| Author | Message | ||
     Lurch |
I know that I probably will NOT receive subjective responses...... I was burned bad with a tuber and swore I would never put myself in the same situation.... Uly has me intrigued... I am interested but hesitant... I cannot afford to lose lots of money again... I want a dual sport for another tool in the belt... What can convince me? | ||
| Light_keeper |
For a start read Reg Kittrell's review in the Home Court Advantage Section. Others have put their 2 cents worth in as well. It may not be for all but it looks good to me if that was what I was looking for. | ||
| Dsergison |
never had one problem with wifes 2003 xb9 none. ok only 8,000 miles on it. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Read Mark Tuttles's review in September's Rider magazine. | ||
| Mikej |
Watch and read. Wait until Jerry/Ferris completes his upcoming ride. Wait until others like Al at A S B have a few miles on theirs. Wait until the 10,000 mile reports start coming in, which should be during the next few months for the more enthusiastic riders in warmer/drier locations. Then decide. And note, as has been noted repeatedly by others several times already, this new bike is not a "dual-sport" bike, though some will use it as such to varying degrees of success. For me, it misses the mark, at least for my needs and considering I haven't sat on one yet. My next bike will be for 2-up riding and it absolutely has to pass the passenger approval test before it even goes for a test ride. It might work for my bike after-next, but not the next one. So, with all that drivel said, wait and watch and read the reports that are already starting to come in. There is no convincing, observe and then decide. With your background you will know if it will work for you or not. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Look at my profile.... you will see my tuber repair history that probably mirrors what you went through very closely. Now look for the XB9SX history in that same profile. Hear the sounds of crickets chirping? Hear that deafening silence? Granted, the 9sx has only 7k miles on it at this point, but there was *plenty* already wrong with the cyclone in that same window of time. Even with the tubers.. on my 2000 M2, just about every freaking part that failed on that thing had a new improved part waiting at the dealer when I arrived, one that solved the original problem. My tube frame Buell was pretty reliable, my Harley motor was not. My new XB Buell is VERY reliable, and my new Buell motor is VERY reliable as well. Regardless, there are just not going to be many Ulysses out there this year. I don't know if there will be waiting lists or not, but they will sure as heck be hard to find. If you bought one and rode it for a year, the amount of money you could bleed is pretty well limited to a grand or two (the bike will be in warranty the whole time) Just one data point... | ||
| Cruisin |
The biggest convincing item has been mentioned by Court several times: The XB platform has the best reliability of any motorcycle out there (considering warranty claims vs. sales). There are some of us that loved the tubers despite their problems. Others have had great luck. Buell has come a long way to refine their process to make sure the QC on the XB's ROCKS. Buy a Ulysses and enjoy it. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Lurch, i will be riding one from Wisconsin to Cali in a little less than a month, and publishing my conclusions here when i get back. not the same as several years of real world owner feedback, but still a pretty good initial road test. will tell it like i see it, good, bad, or Uly. FB | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Tuttle's piece in Rider reviews the 12Ss (with a short piece on the CityX), not the Uly. Mikej, three days of my ride will be two-up with gear. i'll able to tell you if it passes my passenger approval test. FB | ||
| Rex |
Probably would be best to stay away, even if it is the best bike in the world. If it is not, and you have problems, it will be because it is a buell. Better to stay away and be happy, then invest your money, and maybe not be happy. MAchines are machines. | ||
| Henrik |
Lurch; Like you, I'm interested but will be awaiting the real world responses. I was only mildly interested until I read Reg's review. That made me sit up and take notice. The Cycle World and other reviews caught my eye as well. I'd been playing with the idea of either the GS1200, FJR1300 or some such. But the Uly seems like it might fit *my* bill. Lighter and maybe a bit more versatile without giving up much in the power department (to the GS, mind you. Not the FJR). I will be awaiting further reports from Al, Ferris and other early adapters. May be in the market sometime next year, so I have time. But for now - without any real reason - I'm optimistic. Henrik | ||
| Tramp |
so much for your fear of NOT receiving subjective responses.... You musta been confused when you mentioned that. my tuber has not given me one lick of trouble. sometimes, trouble comes to those who........whatever. stay away from the Uly. stick with a Subaru. that way I don't have to hear about it | ||
