| Author | Message | ||
     Destroy |
Reading the Tech section can seem rather depressing judging the issues and buybacks Buell has. I'm looking to replace my uber reliable Honda Magna with a bike I was rather impressed with on the demo ride, a XB12Ss Long. This bike is to be used as a daily commuter so it will gather miles rather quickly. Issues I have with the Long are mainly the vibrations and surging at low speeds. Vib I can deal with I guess but the surging or mechanical I can definitely see an issue during my stop and go commute. I see people saying an intermittent 'cough, surge or sputter' is part of a Buells character. I don't need character like that in rush hour traffic, thank you very much. Is the surging really part of a Buell? That seems crazy to me. With the Honda I just jump on, start it and go with zero issues or problems besides normal maintenance. So I'm hear asking, "Does an XB equal a Honda in how well it 'simple works'? You know, where you can just get on and know it'll run properly every day with nothing to worry about except it's next oil change? Or does a Buell owner need to sacrifice and put up with drivability 'character' that is part of it' soul? | ||
| Acidtuch10 |
Never had an issue minus a belt breaking - But hey I was on one wheel and hard on the throttle so it may have been something I did. But I put 6500 miles on it last summer. | ||
| Lazyj |
out of the two buells i have owned i have never really had any commuting issues and I commute on a regular basis.....besides whats a bike without character.... I think the coughing that you are talking about is caused from the constant revving of the engine at a stop that so many people feel is necessary to do which is not the case with a Buell...... | ||
| Perry |
In my experience, no. I commute 70 miles each day on an XB12scg. The buell is a very torquey bike with relatively heavy clutch pull - which becomes somewhat less-than-smooth in stop and go, stop-and-go, etc. It's a hoot to ride around, but it just isn't the best for navigating the rush hour heavy traffic. The 9 may be better in this respect. The vibration wore through a wire on the tail-light of my bike and caused electrical problems. Even though I had purchased the extended warrantly the dealer refused to fix it under warranty because I had added heated grips (yeah, other end of the bike and not in any way connected, but apparently any excuse is good enough to refuse warranty). The vibs are also annoyingly severe at low RPM after a while, and you will spend a good part of the time at low RPM in a truly stop-and-go situation where you are going 0-20 mph over and over and over again in rush hour. If you have open road and can cruise at 80mph you have no worries and the bike is great, and if you can occasionally hammer the throttle on an onramp you will get a big smile - but if you want rock-solid reliability and smooth performance in stop-and-go I think the Honda will beat the Buell hands down. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I think it depends on what you want. The clutch pull on Buells is heavier than on the Honda. I have been in stop and go traffic several times and it has never been an issue. Buells don't like to bog down around 5 MPH. Hondas, you can let the clutch out in first or second and allow them to run at idle. Again, it never bothered me. I am used to it and can rub along nicely. The vibrations completely don't bother me. For some it is literally a pain in the a$$. I guess for me I am willing to put up with riding in conditions 2% of the time I find unattractive in order to have a bike I love 98% of the time. If 100% of your riding is going to be in stop and go at less than 25 MPH, a Metropolitan or Vespa is better than either the Honda or Buell. I just wouldn't want to try to rip the Gap on a Vespa. Everything in life is a trade off. You have to decide what trade-offs you are willing to accept. | ||
| Ridrx |
