| Author |
Message |
    
Spiderman
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 05:38 pm: | 
|
HEY don't hate on the Great White Hooter Hunter 
I do wanna see Pictures though. |
X1glider
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 05:44 pm: |
|
Great White Hooter Hunter is Al Bundy's title. |
Archer
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 05:57 pm: |
|
According to Harley my saddle bags are "packed",which means they are ready to ship but have to sit in the warehouse for days (IE weeks) My new touring seat should be here by the end of the week. I need to get a tank bag for it sometime. As soon as I get this stuff I'll be ready to "tour". Girders and I are going to Dallas this next weekend but we will figure something out. I should have enough space to carry a tent and other essentials. Didn't know Blake lived in Austin????
Let's do this!
Ross
Republic H-D
(281)295-1000 ext 109 |
Girders
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:04 pm: |
|
Whats up Girders here just letting everyone know who I am, X1 is what I ride, Getting ready to head to Dallas for a bit and hopefully to Austin to tear some twisties a new one. |
Captainplanet
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:20 pm: |
|
I would be happy to let people crash at my house for the weekend for a ride in Austin when I am here. Bad news is that I am out of town for the next few weekends. I think Sept 28 is the first one I'm back in town. My bike should be broken in well by then.
Jeff |
Archer
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:21 pm: |
|
Oh by the way I have a few Bolt's on the floor if anyone is having trouble finding them
Thanks
Ross
Republic H-D/Buell
(281)295-1000 ext 109 |
X1glider
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:35 pm: |
|
Ross: Nope, Blake lives in Kilgore not Austin. That would be another trip. We're going to plan a track day after Bonneville sometime...after I'm rested! |
Blake
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 06:52 pm: |
|
Austin? I wish! I'm in Kilgore. |
Chainsaw
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 07:09 pm: |
|
Hey Dynarider!
No typo. Service Manual, 1-23, "Replace drive belt and idler pulley assembly at every 15,000 mile service interval."
Surprised me too! My 2001 Sporty's belt (18,000 miles) isn't due to be replaced till 60,000 miles.
Hope the XB belt is cheap! (2800 miles) |
Cowboy
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 07:33 pm: |
|
Hi Guys, Now that the bolt has been out for some time I would like to know how it handles at speeds above 130 MPH. I have a 2001 X1, my friend has a 2000 X1 they both become uncontrolable above 125 mph. |
Dynarider
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 07:36 pm: |
|
Hate to see what the price of the belt & idler is.
That really sux.
Cowboy, you guys sure your tires are in good shape & properly inflated? Isolators in decent shape? My X1 has no bad handling whatsoever at any speed. Have had it up to an indicated 140 on the speedo many times & no headshake or anything weird at all. |
X1glider
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 07:46 pm: |
|
My X1 gets headshake at 110 on a track of excellent surface quality (1000 miles on the tires), kinda scary thinking of going past that. Nothing racetech couldn't cure. I'm sure the miniscule trail doesn't help either. I wonder if Hal's reduced the offset in the trees on their XB. |
Chainsaw
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 08:23 pm: |
|
Firebolt Review:
Day 59, 2800+ miles
Where to start...hmmm
I LOVE THIS BIKE! 
Power: Kick-ass, especially above 4,000 rpms (redline is 7.5k) Smooth power delivery, hammer da' throttle - da' bike GO!. I love fuel injection, no choke knob to open and forget to close. Starts right now, idles smooth (for a v twin) FI works well at altitude (see profile pic!).
Ergonomics: Wind deflector really does. Been caught in rain, sans gear, got a little wet around the neck & shoulders, legs pretty well dry, tucked in and aerodynamic. Strong winds don't seem to move this bike around like my Sporty (solid read wheel). Long trips tend to get me sore in the shoulders and keister, a bit in the knees. (guess they don't make forward highway pegs for this thing!). Grips seem narrow, gel gloves help. Highway speeds take the weight off my wrists, pretty comfy up to say 300-400 miles, if the road is twisty, well, it never gets old.
Controls: Mirrors are ok. Tuck elbows in to see behind you. I don't like the font on the speedo and tach (damn picky graphic guy!). Weeny sounding horn, I want to sound like a semi when I hit it! I agree with Two Buells on the bars. After spending 7 days on this puppy, the drag bars on my Sporty feel like ape hangers! Fuel trip is nice, clicks on when you hit reserve. Reserve kicks on consistently with 1.1 gallons left (supposed to kick on at .7 gallons). I've gotten up to 63 mpg highway (65mph), in town I average 54 mpg (30-50mph), worst has been 39 mpg (110 mph for about 127 miles).
Lights: one light low beam / one high beam is a bit unusual. I keep 'em both on so as not to give The Law another reason to pull me over ( "Ya know ya got a headlight out son..." ) Dashboard lights are LED's, which means it should take about 100,000 hours of having the high beam on before I have to replace the LED highbeam indicator.
