| Author | Message | ||
     Gumshoe4 |
Greetings. I'm in the market for a nice touring bike. I'm 5'11" and weigh about 265. I'm 53 and not as flexible as I used to be. I've looked at several types of bikes, both cruiser and sport touring. In the sport touring category, I really like the new Buell XB12XT street tourer. I went and checked one out at the local dealer and I like the design a lot, but the bike seems kind of tall. I was left with a VERY STUPID QUESTION. Here's the question: How the heck do you swing your leg over to get on the XB12XT when you've got all the luggage on it? Do you do the dirt bike mount where you have the bike on the sidestand, put your left foot on the left peg, stand up and swing over? Or is there another secret way (kinda like a secret Buell handshake or something)? Sorry for the silly flippin' question, but I gotta know before I shell out the big bucks within the next year that I will be able to use the bike as intended. Thanks in advance for all responses, even ones where you're slapping me upside the head for being STOOPID! Bob | ||
| 818guy |
Well I'm 5'7" on a good day and it takes some finesse to get my right leg over, but it can be done with the bags attached. No dirt bike mount, just throw my leg over. | ||
| Ulynut |
Bob, It wood b hard 2 find sumbudy stoopider then me. standin on the peg iz a good way too get on a Uly. in my upinyun. unles yer chuck norriz uvcorse. then u could bak flip over the tripl tail  | ||
| Crusty |
I'm 5'8" tall with a 30" inseam; I'm overweight (230 lbs.), have a bad ankle and I just turned 58 last Monday. I have no trouble throwing my leg over my XT. If you get one, you'll figure it out in short order. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Be careful with the on-the-peg mounting method, I know a couple folks have bent (the earlier UlyX version) sidestands. The XT has a much stouter sidestand, though, might not be an issue. It also has an extra (third) attaching bolt, which addresses the other (past UlyX) issue of bent mounting bolts. I bent the ones on my 06 by using the peg to get on, and I weigh just a hair under 200. Depending on your inseam, I've used an alternate mounting method of just putting my right foot on the driver seat, toes up (heel on the seat), and sliding my calf/thigh over the driver seat until I'm seated, as opposed to lifting/kicking over the saddlebags and passenger seat. Of course, I'm 6'4"...but I also have brand spankin' new titanium rods in each leg, so I'm sure I'll be finding new, exciting, less-acrobatic methods to get on my 06 UlyX with stock (tall) seat  Either that, or I'm parking it in the gym at physical therapy and making the mount/dismount one of my exercises, LOL. | ||
| Gotj |
I have to use a foot peg to mount and weigh about the same as you. I wouldn't trust the side stand to take that load repeatedly over a long time so I mount from the right using the right footpeg. Loading the right peg compresses the suspension a bit and also unloads the side stand some. You just have to get your center of gravity past the bike's so you don't tip over. With the high handlebars, it's easy. BTW, are you considering any other bikes? | ||
| Froggy |
The trick I used to do was get a batman style grappling hook, launch it over the side of the bike, tie it to my belt and then use my rock climbing skills to navigate up the side then over. Sometimes if I am home, I leave the bike parked next to a trampoline, but my accuracy sucks so I don't do that way much. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""I'm 53 and not as flexible as I used to be"" I have the 12X with the taller '06 seat, and I just pick up my right leg by the pant cuff and lift it over to mount and dismount. But honestly, at 53 you're waaaay too old for any of this! . | ||
| Rwven |
One thing that helps me is to hold the handlebars, lean way forward toward the front of the bike then pick up your right leg and swing it over. I'm 52, 6'2", about 240#. Some days I need to do this and other days I don't. Comes with age I suppose. | ||
| Court |
Hahahahaha . . . great topic! I am a svelte 224# and 5-11-1/2" I do this sort of 150o pirouette, toss the right leg onto the seat and then rotate to the right. The Ulysses is one seriously tall bike. Don't get me wrong, I prefer it in New York City traffic for the visibility but I also have to think "dirt bike" skills at times. The XT is a tad shorter and either way, at the youthful age of 53, you'll figure it out. Mr. Buell, at 58, does every morning. | ||
