To Replace a Buell V-Twin?

2024 Duck-a-Tee V2S

Due to the difficulty with finding some Buell Parts for my 2009 Ulysses XB12XT recently, I decided to actually look into what I would likely replace it with, should I ever not be able to find critical components for it.

I have just sorted the front brake rotor pulsing but finding the parts for said front rotor was a serious PITA.

The new front rotor and springs have arrived from a Harley dealer in France called Legendary Motorcycle Parts and the other bits and pieces I need are on their way and will be delivered by mid December.

Once I have them all assembled, I will probably take time between Christmas and Jan 2nd to fit and install the new rotor package.

This will be a rather meticulous and painstaking task and will require removing the front wheel so as to enable rotor removal on a flat bench.

I had to buy a special tool for the front axle for this jolly jape but the $9.99 it cost me was not the end of the world.

The bike itself is actually running really well at the minute and after bleeding the front caliper a half dozen times and renewing some key caliper parts it’s suddenly working real swell…

I was getting some pulsing on the front brake and the rotor is a bit out but it seems to be much better after a good clean, bleed and fiddle session or three.

Proper braking on well sorted ZTL calipers is a thing of beauty, it must be said!

I may hold off on the rotor replacement until next summer due to this change in the braking behavior in fact.

The caliper should have all the rubber parts replaced while I am doing that so I may as well go to town on it - full enchilada style.

However, I was never the less intrigued with one day maybe replacing the whole motorcycle or even rebuilding it, and I was keen to investigate with what it could be replaced with, exactly.

I suspected this would not be as simple a task as it sounds..

The current Triumph Tiger Sport series seemed worth investigating so I went forth and rode them all to find out.

Boy, was that effort disappointing! Only the Tiger Sport 1200 made the grade, and barely at that. From a price point of view it is a definite "no way" however!

The 850 and 900 both have suspension issues with the bikes pogoing all over the place and I would not be able to take that sort of shit on a brand new machine.

The suspension settings on these Triumph triples suck as well. Triumph need to look at a Buell to get a clue with that stuff. The suspension components they used are pretty crap.

Then it was the turn of Ducati and I rode both the V2S and V4S offerings while musing the DesertX and some chopper affairs they had made with a belt final drive!

Surprisingly, none of the Multistrada offerings cut it for me. The Short wheelbase of the Buell is hard to find an equivalent for it would seem.

The Ridiculous $28K starting price on the Harley like chopper thang called an xDiavel is an actual insult to thievery!

It rides nothing like a chopper by the way so it is near impossible to say what this thing even is.

I was pretty dissatisfied with the traditional Ducati fare compared to any Buell V-Twin ever made from a handling point of view in fact and found this surprising to digest - but there it was!

My last Ducati was a Mike Hailwood replica which was a 900cc V Twin. That things handling was admittedly legendary but it's still nowhere near what a Buell puts on the table!

After much thought on the matter I then sauntered over to Elk Grove Power sports to look at Moto Guzzi and Aprilia fare with these Buell handling factoids percolating in my mind.

Actually, it was more like seething in bitter disappointment that nothing could match any Buell V-Twin.

Guzzi have a V85TT and a V100 Mandello that coulda come close to a Buell XB, but nothing handles like the compact Buell fare as even the Guzzi has a longer wheelbase, bigger wheels and higher center of Gravity weight point compared to a Buell.

Even the old S1 and X1 Lightning Buells cannot be usurped in the handling department by the way.

I also schlepped to the BMW power sports store in Dublin, CA and while most of their fare was, OK, the prices made it pretty Meh.

For $38K , I expect a two wheeled machine to walk on water and these Beemers are just not that good.

Well overpriced for what they are them thangs, IMHO!

I also looked at the Honda Trans Alp 750 and Trans Africa Adventure 1000 as they technically make more sense than the rest, but none touched the Buell or even came close when handling had to be digested.

The answer was in fact fast becoming yet another Buell. Old or new was or is the question.

One of my pals has a new 1190 Hammerhead and another track race guy I know has the 1190SX.

I rode them both and I liked them both.

I then looked at the brand new relaunched Buell fare and am interested in the new SuperTouring platform that is not yet in production but that price tag is insanity.

One of the other options is to completely rebuild my Buell Ulysses XT or buy another one with near nothing on the clock mileage wise.

I am leaning to sourcing one such beast in South or North Dakota and driving it back to California if it comes to that.

This makes a lot of sense to me based on what else you can buy at the minute…..

Either that Ulysses has spoiled me or nuthin can touch it when it comes to handling, not even a Ducati….

This was quite a sobering factoid to stew on.

Sure, overall the Ducati fare with their gearbox combo was hard to beat, but the Moto Guzzi V85 Strada would get my money if I had to buy one new right now, given MSRP, handling and package bundles available.

My reserve choice is the Honda Trans Africa 1000.

The Ducati 2S fairing is the best, but the pricing dictates a demo unit and that can be quite the quest.

SoSo cycles in Concord have one for $13K MSRP which equates to $16K out the door….Still too expensive in my humble opinion.

I would just spend my time pining for the Buell handling though, no matter what other platform I went with!

That’s just a sad fact!

So I think I am gonna search for another Ulysses with low mileage and swoop on that.

For my needs - it is in fact the perfect motorcycle - apart from the parts game you have to play....But this is just the price you have to pay for the handling equation...

It's funny to think that every time I saw one since 1998, which was rare, the crappy Buell logos on the tank kind if made me shirk and shrink away in horror.

They did not make a great impression on me from a visual point of view.

The older tube frame Buells though are very pretty and the fact they use the stock(ish) HD Motors means that from a longevity POV that you should be able to keep one running for quite some time.....mmmm.

By the way a lot of HD owners put the Buell mods in their engines for more power and they love it and swear by them.

I know one guy who has $5,500 worth of Buell mods in his Harley! I have since discovered this is quite a common thing..

Now that I have been cursed with actually riding Buells though, I am not sure if I can ever go back to whatever the previous "normal" was...

Oi Vey, as my Rabbi would say....

A lot of people trash talk Buell motorcycles but I can tell you, they just don’t get it.

It’s not the fastest machine you could ever buy, using the swing arm for an oil tank and the upper frame for a gas tank might sound crazy - until you ride one…

The point is an effortless to ride motorcycle that handles like a scalpel with a ton of torque exactly where you need it on twisty roads and the race track.

Best of all is the actual near zero maintenance you need to do on the things. The valves adjust themselves, the belt drive when it snaps is easy to replace, the forks hardly need touching.

The rear wheel bearing setup on most XB series until the 2010 3 bearing mods were made is about the only thing you need to deal with on these things.

However you need a new rear wheel for this if you want to upgrade to sanity.

The short wheel base and the weight all slung low make these Buells turn into the bike you never knew you just have to have in a big way.

Yes, getting parts for them is frustrating as heck, no, you won’t easily find a shop to work on them - you gotta figure it out for yourself - by and large at any rate…

But is a $28K Ducati or a $36K BMW going to scratch that itch?

The answer is a big fat no…. It's quite the conundrum actually……

All I can say is, if you have never ridden one, keep it that way, as once you have, you will find it’s a much worse addiction than crack cocaine!

The good news is you can buy them for peanuts both in the USA and Europe.

I must look for a Customized Lightning X1 or S1 and do some haggles!

They're such fun, it should be illegal!!

Buell X1