'06 12R every day... rain or shine. You got nothing to worry about as far as reliability is concerned. Service manual, basic tools, BadWeb, a little common sense...you're all set. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Not only are Buells not up to your Honda standard, most Hondas are not up to your Honda standard. Ive helped fix my share of neighbors and friends Hondas. That being said, 18k miles of mainly daily year around commuting on my 05 XB9SX and I could not be happier. Have not had a day yet in three years of riding it where I wanted to ride it and could not because there was some sort of problem. I have had maybe 4 instances in those 18k miles where the engine "coughed" when I meant to accelerate. It's always when the engine is still cold, and only if I have the idle adjusted fairly low. None ever stalled the bike and none took more then 2 seconds to completely recover. I think if you factor in "regularly scheduled mandatory down time" like valve adjustments and chain maintenance, the Buells are just as good or better in "uptime" then most Hondas. You probably won't get the lifespan out of a Buell as you might out of a gold wing, but you won't get a gold wing life span out of a CBR-600, superhawk, or XR-650 either. That Magna is a good engine, my Uncle-in-law is on his second and swears by it. Its heavy though, as I found out loading a buddies Honda into the back of a pickup I had to borrow to go pick him up with after he threw a rod. That wasn't a Magna, but it used that same motor. That bike was a riot all the way up until it died... if you look on the frame for recommended tires, it said "Dunrops". No kidding... The dash looked like an 80's video game as well. And boy did it sound sweet.... | ||
| Chessm |
which magna do you have? i had a 96 vf750cd. ive commuted on both. i had the magna for a year, but ive only had the buell for about 3 months. i cant comment too well on reliability but i know my magna is super reliable. the buy i bought it from( the 1st owner) had no problems with it at 26,000 miles and i had no problems with at 40,000 miles when i sold it. i could comment on maintenance though as my magna ate through chains and sprockets, they constanly required adjusting and lubing, while i havent had a belt snap on me yet (knock on wood). then theres the valve adjustments on the magna...ouch. as far as commuting goes though...i love my xb9s much more for commuting than the magna. until recently i had a 20 mile commute through the san francisco bay area that consisted of mostly lane splitting and city stop and go riding. my magna just gulps down gas at that type of riding while the buell is more frugal. in those conditions i would need to switch to reserve via the manual petcock (dicey when youre sandwiched between 6000lbs of sleepy commuters) while the buell gets me at least 110 before the low fuel light comes on. im not even gonna get started on accident avoidance as im sure anyone that knows anything about buells will already know about its handling capabilties. also the abbreviated bull pup dimensions of the buell can snake its way through tight spots in traffic better than anything short of a scooter, so im always guaranteed an advantageous start when the christmas lights go green. | ||
| Cowtown |
I can’t remember where I read it, maybe someone here will know where it was written, but it stated that Buell XBs are the best gas and go motorcycle on the market. Fuel injected, electronic ignition system, self-adjusting valves, air-cooled, no chain to maintain and with the idler pulley the belt does not need adjusting. Belts last longer than chains and the pulleys do not need replacing with the belt as sprockets do when the chain is replaced. Just change the oil and adjusted the primary chain every 5,000 miles. I personally do that every 2,500 miles, or else I’d be changing tires before oil. | ||
| Austinuu |
05 12R 17,962 miles since 09/27/06 82 miles every M-F rain or shine. I also put 2500 miles on it over a 4 day weekend, 2000 of those miles were 1000 mile, 17 hour straight runs, only stopping long enough to drink a redbull, 20oz of water and gas up, bike did't miss a beat. I've only had 3 minor problems that my shop had in and out the same day covered under warranty. I love the bike for commuting. Clutch pull is a bit heavy but I don't even notice it anymore. Currently averaging around 47 mpg with a combination of stop and go plus wide open highway. You will go through tires quickly as well. Austin | ||
| Punkid8888 |
I travel through boston on mine, and my only complaint is what others have said with low speed crawl. In my 4 cylinder 700cc yamaha I could let the clutch out and creap at idle about 5mph. but the Buell you need to be at least above 1500 and closer to 2000 which works out to be about 10 or 15mph. which does not do any good in stop and go. But I still do it everyday the sun is out because it is so much fun, way more fun then my yamaha. honestly before I got my Buell I only used my bike for commutting and doing errands. But now I ride the Buell just to get lost and in hopes of finding some amazing roads. this bike truely changed my perspective on motorcycles. | ||
