| Author | Message | ||
     Tnd2 |
Hey guys, I test rode my first Buell today, i'm looking at getting an XT. But my local shop only has an X in the fleet right now, so I took it for a spin. I'm on a R1200GS, so i'm used to tall dual sport style riding and handling. The power, and the fit were great, but the handling wasn't what I expected. As far as I know the bike was not set for me, and the only thing I know is the rear was full soft. What I noticed was the bike was very responsive, but when riding at a relaxed pace it was easy to lay into a turn but it would try to self right just after the initial turn in. As I picked up the pace the bike responded better, but still required more effort than I thought should be necessary to keep a smooth line. Also if there was a mid corner bump the bike would try to stand up as the forks would rebound. Next Saturday i'm headed several hours to another dealer to give an XT a try, and I want to make sure that I get a real good test. When test riding other brands the suspension has alway's been ok, and playing with compression settings usually only honed it in a bit, so is the Buell suspension that touchy and my test bike was way out, or is this a typical handling trait? | ||
| Froggy |
The suspension is very touchy. I will get the suspension settings for you to print out, if you have them set to the recommended settings for your weight it will be a night and day difference. You won't have time on the demo to fine tune the settings, but this should give you a rough idea.  | ||
| Froggy |
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| Ft_bstrd |
A suspension set that far off would suck. an 1/8th of a turn in the front compression settings changed the feel from right on to riding on billet steel. It's really sensitive. Take the 5 minutes or so to have ANY Buell test ridden set to your weight. | ||
| Tnd2 |
Thanks Froggy, what kind of tool's should I take with me? | ||
| Froggy |
The rear preload is a knob on the left side of the seat, you can crank it while riding no problem. The rest of it can be adjusted with a flat head screwdriver, but i tend to use a dime because i am more likely to have that on me. | ||
| Tootal |
Also have the dealer check tire pressures. | ||
| M2nc |
Example: Riding with the wife in the mountains the other week I notice that the bike was wallowing over bumps in the back. I had upped preload before we started but I knew something was off. I do not know why, but during the last suspension adjustment I had turned rebound out of spec. I turned the adjustment screw for rebound one turn in and the bike was taught for the rest of the ride and it handled like she was not back there. That is how sensitive the set up can be. Preload settings front to rear will effect turn in. If the preload is softer in the rear than the front, the bike will be very stable and slow to turn. If the rear preload is tighter than the front, the bike will be quick to turn. I have adjusted rear preload on the fly more than once because I wanted a more stable bike at freeway speeds, then on more challenging roads, I adjust the bike to turn in quickly. It sounds to me that the rear preload was turned way down on your test ride. Dealers sometimes do this so the bike sits down when the rider gets on. This way the bike does not appear so tall and the reach to ground is much better. | ||
| Ratbuell |
There should be a toolkit under the seat of every Buell shipped from the factory, containing all the tools required for suspension adjustment. It's a blue canvas baggie. On the XT, it *may* ship in the top case with the owners' manual, I've seen 'em come both ways. As noted above, all the compression/rebound adjustments are done with a flathead screwdriver. The rear preload is done with a handcrank knob under your left cheek as you sit. The front preload is done with either a socket (my preferred method, not in the toolkit), or the spanner in the toolkit (takes more time because it doesn't always clear the handlebars, but it gets it done). It is DEFINITELY worth the time (a whopping 5 minutes, if you've never done it before) to set it up for your bodyweight. Given your description of your first ride, it sounds like the bike was not only not set for your weight, but the front and rear didn't match each other. They aren't "set" for anything at the factory, I've done initial setups on some suspensions that have three different readings - left fork, right fork, rear end. Methinks the parts are just "built", installed, and checked for leaks, and it's up to us dealers/salespeople to set them up during PDI. Makes sense to me... And as mentioned above - as little as 1/4 or 1/8 turn can be a night and day difference. Don't let that turn you off the bike though - once set, the suspension isn't going to "work loose" or anything like that, and it doesn't require attention on a regular basis. Once you get it set, just leave it until you have a change in loading (more gear in the bags, passenger, etc). In my experience (06 UlyX), I only turn the rear preload a couple clicks when the wife is on. Full bag/empty bag is usually fine without any changes for me. I'll never forget the X I sold to a gentleman (he's on BWB from time to time) with a GS. To my knowledge, he still hasn't touched the GS since buying the Uly a couple years ago | ||
| Sanchez |
> it would try to self right just after the initial turn in. Yep, that's definitely not right. When the suspension's set up right, the bike will stay right where you point it with no further input. By the time I reach my apex, I'm usually just leaning over with no pressure on the bars at all. | ||
| Tnd2 |
Thanks to everybody for the input. I can't wait to get on the XT Saturday, the sales guy seemed decent, so i'll call him back later this week to go over my concerns and make sure we have the time to adjust it to my weight. Froggy- Thanks for the charts, I printed them for the test ride. | ||
| Keith_mahoney |
Froggy thanks a hell of a lot for posting that chart. My bike which is an XT came with a X instruction manual and I didn't notice until I left the country I picked up the bike in . Anyone know of any other important differences I should know about right away other than the obvious height and bags? | ||
| Froggy |
Nothing else to really note. The manual is on Buell.com in the owners section, so you can skim over it to see if anything else stands out to you. The difference between the X and XT is the suspension, tires, rims, and a few cosmetic bits. |
