Buell, how bad are they?

[WRichStrom]

I am not going to get rid of the FJR. I've done that once and the FJR just works for me.

But for screwing around town I found an '08 XB12R, 930 or so miles, and it is white.

I know the twin is nothing like the FJR. I have made bad mistakes previously with an Ultra-Classic and actually had both a Street-Glide and the FJR. Now currently have the FJR. For trips the FJR is tops compared to the Harley motor.

I had middling skills and really don't go all that fast normally. But the V-Twin could be fun on short Sunday afternoon rides and the motor sounds great. A bike like a CBR or FZ or YZ's etc., are way more than I need. And I know a Buell is actually Grandfatherly compared to the FJR.

Or is this just insane? Has anyone had a more recent Buell air cooled. Would it be fun as a second bike?

 

[fljab]

Or is this just insane? Has anyone had a more recent Buell air cooled. Would it be fun as a second bike?

I haven't owned one, but known them that has.

I say go for it if the deal is right. They're easy to maintain, and have gobs of low end power. WTF, if you like it, can afford it, who cares anyway? If ya get into it right then later on decide it's not for you, then resell for no or little loss. I'd imagine there's some deals on them used...

JMO-YMMV!

 

[wfooshee]

Never been on one, so take it with that in mind.

My brother has called the Buells great bikes in search of a motor.

The motor on the Buell will do nothing more for you than it did on the Harleys, except it's pushing a somewhat lighter bike around, and the bike has better balance, handling, feel, brakes, blah blah blah. I just couldn't imagine living with that stupid motor.

 

[Bugnatr]

Do you like working on bikes? Only guys I knew who owned Buell's had lots of problems. Not much for quality control and are parts easy to come by now that Buell's are history?

 

[squeezer]

...and are parts easy to come by now that Buell's are history?

Parts aren't a problem yet. And I figure as long as people still manage to find parts for Edsels, you'll be able to find them for Buells.

I think you'll find that bike a hoot. Folks I know who had 'em, loved 'em. If the price is low and cash is on hand, go enjoy it!

 

[C&C]

I test rode a couple (before getting my FJR) and was really impressed with its flickability, fantastic brakes and once you get past idle, engine smoothness. If I were in the market for a second bike, it would be on the short list.

 

[fljab]

I just got my new Motorcyclist magazine (Jan 2011) and it has an article on a Buell XB12S project bike; you ought to read it. Admittedly they spent some money on it with XB9R pistons (raises CR to 11.0:1), tuner FI controller, custom-stock-reworked muffler, slipper clutch, Ohlins shock, and more, butt it's good reading regardless IMO!

If you want, PM me and I'll fax the article to ya...

 

[Top Case]

Do you plan to stay reasonably close to home?

Do you own a truck or a trailer?

Do you have family willing to throw the ramps in the truck and pick you up?

Do you like sitting by the side of the road waiting for your ride?

Then a Buell may be right for you.

My Buell Ulysses left me stranded 11 times in only 40,000 miles. Four broken drive belts, three failed rear wheel bearings, two failed voltage regulator, a failed throttle cable, and a failed O2 sensor that led to quickly fouled plugs to the extent the engine didn't run.

The tenth time, I'd left a load of brush in the back of my pickup. My wife had to unload the brush before she came to get me and the Buell, then swore she'd never pick me up again.

The eleventh time, my daughter had left for college and my son was away... it took a couple hours to connect a ride home. I got the bike running again and gave it away this past March on a dealer trade for my used FJR. I may have gotten more for the Buell with a private party sale, but I couldn't look a private party in the eye and take any money for it.

Added/Edit: And of course, I loved it. The engine had plenty of power for me, including a couple track days, it handled great, and the dimensions fit me better than the cramped dimensions of the FJR. I had to like it a lot in order to keep it through the first ten breakdowns.

I ran into another Buell owner who also really liked them; he dealt with reliability issues by buying a new one every year. He'd bought nine total, including one he bought after H-D shut down the brand and had it stored in his garage for putting into service as soon as his current one started giving him trouble. I didn't have the money to do that, but I was sorry to see the brand shut down.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

^^^^ Wow..! That's some testimonial...

Reminds me of, motorcycle magazine scribe, Darwin Holmstrom's article/road-test on one of the early Buells -- it didn't go well at-all, lots of problems.

 

[Hawkerplt]

My nephew has a XB12ss. He bought it new and follows the factory maintenance schedules. He has had zero issues with the bike.

