| Author | Message | ||
     Xgecko |
Hey Mike my uncle has one of those. That is one fun car to drive in the twistys of upstate New York. About the Piano company, I like the way they do things compared to the other japanese motorcycle companies. I like the TMX 850 and they seem to spen as much time on the "Look" of the bike as they do the performance with a serios nod going to the ergo/handling of the bike over the HP/speed. Their bikes perform better than Honda's and are more comfortable than the Suzuki's. Kawaisaki is just weird IMO. BTW has anyone seen the new Liquid Silver R1??? Now that is a sexy bike | ||
| Anonymous |
Want comfort.... get a couch, not a S3 couch, a REAL Harley! That goes to you JOSE'! Apperently I have ridden a Firebolt, it is nice but the power really suck!  So I'm buying a R6 over the firebolt for a couple of reasons, Insurance is $1200 and lacks power,but good handling. R6 lotta power,almost maintance free...look at Feb.motocyclist on page94 and see for yourself and cost me $450 a year with no layway in the winter. Oh yeah handles like a razor! | ||
| Blake |
I'm 6'-3"; the Firebolt's ergos fit me amazingly well.  I was VERY surprised. | ||
| Eeeeek |
Not to be a snot, Court, but I've never considered FiremanJim to be of "substancial size." I'd say he's about 5'9'-5'10" and 165 pounds, as a guess. Now, I'm just DYING to see Choptop on a Firebolt. One of the most humorous memories I have is seeing Choptop on a 996 and literally looking down through the windshield to see the gauges. That and watching him try to fit into a scaled down NASCAR car at a track in Tennessee. He reaaallllly did try to fit in that thing! As a side note, I'm still very torn by the lil' bolt. I REALLY want to like it, but I'm a little disenchanted. Vik | ||
| Court |
Vik: Chop's not like normal people. I'm, admittedly, given to embellishment and "Gonzo-Reality" from time to time. For the uninitiated, however, that is the understatement of the year. Chop's pretty much one of the smarter guys I've ever talked to and has......er, an "elevated" lust for LIVING life as opposed to being a spectator on this pear shaped orb being flung through space. This would all pretty much go unnoticed if he weren't 7'14" tall. And then, he did nothing to help himself by showing up in front of the whole world on something smaller than a Rupp mini-bike and breaking a Land Speed Record. I love the people my folks warned me about. Court (Blake, scoot up...there's room for BOTH of us on that baby!) | ||
| Blake |
"Blake, scoot up...there's room for BOTH of us on that baby!"  | ||
| Anonymous |
Court:
OK does this count as the Understatement of the year | ||
| José_Quiñones |
For the record, I found the XB9R unconfortable too..... To ride the twisties, you have to GET TO THEM FIRST, unless you trailer your bike till you get there. ____________________________________________________________ So I just went on Progressive.com. All the info I entered was the same except for the bike models, and was quoted the following: R6 (OTHER MODELS HIGH PERFORMANCE NOT LISTED ABOVE, 600cc) $1262 per year Buell, OTHER MODELS NOT LISTED ABOVE, 1000cc (the XB9R is not in there yet) $973 per year Where do you get those quotes, Anon?  | ||
| Rocketman |
I tell ya, I know so many bikers it's unreal, but I can think of only two I know that bought modern Triumphs, and no I don't know what that means but I don't think Triumph is as popular as the British press would have us believe. The TT600 is a total flop (have you seen the butt ugly thing ?)and the Kawasaki 650 retro thing puts Triumphs new Bonneville to shame, and to top it all, the factory has been burnt to a cinder. All smells a little fishy to me. If Jim's any sense he'll trade the Triumph the minute he's able to get his hands on a Firebolt. Innovation has got to be the key here. I mean I keep reading so many great things by so many well respected journo's, about the XB, that it just must be as great to ride as they all reckon. Earlier this month The Guardian newspaper featured it in their motoring supplement, tested by MCN regular Kevin Ash, and a damn fine test he wrote too. I liked the opening title best of all though...............THE WEIRD ONE GETS SERIOUS. Me, I can't wait to ride the darn thing. And how many times have we read on this board about certain XB customers turning their attentions elsewhere ? Buell screwed up big time on the launch. Think of it this way, most mainstream motorcycles are displayed at shows and tested in magazines around about their launch time so I think the XB is gonna have a tough time holding potential customers simply because the motorcycle market is very very fickle, and thus customers won't wait and they'll buy something else, as has been proven on this board several times and now by FMJ too. This smacks of HD antics to me and that 'wait until we get it dead right' stuff doesn't wash with me. Just today a friend of mine was telling me he wanted