| Author | Message | ||
     Terrible1one3 |
One year and one month ago I saw a black 2006 Ulysses with all the bags in the back of the dealership I worked at. Similarly a month before that I found a sportster 883R I did the same with. After one month of owning the sportster, 2k dollars worth of accessories added, I knew I made a big mistake. I bought the sportster on June 4th 2006. On August 4th 2006 I rolled out with my new 2006 Ulysses. I was so convinced that I would like the bike so much more that it was worth the financial hit I took. Now was my purchase justified? In short, yes. The bike has been almost everything I hoped it would be. Having owned a 2004 Lightning XB12 for 7500 miles and over a year I knew what to expect from the drive train of the Buell. But not so much the unfamiliar ergonomics. Well they appeared unfamiliar. After mounting the bike for the first time while it sat in the back of the dealership I realized. It is strikingly similar to the riding position of one of the many dirt bikes I have owned over the past 11 years. My first ride on the Uly took place on August 4th when I purchased it. The motorcycle did not run because it had sat in the dealership for over 330 days, the majority in the same spot. After a tech threw some plugs in and some fresh gas it started right up. It was raining on that day, so I threw on my rain suit and went out of the back of the dealership, taking a left going through the vacant lot and down the two track that stretched about 100 yards down hill with a curve, almost washing out within the first 30 yards. It took me that long to realize that the tires just weren't the right size for any type of loose terrain off road riding. Which was fine, cause I didn't expect to do much off road riding with my new 10000 dollar motorbike. The Uly is a refreshing reminder that even some old technology can be so refined that it is good enough for present day application. My example being the motor of coarse. Push rod, air cooled, v-twins may have been a performance achievement half a century ago, but today they are hardly what would be considered a big performer today. Though this bike married quality every day performance with a low maintenance tried and true engine. Now I don't want to echo the propaganda released by Buell but it is a neat motor. All in all the motor bike is perfect for me. I couldn't do a race ready bike because I would probably kill myself, fast from 0-100 is perfect to keep me alive and minimizing my stupidity. Handling is just like my former lightning, superb, the big difference being the wheelbase extension, noticeable for flicking, and the suspension dive when under hard braking. Both of which you get used to, also can customize front suspension to minimize noticeable dive. Off road riding is very confidence inspiring for a road bike. Anything that isn't stacked and loose (sand, or deep gravel) the bike is great on. The rear wheel has unbelievable grip on dirt, no breaking loose burnouts at 25 mph, your lifting that wheel if you try, very nice. You can hit berms just like you can on a dirt bike. Long trips on the motorbike are extremely pleasing also, my first being a two day 1100 mile trip around lake Michigan. The neat part being the amount of crap you can load up on this bike. I have never ridden a bike that you can pack as much crap sky high as this bike. I filled one bag with all riding essentials; rain suit, gloves, boot covers, etc. Then I used the other one to pack clothing. Could put a weeks worth of clothing in one bag no problem. The top box I kept a brake rotor lock in motorbike paper work and just randoms like cell phone, wallet etc. Then I could even through a large bag of my fathers on the back seat and he rides a FLHTCUI Ultra Classic Grandpa Glide. The stock '06 seat wasn't tiring to me until around 350 miles. Stock windshield provides minimal wind protection which isn't always bad, minimal buffeting. Hand guards and frame by legs were great for the 300 miles we did in constant rain. Comparative to a cruiser it was a nice sport touring add on for guys who don't like monster windshields. Would recommend the bike to anyone who can't afford multiple bikes for multiple applications or just want one bike to rack the miles on. Modifications and Additions First thing I did was do the Race ECM and K&N Filter. I left the stock pipe on because I heard it was the best for performance. This improved low end throttle response. 260 dollars total cost, worth it IMO. The next modification I made was to chop open the air box to make it much more open. I added holes that are similar to the original air box intake on the opposite side and then popped a hole in the front by the outer box intake. This didn't really seem to gain me much besides more noise out of the top of the bike. I'm sure it did something or else Buell wouldn't have changed their air boxes like this for '07. The next mod was a warranty replacement of the side stand and a cracking open of the primary. The front engine sprocket had worked itself loose at 2300 miles. So bad that it wasn't just making a noise but it was a noticeable jolt in the clutch cable on engagement. This happened on my 04, not to the point where it was more than just a loud noise, which Buell techs were telling me was a normal noise from the primary. I told the guy I sold the bike to, my friends brother, that the mechanic that does his 10k on the bike needs to re torque that sprocket. He did and he said it made all the difference in the maintenance, the bike runs like a top now and has a much quieter drive train. The next mod was necessity. I had painted the windshield black, the first ride with the black windshield the battery took a dump leaving me stranded on the highway. When loading the bike into the trailer to take it to the dealership one of the diamond plate shelves