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Cityxslicker
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 04:42 am: | 
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If somebody else is going to tell you what bike you "ought" to have, then they should make the payments. After having a dozen other bikes, the Buell is the one that puts the grin on my face every time, and is the bar that I will measure every other bike against. Some will get it, some wont, so what, Im ridin, they can bench race and fact sheet debate all day for all I care. |
Ustorque
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:25 am: |
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Another complaint i get about my cityX is that there is a lack in aftermarket parts...which i actually find a good thing. every buell i see which were the same off the showroom floor are very unique and different because mods are done by each owner and most by hand, and by trial and error. i don't want the exact same bike with the exact same mods as every other guy out there....buells are the thinkin mans bike. if you want to change it you'd better have some imagination and some tools and a little help from bad webbers never hurts! |
Ghalsey
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 08:36 pm: |
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My favorite line was when I went out riding and pulled over to wait for my buddy on his Night Train.
I pulled up next to a small country store in Waterville, Maine and (classic scene) an old guy who was sitting outside exclaimed, "What the hell is that thing?!"
I flipped up my helmet visor and told him it was a Buell.
"Holy shit. What size?"
"1200."
My buddy was coming up behind at this point so I flipped my visor down.
As I pulled away the old man called after me:
"Well don't f**kin' kill yourself, thats all I can say."
Pretty cool I thought.
It was like I was riding flaming hound from hell. |
Photon7p
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 09:08 pm: |
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I'll be on an XB soon...I hope it's as much fun as my X1...I knew my X1 was "My Bike" because I've had it for almost five years and I still get that same grin on my face everytime I ride her...you know...the grin that goes from ear to ear...oh...did I mention the horns sticking out of my forehead? I forget about them from time to time...they're a little hard to see with the helmet on... |
Kootenay
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 07, 2007 - 12:05 am: |
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One other guy who doesn't like my bike is the manager of the local building supplies store--he's asked me (with a smile!) not to park it there anymore, since the whole time I'm in the store, none of the yard guys are working--they're all staring at my bike!  |
Strato9r
| | Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 02:36 am: |
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I've found that there seems to be a fairly direct correlation between a rider's experience or mechanical knowledge, and their attitude towards Buell in general. {which explains the high number of hard riding gearheads enjoying this website.} I've only ever had one sportbike rider come right out and dis my 9R, and I suspect that it may have had more to do with the fact that her girlfriend LOVED it, and chewed my ear off for nearly an hour at the ESSO station at Fort Steele, B.C., about how much she wanted a CityX. I told her that she wouldn't regret it; my 9R was the best, most reliable machine I'd ever owned. At that point, her partner came right out and said, "Go ahead, buy one of those pieces of sh*t, but plan on riding with someone else." About half an hour later, they passed me on their 'Busa going about 900 mph. Five minutes later, I cruised by them, and the rather irate looking RCMP officer who'd pulled them over. Future Buell girl waved and smiled, her gal pal waved with just one finger, not smiling. Ironicly, the "riders" that I've encountered that seem to have the least respect for Buells are those fellows who've dumped unfathomable amounts of cash on bolt on doo-dads to "customize" their soft tails. They rarely seem to be very confident riders, but when you are putting on all of 1000km or less a year on your status symbol, I suppose developing riding skills takes a back seat to polishing bling. Don't get me wrong, I really dig Harleys, and the Harley riders I meet actually RIDING their machines certainly dig Buells. It just seems that the portion of Harley owners that would rather pose than ride seem to be the ones continuing the "mine's bigger" attitude that relegates Sportsters to "girl bike" status, and with Buell powertrains being Sportster based, well, they get an even lower place on the totem pole of cool. Oh, well, the posers seem to have nothing but contempt for V-Rods, as well.......}}}} |
Swordsman
| | Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 09:50 am: |
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Strato, I think those "posers" have contempt for anything that makes them look outdated!
~SM |
Starbellied_sneetch
| | Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 03:29 pm: |
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I've had nothing but praise for my XB9s. If I go to any kind of rider gathering, people are all over it as soon as I get off of it, I suppose because they've rarely seen one. Harley guys love the sound.
People are strange. I also have a Ducati Multistrada 620, and everyone who sees that says something about how much it costs, just because it says Ducati. They think I'm rich or something. I don't tell them that I paid $6,600 for it brand new. |
Bumblebee
| | Posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 - 05:40 pm: |
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Sport Bikers hate Harleys,to them the Buell = Harley. Thus they hate the Buell.
Although the Buell will not out accelerate any of the larger imported sport bikes it will walk away from them in the twisties.
