Good, bad, indifferent?

Looking at a 2004+ XB9/12abcdefgher. Don't care that it is "old" technology, or that I get get quicker for cheaper.

 

Give me a pair of scissors and i can disable a buell with a handstroke.

Belt driven FTL, although they are fun bikes...also..

Reliability?......its made by harley.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ceas &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good, bad, indifferent?

Looking at a 2004+ XB9/12abcdefgher. Don't care that it is "old" technology, or that I get get quicker for cheaper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I personally like them. I considered getting one but I've heard of too many people having problems to justify it. If they ever put the new HD Revolution motor in it, I'll reconsider.

 

I just sold my 2003 XB9S on the 9th to a guy who lives in DC, maybe you'll see him around town. I bought a FJR to replace it. It was a damn fun bike to ride, if I could keep it I would have. Mine was reliable for the time I owned it, I put 3K miles on it over the winter. The main thing that killed me was that maintenance intervals were every 2000 miles, it was either this or that.

My brother has 10,500 miles on his; however over the last year he has had a bunch of stupid small things happen with his, which kept him in and out of the shop. Right now he's having major work done his bike. The top-end it being rebuilt because it has pretty severe compression loss (46% rear cyclinder 27% front) for no apparent reason. When I spoke with with other Buell owners, they have been really reliable bikes - I guess my brother got really unlucky. I had the speed sensor go bad on mine at 7777 miles, but that was it.

Another problem with Buell's is that you have to goto Harley dealers to get ****. Harley dealers = f.u.c.k heads. Most of them don't know **** about Buells, if you know that Buells are street fighters you already know more than most Harley salesmen. Also, it seems like everything is a "special order item" (read: no return even if they screw up the order). I hate harley dealers - a lot - I can't stress that enough.

Personally, I would liked to have kept my XB9.

 

I think I will get one just so I can ram into a wall.

Seriously... the first year they came out there was a great buzz, a friend went out and got one immediately. I was okay, had little issues(I am sure they are better now) but when he let me on it it seemed... for lack of a better word, cheap... entry level (which is okay), Like a hyundai except american. The ground clearance was awesome and it was really thin, but at the time I had the impression of the bike as being a beater, grocery getter, the bike you would take to down town LA and leave it on the street and not worry about it. Thats being said, I have always like the styling

 

i love the styling of the xb12r firebolt, and thats about it

 

well they are ugly as hell for one thing, overpriced,SLOW kid I worked with had an 06 Firebolt xb9r that fugly thing couldnt even keep up with my friends F4. Reliability is an issure also that thing had more probs in the 7months he had it than anything I have ever seen. and belt drive blows Only cool thing is that the fuel is in the frame and oil in the swing other than that its a BIG what a waste of money

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gsr-2nr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only cool thing is that the fuel is in the frame and oil in the swing other than that its a BIG what a waste of money</TD></TR></TABLE>

They store the oil in the swing arm because if they stored it in the engine it'd all leak out! ...fricken harley's..

 

I still question reliability just because it's a Harley motor.
I sat on one and didn't like the feel of the seating position, and generaly the bike just looked cheap like Mschu said. I thought i was sitting on a hyosung. In fact, i'd rather own a hyosung because i know it doesn't have a harley motor in it.
Other than that, i think they're awesome looking bikes, but i will never own one unless Harley steps up their game and has someone else make the motor. Until then, they're just trashing all over Eric Buell's good engineering.

 

im a tech at a dealership that sells used bikes..so ive ridden pretty much everything under the sun....and let me tell you buells suck. If you must have a big V-twin sportbike get a RC51 or something along those lines...those suck too but at least then itd be a honda...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xl cubert lx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im a tech at a dealership that sells used bikes..so ive ridden pretty much everything under the sun....and let me tell you buells suck. If you must have a big V-twin sportbike get a RC51 or something along those lines...those suck too but at least then itd be a honda...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Jealousy is a bitch ain't it?

rc51 &gt; u

I think it's kind've humerous that at work out of 4 sport bikes that often are parked there that 2 are liter v-twin buells and my rc51. Then there's a zx9

 

The 06s or 07s have a belt that supposedly that is will last indefiently, I guess meaning a long time. I remember reading that there hard to work on. I remember seeing one during my last term at school and it sounded gooood. I've always liked the sound of a muffled vtwin. So even a 12r can't keep up with a 600, if you like it, its got more than enough power.

