OK... I'm in love... I drove my buddies Buell Lightning xb9.  I would give my left n*& and my GS for it... oh man it was sweet... handles like a dream.... fully adjustable suspension, fuel runs through the frame... lotsa torque... super fast

I want it

You know it's a Buell, right?

I don't know crap about Buell's.  I have read some articles that say the newer bikes are nice. . . but then I have also read that Buell's are a nightmare when it comes to reliability. 

Buell = sporty Harley. Think much on this before buying.

Personally, maybe as a second or third bike, but not as an only. Remove the harley connotations and I would buy it. (Give it a Japanese twin)

Still not much of a V-Twin guy, except for the Boulevard M109R. Only cause it's Anime-tastic! I'm not really interested in low end grunt, I want a high end shriek.

Oh BTW that 984cc's and only 74hp. Sure it make GOBS of V-twin torque, and that makes it feel faster (As a friend of mine put it, Torque is like how big you are, horsepower is like asking your girl if she had an O )

I'll run against it through my local twisties, but I'm one of those guys who *NEEDS* new rearsets so Pbhhht.

The rake angle is what makes it turn in so effortlessly, and belie that heavy V-twin in the frame. Once you get it over though things get hairy.

Though I'll give you one thing, that torque is very useful, especially coming off my GS. My Ex had one, it could pull stumps.

I was looking at the CityX too. It's the bike I would love to have gotten if I'd known what the hell I was doing instead of being a beginner. Beautiful piece of machinery. From everything I've read the earlier Buell's had massive quality control issues but the XB series has fixed that.

Glad to hear it rides as well as it looks.

-James

Quote from: CirclesCenter on June 06, 2006, 04:05:15 PM
Once you get it over though things get hairy.

Clueless.  The XB's flop around like dead chickens...and the steering geometry is only a small portion of the equation.  I get tired of reading that..."the extreem steering angle makes handle so well".  If that's all it took everything on earth would have nutty steering angles.  People don't take into consideration that the bikes wheels only weight about 9lbs each...the rotor up front is another 17oz...people don't take into consideration that belt and pully system is about 3lbs lighter than a chain and sprocket set...and people NEVER take into consideration that the pushrod, air cooled old fashioned block is one of the best suited "sport" motors ever made thanks to it's extremely low rotational mass.  That's what makes the bike lean so eagerly.  I've also never had a problem pulling out of a corner on one.

The XB's are great.  They're cheap, reliable, maintanance dreams, fair quick and amazing hooligan bikes.  Even the old bikes are great...the tuber lightnings put down OVER 100lbs of torque!  The EFI noe's would trump that, too, with simple modifications.  The only buell's that have ever had reliabillity issues were made in the late 80's and early 90's.  Lets see any manufacturer get it right the first time...

Alrighty flame boy.

I rode it, my opinion. Take it as you will.

So 1lbs 1 oz spinning HOW fast? (Ever played with a gyroscope?)

Air cooled yes, much better mass wise, but the power curve is like PhhBBbHhhttt....

Inlines produce superior power, end of story (requires lotsa shifting though to stay in the meat)

Not saying it's a bad bike just pointing out its' deficiencies. The Torque is a lot of fun though, makes in town stuff stupid fun. Now CityX makes me think it should have more suspension travel and be more Enduro in character. It's not. The one thing I wanted when I was a courier was a DRZ400. Would have been SOOOO much more fun than the shite cager I had.

I can also say I might attribute the heaviness to a comparison to the GS. Not like I can go up to my Ex and be like, "Hey can I ride your bike again?" She'd probably hit me. (With the bike.)

[43

Quote from: CirclesCenter on June 06, 2006, 04:41:17 PM
So 1lbs 1 oz spinning HOW fast? (Ever played with a gyroscope?)

There's significantly less rotational mass from that 375mm rotor than with the 310mm rotor on your GS.

QuoteAir cooled yes, much better mass wise, but the power curve is like PhhBBbHhhttt...

If you consider a power curver that's nearly flat thorughout the rpm range "PhhBBbHhhttt", then I guess I can't argue.

QuoteInlines produce superior power, end of story (requires lotsa shifting though to stay in the meat)

I've yet to see an inline produce over 100lbs of torque out of the box.

Oh yeah...and wet weight of the 9R is less than the GS500...by only 4lbs, but still.

Quote from: My Name Is Dave on June 06, 2006, 03:09:39 PM
You know it's a Buell, right?

TOO FUNNY! 

The XB9 only has 70 lbs. of torque, not 100. 

Where did anyone say anything about the XB9 having 100lbs of torque?

and the XB9 dyno's around 60lbs of torque...about 5lbs and 12cc shy of my TL

That's like 40 more than a GS, which makes it nice for in town needlework. But I like shifting like mad

Regardless though I do find myself lusting after the Buell's qwirky looks. But I'm not a V-twin guy, I prefer 10k+ rpm banshees. (Like oh the new R6 *LUST* except for looks, they are dull)

Regardless I'm saying that the rotation mass being moved (regardless of its' comparison to the GS) has a large effect on handling.

I was speaking of hp, not torque. (In ref. to inline engines.) Torque doesn't really impress me, I want 13k rpms of pure wailing beast! V engine make stonk, that's true, but I like wailing.

Only V-type engine that makes me hot is found in a Ducati. But then its' topped (in my not so humble opinion) by the MV Agusta F4. (Yeah, I'd castrate myself for one of those bikes)

Quote from: CirclesCenter on June 06, 2006, 10:39:21 PM
Regardless I'm saying that the rotation mass being moved (regardless of its' comparison to the GS) has a large effect on handling.

And what I'm saying is that the huge single rotor on the Buell has less rotational effect on the bike than the single little rotor on the GS.

QuoteI was speaking of hp, not torque. (In ref. to inline engines.) Torque doesn't really impress me, I want 13k rpms of pure wailing beast! V engine make stonk, that's true, but I like wailing.

Fine by me...but I don't think you realize that the only thing a dyno can measure is torque.  All other things being equal, if the XB9 had a 14,000rpm operating range, hp would be in the 110~120 range at the wheel.  What matters is application...the bikes are made to do something completely different for a completely different crowd.

So what would be the effect on the GS if you wore the front axle as a mustache like on the XB9? (I kid cause I love.)

How about you just get what you want. I like the buells, haven't ridden them, but they are kinda cool. I wouldn't mind owning one, but I probably wouldn't buy one. Everybody has their own opinion, as long as your riding on 2 wheels and having fun, that's all that matters!

Wow... a 2 line post and so much anger.... so much input... so much... well... 

Ok. . . . any thoughts on BMW Bikes?  Withe the new fork set ups?

forks are find on them...different, but fine.  The rides are a bit different, though...I suggest riding one before considering one.

People are going nuts over the Ulysses. Apparently its an excellent bike and a legitimate 1200GS competitor.

I think the CityX is a great piece, a perfect STREET bike, and if I figure out how to mount hard bags on it I will own one. Simple, reliable (its not a blast people), torquey, and nekkid. Just the way I want it.