Which I have demonstrated time and time again
We were riding on Mines road last summer
(Google Earth N 37-23-32 W 212-29-23 to go to "The Junction" on Mines road then follow Mines road) and we had a bunch of Ninjas and FZR's along, they were laughing at the bike. When I got to the top of Mt. Hamilton (follow the road south) a good 5 minutes before the rest they were not laughing any more. One member of the group was so impressed he went and bought an XB12 later that day! |
Coyote5797
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 11:45 am: |
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I think my favorite CityX introduction was to my 73 year old Grandfather. Grandpa has been riding off and on for 50-some years, everything from an old honda 350 to his latest a 1999 Electroglide. The first time He saw it was the day I picked it up from the dealer. First thing he said was " It has a nice shape" then I started it. His grin was as big as mine! Finally I explained the "Trilogy of Tech" and the fuel/oil location. To watch a man who spent as much time in design and manufacturing as he has be impressed made me realize I had picked the right bike. |
Vanvideo
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 02:34 pm: |
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I also was once a doubter of Buells. I always smirked at the "Own the Corners" ads they ran. Then, out of curiosity, I test rode a Firebolt at Bike Week. Well, 2 weeks later I was the proud owner of an XB9R. I've owned 10 bikes before the Buell and none of them have come close to the big-grin factor the Buell gives me every time I take her out. Absolutely nothing compares to that tremendous torque and rumbling exhaust. This is the sport bike I've always dreamed about, the one I waited patiently for years for the Japanese big 4 to build.
I get mixed reviews at sport bike gatherings. Some guys love the uniqueness, others turn their noses up or act indifferently to that "harley."
Oh, and chicks really do dig the vibrations. I had one girl tell me sitting on my 9R at idle was better than her vibrator, and she wondered aloud how sex would be on the bike.
Sadly, I have no personal knowledge of such an experience. |
G234146
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 03:27 pm: |
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At a rest area out here, I had two fellers on Gixxerzs tell me that they were fans of the Buells!
"It just makes sense, to have the power where you need it."
Bueller's in disguise?!
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Reepicheep
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 03:53 pm: |
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Theres some logic in it. One of the reasons people like the literbikes is because of their "great low end grunt for normal daily riding". They say things like "you don't have to wring it's neck to get it to perform".
Plot the HP curve of one of the hyperbikes, and your average Buell compares quite nicely with the bottom half of their curves, the half they say makes the litre bikes so nice as daily drivers.
I want the bottom end of a Busa. I really don't want the top end...
Even if it didn't kill me in some corner as a result of some throttle induced high side, I would be paying insurance based on the bikes top end, not the bottom end.
My short list when I bought my Cyclone was (all used) the M2, a Suzuki SV-650, or a Kawasaki ZR-7. All great bikes, all about the same price, all would have been great choices in hindsight. |
G234146
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 07:44 pm: |
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That's a good point Reep. I hopped on a friends Ninja 600 and my launch was all whack! I'm so used to the low end pull that I didn't rev the bike enough to get going.
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Ds_tiger
| | Posted on Friday, February 09, 2007 - 10:52 pm: |
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You know what- Reep
When I first read your post - I was thinking- this guy is full of baloney-
I have an 06 GSX-R 1000, and that is not why I ride it- you know, with the "torque" being the reason- its a liter bike fer crissakes!
But when I re read it-
I rethought it-you are right. I'm not sure about the curves laying over each other and what not- but you are right.
Big Bully meaty torquey pull= 
Geez. |
Hackaday
| | Posted on Saturday, February 10, 2007 - 03:33 am: |
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I recently moved and the repliracer guys I just started riding with are loving the Buell (the screaming fan when I park kind of asserts itself though). The cherry bomb sport fighter is definitely a looker and I've gotten a lot of comments on the short wheelbase. |
Towjam
| | Posted on Sunday, February 11, 2007 - 06:31 pm: |
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If someone disses my bike (regardless of what kind of bike I'm on), I'll ask them if they've ever actually ridden one. If they say "no", I politely tell them to get back to me when they know what they're talking about. I've actually had this exact conversation on several occasions with my Buells. But interestingly enough, I've had more negative comments from people about my BMW boxers (R1200GS and R1200RT).
What I don't understand is you wouldn't go up to someone and call their spouse ugly. So why would you criticize someone's bike/car/house/pet ?
my $.02 (and worth every penny) |
Strato9r
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 09:53 pm: |
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Y'know what, Tow? I've found that Beemerfolk seem to be the people most interested in my XB.[gotta envy that BMW Owner's News magazine.]. Man, those cats can ride, too. My father in law rides an old R100, and lemme tell ya, you don't have to sandbag it when you're riding with that guy! |
Towjam
| | Posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 - 10:43 pm: |
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Y'know what, Tow? I've found that Beemerfolk seem to be the people most interested in my XB.[gotta envy that BMW Owner's News magazine.]. Man, those cats can ride, too. My father in law rides an old R100, and lemme tell ya, you don't have to sandbag it when you're riding with that guy!
Having owned 4 beemers (3 boxers, 1 K), I've gotten to know a lot of fellow BMW owners. I really enjoy interacting with the BMW group. They tend to be seasoned riders, analytical by nature and more accepting of other brands of bikes than the Harley crowd. They also seem to gravitate toward more current technology and I think that may be one reason that they may be interested in Buells. (I know for a fact that there have been a number of longtime GS owners defecting to the Uly.)
As unhappy as we Buell owners are with our dealer network, I can tell you first hand that BMW owners have it worse. |
Strato9r
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 - 12:50 am: |
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The point you make about the BMW Dealer network, Tow, is exactly why my father in law is seriously considering a Uly. That, and the service at the local Buell-H-D dealership is excellent. For a shop that sells so few Buells in relation to Harleys, they really like having Buells on the floor, and the guys in the service department like working on them. I guess I'm lucky; from what I've heard, some dealers don't care much about the whole Buell thing. |
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