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M2cyclone00
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 - 06:25 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

the riders are claiming its the best handling bike they have been on.
Rather subjective. There are a number of articles written on Motorcycle.com alone, where the rider thought they were faster on a particular bike, then found out they were wrong based on actual lap times.
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Glitch
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 - 06:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

the riders are claiming its the best handling bike they have been on.

So do I...
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Bads1
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 - 06:53 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Think of the XB series as the trials bike,but for the asphalt.
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Glitch
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 - 08:48 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

An 80hp Schwinn...
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Jrw98flh
Posted on Friday, October 31, 2003 - 10:21 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

what about the "is it possible to be too compact" in the ups and downs window of the review? I have only test rode the firebolt but this "too compact" statement describes my experience on that bike - fyi im 6 feet 230lbs. anyone else feel the new bikes are small?
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Mikej
Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 08:43 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I was just recently reading on a bicycle site about Colnago's being used slightly smaller due apparently to them being designed to handle best when sized slightly small and the rider using a set-back seatpost and long stem to "put the rider's weight over the tires". Probably has nothing germain or relative to add to the discussion but thought I'd throw it in anyways.
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Glitch
Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 08:52 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Small, yes.
Too compact, no.
I'm six feet and 170lbs.
I love the "smallness."
This bike was made for me, or so it feels...
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Bomber
Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 10:56 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I'm 6'2", and about 210 . . .. the bolt fits me fine, thanks . . . . (although I'm sure I look kinda funny on it!)(flame away!)
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Crusty
Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 07:26 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I'm 5'8" tall, carrying about 50 extra pounds, and I like how the Lightning feels on the showroom floor. I probably look like the proverbial monkey /football, but I'm not riding for how I look. I ride for how it feels. My M2 feels good. My S3-T felt real good. I demo rode an XB9R, and it was just O.K. I think if I set up an XB12R with the pegs and upper triple clamp and bars from an XB12S, along with the touring seat, it might just work. (Dyna's next bike)
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M2me
Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 07:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I still haven't gotten this issue of Cycle World! Is Minneapolis still served by pony express mail?
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Bomber
Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 12:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

M2Me

nossir, but the USPS, which explains it all, I'm thinkin
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Nevco1
Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 09:50 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

M2me...I just got my copy a few days ago. Used to get it before the posts showed up on the BWB, now about two weeks later.

Me thinks the postperson is enjoying the read. Wish they would send it in a sealed plastic bag to eliminate this suspicion. LOL
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M1combat
Posted on Wednesday, November 05, 2003 - 10:25 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dyna... I know there isn't a 6 speed yet... I am praying for one though.
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Aesquire
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 09:28 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I WISH I had time to read the mags.... ongoing cutbacks, ie. eliminate a job position, and spread the workload among less people, your average letter carrier carries 180% of the mail he hauled just 6 years ago. On tv they call it "productivity" .

The reason mags are late is usually a) distribution (by the pallet load) centers change & when the magazines get to your post office change. b) the supervisor holds back volume to get the carrier out the door on time, which is wrong on magazines, they are supposed to go out THAT DAY. or c) an "inspection" is taking place and management hides mail in a truck for a week to change the #'s and "justify" a job cut. (this is both a violation of Federal Postal law, and Labor law, so they NEVER admit this.)
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Nevco1
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 02:34 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Aesquire...I trust you didn't take offense to my comment. It was simply a common joke, and the following should exonerate you from any suspicion.

USPS Expose. Selected topics from a 15+ year investigation.

I knew a number of Postmasters, all kinds of managers and supervisors as well as the various types of carriers and as both an interested consumer and business consultant, I was constantly asking them questions about the USPS operations to better understand the system. Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct in everything you did and didn't say.

The part about management hiding stuff is way too real. Is the reason why a lot of time limited sale advertisements are delivered during or after the sale dates.

Not only is this practice used to justify job cuts, it is used for employee evaluation as most are evaluated on piece work and efficiency (read: no overtime allowed with the exception of USPS Carriers some of which make upwards of $95.0K annually within a few miles of my current address).
Additionally, it is employed during the annual audit of each post office when routes for USPS Carriers are revised and annual compensation negotiations are done for the Rural Route and PO-to-Plant-to-PO Contract Carriers.

Another interesting practice is where management discredits people that are a threat to their job security by realigning supervisors, labor, machinery, etc., to insure the person that represents the threat fails on the job. Fortunately, I do know of a few examples where this backfired much to the managers chagrin.