Handling: Using stock suspension settings. Low speed handling is great. I can dance with this thing in parking lots with my feet on the pegs. High speed handling: AWESOME! takes corners FAST and STICKS! Generally, take the speed shown on the "Curves ahead" sign and add 25mph, handles them with ease without even trying real hard. (haven't tried this on hairpins mind you!) Braking is excellent. (I haven't had the front brake clicking noise)
Other Stuff: "Bendy" parts! Dropped it in front of Wyoming's finest, ended up with small scratches on the mirror housing. Mirrors fold up, spring loaded foot pegs and rubber stemmed directionals! Didn't bust nothing! Please note, I will no longer blame this incident on "operator error", but rather on the stock kickstand.  Back me up on this guys!
In conclusion: A test ride will sell you on this bike, but until then, here goes: Buy the bike! It will will make you smile. Traffic will magically part in front of you. College chicks in Volkswagons will follow you screaming out phone numbers. You will become more muscular, grow bushy Elvis-like sideburns, and never collect a parking ticket as long as you own this bike.
Really!  |
Spiderman
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 09:11 pm: |
|
X1 I worked at Hooters for 5 years so I grabed the title from Al. As for the head shake try tuning your suspension it worked for my head shake problem. |
Davegess
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 11:09 pm: |
|
A Buell should be dead stable at any speed we can make them reach. They are tested by peopel who go faster than we do and far worse surfaces. You have a problem somewhere
Dave |
Blake
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 12:50 am: |
|
Front end wobble at high speed, things to check/adjust...
1. Check tire pressure
2. Check/rebalance front wheel
3. Increase front preload (reduce front sag)
4. Decrease rear preload (increase rear sag)
5. Relax your grip on the handlebars
6. Remove anything flapping in the wind, like a loose fitting jacket or pants.
7. Tuck in, hug the tank.
The point is that an instability can be instigated by any defficiency in the items listed above or by any combination thereof.
You won't see any fast road racers without a steering damper. At high speeds it is an investment in safety equipment that is very well spent. |
Steve_A
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 10:51 am: |
|
--- 5. Relax your grip on the handlebars
6. Remove anything flapping in the wind, like a loose fitting jacket or pants.
7. Tuck in, hug the tank. ---
In trying to eliminate a weave or wobble, this is perhaps where you should first start, not what you should try after everything else. In particular with bikes with more upright, higher leverage bars, a rider can easily feed forces into the bar that can cause the weave without even knowing it. See if it still does it while you grip the tank tightly with your thighs and really relax your grip on the bars. Motorcycles like having your body mass coupled with the main chassis, and hate death grips on the bars. They work best if you only give them steering inputs when required to change direction. One of the chief engineers at a German tire company used to tell of curing a high speed weave by giving the rider a single beer -- by relaxing him, it changed the feedback loop, and let the bike damp the weave on its own.
However, having said all that, sometimes a weave is caused by a motorcycle set-up or a particular set of tires on a particular motorcycle. |
Psychobueller
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2002 - 11:23 pm: |
|
Steve,
Thanks for the kick-ass write up on the XB9S. Very nicely done. |
Java
| | Posted on Saturday, August 31, 2002 - 09:46 pm: |
|
Rocketman: Quasars?! I'm worried about you, man! Two of my favorite things to do in the summer are riding motorcycles and streching out in my hammock. Doing both at once just doesn't sound like a good idea! I guess you did say you like weird bikes.... |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 03, 2002 - 07:30 am: |
|
Ain't nuthin wrong with Quasars, Java. Malcolm Newell had a roof on a motorcycle years before BMW did, and it had an 850cc motor !!!
Much sought after these days, mostly by 'nutters', which is just as well really because I think there was only something like 19 Quasars ever made. £10000 up, if you can find one (or want one )that is !
Rocket |
Rd350
| | Posted on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 01:01 am: |
|
Some more info for all.
Firebolt up to 135mph the other day and it is very stable. Much better handling at speeds than the old S-1. The ram air really works and helps the bike over 100mph. Bike feels like it will run at 100MPH forever. Some vibration coming from the foot pegs but not very much.
I have tried many BMW's and they put out more vibration than the Buell. It is 100% better than the tubluar models.
Some people complain about the loud noise that the fuel pump makes. It is loud but my TL1000S made just as much noise when it was pumping fuel.
And the Buell fires up everytime. Took 4 tries everytime to start the TL1000S.
So far I have found some kind of flat spot between 2000RPM and 3000RPM. Seems to load up and than clear up over 3000RPM. Some of the others that have the bolt have this same problem. It is maybe the cams are not set for this RPM or there is a glitch in the programing of the fuel injection. It is not that bad. But needs to be fixed.
The engine revs way faster than the older 1200. But with the Buell race kit on the older models I think they would take it. The engine just doesn't have that big torque feel like the older models.
When you rev the new engine out the tac can't keep up with the revs or the engine is reving to 8200RPM before the rev limiter kicks in. I am guessing the tac is not keeping up with the revs.
Handling is really good but is hard to set up. It takes time to get it the way you want. But you will be the king of suspention when you finally figure out what you want the bike to do for you.