my dad has in the trailer fell down and gouged the windshield paint. In stripping the paint to re-paint it the plastic shield cracked and broke in multiple places. So I ordered a zero gravity from them, they didn't have one in stock and didn't tell me until 2 days after the delivery date they promised when I called them and asked them. She said she told me they had one in stock then realized they didn't and I would have one in 2 more weeks. I canceled the order pissed off and called American sport bike and ordered it, having speedy shipping to get the item before a planned TN trip. Well the night I was going to leave I got my shield, a very nice zero gravity shield for a lighting... as Carlos Mencia would say, DEE DE DEEEE. I called American Sport Bike and dealt with a fairly rude guy who kept swearing on the phone when he couldn't find my original order, then I kindly told him it was a call in order and he called me back later and talked to me about it. I was to pay shipping on the new shield and the mark up in price. Then an hour later I got a call from the woman whom I placed the order with and she corrected it all having me not pay an extra cent. Very well taken care of. After getting the ZG windshield I installed it. It looked great and not only did it look great but wow did it put the wind right where I wanted it. I loved it, probably one of the best upgrades I have done. On to the last piece I changed. I recently ordered a drummer muffler off American Sport Bike. I did it to have zero downtime between exhausts as it is almost August. After a couple weeks I got my muffler, and boy it looked great. The quality craftsmanship from Kevin down at KD fab is the utmost. The installation went easy on my new Beer Pong/motorcycle lift table. About 30 minutes total (wow it is nice not working on the floor and having all the right tools for the job). Starting the bike I was extremely pleased. The sound is very very deep. It is a very throaty version of the Race pipe. Having ridden the stock pipe for 9750 miles I wasn't used to the loud sound but I'm slowly getting used to it again. The torque gains were apparent on low RPM roll ons as reported in the XB exhaust dyno shoot out. And so was the power gains. I didn't feel bad packing up the old surface rusted exhaust for shipment back to Kevin. I went with the drummer because it looked the best and I wanted the deep sound and the jardine was second in line because of the cost but I just couldn't bring myself to cheap out on the bike I have come to love. The tires I really do enjoy. Simple suspension adjusting removed the wobble from the bike at highway speeds. I am going to switch once the front wears out just to try more street worthy tires. Having no part of the rear tire not worn down makes me worry about hard cornering and the amount of tread that is over there. A lot for a small surface contact area. Plus my offroad riding has decreased the last 5k miles, down to just dirt roads I have to take going to my uncles or fathers house in TN. The hardest test of my relationship with my Buell took place when Buell introduced the 1125R. When I saw that bike I said, well goodbye Ulysses. Then I kept riding the bike, spent some money on it, and realized that I can't part ways with it. One it would cost me too much money, two I would be on a bike that is too fast for me on public roads and 3 my girlfriend who often rides with me wouldn't enjoy motorcycling as much as she does on the back of my bike. Pretty much what I have come to realize is that the motorcycle is perfect for me and I don't see myself getting rid of it anytime soon. Something I have done quite often with the other 5 bikes I have owned. Hope you enjoyed reading this thread and let me know if you have any questions! I will post some pics once I find my memory Card reader I happened to have lost for the third time! | ||
| New12r |
Off road riding is very confidence inspiring for a road bike. Anything that isn't stacked and loose (sand, or deep gravel) the bike is great on. The rear wheel has unbelievable grip on dirt, no breaking loose burnouts at 25 mph, your lifting that wheel if you try, very nice. You can hit berms just like you can on a dirt bike. I found that out this weekend! A couple guys in trucks were giving me the thumbs up for some of the wheelies I could pull in the dirt on Diablo's! | ||
| Terrible1one3 |
Another mod I did was use a stock '07 seat for a while. The biggest difference I noticed was that it caused butt fatigue much faster than my stocker seat ever did. It looks a lot nice, and being lower is awesome, but I just can't get over the uncomfortable feeling I get so fast, and my girlfriend slides all around the seat when I brake. Another thing is the triple tail pad doesn't fold down into position as easily, I have to push down on it to lock into place and push down on it and pull to get it to come out, it is much harder than my stock seat. Another thing I noticed is the wind catches the grooves of my helmet more with the low seat on. I think the lower seat with the same pads as the stock 06 seat would be great, is the after market low seat on buell.com have the same gel cushion as the 06 stock seat? | ||
| Growl |
Thanks for the useful report! | ||
| Aeholton |
Well thought out and written post. Thanks. | ||
| Brad1445 |
mmmmmm, berms, but I do not give traction as high of ratings as you do.  | ||
| Old_mil |
Pretty much what I have come to realize is that the motorcycle is perfect for me and I don't see myself getting rid of it anytime soon. Something I have done quite often with the other 5 bikes I have owned. Very well said. At one point in recent history, my Uly was part of a four bike stable. Then a three bike stable, then (as of two months ago) a two bike stable. With the departure of bike #2 in a couple of weeks, I'll be down to the Uly. |
