Buell XB12X (Ulysses) - Initial Notes

Buell has made a number of bikes I've admired over the years. Most ended up not being the right thing at the right time for me. In 2006, those folks did a phenomenal job of getting a review in Cycle World... or Motorcyclist (I forget now). What they teased me with was something that looked like a bike made just for me. I wasn't sure how the rest of the world would respond, but I went down and put my money on one.... sight unseen. I ended up with the second one in the area, since I was wanting orange and not black. Actually, what I wanted was an orange airbox cover, black seat and black fairing. I ordered the seat and fairing and had it swapped over within a few weeks.
The timing on this bike was actually pretty impressive. I was riding a heavily modified FXDX which was fine, but not solving my wandering needs as well as I wanted. I also missed riding a bike with a shorter wheelbase. Prior to seeing that article, I had looked at everything and had narrowed it down to a Ducati Multistrada S or a BMW 1200GS.
The Ducati guys blew it when they made is sound like it was no big deal to drop big bucks on a regular basis for basic maintenance. Plus, I really couldn't love the front of that Duc. The rest was sweet, but that fairing was flat out too much too look at.
I was pretty much set on a GS, but found that my local dealer in Seattle didn't seem like they really wanted to sell one. They wouldn't even call me back to tell me how much money they wanted with the trade in. I thought I made it clear I'd come buy it that day. It became clear that I needed a bit more love. Hell, any love would have been interesting. I promptly began my search for another dealer and found a bit of a vacuum leak across the northwest.
Then the article came out. This Buell had a number of the things I cared about. A V-Twin, reasonable power, exceptional handling, comfort for one, comfort for two, it wasn't likely to be on every corner, and the dealer (parts) network was significantly better than Ducati or BMW.
So I got one.


Bit more information on this:


updates
• Buell Race can (I couldn't hear the stock can)
• ECU that came with the can
• K&N air cleaner
• Holy airbox
• Suspension is stock
• Tires - I really didn't like the way the Dunlops wandered. I switched to the Pirelli Scorpion's and have been thrilled with them.
• Oil - is always synthetic and I generally use Redline
• Filter - I keep a supply of the Buell ones.
• Plugs and plug wires have been replaced
• Clutch just stays adjusted, no effort there.
• Drive belt did break on me, which is an issue for me.
• Brake pads are fresh. I wear out the rears around town due to how the front pulses.

changes
Plate light - Within a very short period of time the stock license plate light crumbled. It was truly crap. Buell would have replaced it under warranty, but I wasn't willing to leave the bike with them for something so stupid. Instead, I fixed it as well as the goofy plate holder that came on the bike. I spent some quality time with some stainless and aluminum and came up with a layout that has my turn signals in a great place for the soft bags, puts the plate closer to the brake light, and uses a couple bright LEDs to illuminate the plate. I've had this on here for almost the life of the bike and love it.
Autocom - On long rides, it's great to be able to chat with my passenger. Or more specifically, make it easier for them to tell me what they're thinking so I don't blow past a rest when they need it. I've found Autocom makes a good unit for handling the audio on my bike. I started off mounting mine in the tail of the bike. While wrestling with some wire routing on a later project, it dawned on me that there was a beautiful place under the airbox cover. It's been a perfect place.
GPS - Garmin is the only way to go. I started with my old 276c and when the Zumo 550 came out, it became my favorite addition. I keep a short list of music on it as well as tied together with my iPhone. All of this pumps into the Autocom for a coordinated melody. I recently got around to picking up a Touratech locking mount for it.
Heated grips - oh hell yeah. I had a set of generic ones in the tool box and never got around to installing them. Then Buell came out with theirs. The stock switch was much better than what I was trying to work with, so all is well in grip world. They are comfy, and very toasty when I need it.

Tags: Buell, Motor, Motorcycle, Machines