The incompetency and gang style tactics employed by management throughout the country is pathetic. So many stories about promotions, raises, transfers used to get social deviants into positions where they can survive until retirement rather than firing or pressing criminal charges totally astounds me. Some even received major promotions to the regional and national level just to get them out of the area where the offenses were committed.

From a marketing perspective, after hearing all the whining about where the business went and all the excuses why, I find the advertising strategy employed by the USPS totally redundant. Rather spending big bucks on TV to tell me they deliver First Class Mail (the only exclusive niche they have left and is reported to be under consideration to allow private competition) why the hell don't they tell me how to and why I should use their other services.

Quite honestly, my secretary/office manager knows, but I am hard pressed to find anyone else that can provide the same info about the USPS. Most simply say First Class is the USPS, 1 to 3 Day is FedEx and parcels are UPS. Wonder where the business went? It went to the companies that make it clear what they do and simple to use.

In all honesty, without disrupting the bureaucratic corruption, the USPS could benefit almost immediately from an outside consulting firm that could translate and promote their services to the residential consumer.

Yep, the USPS is as mismanaged and deceitful an operation as you can find in America. Really wish I never asked the questions as, even though the USPS is no longer a part of the US Government, it sickens me to think that the rest of our Government is as equally polluted. Then again, I can't claim ignorance as I have known quite a few Federal, State and Local Government employees and elected officials over the years. Trust me, our Government is way beyond Socialism and corrupt as hell.
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M1combat
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 02:44 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I second that last.
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Bomber
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

too true . . . .

interesting story . . .. . my last dwelling was down a very small street from the post office . . . . enven though there were quicker routes to the building, and one's that did not run through residential neighborhoods, the semis continued to barrel through at abour 45/50mph (speed limit 30) . . . . talked to one of the drivers, who siad HE knew of the other possible routes that had come into existance due to construction of new roads, but the dispatcher insisted that the company's trucks take the old route through my front yard.

Talk to the company's dispaatch office, and they changed the route, mostly cuz it saved em minutes a day, and therefor $$. Fair enough.

Waht I found out that shocked me, though, was the fact that a USPS vehicle, or one that was contracted to haul the mail, did not have to be insured! further, I'm told by the local constabulary that the drivers of USPS vehicles (and those contracted to that body) are not subject to local traffic laws! after all, they're hauling the mail (neither rain nor snow, etc, etc, etc), a sacred enterprise

so I had this semi barreling down my road at highly illegal speeds, within feet of numerous kids in the neighborhood, and it was fine and dandy, cuz it had mail on board!

Having worked in an industry that served the bulk mail business for a while, and realizing what is actually delivered any more, I think it may be time to re-evaluate the charter of the USPS. It is no longer the link that binds the country together, that brings news from one coast to another, and delivers succor in the form of words from aunt sally -- it is the last step in the merchantile system, by which bills are delivered and paid (when was the last time you got 1st class mail that wasn't a bill?), and the method by which advertisers reach your household (no dishonor in this, especially compared to telemarketers).

if this is the case, slow the damn trucks down, get em insured, and clean the joint up!

none of the preceeding is in any way intended as a slam to the many honest, hardworking folks that are employees of the USPS . . .the systems is screwed, blued and tatooed, but many within it are honorable men and women, I know
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Nevco1
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:23 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Gosh, I didn't think anyone would read all that dribble. LOL

Bomber, I know you are correct about the USPS vehicles being self insured even now that they are private enterprise (LMAO) and no longer a part of the US Gov. However, the independent contractors I knew were insured. I just can't tell you if their insurance covers their USPS activities.

Telemarketers!!! Damn don't get me started on that. I hate them with a passion. Not to mention one of my best friends in Orange County has a brother that managed three boiler rooms out there.

Putting a telephone in that guys hands is criminal. You should have been along the night we rented a limo to hit the night spots in LA and the SF Valley. The idiot almost got us killed with a CB radio.

He insulted so many semi's that they boxed the limo in and put the moves on us. Have to admit the driver was well trained. If not, I may never have had the pleasure of meeting you.

Imagine that, a short story from me. I must be getting tired. LOL
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Bomber
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:32 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

go lay down, Bill . . .it'll pass
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Nevco1
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:34 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Thank you Dr. John.
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Bomber
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

where are my Night Trippers when I need them?
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Nevco1
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 03:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Flares...as in flames...

