| Author | Message | ||
     Skyclad |
Well folks, after 42,592 miles, my Ulysses has met a violent end. I went down a few weeks ago while on US33 in Virginia. Front end washed out at about 40 mph, and the bike slammed into a hard clay embankment. I walked away with no injury worse than a large bruise on the inside of my leg and a bit of soreness the next day. The Ulysses will be replaced with a KTM Adventure 990R. I know that I will miss the Uly, but I have been lusting after the ADV990 for quite awhile. It actually was the other bike I was looking at when I bought the Ulysses. I will stop by periodically to see how all of you wonderful idiots are doing, and to get the latest and greatest news about Erik Buell Racing. Be careful out there. | ||
| Towpro |
Skyclad, good luck with the KTM. You will find you come back here more then you expect. I sold my Uly a year ago and I still hang around here. It's something to do with the caliper of people here. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Take care Homer. Say hi to Mr. Burns at the Nuclear Plant. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Glad you came out ok! Let us know what it's like living with the KTM. I have a couple buddies with KTM dirt bikes, i call them their redheaded supermodels. When its good, it's really good, but when its bad, its really bad.  If you think you need a part, plan months ahead.... | ||
| Jphish |
Me too! Sold my XB12X last spring. But the Uly asylum is much more fun than most mental hospitals. | ||
| Luftkoph |
love that redheaded supermodel analogy, my dirt bikes are all hondas,not as flashy as the orange bikes but the dealer in town has what I need and if they don't in a day or two it shows up. good luck with that 990 they are a sweet lookin bike | ||
| Thejosh |
So, what will you be doing with the Ball-O-Uly? | ||
| Skyclad |
Insurance is taking it away. I grabbed the GPS and my license plate. The rest of it is gone. I do, however, have a trunk, stock exhaust (a little rusty) and a 2010 style axle/bearing set. | ||
| Skyclad |
Reepicheep said"Glad you came out ok! Let us know what it's like living with the KTM. I have a couple buddies with KTM dirt bikes, i call them their redheaded supermodels. When its good, it's really good, but when its bad, its really bad. If you think you need a part, plan months ahead...." I already do have a 2001 520MXC that I made barely street legal. It is indeed a great bike. It is a high maintenance beast. Then again, it is a full on race bike. As far as parts go, I have not had any big problem getting what I need. The internet is a wonderful thing.} | ||
| Reepicheep |
Cool! That 520 is one of the bikes I mentioned. Pretty amazing machine! | ||
| Towpro |
speaking of "read headed step children" my dirt bike is a 2008 Husky TE250. I have it setup street legal with Trials tires on it. It hauls my 240 lbs (retired B class enduro rider) through the tight woods pretty nice. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I helped somebody push one of those up a muddy hillside when they first came out. Very neat looking bike. My KLR-250 was cheaper to drop though. (Cheaper to set on fire and roll off a cliff into a lake too, which I wanted to do to it on more than one occasion...) | ||
| Bike_pilot |
KTMs are quite solid these days, I don't think you'll find it difficult to live with (or source parts) at all. Now the Adventure won't handle anywhere near as well as the Uly on road, but its way better off road. The SMT 990 would be KTM's equivalent of the Uly. MFI in woodbrige VA has a heavily discounted SMT990 on the floor.  | ||
| Skifastbadly |
We are all pleased that you are physically ok and we are all grateful for you to making our remaining Ulys that much more valuable. (funny emoticon here) | ||
| Sharkguy |
glad you're ok, otoh; maybe the uly knew you were lusting after another. hmmm. good luck with team orange, like those myself. | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Glad your okay! The 990 should be fun, better dirt bike. but, the soul of the Uly will call to you like a siren's song... | ||
| Charlie_zulu |
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ KTMs are quite solid these days, I don't think you'll find it difficult to live with (or source parts) at all. Now the Adventure won't handle anywhere near as well as the Uly on road, but its way better off road. The SMT 990 would be KTM's equivalent of the Uly. What he said.. | ||
| Pons |
Sorry 'bout the Uly Congrats on the KTM | ||
| Reepicheep |
I have buddies with KTM dirt bikes, and both are pretty resourceful, and both needed parts this summer. One waited two months, the other waited three for the factory parts (they tried both local an internet dealers). they both ended up scaring up something on ebay in the mean time. Maybe their street bike parts are better inventoried though. Or maybe it was a "sorry, we go on holiday" Austria holiday thing. They love 'em though, so I'm not saying don't buy one. I'm looking for one for my kid. Just manage that issue. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Does anyone else see the irony in owners of an out-of-business brand cautioning a guy about buying a KTM due to parts availability? Owning both a Uly and a KTM (and having owned about 5 other KTM's in the past), I can say I worry a lot more about getting parts for the Uly than I do about my 2001 640 LC4 (even though I know parts are not readily in-stock for either bike). At least orange is still in business! I found all my Katoom's to be near bullet-proof, including several seasons of enduro racing. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I was just as surprised Arctick... I was rebuilding my Uly (thanks to a Corolla driver that felt the best approach when you can't see into somebody elses right of way is to just do it faster). Same time both buddies were fixing up the used KTM's they bought (great bikes and smoking good deals... I wish I had the money I spent restoring the KDX to just spend on a nice KTM 350). So I go in with a literal grocery list of Uly parts, to a local dealer (now under new management) that had been epically bad at Buell parts in the past (powder keg HD, or whatever they are called now). I was braced for the worst. They were remarkable. A week later, they had every part but the tank cover (which was 30 days out special order). The KTM guys ordered parts from the internet. A month later, they were asking and getting himming and hawing about "well, KTM is out of stock, you have to wait". So they went to a local KTM dealer (great mom and pop shop, I get my Kawasaki parts from them). They said "well, KTM is out of stock, you will have to wait". We were all laughing about it... that out of business Buell was getting parts in days and they were waiting months. Like I said though, it wouldn't keep me from buying one. My kid is now "seeing orange". I'd just take it into account as an annoyance to stay on top of, and keep a decent stock of the more likely to fail parts on hand (just like I do with the Buell now). | ||
| Hooper |
The hardest part about buying a KTM (Adventure) is finding one for sale! I'd love to test ride one, but they're awfully rare around these parts (mid-Atlantic). | ||
| Arcticktm |
Interesting. I have not needed much for KTM parts, fortunately. Just a fuel hose and a brake light switch for the 2001 640 in recent years, and they were both in stock locally. I guess the good news is that you don't have a parts problem if you don't need parts! Been too many years since I was racing dirt bikes, and even then my KTM's did not have much appetite for parts, thankfully. I hope I don't jinx myself and my old LC4. I did try to order a new fender support thru BikeBandit last year, and they cancelled the order (w/o telling me) after they could not get the part from KTM within a certain amount of time. I used zip ties and never tried to order it again. I've had bad experience with Bike Bandit, though, so I mostly blamed them for screwing it up. | ||
| Strokizator |
Skyclad, my story is similar. I totaled my '06 Uly in the spring of '09. I replaced it that summer with an '07 KTM 990 Adv. After riding it a while and seeing what it can do off pavement, I realized I had been taking the Uly to some places I really shouldn't have. There's nothing like a 21" front knobby in the dirt. Surprisingly, you don't give up much on the road with it. Aside from the typical off-road stuff, I did a 5000 mile loop through the southern US last year and then a 1000 mile "saddle sore" just last month; all with relative ease. I hope to hit Alaska on it next year. Welcome to the orange crush. I still miss my Uly nearly every day. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Re the KTM twins: when searching for a Uly stablemate (not really a replacement; the Uly is still my commuter) I considered the KTM 9xx, but I was always bothered by one thing: The engine is COMPLETELY hidden by the bodywork. Maybe not important to many, but---being a mechanical engineer---I've always figured the "motor" in "motorcycle" oughta be at least visible. I know...today's liquid-cooled engines don't look that cool, but still... That said, I'm sure you enjoy the new ride, and I wish you much success and enjoyment on it. --Doc | ||
| Skyclad |
Hooper, if you are really looking for a KTM ADV, I have found them at Outlanders in Luray. The shop I am getting mine (B&B in Manheim, PA) has at least two, one 2010 standard and one 2011 Dakar. They are out of the 990R's. Seems somebody just bought the last one.  | ||
| Wbrisett |
I did try to order a new fender support thru BikeBandit last year, and they cancelled the order (w/o telling me) after they could not get the part from KTM within a certain amount of time. HD isn't getting much better in the Uly parts department these days. I've had hand guards on order since August (from my last off-road adventure in UT). I've checked around and nobody seems to have any. I'm not sure if this is a sign of things to come from HD, but sourcing parts particularly plastic body parts seems to be killer. FYI, I got lucky and just the other day found a set somebody had taken off their Uly. Wayne | ||
| Bike_pilot |
Greg, KTM's uly-equivalent, the SMT (and the slightly higher spec SMR) have the engine fully visible. Its just the Adventure that has it wrapped in fuel tanks and the adventure's tall skinny tires aren't what you (well, I) want for the street anyway (but work well in the dirt). | ||
| Dr_greg |
Greg, KTM's uly-equivalent, the SMT (and the slightly higher spec SMR) have the engine fully visible. Its just the Adventure that has it wrapped in fuel tanks and the adventure's tall skinny tires aren't what you (well, I) want for the street anyway (but work well in the dirt). Yes, I was thinking of the KTM 9xx Adventure, but your point is well-taken. Thanks. --Doc | ||
| Dstoudi |
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| Katherinne1 |
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