| Author | Message | ||
     Navenrjohnson |
Hello, I'm a current bmw rider and am considering switching to the ULY. The concerns I have heard so far are: Stability at high speed, mpg w/ bags and passenger. I'm wondering if these concerns are from a small group of very loud people, or are a serious problem. I have not been able to demo one yet as availability is limited but am seriously considering diving right in. Just need that extra push. Would appreciate any feedback. | ||
| Thunderbox |
There is no panic I would think. I suggest you try one before you dive in. The Uly is a great bike but maybe not for everyone. Buell demos should be starting soon. Get your buns down to a dealer and find out when they will be in town. I have had no issues with mine except the engine light came on when I first got it and they replaced the servo for the exhaust. No issues since. I get about 60 mpg on the highway with 2 up on an imperial gallon or about 48 mpg with a US gallon. | ||
| Jim_sb |
You need to go ride a Ulysses. IMHO the "stability at speed" is a non-issue. Let's just say I've had mine over the ton a time or 3 with no worries, okay? And I've done 55mph and been airborne on gravel roads... As for MPG, I run about 150 miles on a tank before the "low fuel" light illuminates. Bike is still being broken in, but I'm seeing mid 40's mpg all the time with the hard bags no passengers. Regards, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Brotherbuell |
I bought my Uly last September and haven't experienced any of the stability problems that some have experienced. It seems tire related. One rider has switched to the Perelli Syncs and that has solved it. I've been getting 44-48 mpg since day one. It's a terrific bike. We complain about the nits but most of us think this is the most fun bike we have ever owned. | ||
| Debueller |
I am very satisified with the high speed stability of my Uly. I did notice the slight "swimming" of the front tire when I first started riding it. I don't know if it's stopped or if I've just gotten use to it. I've also noticed the headshake thing also, but only when the luggage is loaded and my hands off the bars. Usually to get it to shake I have to smack one handgrip with the palm of my hand to induce it. Not a big Deal. Some say a different tire style will solve both issues. BTW, MPG consistently in the 40's, sometimes over 50, single rider, load in bags does not seem to make a big impact on mileage. Absolutely love my bike and have a very hard time staying off it. I've toured with it, done day rides, ATTACKED twisties, rode some pretty rough gravel roads, and have comitted hoolagan antics with it. It does everything I want it to do very well. | ||
| Navenrjohnson |
Thanks for all of the info, it's much appreciated. Good to hear your mpg averages. I was a bit concerned after reading the TWO road test that had the fuel light on at 110 miles and a fill up at 130. But they're English, so what do they know. Just contacted a dealer on the other side of town that has a demo and two Uly's in stock. As soon as the Seattle Spring lets up I'm going to head over for a ride. BTW, if I get the bike I'll be able to give plenty of wet weather riding updates. | ||
| Fool4buell |
I sold my BMW F650GS when I bought my Uly -- I needed something reliable. I'm very happy with the switch. The Buell is no where near being a dirt bike but the F650 was a handfull on trails, too. Too heavy. When I bought the Uly I also bought a used Kawasaki 250 dual sport. It's the perfect combination of bikes for me. I can ride the 250 on on the freeway to logging roads and then hit the tight trails around Seattle. The Ulysses is perfect for logging roads, bad side roads, freeways, and long long rides. | ||
| 2old2bfast |
Awesome bike and aside with agreeing with almost all the above, to answer one of your questions my typical scenario involves allot of two up riding between 80 and 90 mph with no instability at all, and mileage still hanging in the low 40's. Like one of the magazines said, it's "The Real Buell Blast"! | ||
| Crusty |