I have ridden the bike several times and it is an absolute hoot. Great low end grunt and handling. Buell was contracted to provide service and parts for seven years after HD divested the company.

Have fun with it!!

 

[RadioHowie]

.....and the dimensions fit me better than the cramped dimensions of the FJR....

?????

Jeebus! You must be 7 feet tall and weigh 900 pounds if the FJR is cramped for you! I'm 6'4" and 280 and the FJR is more than un-"cramped".

 

[Top Case]

.....and the dimensions fit me better than the cramped dimensions of the FJR....

?????

Jeebus! You must be 7 feet tall and weigh 900 pounds if the FJR is cramped for you! I'm 6'4" and 280 and the FJR is more than un-"cramped".

Well, I'm a true 6'5 barefoot, 6'6+ in boots, and 240 pounds. By comparison to the Ulysses, the FJR is cramped. The FJR is the same size it was when I bought it, so I certainly can't fault it for the dimensions, but the Ulysses was much more comfortable. The Ulysses was a real hoot, but the reliability was enough to drive me crazy.

I'd tested a lot of bikes and the FJR won out, but as I said through my multiple breakdowns, I just wanted the Ulysses to be reliable.

I had done all the routine maintenance at all the recommended intervals and had even done a chain conversion to get away from the broken drive belts, but the bike kept breaking down.

 

[gearman]

The XB will bear little or no resemblance to a HD in the handling, braking or acceleration departments. If you rev it like an R1 it will probably cause you misery. People I know that ride them moderately (use the torque Luke...use the torque) usually have little or no trouble with them.

 

[Crash Cash]

Well, I'm a true 6'5 barefoot, 6'6+ in boots, and 240 pounds. By comparison to the Ulysses, the FJR is cramped. The FJR is the same size it was when I bought it, so I certainly can't fault it for the dimensions, but the Ulysses was much more comfortable. The Ulysses was a real hoot, but the reliability was enough to drive me crazy.

Whew, I guess I got lucky. I was looking at a Ulysses to replace my wee-strom, which was a piece of junk, but "friends don't let friends buy Harleys" so one set me up with a sweet deal on the FJR. The Ulysses was nice and tall, but I couldn't get away from the vibration, especially at idle.

 

[bvail]

On my way to Alaska a couple of years ago I was riding the Canadian Rockies and rode for a while with a couple of others I met on the road. One fellow from Iowa had a brand new

Ulyses he had recently purchased. Sweet looking bike and he was quite happy with it. We camped overnight at a KOA and the next morning as we were packing up to go our separate

ways he noticed a six inch puddle of oil under the engine. I felt bad for the guy. Never saw him again - hope he made it.

 

[RavFJR]

Do you plan to stay reasonably close to home?

Do you own a truck or a trailer?

Do you have family willing to throw the ramps in the truck and pick you up?

Do you like sitting by the side of the road waiting for your ride?

Then a Buell may be right for you.

This seems reminiscent of the Sporty I got rid of...just before I got my FJR. The AAA flat-bed driver and I become very familiar with each other. A friend of mine owned a Buell and hated it too... Said it was underpowered and always broke down.

 

[frito1]

I've owned 2 Buells, a '97 Tuber, and a '08 Uly. I liked them both (though I've liked any MC I've ever owned). V-twin torque is addictive, but it's not a high output engine. Mine were reliable, but a HD based v-twin is dirt simple to work on. If I bought another it would have to be dirt cheap. The new close outs were going for half of MSRP. They are fun bikes IMHO.

 

[dc1300]

I've had four Buells, two Cyclones, a Thunderbolt and a Ulysses. I never went 40K on them but ,over 20K on two and 15K on the others, The first one, a 2000 Cyclone was allergic to oil, they were all relatively trouble free and never left me stranded. They were the most fun I've ever had on motorcycles. If you get it you won't be disappointed.

DC

 

[Fred W]

Never owned either an HD or a Buell. But after reading the most recent MC article (I get that free rag too) I am fairly certain that whatever Eirc B comes up with in his "rebirth" is likely to be far superior to the trash that they were forced to make under the HD (board of directors) label.

For one thing, they will no use HD engines. I think under the dissolution agreement, they can't. There was some talk about using Bombardier (Rotax) engines from Ca-na-duh, which would (IMO) be a huge improvement to that Old Milwaukee trash. Who knows, maybe even a multi cylinder (ie more than 2) bike in the future?