Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Xb12 07 vs 09

  1. #1

    Xb12 07 vs 09

    I have been riding the 09 for a few months and to be honest, I find it quite twitchy when compared to the 07, just wondering if anybody else has experienced that? Having said that the 09 has a GPR Italian exhaust. And a tune for the exhaust. And it has what I believe to be the stock handle bars. The handle bars are short/ don't stick out much and the throttle control is for lack of a better term, twitchy/not smooth. Cornering with this bike is not as fun as the 07, I'm at the edge all the time. The 07 is way smoother, it drifts into corners so eloquently, and to be honest the power delivery is so much smoother. I can achieve a greater lean angle and smoother throttle with the 07.

    any comments?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    11,018
    Throttle should be smooth no matter what ECM you have as long as it is a good fuel map.

    Geometry didn't change with comparable bikes in the XB line their entire run (except Uly's weird fork stuff). I would assume the front tire is worn on the '09. Even with tread left, they HATE being V'd out and will 'fall' into a corner where you need to catch it. So it act like you push the bars slightly, it turns in too fast (yikes!) then you have to adjust the bars to keep the same lean angle. I hate that and all of my Buell XB's wear fronts like that, especially with cheap tires.

    Try swapping front wheel assemblies between bikes, heck.. might as well do both ends, and see if that livens up the '09.

  3. #3
    Thanks,

    You probably don't know it but you were one of the voices that encouraged me to keep riding after my crash and my decision to rebuild my bike. I was way out of my league in performing all the rebuild the bike needed and when I took it out I thought that the vibration was something I had done in the rebuild process. You were kind and told me these bikes are paint shakers. I now realize that the bike I rebuilt is actually smoother than the new one I bought. Keep it up. You are helping folks

    Many thanks

  4. #4
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    11,018
    I appreciate the kind words BuddyB! And congrats on a successful resurrection of a good Buell

    I may not be the best source for advice though. Currently stuck at home with fractured pelvis, hip, 6 ribs, and just got my collarbone reattached. TWO low-sides in 2 days will do that! LOL. I may be too old for this crap but still healing up fine. Both Bubbles (broken heel/ torn Achilles from Round 3 in AZ) and I (and both the bikes!) should be ready for CRA round 5 in October. We both have championships to defend!

  5. #5
    Junior Member Bufort's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2024
    Posts
    8
    Quote Originally Posted by Cooter View Post
    I would assume the front tire is worn on the '09. Even with tread left, they HATE being V'd out and will 'fall' into a corner where you need to catch it. So it act like you push the bars slightly, it turns in too fast (yikes!) then you have to adjust the bars to keep the same lean angle.
    What do you mean by "V'd out"?

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    11,018
    The profile of the tire goes from round.... to peaked, in the center of the tread because of the scrub when turning. So looking straight down at the tire, it will look like a V not a U. It makes for a very sharp radius as you start to lean (low effort, the falling in part), then a very flat radius as it leans over farther requiring a much harder steering effort.

    IMO, very hard to ride and frankly scary.

  7. #7
    Junior Member Bufort's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2024
    Posts
    8
    Quote Originally Posted by Cooter View Post
    The profile of the tire goes from round.... to peaked, in the center of the tread because of the scrub when turning. So looking straight down at the tire, it will look like a V not a U. It makes for a very sharp radius as you start to lean (low effort, the falling in part), then a very flat radius as it leans over farther requiring a much harder steering effort.

    IMO, very hard to ride and frankly scary.
    I see, and how does the Buell hate that? Surely it'll have that affect on any bike, or do you mean it's more prine to it on this bike? Although, my Vrod's tyre flattens out like a squished U because of the type of riding I do on it, which means it doesn't tip into corners well. But then I had an XDiavel which also has a stupid 240 tyre but that one had a better profile from new which helped it turn into corners, more V.
    Last edited by Bufort; 09-12-2024 at 06:05 PM.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    11,018
    Performance motorcycles and particularly the Buell XB platform has a very aggressive rake angle to make it turn in very easily. That also makes it sensitive to outside forces such as poor tire wear and road imperfections. A cruiser has a much more relaxed rake, so it self centers better and takes more effort to turn and be less affected by poor tire wear.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Crawling up your skirt
    Posts
    11,018
    Quote Originally Posted by Bufort View Post
    I see, and how does the Buell hate that? Surely it'll have that affect on any bike, or do you mean it's more prine to it on this bike? Although, my Vrod's tyre flattens out like a squished U because of the type of riding I do on it, which means it doesn't tip into corners well. But then I had an XDiavel which also has a stupid 240 tyre but that one had a better profile from new which helped it turn into corners, more V.
    Not "more V"... more "U" and the rear tire matters about 15-20%, wheras the front is directly connected to the steering, your hands and is responsible for steering effort (rake angle).

  10. #10
    Senior Member 34nineteen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Kolache Factory
    Posts
    4,484
    Shut it CoOter!
    74797495620__F70024A6-0FF6-45E9-9411-AA49243252E6.jpg

    What do you really know about riding fast anyhow?

    IMG_4460.jpeg


    Last edited by 34nineteen; 09-14-2024 at 03:13 PM.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •