| Author |
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Etennuly
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 08:47 am: | 
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I had never set foot in a HD dealer until Nov '04 when I bought my City-X. I really wanted a Uly like machine, but it didn't come out until later.
Funny thing is, I was going to the Honda dealer with check in hand for a new XL 650. As things went I am glad that they were closed on Mondays. That is when I went two blocks down to look at that Buell thing I had remembered hearing about.
I had no idea what it was about, but I saw one cruising through a parking lot once and was looking around for a big block Chevy with open headers. My son and I walked over to where the noise stopped and there sat a dirty, nasty looking Buell XB12R! It had to be new though, it was in '03.
A test ride on a Lightning said all I needed to hear. I couldn't get over the smoothness and torque of that V twin. I had a variety of Japanese bikes over the years, nothing like the City-X and the Uly though! 13,000 on the City and 33,000 miles on the Uly and extra dental work because of permagrin. |
Red_chili
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 09:13 am: |
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’65 Honda 50; 30,000 miles; first bike, 9 years old
You put 30,000 miles on a Honda 50 at age 9??????!?!?! Whoa! You are my new hero!!!
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Miamiuly
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 09:22 am: |
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First Buell/HD here too.
Always watched them, thought tubers were cool, watched the XB's in the mags when they came out, (actually had the white xb9 as a screen saver before they came out) then in 05 I bought my zx10r that stole my heart.
On street I've had yami, honda, now kawi and Buell.
Had suzi and husky dirt bikes as well as yami and honda and now a ktm dirt bike.
When the uly came out I knew I wanted one, took a while to admit it and do something about it though $$.
Being able to actually test ride one really helped too. |
Longdog_cymru
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 10:00 am: |
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Hi, I rode my first bike when I was 12, I'm 55 now!!! Apart from dirt bikes, (Bultacos when I rode Enduros), the Uly is my first brand new bike and my first American bike too.
My last bike was an R1150GS and my local main dealer had a bad attitude, so I went to an independent. My experience with the HD/Buell main dealer, (Oxford Harley Davidson), has been very impressive indeed and I would buy another bike from them with no hesitation whatsoever! |
Darthane
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 11:07 am: |
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...not I. '01 Blast and '03 XB9R, and I was going to go AWAY from Buell for my next bike until the XT came along - and was exactly what I was looking for. Kudos to Buell for managing to keep me around for another few years at the least.  |
818guy
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 04:56 pm: |
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New rider also to HD/Buell. I had a 2006 Yamaha FJR1300, 21k miles. When I bought that bike, I look at the X but the seat was too tall. Saw the XT and knew I wanted one at some point. So here I am. |
Blk_uly
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 08:34 pm: |
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this is my first hd/buell also. like many others I came from dirt bikes then the cruisers,all of them japs. all good bikes but nothing like the uly I love it it's my daily ride. |
Hooper
| | Posted on Friday, September 12, 2008 - 09:25 pm: |
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Fun thread!
I've ridden for a little over 4 years now:
- Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic was my first...awesome, gorgeous bike, but underpowered.
Then I rented an H-D Road King Classic and rode thru the Everglades...wow, what a blast, especially when doubling the engine power and luggage!
Then I wanted to try something sporty, so...
- Suzuki Katana 600...fun and cheap, but it was abused by its previous owner and didn't take to my kindness. On the XB Board, one Bueller considers it the "80s Hair Metal Band of motorcycles". Ouch!
Then I rented another Road King to tour around NH and ME...I liked it - I had the bug, so I did the dream...
I rented a BMW R850R in Glasgow, Scotland and toured Scotland for a week by myself, telling no one. The addiction deepened.
I rented a Road King to tour Arizona, the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park, on my first buddy ride with an old friend, who took his Softail Classic, which was a bike that got me into riding just by looking at it! Incredible trip - it could have been a movie.
Then, I rented an Electra Glide Ultra Classic back in NH and ME. Totally hooked on the mountains of New England, and how can you not love listening to your CDs and NPR while riding? Cars at red lights stare at the "Harley guy" who's listening to the Bill Evans Trio. I rode through snow on that trip, and turned around on the Kancamagus Highway after the road became unnavigable.
- But I wanted the best of both worlds...I wanted to travel! I refused to afford a BMW, and had started seeing Buell Ulysses ads, took a test ride in Baltimore, then bought the faster black one down near DC. Still have it, even after killing a deer with it earlier this year.
- 6 months later, I knew I wanted something low down and cruiser-y. I wanted a bobber (Exile Cycles makes the best, to me), but custom bobbers are out of my price range. The flat black Harley Street Bob looked great, rode great, and became a blank canvas for me.
So, though I have 4 bikes in front of my house, I only ride the Buell and the Hog. The Suzuki needs to get out of my sight ASAP, and the Yamaha...well, I have a soft spot in my heart for my first bike, and may keep it.
I may have bought a GS at that critical point when I realized the Yamaha and Suzuki weren't enough, but they're too expensive these days. The Uly fit the touring, sporting, and off-roading (I've still never ridden a true dirt bike) needs, and is 100% original, which is also important to me.
I may get a BMW someday, but I'll ALWAYS have a Uly.
And really, what's better than having 4 shiny, black bikes parked in front of your pad?
Then I rented a BMW R1200RT for a ride from San Francisco up the coast then down through wine country. Then I rented a BMW K1200GT to ride from Denver through the Rockies, western CO, and back. Then I rented an Electra Glide to ride from San Francisco to Big Sur and back.
Next? I'll rent a Honda 1300GT to tour NH and ME, and duck into Quebec...maybe this fall.
And the beat goes on...
(Message edited by hooper on September 12, 2008)
(Message edited by hooper on September 16, 2008) |
Tom_barnyard
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 - 02:14 pm: |
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I would not have found the Uly if we had not stopped at Uke's dirtstore to look at KTMs. While there, my brother says, "Let's go look at Harleys."
Whatever.
Walk in and there sits a Ulysess. Turns out it was one of the bikes that was used for the press rollout in CO. It was exactly what I was looking for.
The experience I had at Uke's and Donahue in Sauk Rapids made me a believer. I wish I could get the same support from my KTM dealer......
Tom B |
Joe_solo
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 - 09:17 pm: |
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My First HD product. Had a V Strom for a season, was OK, but lacked the fun quotient. Ridden BMW K bikes for 15 years, very refined fun to ride bikes over long distances. With only one dealer in town the ability to have them serviced became an issue. After the 2002 V Strom was sold I still had a want for a bike of that style, along came the Ulysses. It's a long way from the Beemer in refinement(good - I know I'm on a motorcycle). Still only one dealer to service the Uly. That dealer seems to do a good job even if the service costs as much as a BMW service.
(Message edited by Joe_solo on September 14, 2008) |
Dr_greg
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 - 11:52 am: |
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Good to hear from all you guys. I suspected that the Uly would attract a number of riders who had never considered a bike with any connection to the MoCo (that includes me, BTW).
My '06 Uly does everything so well that I can't see ever parting with it, but I'm also not really um, captivated by its appearance (some are; styling is a personal thing; Mrs. Greg likes it). Correspondingly I think the R12GS looks uber-cool. More of a mechanical "presence" (visually, anyway), and I'm a mechanical engineer (well, a professor).
But with four kids and a deadbeat wife (er, housefrau) the Uly suits my budget better, and I've NEVER had a more satisfying ride. Engine, suspension, quality (yes!) have all been great; I can even do all my own maintenance. And my GS test ride a couple years ago wasn't that impressive (and I've seen GS riders stranded in the boonies by the immobilizer).
So thanks for all the replies; keep ridin' and smilin'... |
Teeps
| | Posted on Sunday, September 14, 2008 - 12:59 pm: |
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The'06 Ulysses is my first and probably will be the last Buell/H-D I own.
Not because of any short comings, but with a ride to work ratio of 98:2%. How can it compare to anything else?
Best street bike I've ever owned. |
Chrisw
| | Posted on Monday, September 15, 2008 - 04:16 pm: |
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06 uly with 25k miles on , first buell,
tried truimph tiger but we did not like it after riding uly and realsing how we could use it 2 up to czech gp from uk in 2 days with luggage - whow what a start to its touring, also out for w/e rides.
50th birthday pressie , 40 th was guzzi 1100 sport 90k miles,that I ride for shorter trips ,still good fun , before that 6ok mile son yam fj1200 , |
Amerikian
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 - 04:51 pm: |
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This is my first HD/Buell. I have had the typical issues with my '08 UlyX: broken/molten clutch wire form & broken kickstand. I took it to the local HD dealer (a different one that i bought the bike from) and they fixed both issues no questions asked. They even flashed the latest ECM update, with a little hesitation.
I've got 3000 miles on it since April and wish I could ride it more than I do except my commute to work is less than 2 miles round trip so I can't rack any miles up commuting. Great bike and my experience with HD/Buell has been very good...so far.
My commute is so short to work I actually have to go for a cruise to warm it up completely before I get to work! Love the bike and the wife feels pretty safe on it too.
Only thing that bugs me is all the backfiring from my special ops pipe when she's warming up. I even went to look at the F800GS and still would pick the Uly if i could do it over again. |
Armymedic
| | Posted on Monday, September 22, 2008 - 03:54 pm: |
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Joining the group here. Just bought a black 06 with 4800 miles on it. I am going to pick it up in ~2 weeks in Seattle and ride home to SLC, Utah. The wait is going to make me crazy. I went ahead and purchased a Laminar Lip for it. That's what I had on my V-strom and they work well. |
Scooter808484
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 03:10 pm: |
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'02 Road King and '06 Uly
The one good thing about an HD is there are tons and tons of options for monkeying with your bike. Not just chrome doo dads, though there are those, but ported heads (and head porters), cams, exhaust, stroker cranks, etc. etc.
You could sensibly make the argument that a bike that cost $20k shouldn't require $2k worth of motor work to make it run, but for me it has been a little science project. Turning all the wrenches myself makes it all the more interesting. The big ol' RK weighs a lot more, doesn't handle so well and all of that, but 95 ftlb at the rear wheel is kinda fun!!
The simplicity of the HD is got me interested in the Uly. |
Odyranger
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 11:02 pm: |
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Wouldn't have seriously considered an HD, but was smitten by the Uly.
Have ridden off-road and a little on-road over the last 30 years. Mostly on Yamaha's.
The Uly is a LOT of fun to ride. I'm a fair weather commuter. The ride in to work is a great way to start the day - no need for coffee! |
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