| Djkaplan |
Your too damn tall, even for the larger Uly (He's really tall!). If you want a dual-sport, get a disposable one that you won't care about when the road salt starts eating it up. | ||
| Bomber |
Lurch -- (you rang) short answer, no one can convince you but you. I'll skip the long answer, as you've already received it. let us know how it goes (insert the smiley of your choice) | ||
| Tramp |
you don't need to alert me to the results. best luck, regardless. -gomez | ||
| Lurch |
For those that suggest the problems that I had were brought on by me or my riding style are so ignorant it is pathetic. Now I remember why I don't post much here..... | ||
| Tramp |
awww, c'mon...it's joke, ya galoot!  | ||
| Tramp |
besides- the bonly convincing you can trust is your ride on the machine itself, ya over-sensitive so and so.....  | ||
| Lurch |
Bill (cheep) Not even close...I see no catastrophic failures in your profile. | ||
| Tramp |
what is this....a palm reading? | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Lurch, you've gotten a LOT of good feedback already, and very little bad. i know there's some history here, but would be nice if the bad feedback stopped here and now, considering that the original question was asked in a stand up way. plenty of other angst going on around here for yet another spot fire to erupt. like i said, you've gotten some good, thoughtful answers, and we should all start hearing some "real" feedback on the Uly's soon enough. FB | ||
| Road_thing |
Who said anything about you or your riding style? rt | ||
| Reepicheep |
You are right, I was lucky Lurch. The oil pump drive gear sitting here on my desk was close to failure, I checked it to be paranoid and freaked out by some posts here on Badweb, and saw the serious wear. We should make t-shirts... "Badweb saved my motor"! While pulling it, I saw significant damage to the #4 exhaust cam, which also could have caused catastrophic failure. Also, the 5th gear drive assembly had trashed needle bearings, and had been running as a plain bearing since probably 7k miles. I did cost me a tranny shaft, but did not other damage, that could have caused catastrophic tranny damage as well. But I agree with our esteemed FB... lets look forward towards the light. Contributions to answer the question are great, lets not dwell on bike history, either mine or yours. | ||
| Tramp |
i think, jerry, that my answer regarding the fact that if lurch needs convincing, he shouldn't be asking an online board, but should only let his onw but-tocks do that convincing for him, is the best and most realistic response yet. i'm sure you agree, of course. and who's harshing on the ephysially-impaired brother's riding style, anyway? lemme at 'em...  | ||
| Tramp |
my oil-pump gear is the original part popped into place in '95 (er...that's a decade ago, ladies and germs) and it's given ME no issues)... i doubt, very seriously, my "riding style" had anything to do with that. | ||
| Road_thing |
Can't speak to your riding style, there, Trampster, but I like your posting style... My '95 opg is still hanging in there, too, but I've only got a tenth of the miles you claim. But I did almost all of 'em wearing underwear!  rt | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Lurch, Good to hear from you again, it's been a long time. I too am intrigued by the Uly, but will wait for some high mileage reports from others. However, I can see where a flatlander like yourself could have a lot of fun with one of these! Brad | ||
| Jeremyh |
TEST RIDE | ||
| Tramp |
thank you. don't EVER wait for someone else's results. go test ride one like a grown-up  | ||
| Blake |
I think what my friend John is saying is that he likes the bike and would be very interested in it if he could be assured that it will be reliable. He suffered through a bad experience with his X1. Man that was a sweet bike though. John, My only data for an XB quality assessment comes from the number of issues reported here. They have indeed been relatively few and relatively non0catastrophic in nature. Most were belt issues on the '03 XBs. That issue has been resolved with completely new and significantly improved belt technology. The new belt is rated for the life of the bike, and if you do head off into the boonies, you can simply wad up a spare belt into your pack and rest easy should the worst happen, though that would reportedly be highly unlikely as on the same order of probability of ruining a chain. Gone are the days of having to remove the swingarm to change a Buell belt. If you are wanting a serious off-road capability though you might want to check into another bike. Pretty sure the Uly is intended for logging road and fire trail duty, but not so much the goat path kinda stuff. I would not characterize the Uly as a "dual sport" in the same class as the XR650, KLR650, etc. Those bikes can handle some serious off-roading. Then again, you are a big guy and the Uly might suit you fine even if pushed beyond its intended operational environment. Would sure be interested in your test ride/review/report. |
