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Buell Motorcycle Forum » XBoard » Buell XBoard Archives » Archive through July 12, 2009 » Which bike would you buy? « Previous Next »

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Roysbuell
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 02:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I know this is the wrong site for getting an answer to this question but I am interested in the pros and cons you may have. Harley Davidson Nightster vs. Buell Lightning XB12scg, all opinions welcome. I will be using it for short commutes and weekend rides in South Texas. I can ride year around down here. So there will be no "off season" for the bike. She must take the heat of summer and regular use with as little down time as possible. I usually ride alone with an occasional 2-up.
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Thulsadoom
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 02:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Scg. That was my first choice and I may cg-ize my Ss. Such a hot bike. Hands down the Buell.

DOOM
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Fast1075
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 03:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

You are asking a tough question...those two bikes are not apples to apples so to speak...the nightster is a cruiser bike..another sportster incarnation.

The Buell is a sporting bike...completely different animal...Buell has a lot more power and is lighter, and handles, and stops.. the nightster is...wellll it's a sportster in black...

My advice is to ride both and decide for yourself if you can't afford both bikes: )
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P_squared
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 03:16 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

MSRP is ~$100 difference between the 2 bikes. Buy the 1 you want to ride & makes you smile.

Nightster has the "cool" factor for cruising the boulevard/bar hopping.

Lightning has better brakes, better handling, more HP & Tq.

Comparing the 2 based on the specs posted on HD for the Nightster & Buell for the Lightning, you get more for your money with the Lightning.

Just my opinion & YMMV.
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Thulsadoom
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 03:18 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I wouldn't bar hop on either bike, but that is just me. If the Scg is all blacked out, then it too has the cool factor. Who am I kidding? The Buell could be baby $hit brown and still be cool. Unique and many have no idea what it be...

DOOM
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P_squared
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 03:29 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I was using a term to express what I think the bike is "good" for by saying "bar hopping". That is in no way to be construed as an endorsement by me to actually use a M/C as your means of transportation between bars while imbibing.

For me, it's just not a bike I would gladly hop onto in the morning w/ no expectation of coming home & parking until the sun was going down. Good for putting around town, but I don't want to ride 1 for any distance if there's the potential for twisties and/or being a hooligan.

Like I said originally, looking at the specs between the 2 bikes, it's my opinion that you get a LOT more for your money with the Buell. That alone is a selling point to me.

But @ the end of the day, it's Roy who has to decide which bike he wants if he can't afford both. For that, I stand by my first recommendation: Buy the 1 you want to ride & makes you smile.
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Slaughter
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 03:36 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I've heard that the Nightster riding position is harder to take on longer rides and doesn't feel quite "as secure" when riding those twisty bits.

(Third-hand information ^ is only worth half of what you paid for it)
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Zanon
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 04:04 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Both cool bikes with lots of character, but as different as night and day.

Nightster is all about style. Handling is poor, as are acceleration and brakes. They may be "good enough" for what you have in mind, but they are not good.

Buell is the best handling bike out there. Does not have cruiser style.

Buell actually sounds awesome, like a Harley, which to me adds much of its character.

If you can test ride them both, I'd do so. Buell is much easier to ride. Both look cool. I'd love a nightster too, but only room for 1 bike in my garage!
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Fahren
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 04:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

i tried sitting on a nightster at the dealer, because I really like the look of it - it fit well, but the intake on the right side of the engine really bothered my leg - just in the exact wrong place for my knee. I knew right away that i could never live with it, but I would never have known w/o trying. The bikes are totally different, but I'm sure each would be fun in its own way.
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Marksm
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 04:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I originally wanted a Nightster, until I sat on one. Way too low for my 36" inseam. I felt folded up. I knew from from previous Sportster ownership that my back would hurt after 10 minutes. The XBS seating is perfect for long rides.
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Lonewolfnavet
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 04:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Having owned both Sporties and Buell, I'd say it is all up to you! Either ride has its strengths and weaknesses, both are good looking bikes, in my opinion. Buell handles real good and makes you feel like you are almost always in auto pilot! The Sporty is good for cruisin. Both make bad bikes for passengers (unless its a Uly)...
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Bikertrash05
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 05:27 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

The Nightster looks cool. I see you have a Blast, right? As long as you don't ride an XB, you won't know what you are missing. I went from a XB9SX to a Nightster, thinking the power might be close. Well, it felt really slow, especially on accelerating from 60mph to 80mph, and it is really easy to lean to far on a Nightster, pegs and pipe on one side, kickstand and pegs on the other.