| Reepicheep |
True on the tires... if I had a 12 and was commuting I would consider scorpion syncs rather then the D208's or Diablos. Little less stick, little more wear, still good enough to drag a peg. And they won't go to jello if you for some reason find yourself on wet grass or gravel. On my 9sx, I get 5k out of a sync rear, and 9k+ out of a front. The 12 would probably eat rears a bit faster... | ||
| Nickcaro |
I picked up my bike 5/12/06 (XB12Ss) and just hit 3k miles two days ago. I live in Brooklyn and ride it in to work in Manhattan and up to Connecticut on the weekends, now I'm occasionally shooting up to the Bear MT area. I can only share my experience. My Buell does start to cough if I start trying to be a hot devil splitting lanes and revving around to get attention. If I ride it without the excessive revs then there is no cough or hiccup. I thought the clutch was a bit hard at first in Manhattan traffic and I even had cramps the first week in my forearm. Guess what... my grip is now stronger and no more cramps. Without a doubt this puppy gets hot, I've learned to deal with it by not revving the engine and always looking to stay in motion rather than speeding from one light to the next. I rode that bike over the drawbridge in Newark NJ three times back and forth while I was lost in pouring rain, each time fearing for my life... and each time it was a nice smooth ride. Last Sunday I rode in so much rain that my Buell gloves are still drying on the window pane in my apartment, I even went through a puddle deep enough that my exhaust went under and the water came up to my feet. I had a moment of panic and just hit the gas. I slid out to one side, threw my leg down like the days of motox and just tore out of there. I once considered getting a Vespa. last night I was behind one on the West Side highway and we were cruising around 65MPH. he hit long bump in the road and he fishtailed, bounce around and I thought he was going over the bars. I hit the same bump bracing myself for the worst...and I almost did not even feel it... At this point I'm very happy with the bike and have had zero reliability issues. I park it on the street next to a Honda 919. I seriously considered getting one of those also. One of the girls I work with looked at both of them and said; "wow your bike is so much tougher looking..." By next week I'll have a Drummer pipe on there and the canyons of Manhattan will never sound the same again. | ||
| Jaimec |
I've nearly 15,000 miles on my XB12Ss, which I use as a daily commuter as well as a weekend play bike. No issues. My commute was 54 miles a day, but it was recently shortened to 34 miles a day when I moved ten miles closer to the office. Most of those miles are highway miles, and I can breeze by the stalled traffic in the HOV lane here on Long Island (which is the main reason I use the bike to commute). That and the better than 50mpg doesn't hurt either! | ||
| 07xb12scg |
I will be the first to tell the truth on this thread... (I think since I didn't read all the posts word for word) The typical Buell will NOT be as reliable as a typical Honda, period! Obviously, there are some perfect Buells and crappy Hondas, but in the majority of cases this won't be the case. Let's see...my Buell ran like crap from day one. I have the surging and coughing issues. I've heard conflicting stories as to whether or not this is "normal" Buell behavior. I know nobody that I know with a Jap bike has ever had issues related to FI. And the voltage regulator went bad and had to be replaced before 2,000 miles. I have tons of people who have Japanese sport bikes, some that are abused stunt bikes, and they've really never had major issues with their bikes. I really like my Buell, but if I had to do it all over again I'm not sure I'd buy a Buell. I was driven towards Buell because of my inseam. (Message edited by 07XB12Scg on June 06, 2007) | ||
| Sshbsn |
