| Author | Message | ||
     Brucelee |
The VROD motor does not have to be stuffed in the current XB frame per se. I am sure Erik can figure out a frame that can accomodate the size of the VROD and still be light and responsive. Say about 125 HP or so to start. 400-415 lbs dry should run rather nicely I would say. I would be first in line. | ||
| Dbird29 |
Sport Tour model please! But keep the low mass feel. DBird | ||
| Boulderbiker |
Here ya go Trojan, I got this spy shot of them in touring mode...  | ||
| Boulderbiker |
In case you're wondering, that luggage setup is a mod I'm planning on for mine. I must say I do like the look of it with the full bodywork and the sport touring screen. I'll show you in a week or two the other touring modification I'm making. | ||
| Buellkowski |
If the V-Rod mill goes into anything sporty, it'll be something with H-D stickers, not Buell. Why give the red-headed stepchild the family jewels? I still (wishfully) vote for a W-3; Buell's answer to the Speed Triple. Now about cooling that center cylinder... | ||
| Whodom |
One thing about the V-Rod motor- it's got balance shafts. Sooo, you can either throw away the balance shafts to lose a few pounds and rubber mount the engine, or keep the balance shafts, rigid-mount the engine and make it a stressed member in the frame, and make the frame a little lighter. | ||
| Anonymous |
The V-Rod motor weighs 70 lbs more than competitive V-twin liter motors like the Aprilia, Honda and Ducati. And no matter what license you take with Photoshop, in the real world it is a very big engine that won't fit in an XB. Also you can bet your rear end that it costs a LOT more than an XB motor...I mean, a V-Rod costs $17,000, and a Sportster costs $9,000! Why saddle Buell with an engine like that? Why build a motorcycle that the mainstream press can crucify? One that needs excuses? Of course, there are still those out there who think a Twin Cam Buell would be neat. But, the way I see it, Buell's job is not to build a handful of really expensive specials for the fanatics, but to build motorcycles that attract the young and not-so-wealthy athletis sport riders. A higher performance water-cooled bike would be cool for Buell, but let it be competitive and competitively priced...then we'll see something! | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
The V-Rod motor weighs 70 lbs more than competitive V-twin liter motors like the Aprilia, Honda and Ducati Yet it weighs only slightly more than the present V-twin being utilized. mean, a V-Rod costs $17,000, and a Sportster costs $9,000! And a Softail Deuce cost $17,000 yet the number of parts & the labor involved to produce both the Deuce & the Sporty is virtually the same. Buell's job is not to build a handful of really expensive specials for the fanatics, but to build motorcycles that attract the young and not-so-wealthy athletis sport riders. The not so wealthy youngsters arent interested in paying $9000-11000 for an XB....they would rather spend $7500-8500 for a bike that all the magazines rave about & their buddies wont laugh at because its "slow" & has a history of breakdowns & recalls. Image has a lot ot do with selling bikes & in order for Buell to get over that stigma of recalls & unreliability they are going to have to pull out the stops & produce a bike that wins both races & the hearts of the magazine crowd. Do that & the Buells will sell themselves. The V-Rod has proven itself to be a damn reliable bike. Now imagine taking that motor & throwing it in a setup that weighs 100-125 lbs less. | ||
| Brucelee |
I am with Dyna on this one. First off, the VROD motor has the looks, sound and stones to make a very very impressive performance bike. As it is a twin, it will not necessarily appeal to the boy racers but it WILL have plenty of grunt for most of us who like the who twin experience and would buy other bikes that are twin based. With the right bike around it, I believe it would be very unique and attractive from a sales perspective. Re: the cost, give me a break! Do you really think it COSTS that much more to produce, or is it that HD figured out that they can SELL it for much more. Given how much better it is than a SPORTY motor, I would try that too! | ||
| Skeenix |