Gosh, I think I just been busted by my Bro'.
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Bomber
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 04:08 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Dr John and the Night Trippers . . . long before he went by Mac Rebenac, Dr John was into some very strange ju-ju and gris-gris . . . .. check out his first release (if you can find it, mines full of candle wax and seeds)
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Nevco1
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 04:10 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Whoops...Oh well, I still like Dr. Dimento at least since the Wolfman checked out.
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Ray_maines
Posted on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 07:11 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

On the other hand.........

I mailed some post cards from Paris, France last July 31st, the stamps cost about 0.60 Euros ($0.70 USD) each and they arrived in the U.S. in late September. That's, like, seven/eight weeks. Even the Italian and Greek post offices do better than that.

We all know that the Post Office is a crappy place to work. I mean, people don't "Go Transit" or "Go Airport", or "Go ...(you fill in the blank), they Go Postal! But the service, from the customers point of view, is over all, really pretty good.
ah, the good ol' days
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Blake
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 01:34 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I have a mixed opinion on the article from an objective yet Buell enthusiast's and prospective Buell XB12 owner's point of view. And therein is key to how I evaluate the honesty of a bike review/comparison; I try to consider objectively how does the presentation and statements of the article affect the mindset of prospective buyers of the subject motorcycles...

First off, photographic presentation...

CW certainly seemed to try to diminish the XB12S in their photographic portrayals compared to that of the Ducati and MV. On the cover, the MV and Duc get front and center with very nice sized complementary shots while the Buell is relegated to a tiny washed out top view that is crammed into a corner and is partially off the page. It is a terrible quality photo and has the rich red finish all washed out and appearing more pink than red. It has to be one of the least complimentary photos of an XB that I've ever seen, but there it is on the cover of CW.

Within the article itself the three bikes are shot together for a near full double page layout with the Buell looking silly tiny in the background with its less attractive (left-hand) side towards the camera and shot from the rear where the MV and Duc are nicely framed front and center with their better sides (open wheel sswingarm right-hand sides) facing the camera in forward oriented views. Further on, the Duc and MV each get nice sized wheelie shots; none for the XB12S. Only one shot shows the XB12S from its better side and it is a small virtually postage stamp sized little picture. Most people might not consciously notice the manipulation of photos in a major bike rag moto-comparo article. I wonder if it is pre-meditated or just a result of piss-poor/inept selection of photos.

There are a lot of little things throughout the article that indicate the author (Mark Hoyer) didn't make an honest effort to actually learn about or comment on the unique features of the Buell. He actually off-handedly near the start of the article implies that the Buell uses a chain final drive and has painted bodywork.

Mr. Hoyer also makes it a point early on to equate the naked sport bike class to that of "a Harley-like status symbol and emblem of a certain lifestyle". Say what??? :? If anything, naked bikes are the absolute antithesis of any kind of moto "status symbol." That kind of thinking might apply to cruisers and repli-racers, but sorry, I don't see it applying at all to the naked bike market. To suggest so is absurd and ignorant and indicates to me where the author is coming from... it seems in his mind that if it ain't a plasti-shrouded repli-racer or touring bike, it ain't a real motorcycle, but rather a poseur-cycle symbol of status.

He refers to the Buell engine as "that great loping lump of iron". Not a very complimentary connotation, "lump" for a sport bike engine, is it? I think "lump" applies more to the heineous radiator protruding from the Ducati like some manner of bulging blue veined herniated goiter begging to be excised before it errupts in a massive belch of fetid puss. Can you tell, I REALLY hate the Monster S4's radiator? (FB, you honestly find that bike aesthetically appealing, really? You are selling your S1? Don't make me come out there.)

The article rates the XB12R at 92BHP, doesn't clarify if that is at the rear wheel or crank. If correct, it would have to be rear wheel HP. I wonder if it is really BHP (Brake HP) or if it is from an inertial dyno test as is more common.

Mr. Hoyer tries to feign technical credibility but fails terribly in his attempt by subjectively mis-describing the characteristics of the low revving Buell V-Twin versus the MV's high revving IL4. He seems to think that the Buell's "big steel saucers" are what keep it from revving as quickly as the MV's smaller short stroking IL4. Forget piston speed and gear ratios, it's the 1200 cc long stroking Buell twin's big flywheels (sic) that keep it from revving as freely as the short stroke 750cc IL4. CW needs to have Steve Anderson or Kevin Cameron edit the tech content of all their articles. That kind of BS is embarrassing to such an otherwise reputable rag as CW.

