| Author | Message | ||
     Bigdaddy |
RR, Second pic down shows my black Uly, w/XB fender, beside M2NC's Orange Uly. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=37&post=757998#POST75 7998 G2 | ||
| Red_chili |
Yeah, the front fender allows rain, mud, stones and small children to be flung against the headlight (and rider if its deep enough and ridden fast enough). On a dirt bike, I'd just go down to the dirt bike parts house and buy an Acerbis front fender extender. Or hang a mudflap on the front, old school. 'Twould be a crime against humanity to do so to the Uly though. It does need *some*thing. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Thanks BD. There's a lot more lower leg exposed than I thought. Any problems with them getting nicked up? | ||
| Red_chili |
The tubes are vulnerable to pitting, and if they do you won't be able to keep seals in the forks for any amount of time. Common USD fork problem, dirtbikes etc. The fix is the kind of shield the Uly comes with. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
RR, Mine has no nicks in 10K miles,,,it never leaves the road either. Chili, I'm not following you? Which Uly shield are you speaking of? The beak does indeed serve a valid purpose if you're slinging mud and gunk, but for typical street/road riding I don't find it necessary. The fender on the bottom does more to protect the chin fairing than anything else. The standard XB front fender covers nearly the same area as the stocker, on the front side of the forks, but it does leave the chin fairing wide open to abuse,,,like all the other XB's out there. I have been known to miss the whole point too. G2 Edit: That was stupid  The front fender hasn't been modified for the entire 10K miles. Probably 4K or so. My bad. (Message edited by bigdaddy on October 16, 2006) | ||
| Thunderbox |
If you look at the pictures you can see the upper 1.5 inches of the fork tube is exposed to anything that comes in the air, like dirt bugs stones ect. Normally the Uly frt lower fender protects that part. Using the Lightning frt fender doesn't quite cover the whole fork tube from being damaged by debris. On my M2 I changed fork seals out twice because road debris and bugs took out my fork seals. Doesn't anyone make a frt fender extension for the stock Uly frt fender. Taking off the beak would be no problem and bolting on a fender extender for the stock Uly lower fender would be to frigging easy. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Thunderbox, Not that I'm aware of. I know that Al, American Sportbike, was working on a 'XB-like' front fender that is larger than stock and that may address that bit of exposed tube, but I don't know that. Since you pointed it out I do see that there's a difference in the overall coverage. G2 | ||
| Treadmarks |
It seems like it is the longer travel of the Uly that allows the lower tube to be exposed with the above fender. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The problem with bugs is when they dry and then cut a groove right through the seal. Not worth the worry though it does look nice. Speaking from experience. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
"FWIW, I've ridden hundreds of miles in the rain with the standard fender and never noticed any water being thrown up on me by the front wheel." I've ridden through a couple flash floods here when we were in Monsoon season(in the desert!) where the water was deep enough to bury the muffler. I have found that it doesn't take much speed for the water spray to cover the headlight beam and drenched the flyscreen to the point of becoming seriously distracting to where I slowed down a great deal more than I would have on the KLR. I don't have any problems with mud being thrown up there, the oil cooler and front cylinder collects all of that for me. I think the angles of the front end cause the water spray to take a much different path compared to normal bikes. I would still never get rid of the beak though. I personally think it looks disgustingly weird when the beak is gone. It's like the pictures of Michael Jackson from 1980 to now. Horrifyingly odd. The lightning front fender looks nice down there, but it doesn't make up for how bad the area under the headlights looks without the beak. Someone needs to think a little harder and finish it off nicer for it to look right. Maybe its the fly screen that becomes the problem. I don't think the Lightnings look odd, but the Uly sure as heck does. I just can't pinpoint where it goes awry exactly, but it does. I guess it just boils down to personal taste. My wife loves her Lexus SC430 while I think it looks like a mentally challenged kids' playdough creation. To each his own. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Water up to the muffler? That's a pretty extreme condition to be judging the effectiveness of the fenders, don't you think? Very few street bike fenders will be effective in those conditions. I'll pass on the muffler-deep desert floods, but in a drenching rain on the road the fenders work just fine, IMO. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
