| Author | Message | ||
     Paroyboy |
Test rode a 12S at the Open House here in York. Totally stock. First off, I think the R's are alot more comfortable. Did'nt care for the sitting upright thing. I wanted to test a 12R but the bulk of the Buell fleet was somewhere else. Engine sounds about the same as my old 9R. Revving might have sounded a little more beefy than a stock piped 9. Power seemed to be about the same as my 9R with the full race kit. The engine looks good with the titanium colored covers. Sorry for the underwhelming review but thats a word that comes to mind on the new engine, underwhelming. Maybe I would feel different if it was a 12R. Test rode a few other bikes. What impressed me the most was the Sportster 1200 custom. Very sharp looking, comfortable, and the rubber mounted engine is a HUGE improvement over the old one. When spring comes (and tex refund!) I might just jump back over the Harley fence. I do miss the hell out of my 9R though. Here's a pic of the house that the 9R paid a small portion of! \image | ||
| Paroyboy |
hmmm...one more time  | ||
| Leeaw |
Paraboy, Wise decision to buy a house. Where I don't have two garages, I do have two Buell's for now. I would trade you my M2 for a single car garage though. I am pleased to here another opinion that a 9R is close with a race kit. Can't wait for spring for the race kit. Don't let the force take you back to a Sportster. More money for less is not the way. | ||
| Mookie |
I would trade you my M2 for a single car garage though. }I wouldnt wish a one car garage on anyone. Its only a teaser. | ||
| Leeaw |
Better than the no car garage I have at my house. | ||
| Mookie |
yes I see your point. I have a 1.5 car garage and I have to almost put my boat on its side in order to get anything in there. taking something out in the winter is another battle as all of the yard furniture is in there as well. | ||
| Kevyn |
The 2004 is a 'Sportster' in name only...whole new bike with a Buell 1200 motor that will wake right up with intake and exhaust mods...nothing will corner, accelerate or move like the XB's but the Sportster may prove to be a worthy alternative. No shame at all, the Roaster is more to my likings... | ||
| Darthane |
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the two 1200 motors actually share few parts. I think it would take a lot more than an intake and exhaust to get a 1200 Sporty engine anywhere NEAR the stock output of a XB12. | ||
| Dynarider |
Nope they share a lot of parts, pistons, rods, entire valve train,heads, etc etc. Cams are different & the cases are styled differently. The motors are assembled side by side on the same line at the capitol drive plant. The new 1200 sporty is rated at 70hp & thats with the intake & exhaust bottled up. Open em up & that bike should be a lot of fun. | ||
| Joojoo |
For sure.... As well, gotta love it when HD is using Buell Technologies...WE have awesome bikes. Jack | ||
| Leeaw |
Joojoo, Bite your tounge or we will be paying over MSRP too. | ||
| Dynarider |
Bite your tounge or we will be paying over MSRP too.] A number of dealers already do that or attempt to with Buells. PS....around here all the dealers are at MSRP on Harleys. | ||
| Darthane |
Heh...when I was ready to get my 9R, I put $500 on the table at a local shop, who then, a couple days later, attempted to tell me that they would not sell the bike for less than $12,000 because it was a '100th Anniversary model'. -=snort=- A little patience and my Battle Blue XB9R showed up at the dealer I'd originally ordered one from a month later, as promised, at MSRP. Still can't get over the XB9R being a 100th Anniversary Harley. LOL | ||
| Leeaw |
Darth, Maybe it was a 100th Bob Hope Special? | ||
| Kaese |
Just got my 100th anniversary plaque today, unexpected bonus. Laser engraved picture of a XB9R. Like a trophy. | ||
| Jim_witt |
Bryan, Heh...when I was ready to get my 9R, I put $500 on the table at a local shop, who then, a couple days later, attempted to tell me that they would not sell the bike for less than $12,000 because it was a '100th Anniversary model'. Hey ... just a salesman doing his job by trying to squeeze out the last few drops of blood out’a your body. -JW:>  | ||
| Darthane |
LOL...no, I leave that to the insurance companies. | ||
| Dynarider |
LOL...no, I leave that to the insurance companies. Well I guess Newfie can cross Darth off his christmas card list  | ||
| Paroyboy |