I think the new XB9S is going to rock! I think that everyone who buys one will be happy.
I have to admit I was not sure of the reliablity of the new Buells. But so far it seems that they are light years ahead of the older models in terms of reliablity. So far so good and everyday I feel better and better about Buell.
The only problem I see is the dealers. There are some really good ones but most of dealers do not even know how to sell a bike. I think that Buell needs to train them all over again to sale Buell. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, September 05, 2002 - 02:40 am: |
|
Thanks for the excellent report RD! |
Java
| | Posted on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 12:27 am: |
|
Rocket; Sorry, I had to say something, just because I've never met anyone else who had even heard of the Quasar. It was an odd bike! If you're a fan of the weird and wonderful, have you seen Dan Gurney's Aligator, yet? |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 09:55 pm: |
|
Not that I can remember Java, but yep I do like weird and wonderful.
"Dream Bikes" Alan Cathcart...............great book, stunning bikes. All weird and wonderful.
Tell you what though, when I can 'pick up the pieces' I fancy a 916/996. Bollocks to Streetfighters, I've already got one of those, I want to go over 150 when I need to and not worry about reliability. Hell I'd take a cheap thrashed Duc and be happy. If nothing else even a non runner would complement the Buell as garden furniture But let me say, 916's are about as conventional as I get !!!!
Rocket |
Aaron
| | Posted on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 10:01 pm: |
|
You think Ducs are reliable?
Man are you in for a rude awakening. |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 10:06 am: |
|
Well Aaron, more reliable than Buell, that's for sure.
I see it like this, a Ducati is capable of high performance out of the box, a Buell not so !
In my own experience my first Buell holed a rear piston in 4 weeks and 2000 miles. My second Buell, the one I have now, did the same at 2400 miles. Now the motor has all those goodies in it, and 10000 miles later, it's f**ked. Untill we pull it apart (which is subject to negotiation at this time) no one can say for certain what caused the motor to go bang, but it did ! In the mean time, Iain's 20000 mile 907ie Paso has just returned from Misano, and a couple of track days too, where he was beating guys on 748's, and it's out in all weather with him to this day, utterly reliable. Steve's 916, he's had for 5 years or more, is still going strong. Alex's 996 is still like new, but he does ride it like a pussy cat and not very often, but it's never had a problem. Simon's 450 Desmo is still running after 30 years or so.......
I dunno mate, maybe I'm jinxed, but I'm totally pissed off with my Buell's reliability. Don't get me wrong, but this year has given me 6 weeks riding, which is crap, and I'm starting to feel like I've been morphed into Cecil For all it's worth, my Buell has proved rather unlucky for me and yet I still want it. I'm stupid !
I'll take a cheap Duc 916, maybe sell the Buell and buy a TVR Griff, but that's a pipe dream right now because the Buell is worthless the way it is right now and it stands me over £12000, not to mention HD\Buell UK's input !!!! It's broke me that's for sure.
Rocket |
Rick_A
| | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 01:52 pm: |
|
Quote:Problems/Miles (Be specific.):
As if !
I think it's time to update that profile, Rocket 
Were your previous blown up Buells bought new or used? |
Budo
| | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 02:59 pm: |
|
Rockets experience is not unusual. I holed a piston at 19,324 miles, also a intake seal leak. Buell customer service has said that a topend rebuild at 15k miles is not unusual. |
Spiderman
| | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 04:08 pm: |
|
Rebuild my top end every winter. Why you ask? I need some way to get rid of cabin fever and hop ups lots and lots of hop ups BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. |
Rocketman
| | Posted on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 06:19 pm: |
|
No guys, I don't want to talk Buell's down and believe me, I'm biting my tongue, but the Buell has brought me a world of 'wealth' that I couldn't have imagined, and it's probably this fact more than anything else that has made ownership worthwhile. Don't get me wrong, I really believe it's my ultimate bike, but I'm sick of arguing the toss with the boys at the dealers or Buell UK. If they don't step up to the plate this time (and I'm saying no more than that) the motor is gonna cost me a fortune to repair and a fortune I don't have. I'll keep my Buell, but there's this little demon in me that sez 'quit the darn thing', and who knows where that might take me. Maybe I'll lose the faith but I don't want to get into the slagging thing. After all, it isn't the bike, just a question of getting the motor right once and for all and that's what I'd really like more than a 916. Anyways, 916 are coming under £4000 these days, and maybe when I've saved me pocket money, they'll be ten a penny and one can sit next to the BIG BUELL 
Rocket |
Ferris
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 - 10:46 pm: |
|
...the power is nothing like I expected. I had ridden several inline fours and loved the fact that they were zippy, kind of like my Miata. The Firebolt is not zippy, more like a tractor on crack.
hey KCFirebolt, thanks for the belly laugh!
FB |
Kcfirebolt
| | Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2002 - 08:53 am: |
|
Ferris
Anytime! :') |
Domindart
| | Posted on Saturday, September 13, 2008 - 04:15 am: |
|
Im either wanting a sv1000 or a buell xb12r firebolt. Loving this thread for the info here. |
|
