| Author | Message | ||
     Driven |
My dealer has a used '06 that I was able to take on a 5-ish mile loop today. He has made me a sweet offer on an '07 holdover but I'm not buying any more bikes without a test ride! Great dealership and I dealt with some real Buell enthusiasts which was good. I had to ride behind the tech from the service dept (he was on an 1125R). He encouraged me to really get a feel for the bike without being too squidly. I really had high hopes for this bike. On paper it has everything I want. I loved the seating position! I didn't think it was deserving of the vibration complaints I've read about. Quite smooth really. Nice clutch action and crisp shifting. Very agile and didn't feel big at all. No real twisties on the short loop but I could see that it has nice turn-in and grips well. It's still frost heave and pothole hell here in Maine and I would have cringed several times had I been on my sportbike - not so on the Uly! Comfy suspension - a little soft on the forks but I have no idea where they were set. So far all positive comments...*but*... The rear brake was useless. Couldn't lock it up if I had to - just not much feeling there and very underpowered. I guess there's a mod for that? I don't know if it was the bike or if it was me not knowing where the sweet spot in the powerband was, but I was very disappointed with the motor. I was expecting tractor-ish torque on par with my 450 mx-er, but it just wasn't there except for a very narrow range (4500 or so to redline). I would have thought power wheelies were a whack of the throttle away at any rpm given the big motor, low weight, and short wheelbase but it didn't seem to be happening for me. Not that wheelie capabilities are #1 priority, but they're on the list. I want so desperately to love this bike. It's oh so close to being my ideal machine and it's just such a unique and cool ride. Is there more power to be had with a pipe or other mods? The chassis and other features are perfect, I just need more punch. I really don't want to have to look at the KTM 950. I want to be a part of the Buell family! | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Sounds like it's not the bike for you. | ||
| Driven |
I don't think I'm ready to draw that conclusion just yet... But what makes you say that? | ||
| Irelage |
My first test ride of the Buell really was disappointing. I had to go around the specified block in city traffic. On a second demo ride in the country I had the fortunate opportunity to open it up on some curvy smooth roads. Oh my god what a feeling. I was grinning ear to ear. Bought one soon after. No regrets and lots of satisfaction. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Driven, it sounds like you were really disappointed with the power delivery. It is definitely not a power wheelie machine -- at least not in any gear above 2nd. As far as the rear brake goes, I agree it is not the strongest, but in my opinion the inability to lock up on asphalt is a good thing. My criteria for the Uly is that I can ride it for 500+ mile days on all types of roads, comfortably with good fuel mileage, and have fun while in the twisty stuff. With that in mind it has exceeded all my expectations. Out of curiosity what kind of bike are you coming from? | ||
| Cyclonedon |
"I would have thought power wheelies were a whack of the throttle away at any rpm given the big motor, low weight, and short wheelbase but it didn't seem to be happening for me." I have trouble keeping my front wheel on the ground! I've owned a motorcycle for over 40 years now and I damn near flipped my Uly a week ago last Saturday. Scared the S**t out of me! My front wheel was so high in the air that I couldn't see the road when I hit second gear. I hope I never do that again because I thought I was going to flip it! My 2006 Ulysses is the best motorcycle I've ever owned or ridden. It won't be my last motorcycle I ever own, but I'm never getting rid of it! | ||
| Dfishman |
why would you want to lock up the rear brake?i think when the bike gets broke in the wheelies will happen easier.the power comes on a lot better after break in. | ||
| Driven |
I don't really want to lock the rear brake, but it should have enough power to do so. I was just using that to illustrate how weak it was. Johnny, on the street I have ridden mostly sportbikes. I had a modded DRZ400 Supermoto that was the most fun of all for the street but was useless for distance, interstate, or 2-up. I'm done with sportbikes but still want something that accelerates with similar vigor. I was 100% loving the chassis/ergos/handling/utility, I just thought it would have more torque in 3rd gear and above. But as I said, I may have been missing the sweet spot. I just don't want to have it for a month and wish I had something else, which is what has happened with pretty much every other bike I've had. The supermoto was close, but not practical enough. I don't think the 950sm will be as 2-up friendly as I need it to be, but I'm sure it will have the performance I'm looking for. If I can get a little more juice out of the Uly from a pipe, filter, etc I will buy it. | ||
| Ftd |
Driven, As to increasing the power. I have a '06 ULY with KN filter, cut up air box, Drummer pipe, American Sport Bike Direct Link MAP. Noticeably more power than stock. Just a thought on what can be done. Dyno is before and after DL MAP but with all the other mods. Frank  | ||