Mr. Hoyer is willing to overlook the messy integration of the Duc S4 since he tends "not to care about this from the saddle." Hmmm, so a shitty looking contrived naked bike is to be forgiven its heineous appearance since you cannot notice the mess while in the saddle? Right. Is that an excuse or a fact? How can you overlook, even from the saddle, the oversized goiter of a radiator protruding from the right side of the engine? Gross! (Seriously FB, have you seen the radiator on that thing? :) )

The author chides Ducati due to his own inability to interpret the comment on Ducati's web site referring to the Duc's footpegs, namely that they "Allow to get off the posterior for racing use." Is that difficult to comprehend, really? Seems clear enough to me that Ducati is simply saying that the pegs are positioned to allow the rider to move around easily on the seat (allowing the rider to easily get his/her butt up off the seat) as is often desired during track days or in racing type scenarois. DUH.

Mr. Hoyer et al preferred the sound of the high revving 750cc IL4 of the MV over both the Duc and the Buell V-Twins. Are you kidding me??? An IL4 revving at five figures sounds better than a Duc or a Buell??? :?

In commenting on the aesthetics of the bikes' exhaust systems the author says... "the Buell's exhaust, by contrast, ain't very pretty". Huh? I guess if you relish having two big ole honkin cans hanging off the side of your bike, you might not think the Buell exhaust "pretty". Seems to me the virtually completely hidden muffler and nicely golden toned SS headers of the Buell are far more aesthetically pleasing than most any conventional exhaust systems I've seen, and especially compared to that on the Duc S4R Monster. The MV pipes are darn nice looking, but to me, a hidden can/cans are better than exposed cans any day. But hey, while you are "in the saddle" that doesn't matter anyway, right? rolleyes Which way do you want it there Mr. Hoyer?

Would have been interesting to see Mr. Hoyer lying on on his back on the ground trying to get a good view of the Buell muffler in order to evaluate its aesthetics. I guess he missed the giant tumor-like catalytic converters of the Duc and MV. No mention of them or of how the Buell doesn't need one.

Oh, but Hoyer considerately takes the time to warn us about the hot temperature of the oil reservoir in the torque box of the Buell's swingarm. Buyer beware! The front of the swingarm containing the oil reservoir and dipstick, the part that is virtually completely out of the way and practically impossible to accidentally touch to skin, that part on the Buell gets hot. Good thing he told all the prospective buyers about that treacherous problem. But, I guess the oil reservoirs (not to mention the radiators or their fluid lines) in the Duc and MV don't get hot to the touch? Umm, how about those giant mufflers hanging off the side of the other bikes? Any worries about getting burned by those? No. Oh. Guess not. Imagine that.

Then Mr. Hoyer talks about how wonderfully the MV handles... oh, but only on a "racetrack-smooth road"; on any type of bumpy road it becomes an accident waiting to happen no matter the suspension settings. But hey, it has "super-precise steering." That will be a great comfort as you are bouncing off the road into the guard rail due to a few bumps in the road that render your bike unstable. According to CW, the MV's mal-performing suspension is just a quirk to be excused. No big deal. Friggin' unbelievable.

No such forgiveness is accorded the Buell, far from it; according to Hoyer, the XB12S' short wheelbase and taught suspension make "freeway expansion joints less than entertaining." Is that trying a little too hard to find a fault in the XB12 or what? You cannot safely pilot the MV aggressively on a bumpy road no matter the suspension settings, but that is just a "quirk". The Buell isn't optimally comfortable for cruising down the freeway over bumps when its suspension is set up for aggressive riding, and that is a noteworthy comment? Did the author attempt to adjust the compression damping to be more suited to highway conditions?... Answer, apparently not.

There were SOME good observations and comments in the article too. I just tire of the obvious bias of so many moto-journos and moto rags. Too many of the adjectives used to describe the Buell and Duc slant towards a negative connotation (lump, stubby, luxo-boat...) while glaring problems with the MV (dangerous/unstable handling on bumpy roads, a throttle that gets sucked closed tightly only to jump open as excessive force is applied thus causing the bike to lurch, yeah that's a great little "quirk" when you are apexing a curve, and the wonderful 23 mpg fuel mileage), are lightheartedly excused away as just "quirks."

Sorry, I might live/deal with one of the above, but a bike that cannot handle real world roads, that has an inherently sticky throttle, that gets only 23 mpg, costs $14K, and lacks any semblance of a dealer network... yeah great bike CW. NOT!!!

He liked the sound of an IL4 over that of a Ducati and a Buell??? The boy is definitely confused.