Navenrjohnson; I just completed a trip from Massachusetts to Daytona and back. I was traveling solo, but all three bags were full, and I had my tent, sleeping bag and Thermarest pad on the rear seat. I rode in temps ranging from teens to high 80s, and my speeds ranged from stopped in traffic to running at 95 MPH for a few stretches. I tried to cruise at 80 - 85. I had no problems with handling at all. the bike felt stable at every speed I ran at. My fuel consumption was directly related to my speed. When running over 80, I was getting 41 MPG or so. When I kept the speed down to 70, I was getting around 48 MPG. I think that if I removed the bags, the mileage would go up significantly. I don't believe that the handling problems others have experienced are representative of all Ulysses. None of the Uly owners I met were having any handling issues. Of the ones I've heard of on the internet, one had his problem disappear when he changed his tires to Pirelli Scorpion Syncs; while another changed his suspension settings and removed his windshield, and his handling improved greatly. I think you should try a Demo ride and decide for yourself. If possible, try to have the suspension set to your weight and riding style. When it's right, you won't believe how good it'll feel. | ||
| Lowflyer |
4k on mine and no issues to speak of. I think the handling thing is a rider and/or set-up issue. | ||
| Coolice |
I have about 1200 miles on my Uly with all the bags. I have owned (2) R110RT's and (1) K75RT.I like the Uly better. This is my second Buell, I still have my XB9R, and the Uly is all you have read about-good. I rode it to get breakin miles in the 28-34 degree temps, with only a heated vest and cold weather gear, no complaints. I rode in very windy weather and it is by far the most stable bike I have ridden, even with the bags on. Two up (which is also why I bought it) it has as much room as the Road Glide I traded in for it, and it handles and accelerates, stops MUCH better, plus you can ride it off the road(or just navigate the great roads we have in the midwest anymore). Overall Buell did a great job with the Uly and I can't wait to get more miles on it. Just like everyone else here says-demo ride one and make your own opinions, good luck. | ||
| Ka5ysy |
What model BMW are you riding, and why are you looking to change rides? Just curious ! | ||
| Isaac |
Only NON instability comments.... so here I go. I bought my ULY on January..... suspension by the book, right tire pressure and dealer first service. So far I have 3000 km on it. For me, the bike is unstable at anything above 80 KMH (no, not miles), so, a long trip as it is right now is completely out of my head. When 2 up, its slightly better. When no windscreen, slightly better. When suspension set up for maximum comfort, slightly better. Overall, the bike does not feel right above 80 kmh (maybe a bit more if there is no wind at all). Regarding engine and so, I have some minor problems with the injection. It wont manaint a stable idle (will go from 900 to 1700 rpm). Sometimes it gets stuck at 2000 rpm. If I set the idle by the book, it wont start in the mornings. I also get a hard vibration on the right hand side of the frame at anything above 3500 rpms, and one of the subframe bolts came off 2 weeks ago. About corrosion. I live in The Netherlands, so salty roads are a fact. The muffler went completely red in less than 2 weeks (this will be replaced by Buell). Lost of nuts and bolts are very ugly looking despite I use silicon based products and WD40. The fanny thing is that it only happens to some bolts, but not all of them. About comfort. It is the most comfortable bike Ive ridden. Great position (a little bit hight for me, but the low seat will fix it), enough wind protection for highway, good visibility over gauges (except for the clutch cable in front of the ODO). About milleage. I get 5.7 liters per 100 km, so its usually about 240 km before the light comes on. Nice, not ideal, but nice. For the wife. Great comfort. Amazing triple tail idea, just perfect. Drops. I dropped mine 3 times. Yes, Im not that tall, and my previous ride was a low sportster, so Im not used to it. The total cost for damage, under 100 bucks, so really cheap. The bike is very resistant to drops. The pucks do their job for the frame. Finally. The bike is a nice concept, but I didnt have a great experience so far. If its no windy, and the suspension is set up for maximum comfort, and you go in a straight line, its great. Otherwise, it doesnt feel right. I will take the bike to the dealer, and let them figure it out. I really hope they do, as I want the bike to commute and make trips, so if its not stable, ill be better with any other bike. | ||
| Jlnance |