| Driven |
Frank, thanx for the info. Looks like you gained 4+ hp & tq (peak). Do you know what the improvement was over stock? As I said, I absolutely loved everything about the bike, but the motor seemed like it needed uncorking. If that's the case and there are gains to be had over stock in the 10% range, I will own a Uly before the weekend. | ||
| Teeps |
Driven Posted on Tuesday, April 08, 2008 - The rear brake was useless. Couldn't lock it up if I had to - just not much feeling there and very underpowered. I guess there's a mod for that? The pedal on the right is for speed trimming, and having done some road racing myself, I found the calibration of the rear brake near perfect, for me. I've heard talk of adding dual pot calipers and different rotors to increase stopping power. I would have thought power wheelies were a whack of the throttle away at any rpm given the big motor, low weight, and short wheelbase <snip> The Uly is far from light at close to 500lbs ready to ride. Add a rider of average to generous proportions and the total GVW is going to be closer to 700lbs or more, which is hardly light, in my book. | ||
| Dfishman |
From what it sounds like,you will get exactly what you want out of a Uly.Once you get some seat time it will surprise many sportbikes & you can do more miles per day in comfort,and try taking a sportbike over the mountain on an unmaintained logging road.You will be happy! | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Wheelies are not just a feature of power, they are also affected by chassis geometry. A Suzuki GN 125 wheelies very easily, and it's not due to high power. The Ulysses seems to have pretty squat resistant geometry, and that suppresses wheelies. Powerbands can be deceiving as well. Don't just go by seat of the pants feel. Watch how quickly your speedometer is moving. I've ridden a few bikes that seemed to have a big rush of power, but only because they had an equally big dip in the torque curve just prior to the powerband. The Uly pulls hard all of the time, so there's not a big change to notice. Mark in Arizona | ||
| Chadhargis |
I have to chime in and say that the rear brake is perfect. You can get hamfooted without worry of lockup. If you brake hard with the front (as you should), then you WILL lift the rear wheel off the ground quite easily, and what good would the worlds most powerful rear brake do you if your rear tire is floating in the air? I use the rear brake for settling the chassis or for slow, tight turns. As for the power, well, I'm in agreement with you there. For a big twin, the power is very top heavy. You have to spin the pee out of the motor to get it to perform. If you do, it will do quite well for the big bike that it is. Heck, I've even down track days with the Uly and ran in the intermediate group with no problems at all. I passed quite a few folks. All that being said, if you don't feel it's the bike for you, then wait until Buell squeezes the 1125 motor into a Ulysses type bike. Oh man, I'm holding out for that bike.  | ||
| M_singer |
Driven, the first time that I rode a Buell I was also disappointed in the torque too. My longer wheelbase heavier Bandit 1200 is much more wheelie prone. Contrary to popular belief twins do not inherently make better torque then similarly size multi's. Also contrary to popular belief, it is better to make torque at higher rpm's so as to take advantage gearing at least as far as straight line on paper performance goes. With that out of the way...what I love about the thunderstorm motor is the "delivery" of the power. On off throttle transitions are very smooth thanks to the belt drive, heavy flywheel mass and good FI. I can get on the gas sooner on my Uly then I can on my Bandit b/c of the way the power is delivery. I ride mostly in the mountains and power delivery is more important to me then absolute power. You really need to ride a Buell in the twisties to appreciate how well the work in their intended environment. | ||
| Towjam |
You can definitely lock up the rear brake. Trust me on this. And don't ask me how I know.)  | ||
| Driven |
I sure hope I didn't make it sound like all I want to do is rip wheelies all day! Truthfully, there is very little to complain about with the Uly. I just had a certain expectation when reading about how much torque the bike has and I think I tainted the test ride. When I hear 'tractor-like torque' I think of my CRF450R and clutchless vertical wheelies in 3rd gear just off idle. It's not a fair comparison and I realize that. Like I said, I really wanted the test ride to go so well that I would look no further, but I really need to go ride the 950SM to be able to make my decision. Thank you for all your input and even if I choose something else it's still a cool bike for sure! I hope I hate the 950... | ||
| Gotj |
Driven, You're right about the rear brake being about useless and there is no simple/easy or cheap fix. About $400-500 for a kit from England. After 9,000 miles, I am used to it but I still don't like it, especially after riding one of my other bikes (to be un-named in the thread). It's a real shame too. I don't go around threshold braking every stop or curve like some of the others apparently do. If you do, you may come to like it. | ||