Rocket,
If you want peak speed and acceleration performance, please cut to the chase and go buy a new GSXR1000, or wait around for the new CBR1000RR or next years big gix1000 or possiby the Yammer R1 or the Kawi Zixxer1000. That MV 750cc is a lame duck compared to it's Japanese brothers. The gix 600 would eat it's lunch in any kind of peak performance comparison, and it would get better fuel mileage doing it too. I cannot believe you have fallen into the HP peak speed worshiper's cult. Now if you had lauded the fine aesthetics and crafstmanship of the MV, okay then I'd be with you. You have now taken to deriding Buell for the exact reasons most of us prefer his motorcycles over the hyperbikes you now seem inclined to worship. I say go for it. Get the bike you like. Fix it up, beef up the performance a bunch, run it balls to the wall at the drag strip and at the track, have an absolute blast... then get all twisted up when the engine craters? Me? I'd just have the engine rebuilt or sell the thing. Get your S1 repaired dammit! Take it for a ride and it will all come back to you. You will wonder what the hell got into you, thinking about an IL4 hyperbike. Or not, but please don't berate Buell cause they don't build the bike you want. That just isn't rational is it? Have you ridden an XB12 yet? I haven't. I'm thinking that with 92 rwhp it will be a real surprise.
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Blake
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 01:49 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

JQ,

As to the Duke 990 moving the goal posts... How long have we been waiting for that bike to materialize in the showroom? Seems like years already. It's now slated for release, supposedly, as a 2005 model? I'll be watching with interest to see what Buell might have to offer for the 2005 model year. I certainly don't see the Duke 990 as setting any new or extraordinary benchmark for naked performance motorcycles. Far from it, as advertised it will be inferior in peak performance to and more expensive than all the comparable naked superbike class offerings from Japan. What was your point again there JQ? I seem to have missed it? You have faith in the wet weight and rwhp advertised nearly a year in advance of a bike's commercial debut? I don't. I'll guess that the wet weight comes in at over 450 lbs. And the warranty will be...? No matter, until I can actually purchase one, it's of no consequence is it. It's all just talk. Do you think they will offer demo rides?
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Rocketman
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 05:43 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Ok Blake that's a nice post and thanks for putting up the time to reply rather than just the usual suspects who like to berate Buell - whom it may sound like I've joined the ranks of. I'll deal with that later but that's not just an issue of the bike itself.

So , well I haven't seen the CW stuff yet, and wait patiently to do so, but the comparison in MCN was awesome reading and incidentally the MV, Tuono R and S4R all got great appraisals overall but hell I'd have expected those bikes to be pretty close in performance and handling anyway. So there it is in a nutshell, and no I haven't ridden an XB period, but to me it's an antique compared to the others, wrap it up in whatever fancy gizzmos or EB trickery it's still a 130MPH tortoise.

Maybe CW thought along similar lines, and given the other two are more recent models maybe this is why the pics weren't so Buell complimentary? So wrong place to have a Buell anyways and it's old news too!

You said Mr. Hoyer also makes it a point early on to equate the naked sport bike class to that of "a Harley-like status symbol and emblem of a certain lifestyle". Say what??? If anything, naked bikes are the absolute antithesis of any kind of moto "status symbol."

Well I can't speak for your fine country but I'd say he's bang on the money for us Brit's and European's. Streetfighters have certainly become the weapon of choice for the biker that lives the lifestyle where as sports bikes are ridden by anyone and everyone, mostly who adorn the usual riding attire, full leathers and full face lid, race boots and race gloves, but when they get home they switch back to 'normal' dress pretty much camouflaging their love of bikes, and they don't tend to eat , breathe and shit motorcycles, more they treat them as an affordable hobby they can indulge in on a Sunday afternoon or Wednesday eve. Not so the great unwashed Streetfighter rider, Jack boots, jeans and a leather jacket which they probably wear when they ain't riding also. That's a lifestyle thing right? They probably don't even own a car where as most sports bike owners will own two, one for themselves and one for the wife.

Check out shit publications like AWOL and Back Street Hero's or slightly better depending on the bikes featured, Streetfighter, and you will see what I'm talking about. The Streetfighter (and I'm not talking Hornet or Fazer) has become what the Chopper use to be. Now the point your journo buddy in CW was trying to make I'm not sure about, having not read it, but I think the MV might be a little to 'coffee bar' for my tastes but that depends where you ride it really. Imagine if you will, you could on the one hand see the suited up city kid parked up outside Starbucks in any major city, Brutale gleaming on the sidewalk, or on the other hand you might see me in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket parked up at a cheese burger van in a lay-by at the side of the A1. Does it really matter?