| 04buell |
Jerry let me ride his ULY this weekend and I love the way it sits and rides but even with the '07 low seat the bike is a little tall for me yet. I am 5'7' and I wear a 34" inseam so I should have the height. We took you guys advice and let the GPS units pick our route and they took us to a gravel road that went to nowhere. When we went to do the U-turn....I lost my balance and over I went. I am not hurt a bit, but the Uly mirror and the left bag got a little gravel rash. It really embarrassed me that I dropped it turning around, when I have been riding so long. I think I am gonna ride my 12Ss EXCLUSIVELY from now on so Jerry does not have additional grounds to kill me! Carol the 04buell Mrs. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
as in gymnastics, its the dismount that you gotta stick. And watch the Romanian judges, they are really tough. You will find what works for you fast, remember that it probably wont work when you are off road. .... DAMHIK | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I'm 6'-0 tall and 240# and 54 years old! It's easy to get on a Uly, just put motorcycle on sidestand, put left foot on the left footpeg, stand up on that and then throw your right leg over the motorcycle, then you kick the kickstand up with your left heel. See? It's easy as that! | ||
| Gumshoe4 |
OK....I feel better! I think placing the right calf on the seat toes up and sliding over till the butt cheeks are in place makes the best sense!!! I think I might even be able to do that! Yep, I've also looked at the V-Strom (same problem, but that bike is quite a bit taller than the XT). I also like the Honda ST1300, but it's a heavy beast and pretty expensive, also. I like the BMW R1100R (if you can find a good used one) because it's a basic motorcycle with good ergonomics. Cruisers I've looked at include the Star Roadstar, Roadliner, Victory Kingpin and Vegas. As far as the cruisers go, I really like the Kingpin and I have a friend who's a retired motor cop who owns one and thinks it's great. He's going to let me ride it and see what I think. Generally, the cruisers are easier to mount and dismount, but I really prefer the upright standard motorcycle seating position. Also, while the cruisers are great on the interstate and do OK on the windys, I don't particularly want to give up handling because there are some backroads and forest roads in the area which would be fine on the XT, ST or V, but I think the cruisers (other than the KP) would not fare well on them. That's why I'm leaning towards a sport tourer and avoiding the paradigm that old farts like me are supposed to have Electra-Glides... Bob | ||
| Bigdaddy |
You can just straddle it as you walk over the top -- works great  Just kidding. Toss that leg over it and you'll be fine. Cityslicker brings up an excellent point about the dismount. If I have a passenger on-board they must get off first if they don't want kicked in the head (if that passenger happens to be the wife you're in deep doo doo for days.) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Forgot to mention an important ingredient - if you are pushing your weight forward on the bike at all, make sure to two-finger that front brake. No sense having the bike roll forward off its sidestand before you can get out from under it (coming from the owner of not only a Uly, but an S2...other S2'ers know what I mean, lol). | ||
| Etennuly |
I'm 51 #$%^#$ years old, 6'(maybe less now days) many junk parts, including knees and back. I kinda bring my right heel up towards my butt, aim my right knee over the seat and try not to let my boot come down on the right side bag. When two up, the wife gets on the bike first, slides back to the pillon as I grab my right leg to manually set it on the seat, then push my leg over and hopefully stop somewhere in the middle. I have found that no matter how you get on it, and or if it causes pain, the bike always responds with a ride that could only be considered good therapy. I have done long distances with broken ribs and sprained ankles and was very glad to have the Uly as the bike of choice for the long ride home. | ||
| Hooper |