Well, I'll TRY to tell the truth, but maybe just join the pack of liars responding to this thread.  I had a 2004 XB12R which I put almost 12K miles on in 14 months. I live in Florida, so this bike spent a lot of time on bad roads, and in severe storms. The only problem I ever had was: the little metal loop which holds the clutch cable away from the front exhaust broke. I've had a lifetime of japanese bikes, and in fact have an old FZR right now. But I wouldn't ever say that they are inherently more reliable than my XB. I would say that the XB is put together better, with higher quality parts, than the japanese bikes I've owned (including two Hondas). | ||
| Coops53233 |
13k miles and 1.5yrs of commuting 5 days per week in DC rush-hour traffic. Other than the original '03 belt braking, I have done nothing other than routine maint to my XB (brakes and oil). I'm certainly no mechanic and have no really special tools beyond my $99 Craftsman Mechanic kit. In fact, the only thing that needed a trip to the shop was a TPS reset when i put on the race kit. | ||
| Irideabuell |
I commute daily on my 2004 xB12s with no trouble at all. It has 21,000 miles on it and I've not had one issue to speak of. I actually miss riding to work on the days I drive my car. | ||
| Spatten1 |
My XB9 a bit of a lemon, but there are about 15 riders in the local Buell club that have had trouble free experiences. | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
Anyone that even hints that any brand is built better than a Buell or Harley for that matter does not have a clue. I had a CT1 yamaha that I tried to find a zipper for the crankcase because of shifting fork breakage. Or my friend that had the 04 r1 with the bad throttle body that yamaha would not fix or another friend with a Honda that kept eating charging coils, remember the first goldwings-they could not get the electrical gremlins out.Then there is the Harley Evo 's out there with 100,000 miles and never had the rocker covers off. Most of the problems I have seen with Buells is when someone starts putting race this and race that on their bike and they are actually guessing at what they are doing. | ||
| Cmhxb9 |
2003 XB9S, purchased used in late '05 with 2K miles. Now has 15K+ miles. No trouble! Standard maintenance. Upgraded to 2004 sprockets and '06 belt...American Sport Bike kit (very nice)...remember to order new belt guards. Oh. There is one problem...my bike seems to go slower on the way to work and much faster when I leave work. Any thoughts? | ||
| Destroy |
Thanks for all the many replies; all good feedback for sure. Reliability I sort of knew isn't great but is decent for the most part. I'd be curious to hear more on the drivability part? "...Start to cough.." "..the surging and coughing issues." I'm also a bit surprised no one mentions the tallish 1st gear in stop and go traffic. This not a problem for most I guess. | ||
| M_singer |
I have an XB12R that I recently bought used with low miles. I have since put a few thousand miles on it. So far it starts the first time every time. Can be immediately ridden off even when it is in the 30’s (probably much colder too but have not tested that). It has not coughed or sputtered. The drivability is near flawless. First gear on the 12 is a little tall and the clutch pull is heavy compared to almost any other bike. Neither of those things make for easy bumper to bumper stop and crawl riding. I ride mine almost exclusively on rural mountain 2 lanes so those things are of no concern to me. The 9’s are geared lower and reportedly smother at lower rpm’s. A 9 might be better for heavy traffic? I had a V65 magna years ago. That bike was so different from my Buell that I wouldn’t even attempt to compare them. I love my Buell! There isn’t anything that I would rather ride down a twisty road. I have only ridden 2 XB’s. One that I test rode a couple of years ago and the one that I own. Both preformed flawlessly with no surging or sputtering of any kind. Both were very smoother on on/off throttle transitions. | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
I commute daily on my 12ss, It sputters a bit when cold but never once warmed up on the highway. Other than customizing I have done nothing to mine but normal maintenance. I love mine, I have owned a number of hondas and enjoy this bike much more. I like going on a ride and not pulling into the parking lot full of identical bikes. With your attitude about the Buell and your notion that it has questionable reliability, just go ahead and buy the honda. That will be a lot better than having another guy whining about how terrible his buell is on the board. I am not trying to be harsh just realistic. | ||
