| Author | Message | ||
     Peter_T |
Jim_M Well I'm in love. That is a very nice looking bike. I suspect nitrous is a little more than I need these days but because of the clean lines I'll forgive it that. My only quibble is that I even though I know yellow is flavour of the month it doesn't do much for me. All Black is the only colour for a motorcycle Blake, Where is your soul. You don't like the noise of a 4-cyl. The wail of a GS1000, Kat or Z1R Getting on the pipe with an aftermarket 4 into 1 is the music of my youth. The sound of my old GS with the throttle WFO (and all 80hp cranking)as she climbed onto the pipe is something I will never forget. Ahhh, you had to be there I guess. Minimal ground clearance meant I ground through the alternator cover twice and dumped all the oil both times, skinny tyres made it a power slide maniac, ace bars so the weave in high speed corners was felt less but ohhh that song she sang when you nailed it down a straight in hot pursuit of your next competitor. Of all my bikes the purple, with pink stripe, GS1000E (I had it painted black) is still the bike I remember with the most fondness. She had soul and character in spades and the X1 reminds me of it but it still aint the same. Every time someone here says jap bikes are soul-less I just have to think about her and know you are completely wrong. Rocketman, I went out and looked at the mountain of plastic I've pulled off my Buell. You said "As for the Bandit, there's just as much s h i t on it as any other Jap bike." Damm R'man have you seen the crap hanging off Buells lately. My X1 is cleaned down to the minimum but after seeing Jim_M's photo it is nothing more than can be done to a Bandit. To save confusion over semantics, from now on I'll refer to "naked bikes" as " bikes sporting a minimum of body work where the engine is exposed, fairings are a flyscreen only and extraneous crap can be easily dumped" or BSAMOBWWTEIEFAAFOAECCBED"s for short if that is acceptable to you. I'd hate to be inaccurate  Pete | ||
| Jim_M |
As far as the four cylinder wail goes....I had an earlier Bandit pass me on the highway, and it did not wail. It was more like a growl. While I would love a Buell, there are others out there. (Pete, the nitrous is a bit much, but I like the combo of the Monster seat with, well, actually, any bike ;^D) | ||
| Peter |
This is the coolest of the cool though.  Clickum thumb. PPiA | ||
| Dynodave |
Although I have an '00 M2 that I ride daily, I also have the bike that was one of the '98 Cycle World's Top 10 as the Best Naked Bike...an orange/nuke S1!!! Sure haven't seen ANY other Buells listed thusly in any of the mainstream bike rags... Almost decided to get a Fazer, but instead I took my S1 motor to Yankee Enginuity and the rest of the bike to Modesto Buell. With a killer custom paint job and 120 RWHP; the S1 gathers crowds when she's parked and dusts 'em when she lights off. As I have said many times, the M2 is nice, but an S1 is DA BOMB!!! | ||
| Tripper |
Sorry Pete, you bought the wrong Buell. Meet "DA BOMB!!!"  | ||
| Chuck |
Anybody want the "crap" I stripped off my M2? | ||
| Peter_T |
Tripper, And that bike is stock is it. After I stripped my X1 of the junk, I thought it was pretty sleek but I'm not pretending it is how the factory delivered it. Are you? LOL that thing looks like it still has pillion pegs on it and the rear wheel mudguard. Even I dumped them from the X1. On my bike you see all the wheel. On that one half of it is covered in plastic Hey Tripper, add to that mountain of plastic you have in the garage (unless this is someone elses work) and then come tell me I'm wrong about Buells. Still "Da Bomb" is right. I'm guessing you posted a picture of the bike you wished you owned but when it does blow up in your face that name will be entirely apropos Jim_M Damned noise regulations these day. A stock 4-cyl pipe barely whispers. An after market one is a restrained gargle. Believe me when I say that once upon a time they sang. Alas, no more. Peter, It took me a while but I got past the babe. A very sweet bike. Ducatis don't do it for me (they were designed to keep wankers of Laverdas) but still a minimalist style I appreciate. Pete P.S Hell Tripper, I just noticed you have that waste of weight and abundance of plastic, belt guard on the bike you wished you owned. Once you have got rid of the pillion pegs, dump it as well. Clean that bike up (if you really own it) and then come talk to me | ||
| Jim_M |
Peter_T, Believe me, I know...I had a GS750 and am currently on a GS850...when these things are uncorked, they are wonderful. (though I'm still partial to these....)  | ||
| Peter |
Peter & Jim, I wish I had my photos from Australia here with me. I used to have a GS1000S which I threw down the road while doing a wheelstand and having the ignition barrel fall out while the bars were crossed. The barrel also held the steering lock in place. My favourite for many years though, was my first road bike. A GS850G. That evolved into the 'Wilderbeast' as my friends named it. Rear sets, a seat from a TZ750, glass tank, clip-ons, pipe etc and the obligitory steering damper and fork brace to try and defeat the hinge that Suzuki had cleverly hidden in the middle of the frame. I just realised that I built that thing over twenty years ago...... Damn. PPiA | ||
