly up a lot harder than my tuber, and you can use that to cheat a little when you transition in a sharp S turn. | ||
| Gamdh |
Sanchez - sounds good, just let me know. | ||
| Sanchez |
Here are some more impressions from the tuber world: - The heavier flywheel takes some getting used to. There's almost no engine braking, and the revs hang a little when you pull in the clutch. I'm using my brakes a lot more on the Uly. - The clutch effort is MUCH less than the M2. Now if only the cable wasn't directly in front of the odometer. - EFI is a wonderful thing. The throttle response is amazing compared to the carb on my other bike. - Speaking of the throttle, it requires a great deal less effort to twist on the Uly. I may not even bother to get a throttle rocker for it. - Some people complain about the fan noise, but I find it kind of comforting. The M2 has neither an oil cooler nor a fan, and driving it in stop and go traffic in July worries me. | ||
| Sanchez |
Oh, and even the small windscreen makes a big difference. My tuber is completely naked, without even a flyscreen. I noticed tonight riding after some rain that I have to go a great deal faster on the Uly before I have enough wind to turn my head sideways and clear my visor. |
