So, did you stick the landing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ?
and meanwhile..............i'll be practicing assorted flips and aerial shenanigans on my new XR1200 in preparation for the upcoming AmishLand autumn fair season.
So, did you stick the landing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ?
Walter - I have heard these Lancaster PA rascals, Levi and Isaiah, will be attending this years AmishLand autumn fair. Specifically to see the infamous XR1200 blackflip:
41219917080_1fb41d3eb9_b.jpg
the "Shriners" are heathens Carlos. we don't associate with them. way too colorful. and Stevie....where did you get that pic? they're my neighbors!
PS-the family says hello.
AmishBBC.jpg
Hope there’s still some life in this thread after the lighthearted stuff.
XB Buells are probably the most sensitive bikes ever made to tires and tire pressure. Stands to reason - ultra-short wheel base, high centre of gravity, steep rake, and short trail. Buell’s are at one end of the spectrum, as the Capt America’ and Billybike’s are at the other. Buells turn fast, choppers turn slow, that’s objective fact.
But when you ask “How fast is too fast?”, it all gets subjective. It depends on what you’re used to, what you’re comparing it with. Mpaternoster is comparing to his Bandit, Wickedchop to his track-prepped Buell and I compare to my Ducati. Both he and I are new to Buells, while Wickedchop presumably has had his a while and is used to the way it handles. If you’re not comfortable with the way it handles, you can’t ride it fast.
By way of illustration of sensitivity, I’ve only ridden 3 different XB’s: a 2002 9R, my 2007 Uly and a 2008 SS and all of them showed it:
I wanted to buy a 9R when they were just out and took a demo ride at the local dealer, but it steered weird. 3 weeks later the dealer told me they’d had word from the factory that the bike needed setting up for each rider and the tires were under-inflated when I rode it. By then I’d bought another bike.
The problems I had getting my Uly to handle like I wanted are documented here: https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showth...e-like-an-XB*R
I find the Uly a bit tall and heavy so looked for a Lightning Long, thinking I’d get a lower and lighter version of the Uly. The owner had run it on the Nordschleife of the Nurburgring and said it handled great. A test ride showed it turned in way too quick for me. I thought I knew how to fix that, so we pumped the tires. But, while that slowed it up, it still turned too quick for me. Presumably it needed new tires as well, even though they only had 8k on them and didn’t look badly worn. I didn’t buy it.
My point with starting at 40fr & 42r psi was to make the biggest change you could, that makes the bike to handle more like a Japper or Ducati, which might make mpaternoster feel more at home. Then start reducing pressure to get a compromise he could live with, not that you’d run that sort of pressure on the track.
The Bandit handles well in a typically big Japper way, my Ohlins equipped Ducati handles superbly (to me). Buells do too – but in a different way. It all depends on what you’re used to.
As far as handling is concerned, Buells all have first rate suspension components and a stiff frame, so no improvement needed there (so long as the steering head and swing-arm bearings are ok). But they are v.v sensitive to tire pressure and tire shape. If you’ve got issues with the way it handles, start there – jv.
Last edited by John Vreede; 09-10-2018 at 05:01 AM.
Just for the record I don't track my Buell. Only did once and it wasn't for me. I track a fully prepped sv650, RC51, and gsxr 750. Nothing puts a smile on my face like my Buell on the street and nothing puts a smile on my face on the track like the old RC.