So he refers to the engine as "that great loping lump of iron". Nothing wrong there then - straight to the jugular - and the reason why Buell shouldn't be in the article in the first place. Now that MV engine - designed with Ferrari help - that won't work then? The 996 engine? Well I guess the reason for the ugly radiator, but at least Ducati had the balls to put their not so old flagship motor in their girly naked bike.

Mr. Hoyer et al preferred the sound of the high revving 750cc IL4 of the MV over both the Duc and the Buell V-Twins. Are you kidding me??? An IL4 revving at five figures sounds better than a Duc or a Buell???

You know I've read in a couple of places and spoken with several dealer people who've ridden and heard the Brutale running - absolutely unequivocally all say the MV sounds gorgeous, like no other IL4, and some go as far as to say it's the best sounding motorcycle ever. You gotta admit those side pipes look bloody awesome too! How could the Brutale benefit in style if it where to have 'hidden' pipes? You're a funny onion Blake.

Mr. Hoyer talks about how wonderfully the MV handles... oh, but only on a "racetrack-smooth road"; on any type of bumpy road it becomes an accident waiting to happen no matter the suspension settings. But hey, it has "super-precise steering."

MCN claimed the MV came out of the box the most race focused (you did read that MCN snippet I posted didn't you?) against the Tuono R and S4R, but they also had great results with it on the road too (which I didn't post). You seen any British A and B roads recently the British journo's stompping ground? Come to it - tracks like Oulton Park or Cadwell Park, maybe even Knockhill or Croft, they all differ with challenging surfaces to say the least and Cadwell is where MCN tested their bunch? I find it impossible to believe that an MV won't handle on anything but a race track especially when some of those tracks won't all be pool table smooth (well at least over here they aren't) - and you'd have yourself believe that? Never mind the top line Showa suspension the Brutale is wearing.

Well Blake I aren't really the Gixxer or R1 type of bike fancier, much as I have found a new liking for hyper bikes, maybe if they were Streetfightered ok, but what does do it for me is the way an IL 4 blurs the horizon and that's something I'd forgotten about for years and more so since Buell ownership. I aren't so much putting Buell down for their product - I'm certain it'd be a fine motorcycle - but hell they went backwards in PERFORMANCE and I'm sorry but I just don't buy that 250GP handling stuff that allegedly makes up for the inherent lack of power. Sure that works with a lightweight car versus a 'big ole smoker' but anyone can chuck a car around really - not so a motorcycle - so a very competent rider might whoop ass on the XB against a novice on a Brutale or S4R but come on fella that's not really the point is - we're all novices. The Buell suits Buells demographic - who have very little to do with MV Brutale's or Monster S4R's - which is another reason not to put the Buell in the CW comparison! Tell you what though, I don't believe the Brutale will be a lame duck next to its Japanese counterparts - all bikes that can muster to a maximum of 150MPH are pretty much up to speed against faster bikes on twisty public highway - not often do those faster bikes get up anywhere near 150 or more anyway. As for the Buell I believe Budo put it better than I've ever heard it put before and I echo his comments entirely - having been on the receiving end of them on many occasions......As you all know a 600 will hit 150mph and these guys see 120mph no problem. I holed a piston in my 1998 S1W just trying to keep a CBR600 insight. So the guy on the Buell rolls up last and his buddies smirk and say 'hey dude what kept you? how much did you pay for that pig?' These guys will not tolerate that.

Anyway Blake thanks for the kind words on the S1. I'm busy still with other things but will make a start soon but the jury's still out on whether she's a keeper.

Rocket

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Smoke
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 06:15 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

hey rocket,
when you get the new cw, check out the red frame/ black cherry vrod sportfighter in the american flyer section. it does it for me, but i cant/wont pay the price. i really like that desmo 350 also. a more reasonable/ affordable choice. as i remember that s1 that couldn't keep up had a intake leak. i've holed a few pistons from leanness on the 2 strokers.
smoke em if you got em. ride on
tim
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Ferris
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003 - 08:11 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I think "lump" applies more to the heineous radiator protruding from the Ducati like some manner of bulging blue veined herniated goiter begging to be excised before it erupts in a massive belch of fetid pus...

wow! :)

(FB, you honestly find that bike aesthetically appealing, really? You are selling your S1? Don't make me come out there.)

Blake, you and me are long overdue to actually meet face to face, my brother. if selling the Thong is what it takes, well....... :)

FB
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