Finally back online! We waited three weeks to get a phone line here at the new house. The next day, along comes Isabel and knocks out the power for 2 1/2 days! Love that country livin'! Did I mention that cable doesnt come this far out and that we have too many trees for satellite! But, at least we dont have to listen to upstairs neighbors anymore! I'll kick around the idea of Sporty vs XB over the winter. Both have their good points. Hell, at this point, a beat-up Nighthawk would be nice! If I could find this magical dealer that people post about selling XB9's for $7495, I would probably lean that way. I wonder if the new Sportsters will cough and spit when cold like the old ones. Oh well, here's to looking at 6 months of cold weather comin' up! | ||
| Lothodon |
back on subject...i took a 12r out yesterday for a demo (own a 9r) and all i can say is REV LIMITER! i slammed into the rev limiter constantly. now i know, i'd get used to it if i owned one, but it would take me relearning the bike for sure. the 12r seemed to vibrate a LOT more then my 9r and had a nasty little vibration when braking (could be new brakes though, but my 9r didn't do that). the 12r was definately quicker to hit the rev limit than my 9r is though, but it seems that there should be more after the rev limit hits. well, i'm happy that it saved me a lot of coin since i decided not to trade up. plus now that i found much cheaper insurance, i'm more than happy to keep my 9r, just have to get the black body parts over this winter and make it unique. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Also took a 12r out yesterday (own a 9s). Since the '04 had only 350 miles on it, I kept the rev's under 5,000 out of some respect for the un-broken-in motor. Louder motor than the 9, more vibrations but then again my 9s has 4,200 miles now and has smoothed out somewhat. The 12r has better acceleration than mine. Handling is great, of course, but it doesn't flick as easily into the corners. Same here, Lothodon, I'm happy with what I now have. Except that it needs a cleaning...  | ||
| Opto |
Hello all you BadWebbers, hi, been lurking, have some questions, hope you can help. Have an XB12S on order in Australia, they may be ready for sale early/mid October. Asking for some help re. how loud is the stock muffler - can you hear the exhaust at 50 mph? Has anyone fitted the race kit yet? Just wondering cause it would piss me off no end if I can't hear it and then wait 3 months for a kit(I could order a kit now if I got some good feedback). The XB9 with race kit is plenty loud enough for me. Wondering, Professor, why the 12 doesn't flick into corners like your 9. Also wondering if the 12 race kit lifts the rev limit...Lotsa questions, yes, I come from an old Jap/Ducati/then Sportster background, with keen eye on the Buells for 6 years, became single after mentioning to partner that I wanted to buy a Buell(2 yrs ago), and now that I am single, a Buell is coming my way. Wanted one for 6 years. Thanks, Opto.}} | ||
| Buckinfubba |
opto glad to have ya. Yes you can hear the exhaust at 50 mph its just not that loud. If you want the noise you might want to get the race kit. I felt the same that the 12 is not as flickable, maybe it was just a feeling, but none the less thats how I felt. ps welcome to the single happy life!!!! Brian Tilley hd/buell buckinfubba@hotmail.com | ||
| Prof_stack |
What I meant by "flickability": I was comparing the 12r I was test riding with my own 9s. You know: different bars, seating position, etc. Plus, the 12r suspension was not set the same as my bike's. Are there any salesguys who actually do that before a potential customer takes a bike out for a spin? Prof | ||
| Opto |
Thanks for the feedback Brian & Prof. Only a couple of weeks to delivery! YeeHaaa! Just wondering if its not a silly idea to get the headers ceramic coated in the alloy silver finish before the bike gets assembled to stop the stainless from coloring. I know its not good to stuff with something that's near perfect but I can't help think about this. On the exhaust note I'll just suck it and see. See ya, Opto. | ||
| Jmartz |
I was rolling at flow speed on the freeway this past weekend on my R1 when I noticed a bike on the HOV lane. The rider was moving quite a bit faster than me so naturally I gave chase to see what it was. An XB12s to my delight. Small, good looking and quite zippy, if I may add. Congratulations to all of you that have stayed with the brand or have acquired one of these. Lovely bike! | ||
| Tripper |
Hey Jose. Why don't you take Thursday afternoon and Friday off work and go test ride one with me in Knoxville. | ||
| Leeaw |
Opto, I had my header done a by Jet Hot couple of years ago. It looks really nice and is basically maintenance free. It tends to lose the sheen near the heads but you can use some Mother's Mag polish to keep it looking pretty good. Not sure as of yet if I am going to do it on my XB though. | ||
| Jmartz |
I wish I could. Not sure I can survive a 4 hr. ride while in the "pooping" position. Lets do a N. Georgia ride before venturing out of state, besides, TN sucks, it has a helmet law. Say SC and I'll suffer all that is needed. |