I'll be the first to say that a water-cooled engine similar in design to the VROD would be a cool addition to the Buell lineup, but I don't think it's gonna happen. As pointed out earlier, the sheer size of the engine would be difficult to squeeze into the XB frame. Thus, I don't think we'll ever see it. Plus, that motor was built expressly for a cruiser as far as the design parameters were concerned. IMHO it really wouldn't serve the XB very well. It's heavy. It's bulky. It's cosmetic. It's not really "Buelly". I think a new mill similar to the KTM LC8 engine (perhaps based on the engineering that went into the VROD) is a more likely candidate for Buell. I'd love to see that. However, I still think that is a ways off. Perhaps the next generation Buell bikes. I went to a seminar (about two years ago) where one of the head design engineers at HD spoke to our heat treat association and there was a Q&A session after the presentation. I asked him point blank why didn't they didn't put the VROD engine in the Buell. His answer was that if they had, it would be just another sportbike like everyone else's -- and that there wouldn't be anything unique about their product as compared to Japanese repli-racers. Making a water-cooled sportbike had already been done -- and done well. (I'm paraphrasing.) What I inferred, was that Buell/HD had/has no intention to upgrade their motor in the near future. He did offer a glimmer of hope for those of us wanting a liquid-cooled engine, saying that there would always be those customers that want a liquid-cooled bike with the Buell name on it. So I guess they aren't completely opposed to it. So... who knows. | ||
| M1combat |
I really doubt we'll see anything water cooled for a while. 5 years at the earliest. I do think we will see DOHC though and MAYBE 60 degrees. If we see 60 degrees we can have larger pistons with a little less stroke. Higher RPM's. I'd like them to balance it but not for the felt vibration, just for the RPM once they go to DOHC. I kind of like it the way it is too though... | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
I already have a liquidcooled Buell. Granted it is an Air/Liquidcooled engine but hey its still liquidcooled. Oil isn't just for lubrication you know... | ||
| Glitch |
Why build a motorcycle that the mainstream press can crucify? Because Buell does it so well? or Because that's not what Buell is worried about? or Buell don't care what the mainstream anything thinks. Give me a break, when did Buell worry so much about fitting in? | ||
| Joojoo |
Wyckedflesh, I AGREE. Jack edited by joojoo on June 28, 2004 | ||
| Guido |
I heard July 17 as the big day; any validity? My wish list: One more gallon of gas; 150 miles before looking for a fill. Two headlights on at all times, redundancy, safety, essential. Option for if not standard pair of hot drive lights; safety. Should be standard. The BIG one - please swap the size of tach and speedo; tach is useless POS; speedo is essential if I want to keep riding (and I do.) AND give me a very accurate speedo that I can calibrate off my wheel measurement. I have a bicycle trip computer on the M2 and it is great. | ||
| Gonen60 |
I would not be surprised to see the mother ship (HD) build a sport bike, using the V-Rod engine or something like it. I for one think it would be pretty cool if there was an HD sportbike, that could run with the Big Four on the street. HD has the money to do it, and do it right. If they looked at the numbers they would see the Huge sportbike market to tap into. | ||
| Outrider |
Buell's job is not to build a handful of really expensive specials for the fanatics, but to build motorcycles that attract the young and not-so-wealthy athletis sport riders. Ouch...That cut deep. Can I assume that that means Buell does not want me as a customer? The inverse is this "Anon" either didn't think or doesn't qualify to post anonymously. Oh well, perhaps I'll just have to look elsewhere for a bike that has some class and can compete with...Silly me...perhaps I should just buy one of those and give up on a competitive American made product. | ||
| Outrider |
Ok, I admit that wasn't fair. Personally, I think Buell is doing a good job in attracting the younger market and that is a good thing. Additionally, I have read on the BWB and elsewhere that Buell always was a bike for club level racing which it is. So let's let Buell do what it does best and enjoy the ongoing development of the line. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think Anon is talking about $20,000 motorcycles. They are cool, and I am happy that they (already) exist, but even if I could afford one I don't think I would buy one. $20,000 motorcycle? Sure! A used... XB12s, a Honda XR 450 (street legal), A VFR with hard luggage, and a 69 sportster. That would be my $20,000 motorcycle.... | ||
| Midknyte |
