Touring on the Ulysses

[mongo980]

I'm thinking about buying a Ulysses and I want to know how highway friendly it is. Anybody ?

[buellxb]

They seem like they'd be perfect for long rides. Comfortable seating position for a sporty bike and durable suspension make for a smooth ride. They do sit higher off the ground so gusts of wind coming and going from semi trucks might be tricky. Buell models such as the XB12Scg have a lower center of gravity which might be nice on the highway. One draw back is the comfortable riding position also makes for more wind resistance at higher speeds. I'd say go to the dealership and test drive a Ulysses on the highway.

[2Evil4U]

I've had my Uly for about a week and a half. So far, (Other than my own lack of skill in learning how good the front brakes are that caused an embarrassing side-plant :( ...) the bike is great. :D

Touring should be no problem. I've already put about 700 miles on it. The triple bag kit is impressive in design and execution. You do sit pretty straight up, but even at 70+ the wind isn't too bad. If you're behind a trailer truck there is some buffeting but that's normal. They make a windshield that is 4" taller than the stock one. I will probably pick that up when my wife and I start taking trips on it.

I'd really suggest a test drive. The big thing with the Ulysses is the seat height. I'm 6' with a 32" inseam and the bike is just comfortable. (I can just barely flat-foot with both feet at the same time.) Any shorter and I think there'd be an issue.

[mongo980]

I took your advice and rode one . First with the stock seat and hated it. I've got an HD Superglide and I guess I'm not used to putting weight on my hands and shoulders. The dealer put on the lower seat and we stiffened up the front end and eased off on the rear spring preload and it made a big difference. Bike was quick and handled GREAT. I think I still would put a little higher handlebar on it to be really comfortable on the highway. I probably would just need to get used to the riding position since it is a completely different type of bike than the Glide. Do you all have any experience with how many miles the Uly will go before top end rebuilds or the like?

[2Evil4U]

Valve-wise, I'd expect it would be fairly comparable to the Evo motors. I've only owned a Shovel (1978 FX) prior to this so I guess I'll learn this one as I go. The Shovel has averaged a valve rebuild about every 20k since 1978. It's at 82k and still running strong. I'd hope that the newer tech motors would be able to beat that by a pretty decent margin.

I just got the Uly back from the dealer yesterday after its 1k service. The more I ride it the more I like this bike.

[2Evil4U]

I just picked up a factory tall windscreen off Ebay. I'll let you know how much that extra 4" is worth once it shows up.

[mongo980]

I'm sure you're right.I've heard people say the Twin Cam will go 60k before you need to open anything up besides the primary. That's great that you are really likin' the Uly. I've read at least 10 road tests and some chat room things and it seems anybody who owns one really likes it. The dealer here has 6 of them (06s)and they are not selling . They pretty much told me to make them an offer. I am so tempted to drain the savings but I'm going to have to pay off the Superglide first .Probably get one in the spring unless I cave earlier.Thanks for the info.

[BuellPartsGuy]

They do make shorter seats for the Ulysses for the vertically challenged people out there. brings the seat height down from 33" to about 31.5".

[2Evil4U]

Got the tall stock wind screen in the mail today. It installed in about 10 minutes. You actually have to remove the flyscreen to install it because the bottom prongs are replaced with actual screws and locknuts to hold up to the extra torque. It actually looks better than the stocker in my opinion. I'll give an opinion about how it works when I get to work tomorrow.

[buellxb]

Lets see a pic. I'm really interested in a new flyscreen. I love the look of a naked bike but I loved the protection from the wind that I had on my 2000 Honda CBR F4. It was a big toss up for me between buying the Buell I got and a GSXR 750.