Welcome to Badweb. You've come to the right place for info. Do take a testride. It will answer may of your questions far better than we can. One tip for you. Assuming your passenger is your wife, take her with you when you do the testride. The bike is extreamly comfortable for passengers. She will want you to buy it, which of course makes things easier. I just got back from a 1300 mile round trip from Raleigh to Daytona. We did two 550 mile days. It was amazingly comfortable compared to the other bikes I've owned. My mpg was in the 40s. I had the 2 side bags on, as well as a sleeping bag+saddle bag in the passenger seat. As to the stability issues, some people have complained about it and some don't. I have not been able to tell if all the bikes handle the same, and some people don't like the way it feels, or if there is something wrong with some of them. I guess thats what we get from not riding other peoples bikes.  Here is what I can tell you. The front end of the bike is easy to turn. If you have wind gusting into your arms, it will transmit the forces onto the bars and you will feel it move the bike. Also, if there is a strong cross wind, it can blow the front end around. However, none of these things have every made me feel like I was not in control of the bike, which is what I associate with the term unstable. Again, do take a testride. I think you will love the bike. Take Care, Jim | ||
| Anonymous |
Isaac, Put Pirelli Syncs on. Your front end issues will go away instantly. And get the dealer to set the TPS right and the idle issue will go away as well. | ||
| Namibian |
Been ride'n 45 years & NEVER had a bike I had to have trailered home including old Harleys, Triumphs & a BSA 441 UNTIL I bought a BMW R1200GS. It died & took 5 weeks for the dealer to pick it up, fix it & bring it back. At that point, decided IT WAS GONE! Also, ABSOLUTELY hated THE POWER BRAKES. Turned them off 100% of the time. ABS, OK. Power, NO. I wanted a bike I trusted & could ride the dirt/salt roads in Namibia where we will be going. The Uly is IT. Bought it from Daves last November & never regretted it. To ME, the 12GS was an overly complicated POS. Glad to see it go. John | ||
| Navenrjohnson |
I currently am on a R1150R. Transmission is clunky and getting annoying, want something with more personality and versatility. I looked at the GS but have a hard time spending that kind of money. Do any of you recommend the GPS that is available through Buell or would you get one on your own? Thank you all for the information thus far, very helpful. The New Phonebooks are Here! | ||
| Royintulsa |
I mounted a Garmin Quest($367)to my Buell with the motorcycle adapter mount ($49) and a ram mount($40) and I am happy with it, but it would have been nice to have one that looks like it was designed for the bike for an additional $200-$300 depending on your dealer. The other option for about the same money as the Buell GPS is the Quest 2 which has a lot more memory. With the Quest, if I was going on a long trip, I would have to take a laptop with me to load maps in every few days. | ||
| Reepicheep |
RAM has a bazillion different mounts, I bet you can find one that looks very factory. I just did the "agonize over GPS" thing and bought the Quest (I). It's a lot of bang for the buck, though like Mr. Johnson says, you will need a laptop if you are crossing more then two or three states and want detailed maps of all. The Buell unit does have a cool custom looking Buell "boot screen" as well... | ||
| Beemerscreemer |
had an R1150RT and loved it but traded it for the ULy and have not regretted it. The RT handled high speed better because of the fairing, and the rear brakes/antilock were nice. The Uly is more fun, handles the curves better and is just as comfortable. | ||
| Navenrjohnson |
Many thanks to all who have taken the time to answer my questions. I was able to go for a test ride this morning and absolutely loved it. I was able to get some city and freeway riding during the test and was very impressed. I did not notice any handling issues at 80+ mph, although the front did feel a little vague at times but I think more time on the bike and proper suspension settings will eliminate that altogether. The only thing that will take getting used to is the lack of engine braking that surprised me coming into a corner. The fan also sounded like the horn from the Flinstones when Fred gets off work. I was amazed at how comfortable I felt on the bike. Usually a new bike requires a few miles before you start to settle in, this was not the case. The kickstand seemed a bit flimsy. How much play should they have? This one had about 2-3 inches of freeplay when it was down. I sold my bmw today and am waiting for that deal to go through. All that I will need after that is approval from the guy up the street who has a yellow Uly. Need to make sure he's cool with the idea of me getting the same color. Thanks again to everyone on this site!! It's my birthday today and it's still not too late to send cards and gifts. | ||
| Debueller |