...The V-Rod has proven itself to be a damn reliable bike... And the XB engine hasn't? edited by midknyte on June 28, 2004 | ||
| Elvis |
I hope Anonymous has some inside information, because I'd like to see a V-Rod engine, but I'd love to see a smaller, lighter more powerful engine. That seems to be what Anonymous is hinting at (but I'd be surprised if we see it soon since the XB's have only been in showrooms a little over 2 years). | ||
| Outrider |
Reep...good point. Exotics are fun to look at but not affordable to many. Add to that the availability and reasonable prices of replacement parts that Buell provides and you really do have a great price/value relationship. | ||
| Jasonblue |
Gone60, I would not be surprised if Harley developed a sportbike. Like you said they definately have the money. But could you imagine what that would do to Buell? If HD came out with a sportbike that could compete with the IL4's,where do you think they would put the Buells in the showroom then? That would almost force Buell to have to go independant and create their own dealerships. That is if they could stay in buisiness at all. | ||
| M1combat |
Does HD own 49% or 51% of Buell? | ||
| Glitch |
I think it's closer to 95 to 98%. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Harley may build it, but I would bet it gets the Buell name on it. Harley puts too much stock in their current layout. They make bikes for the cruiser lifestyle and that is all they make. Aside from minor appearance changes, just how different does a 60's era sporty look to the 2004 sporty? Not a whole hell of a lot. Even the V-Rod is a modern interpretation of their usual lineup. Like a futuristic view of where their model appearances are headed. No I honestly beleive that if H-D builds sportbikes, it will be done under Erik's guiding hand. Anony, something I glossed over when I read your post Buell's job is not to build a handful of really expensive specials for the fanatics, but to build motorcycles that attract the young and not-so-wealthy athletis sport riders. It may not be Buell's job, but it is exactly what has happened. The price of the '04 XB line doesn't compare to the other bikes. A Suzuki litre twin was $3k less then my XB12, a Honda RC51 was $2000 less. I could even get an Aprilia Mille For exactly the same price. If I wanted the full scale RR Mille model it would have only been $1500 more. Since I didn't care about the Ducati's I didn't look. How can you say that a streetbased repliracer with equivilent power specs as those I just listed would bump the price into unobtanium for the younger less credit inclined market when it tends to that side of the market already? If I hadn't been able to pay outright for my XB there is no way I would have gotten a loan for it, yet I could have gotten either a Suzuki or a Honda with a loan. Now I was asked over the weekend "Seriously, if you could have any bike in the world what would you want." My answer without a pause..."I already have it." It took her by total suprise. I then had to explain that my Buell does everything I want in a bike. That there are bikes that could do certain things better, faster but that my Buell does exactly what I want all the time. I get my cruiser, I get my touring bike, I get my canyon carver all in one package. I told her that to have it any other way I would need 3 bikes. I love the fact my XB can be cruiser mellow when I want it to be. That I can jump on it and go, sure more range would be nice, but you know what? that range fits with how long I can go before I have to give my leg a rest. And then I can just toss it into the corners with abandon, carve through a canyon with the best of the repli's and have fun doing it. I haven't ridden any other bike that is that flexible to me, so If Erik builds an XB12T then I may have to get one down the road just so that she can enjoy the long tours with me, otherwise, I say again Thanks for my XB Erik. | ||
| Glitch |
Harley may build it, but I would bet it gets the Buell name on it. I was thinking the same thing. Harley = cruisers Buell = sport bikes | ||
| Prof_stack |
Well said Wykedflesh. Although I could use a windshield as well as saddlebags on my XB9S for longer rides, it really is a complete package for me. And we will always have a wish list, right? | ||
| Gonen60 |
The V-rod is more a hotrod than a cruiser, and it looks like the new V-rods were even sportier last year. I agree, if HD comes out with a sportbike, it would crush Buell... I would also like to see a full fairing XB, with race inspired colors | ||
| 420at145mph |
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