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Buell Forum » Big, Bad & Dirty (Buell XB12X Ulysses Adventure Board) » BB&D Archives » Archive through November 02, 2013 » 20,000+ Mile Uly! Also: Bad Vibrations (or was it my riding?) « Previous Next »

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Hooper
Posted on Monday, September 30, 2013 - 06:05 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Just something funny (and annoying): I went for a great ride yesterday. We're enjoying - finally - some of the best weather ever in the DC area. I zig-zagged my way north to Frederick, MD, had lunch and the same thing back down to home. There was a fair amount of high-speed highway time.

When I got home, I found that my standard pint-bottle of Dasani water had opened by itself in my top box. It soaked everything in there, which was OK except for my camera. It was in a case, and most of the interfaces seem "sealed", but the little screen is quite discolored and there's a tiny bit of moisture behind the glass. Bummer.

So, beware...this fantastic bike will shake a bottle of water open (or maybe my riding did).

BTW: My 2006 Uly went past 20,000 miles yesterday! I didn't even notice, since I normally watch the clock to make sure I don't stay away from home and wife and puppy ALL day!

For lunch, I highly recommend Top Chef and local boy Bryan Voltaggio's "Family Meal". Be ready to wait, eat early/late, or sit at the bar. Plenty of parking.

Oh, and I did get away for a great trip this year. First time on a (rental) 1200GS - 3 days in the Death Valley/Las Vegas area. Awesome.


dv
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Arry
Posted on Monday, September 30, 2013 - 07:10 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Congrats on 20k! Mostly trouble free? Before I got my Uly, I lusted for a big GS, but I've never ridden one. What did you think of the GS compared to your Uly?
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Etennuly
Posted on Monday, September 30, 2013 - 07:39 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Unless it has locktite on it, everything in my top case unscrews. Pens, flash lights, glasses frames, contac solution and any other bolted together stuff I have ever put in there.

Congrats on the twenty!
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Bosgarage57
Posted on Monday, September 30, 2013 - 10:34 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Riding in Nashville this past weekend (300 miles from home) and I hear a really weird LOUD noise, constantly when on the throttle....I finally pull over and ask my dad, who is on a concours, can you hear me? uhhh yeah, louder than normal he says. We get off our bikes and look, and I had lost BOTH nuts connecting the header onto the motor. Drive 30 miles to the closest ACE hardware and they had the 5/16th 24 nuts I needed. Soo yeah, check your stuff before you go riding : )
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Arcticktm
Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 - 12:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Idea of the day:
Instead of PB Blaster, put rusted/seized fasteners in your Uly topcase and ride around for a few hours.

Even if it doesn't actually work, at least you got to go riding!
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Reepicheep
Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 - 12:58 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Heck, just throw a few cans of PB Blaster in the top case, along with a few screw drivers and a claw hammer, and ride around for a while. The whole bike will be clean and de-rusted! And your riding suit will have that petroleum fresh smell! ; )

(I give an involuntary shudder every time I get a whiff of penetrating oil, because every time I have it out, it is after something has started to go pear shaped...)
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Uly_man
Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 - 01:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

"but the little screen is quite discolored and there's a tiny bit of moisture behind the glass. Bummer." Try opening all the doors on the camera, place in a airtight bag, squeeze all the air out of it, fill with those Silica Gel packs and if you are lucky they will absorb all the moisture out of the camera. It works sometimes.

"I had lost BOTH nuts connecting the header onto the motor". I had this once. I now use a second nut to lock the first ones in place. It also covers the rest of the stud thread and stops it rusting away. It makes it easy to get off and stops the stud turning out of the motor. Use SS ones as well.
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Hooper
Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 - 04:09 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Yeah! My only problems (aside from hitting a deer) have been electric: voltage regulator failure and the hesitant starter.

So, for my BMW review: I believe this was a 2010 R1200GS with about 50,000 miles on it. It was in great shape for its experience. I enjoyed the bike quite a bit.

Comfort: the seat was comfortable (well broken-in) and just wide enough. The handlebars were at the right angle and the right height. The windscreen was also very protective against the Death Valley winds and high speeds, and accomodated my 6’3” height well. The pegs seemed a little higher than I would have expected, but I’m even feeling that way about my Uly – time to get the lowered pegs. Luggage space is tight, since the left bag has a big section cut out of it to accommodate the muffler. I didn’t have the top box – I should have asked for it. I had no extra room for souvenirs (or extra water, or extra snacks, etc.). One day was a 420-miler, the longest single-day mileage of my riding life. It was often at high speeds, strong winds, and high temperatures (and low!). I came out pretty well. I think the part of me that hurt the most was my throttle hand.

Performance: it has all the power I’d ever need. Not as easy to wind up as the Buell, and it definitely doesn’t have the visceral grunt of the V-twin, but it has very smooth, even energy. Enough power was always there, especially if I found myself going into a curve too slowly…I never found myself lugging through.

Handling: super, one of the most even and smooth riding bikes I’ve been on. In fact, the suspension almost felt a little TOO comfy…I’m used to the very rigid, planted feel of the Uly, especially in curves. It was unsettling to feel “plushness” in the suspension as I was taking curves or speeding over undulating highways…I expect that in a touring cruiser, but I not on an “adventure” bike. I expected a GS to feel a little bit more rough, but it really does perform as a touring bike. Despite the softer suspension, I felt very confident in curves and slow-speed handling. It’s possible it needed to be set up for my height and weight. Having a bike that is certainly longer than the Uly, with a longer front end, also felt different…a little bit more – luxurious? Definitely less flickable.

Death Valley blacktop roads have some great sweeping curves that go on forever into the horizon, and, believe it or not, I found them to be debris-free. I really saw no sand, gravel, or rocks to screw up my day! One day, after seeing Badwater, I was roaring along. The speed limit wanted 45mph. I was doing about 55, zoning out a bit, and not going as fast as I thought I could have been. All of a sudden, on my left, a sportbike with a leather-clad rider and backpack, zooms past and waves. The instinct kicked in and I sped up to try to ride with him. Nope. He was a much better rider – he was able to take the curves at a much higher speed and with more confidence. Maybe he’d ridden there before, but you never know what’s on those curves up ahead – I just wasn’t willing to take chances. He put a lot of distance between us. The cool thing is that at one point the road turned toward a distant canyon wall, then banked rightward up the valley. I could see the black speck flying along way off in the distance. The distances in DV are so deceiving. You think that canyon wall there is just right up ahead, or that upcoming curve over there is probably just 1/4 mile away. Nope – it’s a LONG way away. I never saw that rider again. In fact, there were just not many bikes in DV that April – zero GSs, only that one sport bike, and a bunch of Hogs and metric cruisers. I was definitely the most armored motorcyclist (or human) in the valley.

Someday I may find myself with a 1200GS, but I just can’t get over the price tag. My eye wanders to the Super Tenere, instead. I’d rent one again, though!


dv2


dv3


dv4


(Message edited by Hooper on October 01, 2013)
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Arry
Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2013 - 06:24 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

Thanks for that review. It means more coming from a Uly rider. The price is the big factor for me, also. Other than that, they do sound like a great bike.
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Hooper
Posted on Sunday, October 13, 2013 - 12:31 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Custodian/Admin only)

I finally started a ride report on ADV. Here's the link...I'll be adding to it almost daily.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=926499

(Message edited by Hooper on October 13, 2013)
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