I think the kickstand feel the way it does because if you take off with the kickstand down it will not pogo you into a crash/colision. It does make the kickstand feel "floppy" Most street bikes use a switch to kill the engine when the rider puts the bike into gear with the kickstand down. Probablly a federally mandated thing. | ||
| Crusty |
Happy Birthday! The check's in the mail.  My stand also has a lot of play; I think it's intentional. That isn't yellow, by the way; it's Barricade Orange. The factory puts the orange plastics on the better performing bikes as they roll off the line. They put the black bodywork on bikes destined to endure dull, drab and colorless existences. | ||
| Navenrjohnson |
Barricade Orange, now that you mention it, it does look like a barricade orange. I've gone through a few other threads on the site and you guys are killing me with the battle of color supremacy. But obviously the orange is for the performance models, maybe a type "S". Safe riding to all and I will chime in when I officially join the family. | ||
| Dragon_slayer |
Eric, go ahead and buy the ORANGE Uly. You do not need the other guy's permission! Now if you both had bought black, the neighbors may have thought that a bike gang was moving into the neighborhood! BTW, Crusty was wrong about one thing, Buell does not assign colors to the bikes when they come off the line, they assign the colors after they come off the test track. The faster ones get ORANGE bodywork and black goes to the slower ones. The guys with the black Ulys are cool with that as they bought the bikes more for style then performance! | ||
| Coolice |
Ya HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (orange is faster) Glad you liked the Uly, get it bought so ya can ride, spring is here! | ||
| Rkc00 |
Congrats on the bike. Sorry you are thinking of getting the wrong color. Why don't you come over to the dark side? Mike Long Island, NY 06 XB12X Black of course | ||
| M2nc |
I will leave the color issue alone. I have an Orange Uly and all I can say is people that know about the Uly, identify with the color. The Black ones look more like other XBs. That's not bad, just doesn't stand out as a Uly. My opinions of the Uly. I love the bike, hate the tires. They do the job off road, but they do swim around at speed. I'm glad those who have already changed to the Syncs are reporting the problem gone. Just as soon as I wear this set of tires out, I will have the Pirellis on too. I rode with Jim to Daytona so I too put on 1300 - 1400 miles in three days with the low seat. The bike is awesome. I have the three bags and throughly tested them at speed. I ran a sustained (5 miles) at 100mph and a short jaunt to 115mph and the bike is stable with the bags on. I've tickled the 120s once way back when I first got the bike without the bags and no issues. As far as for fuel mileage, I ride the bike to work. It's 11 miles one way to work. I live in the country which means less stops, but when I do its a 65mph to stop to 65mph, five different times to work. In the cars I get about halfway between city to highway mpg range going to work. The bikes are about the same. The Uly and the M2 get about the same gas mileage to work 44-45mpg range. The Uly gets about 155-165 miles before reserve light comes on, and I am bad for running to work one more day with the light on, so 180 miles on a tank is not uncommon for me, but I would try for 200 miles. On the trip to Daytona the Uly ranges from low 40s mpg when we keep change speeds from 75mph to 100mph. On the way back I locked it down on 80mph and hit over 50mpgs for the first time on the bike. The best I have gotten out of my two bikes was the M2 riding two up. It got 56mpg riding on one tank for over 200 miles. When the wife's aboard the throttle is not worked very hard. The low end torque of the bike is so strong, especially on the M2 with the Sportster cams, that the number of riders makes no difference. Go test ride the Uly and if it is for you and you get one, welcome aboard. | ||
| Jlnance |
On the kickstand - It's designed to retract itself should you take off with it down. I tried this once (on purpose) and it works. This is probably responsible for the play you mention. I've never had problems, but I always make sure I kick the stand as far forward as it will go when I put it down. I don't want it autoretracting on it's own.  A few people have had problems with the bolt which holds the kickstand on vibrating loose. If this happens the bolt head will shear off and your bike will fall over. I doubt this is what you're seeing, but keep it in mind. You're gonna love this bike. |