a V-Rod. Rang up two dealers in the north of the country only to be told they both had only one for sale, and they were long since sold. Now the dealers say they're allocated 14 V-Rods each, but they'll have to wait until September for delivery. Now maybe my friend could have the northern dealer 'get' him one from the south, but that might cost another £3000. Who the fuck do Harley think they're kidding ? This is marketing bollocks and is only possible in this day and age because of the types of people who buy Harleys now, ie; weekend cowboys. You know the ones, lawyer during the week and leather chap wearing 'bum bandit' by weekend. Am I glad I gave up on them (Harleys and bum bandits  ). I just hope Buell don't get the same marketing pillocks but it looks to me like they already did. Rocket in England | ||
| Firemanjim |
God,when did I get that big?--Must be my enormous presence!!As Vik guessed,I am 5'9" and 172lbs.(muscle weighs more ,Vik).I loved the Firebolt,and if they had had it to me sooner I would own one.Several things changed my mind--1) the rumors of bigger and better bikes from Buell(ala more sport touring genre),2) needed money to pay for S-2 motor mods for LSR,and 3) I could NOT get a delivery date.I needed a bike--the S-2 is now living on several shelves in my barn and at Mr. Nallin's.If they had had a bike while the iron was HOT I would be riding that now.Oh well ,I can wait.And Rocket is right,that Daytona may be gone as soon as something more enticing comes from Buell.Of course,I may love my newly massaged S-2 so much the Triumph gets cobwebs--we'll see. | ||
| Blake |
Nah Rocket. I believe the "wait till it's ready" line. And I wholly applaude it. Just take a moment and think back to the '99 DDFI fiasco. As a program manager for the design and manufacture of multimillion dollar satellite earth station antenna systems, my mantra was much the same... A customer's dissappointment over a late delivery will soon pass, but frustrations rent by poor quality will ne'er be forgotten. Get it right or don't ship it!! Of course there are limits to this logic. I'd say the XB9R delivery is well within those limits. Let us not bellyache over Buell not showing us what's coming. With the XB9R they did. Now we are to get impatient over it's scheduled delivery, which by the way has not slipped one single day since it was first announced? Which way do we want it? Can't have both. | ||
| Pammy |
I believe that ther was a problem with the chain tensioner(drive?) It was not faulty, just not idiot-proof. I think they are covering all bases this time...YAAY! Can't afford to do otherwise, I would imagine. #1 Rumor/truth about earlier Buells...recalls, reliability issues, etc... #2 Rumor/truth about the new firebolt...late delivery to make sure it's right, there is a Big Brother(Sister) Buell coming in the future,etc... I would vote for the #2 rumor/truth causing less lasting trouble | ||
| Pammy |
P.S. Chop's not normal people... HE'S A GIANT! | ||
| Eeeeek |
True story: I went to pick up my X1 from Auburn and Chop, his girlfriend and I loaded up into my 928 for the 50 mile trip there. The scene as we all got out of the car must have been like a freaking clown car at the circus. Just imagine you're at the shop and up pulls the Porsche. The doors swing open and I pop out of the drivers side (quite small, at only 6'0"  . The laws of physics are suspended as first Chop emerges from the passenger side and stands up to his full 6'7" glory. Chop swings around to fold olver the front seat and assist his girlfriend out of the car. David Coperfield has nothing on them as she steps out and stands up, checking in at 6'3". I've done the math and it's just not possible for the two of them to fit in my car! Vik | ||
| Rocketman |
Ok, maybe they are on schedule, and maybe they are 'getting it right' before they launch, but hey, one little mistake and they've put their heads in the lions jaw. How long is it gonna take to bring this bike to market. There must be hundreds of 'em sat waiting , and finished ready, at the gates of Buell. The least they could do is confirm, instead of allowing rumours to fly, the day we can walk in to the dealers and buy one. To put it another way, let's assume Buell have a thousand XB's up and ready, surely they couldn't have sold everyone pre-launch, so the dealers should have ample supply. What's wrong with letting your potential customers know they are guaranteed the bike of their choice on the date in question. Unless of course, they intend this to be one of those publicity grabbing "only the lucky few" (for now) stunts which make us all want one even more, but more importantly, our friends too, which is pretty much the way I see the V-Rod marketing bollocks. I guess if you flood the market you spoil the exclusivety. Ah what the fook do I know ? Rocket in England | ||
| Blake |
Another Brit rag review of the XB9R courtesy of master transcriber, Norm and SacB.O.R.G.; thanks Norm!