If you are a "sporting" rider, get the Buell. If you are a cruiser, the Nightster, or even the 883 Iron.
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Rainman
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 06:10 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

My .03 (everything's going up but my salary): I had a 1200 Sporty back in 89 that had similar custom build to the Nightster. It was a great ride, but two hours on the road in that position hurt. I have a Blast now and love how it flicks about in city traffic and holds the backroads.

I've ridden both and I prefer the Buell. It's like a Sportster taken all the way to the end of its development.
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Sloppy
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 07:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Maybe you can request an "economic incentive grant" from Congress so you can buy both!

Everybody knows that we'd do a better job getting the economy in order if we were allowed to keep the money ourselves rather than to the Feds!!!

Loved the $0.03 joke - if you don't mind I'll steal it!

Bottom line is you have to test ride both and the next morning you'll know which one to get. It'll be the one you just had a wet dream about. ..
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Aldaytona
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 09:36 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

That's a tough one. I have had Sportsters since 1968. Have a 2000 now, and a XB12R. I ride them both a lot as I have no car. I also have owned/own S1s and M2s. If I had to make that choice, I'd get a late model, low mileage M2 Cyclone. It's a Sportster morphed into a Buell.
It's two, two, two bikes in one.
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Lonewolfnavet
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 09:41 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Oh what the heck...get a Vespa Sccot and the chicks will think you are cute!
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Xb1200rick
Posted on Friday, July 10, 2009 - 10:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I had a sporty , then I bought the buell . I sold the sporty just because it never got out of the garage
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Kurosawa
Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2009 - 01:19 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Scg, simply for fuel capacity. IIRC, there can be some miles between filling stations in Texas. But there's other stuff. Take the lean angle. Maybe right now you're not figuring on leaning a bike over anywhere near as far as a Buell will go, but you may find yourself forced to explore new lean angles, and when you get there, the Buell will be there for you. Or maybe you don't expect to need the Buell's strong brakes, but sometimes things have a way of jumping out in front of you that will make you very glad you have them. I've always been partial to the Sportster: I think of the XB12 series as the Sportster it took 50+ years to get right.
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Rsh
Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2009 - 01:21 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

If you buy the Sportster, Harley is running the "We Ride Free" program if you buy between July 1, 2009 thru August 31, 2009 you can ride for a year and get your money back if you buy a VRSC, Dyna, Softail or Touring. This offer applies to the XR 1200 as well.
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Roysbuell
Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2009 - 10:03 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Wow! I was confused with the 'cool' factor of both bikes. I got a great set of answers here and I will be test riding both but I will test ride the Nightster first just so I get a chance to ride it before I buy the Lightning. Yes I do have a Blast which is what started my Buell blood flowing. What has sold me is the handling and brakes. I feel that on a motorcycle you have no doors or bumpers to protect you, all you have is your riders instinct and ability along with the motorcycle's agility.
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Reepicheep
Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2009 - 10:39 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Both cool bikes for sure.

The lightning could be a decent light sport tourer (i've done it on mine). I'm guessing the sporty would be fairly awful.

The nightsters are cool looking bikes for sure though... back to what the sporty always was.
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Eicas
Posted on Saturday, July 11, 2009 - 12:08 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

For going slow and looking cool around town the Nightster wins,

However, if you want performance, the hands down winner is the Buell.

Both are good bikes and a lot of fun when kept in their element. I traded in a Sportster that I rode for almost 7 years for my Buell about 2 years ago. I like both of them.
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