Well, I'm still in my 30s, 220 glorious pounds, and 6'3" (thank god), and I still nail the luggage on my '06 X as I swing my leg over when I get off. My side bags are covered with scuffs from my boots - the bike is tall for ANYONE. I guess I would chime in here to try to dissuade you from not enjoying the Buell experience in some way. Cityxslicker has turned a fantastic Buell XB into an all-road touring machine, which, if the XT doesn't fit, makes me think that you could do the same thing with another XB. The X and XT are just not far apart from the rest of the XBs. If you love the RIDE of a Buell, you should try to work it into your style. (Message edited by hooper on September 28, 2008) | ||
| Court |
My gosh . . . does anyone under 50 own a Ulysses? What a bunch of old farts I've thrown in with? Funny but I've had LOTS of bikes and this Ulysses seems to do EVERYTHING well. | ||
| Froggy |
*raises hand* I was 20 when I bought mine, but still that puts the average age at 72. No wonder it is so easy to keep up with you guys! | ||
| Ulyranger |
5'6", 29" inseam, 160#, 08XT...........no problem. Oh yeah, 40 y.o., so not all Uly-addicts are old farts. (he says as he ducks below cover) I sometimes grab the left hand grip, and sort of straight leg, toe up o'er the saddle. Usually do this when pillion is already loaded. But other times I swing it over bent leg style pirroette on my left foot. Still other times I stand on the left foot peg and settle in nice and easy. My pillions (wife and kids) always stand on the left peg, swing over and slide back into position. All these methods seem to work just fine. If the side stand is not designed to take my static(not dynamic) load on the left peg then this bike is not as well designed as previously thought....... There are times when it's much harder to lift the bike into the vertical plane than it is to mount up. The Uly definitely makes one size up my parking sites..... | ||
| Edgydrifter |
I'm, *ahem*, shaped just like Court. Getting on and off the XT is not any more difficult than on a cruiser with a tour pack. You'll kick the bags a few times, but before long you'll get the hang of it. | ||
| Slowride |
LOL, 34 here and I have been using the dirt bike left peg mount on my 06 Uly since I purchased it. Loaded, 2up... never any issues. | ||
| Bertotti |
42 5'8" 173Lbs just about a 31 inch inseam without boots on a good day and I just throw a leg over. I grab the hem on the way off. I can toss my leg over even with the pillion loaded up with bags. I stretch and exercise. I recommend a bit of stretching daily it really does make a difference | ||
| Bigdaddy |
6'3" (thank god), and I still nail the luggage on my '06 X The top of my right bag looks like a dance floor it's been kicked, scraped, booted, bounced, but it's all good | ||
| Cyclonedon |
"The top of my right bag looks like a dance floor it's been kicked, scraped, booted, bounced, but it's all good " Hmmmmmmmmmm same as my right bag! I was thinking about coating it with Line-X for protection from my riding boots! lol | ||
| Etennuly |
"The top of my right bag looks like a dance floor it's been kicked, scraped, booted, bounced, but it's all good " Hmmmmmmmmmm same as my right bag! I was thinking about coating it with Line-X for protection from my riding boots! lol If your parts are hanging that low, ya might try wearing underware! Man that's gotta hurt when that Line-X goes on!   (really though, these sound like issues for a serious drinking man!) | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
52 years young and 6 foot and 210lbs. Court, Does Erik Buell ride a ULY to the factory? If he does, good for him. That'd really be showing he puts his own butt on his bikes. Still think Buell/HD is missing the income that a high mpg scooter could give the corporation. And if you say the Blast covers that then we shall have to agree to disagree. The Blast is an oddball way past it's prime, if it ever had a prime. Now if they fuel injected it, took the shake out, and made it look a bit more high end looking instead of so darned cheap looking they might be able to sell then better. The first gear is way too high. It does handle well as all Buells do. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on September 29, 2008) | ||
| Bigdaddy |
That Vern's a funny guy (we so sold the self pwnage on that one -- good catch Vern) | ||
| Court |
>>>Does Erik Buell ride a ULY to the factory? Everyday . . . rain or shine. |