And the Meet your maker bit where Erik Buell answers our questions...
| ||
| Kahuna |
No S1 in his fleet!  I guess that's because X1's rule! | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Funny, that's what I tell people about my S3 when they ask me about it! | ||
| Rocketman |
Then I guess that Aerocharged S1 he rode to Harleys 95th is in bits by now Rocket in England | ||
| Anonymous |
Missed that didn't you Josie?
I guess pot shots mean more. Never let facts get in the way of a good story right Josie? | ||
| S320002 |
"At the end of the day as the fast boys were comparing lap times with previous launches, it turned out the Buell was quicker than a CBR600F Sport." Not bad for a bike that ain't got enough power to satisfy the restless masses. And don't try to compare displacement, it's not about displacement it's about controling the power you have. Wonder what it will do with a race kit? Seems like Europeans appreciate the XB for it's intended purpose. Greg | ||
| Blake |
I'm just wondering what the heck is a "CBR600F Sport"? I assume it's a naked F4 or something like that, or is it just the EU name for what we Uhmurkns call a CBR600F4? | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Yeah, like the tank air scoops on the '99 X1s which were supposed to be ABSOLUTELY necessary conveniently dissapeared on the 2000 X1s for cosmetic reasons (the color molded plastic couldn't make those nostrils look good enough) ..... Ok, so it might not fit a 52" wheelbase, but if a Revo engine derivative is stuffed inside a Buell, half the story that Buell will tell the press will be about how "innovative" the packaging of the motorcycle is, ie, how "they made it fit" | ||
| Rocketman |
Blake : It's the same and it's the most popular bike on the UK's roads. Well respected by the motorcycle masses and an absolute top performer. Having said that, FAST BIKES have just published their test from Valencia of the XB and they gave it high praise. In fact, they said the handling was nothing short of a miracle but they also pointed out its lacking in power down the straights. Rocket in England | ||
| Raymaines |
"Something like the V-Rod engine just wouldn't fit." I’m sure not here to say that the V-Rod would fit in the XB frame or that it’s ever going to fit anything else Buell ever makes, but I think that the quote from the above article could be interpreted as saying the problem is more philosophical than physical. Erik might be saying something like “It doesn’t fit my vision of the Firebolt…” | ||
| Anonymous |
Has anyone heard anything new on the delivery date? Does the April 27th date still stand? My dealer seemed pessimistic, but I'm not sure if he is as plugged in as some of the people on this board. He says BMC has given him three different dates so far. | ||
| Loki |
Gonna be a whole bunch of disgruntled dealers if it don't show on the 27th. Lots of open house type of things are planned for its premiere. | ||
| Mikej |
So, how many XB's will they need to have completed for the great display on April 27th? And how far in advance of that date will they have to have all the bikes crated in order to meet that delivery date? And how far in advance will the dealerships need to receive the XB('s) in order to have it uncrated and setup for display and possible "see/hear it run" in the parking lot? Are we talking a few hundred bikes, or a thousand that need to be ready on the 27th of April? Let's assume they need 500 bikes, and let's also assume they will have some in Europe, Japan, and Austrailia. The ones going overseas can be airfreighted, so they can go out by the 19th and still possibly get there, unless they have to go through Customs, and with the Sept.11th attack I think overseas shipping would have had to be in transit already. For U.S. dealerships, bikes going to Alaska and Hawaii either have to go airfreight, or probably also have to already be in transit. Logistically to supply the 48 contiguous States, with dealers spread all over the place, I'd say crated bikes have to be in trucks this week, with more truckloads shipping each week. Semi-local destined XB's can probably be shipped as late as the 19th. So, has anyone checked the local East Troy hardware store for nail and crate-screw inventory recently? How about the local drug store for a depletion of baidaids and Neosporin? Right about now I'd say Capitol Drive should be pumping out a regular stream of engines, anybody been on a tour lately? (Hmmm, maybe time for one next week or so.) Side note: Has anyone noticed that April 27th is also a Full Moon? Coincidence? Perhaps not, but maybe so. Just some Monday morning thinkings. | ||
| Anonymous |
Mikej, I was by the Capitol Drive plant around the 20th. The plant was closed to tours on that day. | ||
| Mikej |
Interesting. |