 

nothing to do with jealousy...v twin motors in a sport bike frame do nothing for me. But thats mostly because people dont care for them and they turn into crap and just get real clapped out...if they are taken care of they can be nice bikes


Id definetly take a RC51 over a ZX-9 though....kawis are the *** of the big four....


We have had the motors out of so many Vulcan 1500's to replace their brilliant plastic oil pump gear its not even funny....

The new R6;s are stupitidy...they have a friggin powerband like a 2 stroke...

 

In case you guys missed it, he isn't in it for speed. This will be a city bike, so low down torque will be a key, as well as ergonomics, which I don't think the RC51 shines in city conditions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Brian*E30 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't think the RC51 shines in city conditions.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I couldnt think of a worse bike to own for city commuting.

I dont even rant this time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gsr-2nr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well they are ugly as hell for one thing, overpriced,SLOW kid I worked with had an 06 Firebolt xb9r that fugly thing couldnt even keep up with my friends F4. </TD></TR></TABLE>
What do you expect? It's an air cooled twin that makes 74 hp vs. a liquid cooled inline that makes what, 90 something hp. ******* duh.

What's with all the bashing the belt drive? Is it because you can't buy a blinggy chain and add it to your mod list?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the bike you would take to down town LA and leave it on the street and not worry about it. </TD></TR></TABLE>
That's one thing I liked about mine. I never had to worry about some fuckoff wanting to steal it because it had a K, S, H, or tuning forks on the gas tank.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Brian*E30 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">In case you guys missed it, he isn't in it for speed. This will be a city bike, so low down torque will be a key, as well as ergonomics, which I don't think the RC51 shines in city conditions.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Exactly, it's a city bike. It was perfect when I was rode through DC. Compact, torque down low, loud enough for people to notice, agile. It was perfect for the city.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xl cubert lx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Id definetly take a RC51 over a ZX-9 though....kawis are the *** of the big four....


</TD></TR></TABLE>


Before I say something to offend you, and with all due respect... WERE YOU BORN STUPID?

 

yeah yeah yeah, so kawasaki heavy industries makes lots of big machines and also some motorcycles.

kawis really don't have that last little bit of refinement in the packaging that the other mfr's have. does it matter? no...but to the average rider the fit and finish is just barely perceptibly lower on k bikes than honda or yama or suzi. thats my personal take on why people think kawi's are "***".

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by youdontknowmeeither &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

They store the oil in the swing arm because if they stored it in the engine it'd all leak out! ...fricken harley's..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I always loved the Firbolt 12's.
A major problem is with that that HUGE frame. It can be easily dinged even if you dropped it while stationary it has a chance to be dented. This dent will severely comprimise the bikes integrity. Ive seen many of these for sale on forums with dents in the frame.
Other than that i love the bikes... i believe the new ones have a "bumper" so to speak put on the most vulnerable part of the frame where either of the bars would hit the frame if it were to go down.

Still something to think about.

 

Kawasaki's always been about the power plant, always. Frankly, I don't see fit and finish issues, but I have not owned one in many many years. From where I sit they have chosen a segment of the market that may be undesirable to some, a compromised sport bike, but "***" is asinine

 

So yeah, Buells are fun bikes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Pauldo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Exactly, it's a city bike. It was perfect when I was rode through DC. Compact, torque down low, loud enough for people to notice, agile. It was perfect for the city.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Right on. The starbucks croud thinks fairings and clip on's work everywhere. They don't.

 

Motard?

 

i was riding one in the motorcycle course i took last night... and i never want to have to ride one again...it just felt like absolute crap in every aspect and i mean they school had cheap ones, but they were brand new with only 100km on them and they already felt pretty weak.