| Ftd |
Driven, I had all the mods done to my ULY before I picked it up so I don't know the power gains from a pure stock condition. My guess would be that the gains from stock to modified would be the same as what I got form modified to modified+ Direct Link. That would make ~10% total gain. I hope this helps. Frank | ||
| Wtcardr |
Why would you want the rear brake to be more powerful? It is perfect the way it is. You do not want to lock the rear brake and then high-side. The front brake on the ULY does at least 90% of the stopping. On hard braking the rear tire will come completely off the ground easily. | ||
| Gotj |
"The front brake on the ULY does at least 90% of the stopping." I tend to agree with that quantification and thus the identification of the problem. The front brake is typically about 70-80% of the stopping force so the rear is about 10 to 20% shy of what it should be. Thanks for the clarification. | ||
| Driven |
Though it generally only does about 30% of the braking, I am used to modulating a more powerful rear brake. I can drag it lightly to trail brake or apply enough pressure to all but lock it up in an emergency stop. Light pressure on the Uly rear brake yields - almost nothing. I'm sure I could get used to it, it was just such a major difference compared to what I'm used to that it caught me off guard. | ||
| Sanchez |
Whack the throttle open from a lower rpm.  Even in first gear, you won't get a power wheelie if you start at 4500 RPM. Try 2500 instead. | ||
| Msparks |
My first buell experience was less than stellar as well. My shop had a buell demo day back when I had my Triumph sprint. So I take a 1200s out for a spin. This was without supervision. So I head for some of my favorite twisty roads near my house, I was sadly disappointed with power, and kept hitting the rev limiter. I swore I wouldn't ever get a buell from that ride. Fast forward one year, I still had the sprint I go on a ride with Chad and the crew (this was 2006) and I could barely keep up the buell. Hmmm I started thinking something was wrong with the test ride. So a few weeks later I take a ULY for a ride, but this time I ride it differently. No hitting the rev limiter and it was a wonderful experience. I'm sold on the torque, and power of the Buell's now. You just have to ride it differently. | ||
| Driven |
See my new thread - picking up a black '07 holdover on Tuesday! I didn't even bother with the KTM. For a little over $9k out the door including top and side cases I am sure this is a bike I will keep for more than one season which will break a loooong tradition for me. There are a couple of Buell fanatics at my local dealer who really closed the deal for me. I don't remember ever buying a bike and having the service guy excited about having another "Buell guy" to ride with. Hard to beat a machine that handles like my sportbike, has hooligan tendencies like my supermoto, and has better 2-up and touring capabilities than a boring cruiser! Plus it looks just plain mean...like something Special Forces would ride.  | ||
| Bertotti |
Driven I'm with you on the rear brake. I would love to be able to lock it up progressively. I still use the front for most of the braking but I like the rear brake to do what I want it to do and the Uly doesn't. Regardless of what others say I like a strong rear brake just use it responsibly. | ||
| Driven |
I'll just have to see if I can get used to it. At least I know there's a fix if necessary. Honestly, I have some ideas for mods that I can't wait to do. But I'll probably just ride it stock for a bit before 'personalizing'... | ||
| Wbrisett |
Regardless of what others say I like a strong rear brake just use it responsibly. If there is any one thing that drives me crazy on the Uly, it is that rear brake or lack thereof. Although it doesn't take too long to get use to it, it does make it tough going back and forth between different bikes. The BMW RT cheats when it comes to braking because it uses power assisted braking, which I'm sure nearly everybody on this board would really hate, especially the one's on my bike because on my model year, they still linked the front and rear (you apply pressure to the front and it automatically applies pressure to both front and back, likewise the rear applies pressure to both rear and front). That took getting use to as well. But Buell could stand to redesign the brakes a bit so it actually was a bit more powerful on the rear brake. Wayne (Message edited by wbrisett on April 12, 2008) | ||
| Teeps |
The rear brake subject is proof that, the old saying of "the customer is always right", is wrong. Any rider that has turned a throttle grip in anger in a competition event, I.E. road racing, will find the Buell rear brake calibration perfect. Those that have not will find it too weak, etc. So, who is right? Both are customers. It's unfortunate only one can be pacified at a time. Who knows maybe Buell will change the '09 Ulysses, and provide a stronger rear brake. | ||
| Hughlysses |
The rear brake definitely improves with mileage. I was doing some gravel road riding on mine last year and was shocked at how easily the rear brake would lock the rear wheel on dirt. I think it's a good all-around compromise. |