Actually I think it is a true judge of the effectiveness of the fender. Light rain or small puddles don't challenge any fender on any bike. I think the Uly throws a larger than normal amount of water towards the headlights and I'm not sure if the beak helps or not. It could also be that way from the split fender design where as true dual sports have the full high fender like a dirt bike. Hard to say, but just my observations anyways. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Jmhinkle, I agree with you about the space between the bottom of the headlights and the standard fender -- it's a big hole that needs something. I've got a plan for mine and I'm working it. The addition of the RR front fairing will reduce that space by 2.5 to 3.5" and then there won't be a monstrous gap. One of the only 'gottchas' is getting a double-bubble for the RR fairing G2 | ||
| Red_chili |
Jmhinkle, I think you nailed it. Looking at the Uly front end, the lower rear front fender (??? out of context that would make no sense) would sling the water it had collected forward at about a 20* angle. The beak would not inhibit it from blowing back into the headlight. On a normal dirtbike, the whole fender would force water to travel forward, and a mudflap or small angled extender would then force it down rather than forward and slightly up. I'll live with it. I like the looks. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Actually I think it is a true judge of the effectiveness of the fender. Light rain or small puddles don't challenge any fender on any bike. I think the Uly throws a larger than normal amount of water towards the headlights and I'm not sure if the beak helps or not. It could also be that way from the split fender design where as true dual sports have the full high fender like a dirt bike. Hard to say, but just my observations anyways. There's a lot of ground between small puddles and water up to the muffler. Let me be clear that I'm not talking about light spring showers here. We're talking (just as one example) 180 miles of frog-strangling rain. At times one to two inches an hour. Water running across the road (just not up to the muffler). Not a very good day of riding, but the fender worked fine. The Uly is not a dual sport, and judging it against a dual sport is comparing apples and oranges. | ||
| Treadmarks |
I like the lower fender keeping the mud and water from the muffler deep hurricane floods here in miami. I like the way the beak looks tho. Kinda Motardish. The more stuff you put in that hole between the fender and the headlight, the less air the motor gets for cooling. Air is good. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
"The Uly is not a dual sport, and judging it against a dual sport is comparing apples and oranges." Maybe yours isn't, but mine is. You define adventure sport how you want. I define it as a dual-sport with enough motor to actually be a sport-touring bike. From everything I have ever seen, the sport adventure class was created because dual-sport-touring didn't sound right. I saw the Uly as the next step up from a KLR. I take it all the places my KLR went, except now I can ride on the highway at 85 comfortably and take my wife along. The reason it has the high beak is because of its dual sport side. Comparing it to a dual sport to me is like comparing a small apple to a big apple. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
mmmmm apple. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Maybe yours isn't, but mine is. You define adventure sport how you want. I define it as a dual-sport with enough motor to actually be a sport-touring bike. From everything I have ever seen, the sport adventure class was created because dual-sport-touring didn't sound right. I saw the Uly as the next step up from a KLR. I take it all the places my KLR went, except now I can ride on the highway at 85 comfortably and take my wife along. The reason it has the high beak is because of its dual sport side. Comparing it to a dual sport to me is like comparing a small apple to a big apple. I was referring to categories of bikes, not how you choose to ride it. My point is that if you choose to ride what is essentially a street bike off road, then compare the functionality of its components to what is essentially a dirt bike with lights, of course the Uly is going to fall short. It's not a fair comparison. Sorry to be blunt, but if the Uly takes you everywhere your KLR did, that only tells me that you didn't use the KLR to its full potential. | ||
| Royintulsa |
The Uly is the worlds first "Adventure Sport Motorcycle" It came off the internet so it must be true! Take all the handling characteristics of Buell and wrap them in adventure style tourer and voila, the very first true adventure sport motorcycle. Citing my source: http://www.buell.com/en_us/bikes/ulysses/ There, that settles it! It is not a dual sport, it is not a sport tourer, it is an adventure sport bike! Now, if someone could just figure out how the automotive industry gets away with calling a station wagon mounted on a truck chassis a "Sport Utility Vehicle" we will all be a lot smarter. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Mine's Alot-O-Fun-Bike. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