| 07xb12scg |
Anyone that even hints that any brand is built better than a Buell or Harley for that matter does not have a clue. Wow! I certainly disagree 100%. If there were readily available statistics on bike reliability like there is for cars and trucks I'd prove you wrong. Here is a survey from a UK site. Yes, I know it's just a survey, but look at it as an example. http://www.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/2004-09-081 01210MWEBMP.htm The motorcyclists were asked how reliable their motorcycle is. Results: 1. BMW (90%) 2. Honda (89.2%) 3. Yamaha (85.5%) 4. Triumph (84%) 5. Suzuki (83.2%) 6. Kawasaki (82.8%) 7. MZ (81.3%) 8. Harley-Davidson (80.1%) 9. Aprilia (77.1%) 10. KTM (74%) 11. Buell (72.2%) 12. Cagiva (70.5%) 13. Ducati (69.1%) 14. Moto Guzzi (68.8%) 15. CCM (63.8%) Oh and comparing 1970s and 1980s bikes to modern bikes in terms of reliability is a joke. Technology gets better and reliability usually follows. Exactly what happened with Japanese products. No company is perfect, but Japanese engines are unmatched in terms of the combination of reliability and performance. Just look at what the stunt guys put their Jap bikes through. Oh BTW my Buell is completely stock and I have had problems from day one like I said. | ||
| Ejiii |
I have commuted on my XB9SX everyday, rain or shine, for the 2 1/2 years I have owned it with no problems except a bad front brake light switch. I have a SS Drummer, FAST intake system and the race ECM. It runs great. | ||
| Prof_stack |
I've owned two Honda and two Buells. My current ride, the XB9S, has been as reliable as the Hondas. More fun, too. If you're not sure, then go with your gut and get the Honda. But perhaps your heart is leaning towards the Buell? | ||
| Pinball |
I`ve ridden dozens of other bikes at test rides and every time I get back on mine ,it feels like home.It`s smaller, lighter, funner, and gets way more looks than anything ! 2004 XB9S 34000kms and going strong!! | ||
| Rogue_biker |
I've owned Hondas, Suzuki's, and my first Buell. I currently have a VFR800 I've owned for 4 years now. Also an '06 Firebolt 12R for about a year and 8k miles. I've commuted on both bikes. I've also taken long distance rides on both bikes. I also do a lot of sport riding on both bikes. Finally, I do my own wrenching on both bikes. The VFR800 has been 99% reliable. It's not 100% because the rear brake light went out due to a stripped wire somewhere that I have failed to trace--it is buried somewhere in a large wire loom so I gave up. Now I have only one brake light. One time during a long trip, a couple of fasteners came loose on the bike. The VFR800 is not entirely vibe-free. That's really about it. Currently have 32k miles on it. One big complaint I have is how much more difficult the VFR800 is to maintain than the Buell! A simple brake system bleed takes 4 hours thanks to the linked brakes and other requirements unique to my VFR. So far, I have not had any issues with my Firebolt. It surges ONCE when the engine is cold. After that, it runs perfect. My Firebolt does have tall gearing so that makes it more tricky to ride in very slow going traffic. However, my 2006 has the new tranny and clutch so it has a light clutch pull and an acurate, precise shifter. What I really love about my Buell for commuting is its torquey motor and smooth clutch. It comes off the line very smoothly and accelerates quickly but cleanly away from all the cagers all struggling to keep up! The VFR needs revs and some clutch slip to get off the line smoothly. Plus, the Buell NEVER needs constant chain maintenance like my VFR and other bikes. The Buell also has a very smooth power delivery thanks to its belt drive. In my humble opinion, a Buell Lightning Long would make a terrific commuter even in traffic. Just stay on top of the maintenance, like oil/filter changes, Throttle Position Sensor reset, torque the fasters regularly, and you're all set. It is a very easy bike to live with. And if you're still worried about reliability, buy the extended warranty. | ||
| Xbeau12s |
Two Kawasaki Ninjas. A KTM Duke II. and now my 04 XB12S. The Buell has beaten all that I've owned by far in any reliability issues. Currently at 10K. All but one I purchased with low miles. KTM was Unique and Ninjas were cheap and great first bikes! |