| Tripper |
Peter_T; Click on my profile. And please leave the styling critiques to Rocket Pepper. When you have kids to put on the rear seat the extra weight of the plastic (puhleeese, give me a break) is welcome in order to keep little feet from becoming tangled. | ||
| Chuck |
Tripper, didn't you post some info a while back on your new footpegs? If so, could you "remind" me where that is? Those things look cool. | ||
| Peter_T |
Tripper, As R'man said "As for the Bandit, there's just as much s h i t on it as any other Jap bike." I guess your message shows that one persons s h i t is anothers essential items. I don't need pillion pegs, belt guards or hugger wheel guards so I dumped them. You need them and so you kept them. That's fine. It was late, I was bored and night shift was dragging on. Please don't take it too personaly. Where I do disagree with you is when you said I "bought the wrong Buell". No, you are wrong there. If you wanted me to envy yours, I'm sorry but you failed. I dumped the bits I don't need and you kept the bits you do need but yours wouldn't suit me and mine wouldn't suit you. I'll stick with mine thanks. Still, please remember that both mine and yours when new where covered with extraneous crap neither of us needed and we changed them to suit ourselves. The same applies to the bandit as Jim-M's pic shows. Off the floor R'man thinks the bandit has too much crap on it. So do Buells, but both respond the same way to an individual and his toolbox. Unless you want to respond to my previous question and tell me yours is stock of course. Peter, I had a GS850G for a couple of years. I lost it in a corner and when she hit the curb the alternator cover shattered and the alternator hitting concrete bent the crank. LOL the only bike I ever totaled. It just wasn't worth the cost of fixing it so it went to a wreckers for $50. Late 70's and early 80's Suzis always had interesting handling. High speed weave was a given and unloading the rear end was an invitation to a high side. Your posting reminded me of one thing though. Damn, I'm getting old! Also 20 years ago for me when I had the GS1000E. If I found a good condition one at the right price I couldn't resist slipping it into the garage these days. Rocketman complains about my definition of a naked bike but I remember when they were all naked bikes. Fairings were for wimps and magazine testers (Hi Blake) had the bollocks to hang on to an unfaired bike at 200kmh. These days they whine if their permed hair is ruffled behind the expansive fairing they expect and the review suffers as a result. Jim_M Stop teasing me. Speed triples are very nice bikes and I wouldn't mind finding space for one of them in the garage as well if I had the money. The bike that will tempt me away from the X1 is the new Laverda. Cagiva (I think) have now bought the name and have promised development of the triple will continue. I have loved every bike I have owned but Laverda have a special place in my heart. Big, loud and totaly in your face. Ballsy bikes that weren't interested in performing unless you were already breaking the law. Go ride an SFC1000, 750 or a corsa and then tell me Buell are in the same league. Nothing extraneous on those bikes Tripper Pete | ||
| Tripper |
Chuck, here is the info: Aluminum Millenium X1 Peg Part # Here is what they look like before polishing.  | ||
| Tripper |
Peter_T: No harm no foul. I should have put one of those happy bouncy smiley faces next to my post to let you know I meant to be silly.  The picture I posted demonstrates what is the last of a breed. There will never be another bike that is so slim. Even Rocket (the styling MASTER!) can't match this profile cause of the fat tank of the S1W, and no matter how many bits you remove from the X1 your knees will always be in neighboring counties. I'll try to get a pic of me sitting on the bike, that really ruins the slim lines of the bike. My wife says I look ridiculous, can you imagine that? That said, I hope to have an X1 Red Race Stripe someday. | ||
| Hans |
Peter_t, Now you have proven you go for bikes with soul: Laverda. I have just thrown away the folders. What quality materials: those shocks and those Brembo`s. The old ones had "character" and that was called nothing more than a bunch of bad qualities but however: they had souls. And the only plastic parts on my old 750 were the green gas hose and the headlamp! We, my son and a friend who is really understanding bikes, made testrides on the new Laverda 750S and the Buell X1. I will never forget their faces after the Buell ride: When taking off their full face helmet, their faces split from ear to ear while the chin piece was still moving over their noses. Never regretted my choise for Buell. Hope that Cagiva does what is promised. Hans. NEXT PAGE of topic |