You must think the KLR has greater potential than I did. I owned one, loved it, but knew it's potential. I also owned one the short lived KLX650C's and new its potential. Far greater than the KLR off road, far behind on road. By that same logic, you not using your Ulysses to its full potential. As far as Adventure Sport, BMW created that class, but at the same time they are the only manufacturer than still uses the term Enduro. Where did that term go to? Why did it change to Dual-sport for everyone except BMW? It's quite obvious that our perceptions of the same thing are at two opposite ends of the spectrum. Personally, I don't think you realize the full potential of the Uly or missed the point on why it was designed the way it was. It sure as hell wasn't to compete with the FJR as you make it seem. This bike falls into a class that is occupied by about 6 machines. I'm pretty sure we all have seen the first famous comparison where the Uly ended up 4th, but highly praised for it's surprising off road abilities. This is what I saw in the Uly and exactly what I compared it to. Needless to say I bought the Uly, not the other bikes and use it as intended. Good reading that I'm sure everyone saw http://www.biketestusa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=2850&Page=9. | ||
| Roadrailer |
I've ridden the KLR and the Uly both on and off road. I've also read a bit about the design theories behind the Uly, and I've never seen anyone from Buell say that it was designed to compete with "true" dual-sport bikes like the KLR, or even the KTM 950 Adventure. Riding the two bikes off road bears that out, IMO. The Ulysses is quite simply more street oriented than the KLR, period. Does it compete directly with the FJR? No, but it does make an excellent sport touring motorcycle. A far better ST bike than a dual sport, IMO. If you watch Erik Buell's video about the Uly on the Buell website, he states that the Ulysses is a whole new type of motorcycle. I agree with that. It's a "pure sport bike" with the comfort to handle a full-day's ride and the ability to float over roads that are less than perfect. With the possible exception of the Multistrada, there really aren't any other bikes that can say that. I'm glad you're happy using your Ulysses in whatever way you want, really. I know I am. My only goal in all this is to see the bike compared fairly against others, and I don't think the KLR is a fair comparison by any stretch of the imagination. More power to you if you disagree. I apologize to everyone else for the massive threadjack. | ||
| Homer |
The below pic is from mine last Winter when I took a little ride on some wet "unimproved" gravel roads. These weren't trails mind you. As you can see the stock beak was about the only clean thing on the front of the bike and the headlights quickly become useless. After that I went with the Lightning front fender and it has worked *much* better at keeping spray down to the lower parts of the bike.  | ||
| Treadmarks |
Now that's one dirty ass Uly. | ||
| Shovelheadtom |
hey. i orderd another rear peice of the lower front mud gard. had doug turner [ owns a custom plastic's shop] trim both sides off on his band saw. i made two releif's for slider clearence on the end of small table belt sander, and pop riveted the remaining center section with releif's to the bottom of rear lower faceing foward. new front edge is extened 7 inches from orignal front edge. use large head pop's with back washer's.made new head lamp adjuster out ss welding rod. we have 2 rainy seaosn's per year. winter & summer. so far so good. | ||
| Shovelheadtom |
hey tread mark's. i'm down at the south store.my orange girl's the only modifeid one around here. i think ? sometime's i'm up at fudd's on thursday nite. get in touch.stay cool!!! | ||
| Crusty |
Tom; could you post a picture? It sounds like an inexpensive and practical solution. | ||
| Shovelheadtom |
hey crusty. as soon as i get a camera or borrow one. i have also removed the under tail, made a clear window from a clear 5 snap face sheild pop riveted in place. also have the black plastic signal lamp's off stock v rod. the plastic grain and color are just rite. all red len's out back and all clear up front. the cool thing about the bullet light's, you can get the stock gut's from the stock front light's and make them all dual element. real cheap too. most change to chrome lamp's and will give you the black one's for free. or damn near. remember only v rod lens'es fit v rod lamp's. front one's in stock possion angled just slightly down to match the rear one's in back. rear one's 1 inch from plastic edge at rear.1/2 inch from out side edge.they tilt down a bit, angle them to match.lock is remounted in plastic window.tag mounted on 2 small aluminum bracket's.tag lamp is 6 led strip from wall mart marine dept. my girl's a good bit lighter,brighter,smoother,and cooler!!! | ||
| Treadmarks |
hey tread mark's. i'm down at the south store.my orange girl's the only modifeid one around here. i think ? sometime's i'm up at fudd's on thursday nite. get in touch.stay cool!!! Hi Tom. Won't be at ruckers tonight, as we are in robbinsville, nc for the week. Temps are in the 20s and 30s. Kinda hard to spank the dragon when yer freezing your azz off. We will be back this weekend so we could hook up next thursday. I did notice that the tiger I had before the Uly did a better job here on the backroads, and at the dragon. I think the seating position on the Uly does not inspire the confidence that the tiger did due to the forward reach. I will look for some taller bars and see if that helps. I did notice that with the race ecm, 07 airbox with k&n and Odie's pipe you have to be very carefull coming out of the curves, because you cant steer with the front wheel in the air! later |
