Buell question??

[Porkchop]

So I have a quick story and then a question.

So me, my best friend, and his dad were outside washing and waxing their bikes about a week ago. My friend has an 05' R6, and his dad has an 82' Suzuki GS550. When we were done we took off the R6's side fairing to tighten up his frame slider a bit, and as we were doing that we heard a bike going by and I looked up and it was a Buell XB9R Firebolt. Now I have never been a V-2 fan and have never really looked into Buell bikes at all. But I do have to say it definatly grabbed my attention. So the guy seeing us and the R6... slowed, waved, and then preceded on his way. So then my friend's dad (who is a Harley guy... but has a Suzuki as well???) leaned over and said, "Theres the most ostracized bike ever..... not respected by the Harley riders... doesn't fit in with the Japs either." It gave me a good chuckle, but my friend didnt get it, so we had to explain it to him. So when we were done we went inside and jumped on the computer because matt knew even less about Buells than I did, and he was curious. So i showed him a couple picutes and vidoes on youtube, and we ended up on a forum about the bike. I believe it was SBN, my second go to forum. Now when I see "9", i automatically think fast and over my head... like zx-9r! So we were reading through this forum and I swear to god about 7 people said that they started on an xb9r and that they did great on them, because they arent as hellish up top. But then there was a guy that said no way. He said the ammount of torque that they have and the steep steering geomitry make the bike twitchy and unfit for an (note not complete noob) inexperienced rider. But then there were so many people that commented back and said it is great for city riding.

Now before you jump at me, I'm going to tell you that I'm not looking at buying this bike... me and my friend just wanted to see what you thought about these ppl's comments. Is a 900cc V-2 extremely different than a 900cc I-4??? I know we have a couple Buell people here...

Thanks, [Pork]

[Rider]

900cc air cooled vtwin? Newb friendly.

[marko138]

Not necessarily newb friendly...but MUCH more so than an I-4 900. There's a ton of torque. The bike is a bit twitchy if you aren't used to it's short wheel base and odd rake/trail. There is also very little engine braking due to the heavy flywheel.

They are different machines thats for sure. But if you play by their rules you will be rewarded. The best thing to do is go to a dealer and demo one.

If you don't act like an ass they can be managable for a newb.

[Mr Lefty]

depends on the noob to be honest... and this means taking a NO BULLSHIT view of yourself... can you resist the urge to twist your wrist when the hottie next to you wants you to wheelie? can you force yourself to take it slow and concentrate on the fundementals? can you focus on riding with out being distracted by the bike next to you, the car next to you, the chick flashing you from the back seat of her parent's mini van?

in reality... you could start out on a Turbo Busa and be fine... just all depends on 1. LUCK (though that just comes into play on how you hold up phyically... not what skill you gain) and 2. the rider.

The problem is most people who are looking into new bikes don't understand just how fast they accelerate and how they're gonna react. the natural reaction can be the exact one that will fuck you. example when your rear starts sliding in a corner... your mind imediatly says... close throttle... do that... and your gonna see what your bike looks like from 4' above it... as you'll probably high side.

point is... everyone says they're a responsible person and they'll go slow... but we've all been 16-25... we all know how you can want something so bad you convince yourself or skew the views to meet your objective.

There's nothing wrong with starting small... there's nothing wrong with starting big... it's all how you handle it.

I started on a 600 and went 7000 miles before I loop'd it at a stop light because I wasn't paying 100% attention. shit happens. I had several close calls prior to that and on a 1000cc bike I'd have been off for sure, as there's less room for error... Vtwin or I4.

[dReWpY]

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

depends on the noob to be honest... and this means taking a NO BULLSHIT view of yourself... can you resist the urge to twist your wrist when the hottie next to you wants you to wheelie? can you force yourself to take it slow and concentrate on the fundementals? can you focus on riding with out being distracted by the bike next to you, the car next to you, the chick flashing you from the back seat of her parent's mini van?

in reality... you could start out on a Turbo Busa and be fine... just all depends on 1. LUCK (though that just comes into play on how you hold up phyically... not what skill you gain) and 2. the rider.

The problem is most people who are looking into new bikes don't understand just how fast they accelerate and how they're gonna react. the natural reaction can be the exact one that will fuck you. example when your rear starts sliding in a corner... your mind imediatly says... close throttle... do that... and your gonna see what your bike looks like from 4' above it... as you'll probably high side.

.

we know you can't

[Mr Lefty]

Originally Posted by drewpy

we know you can't

sad thing was... there was no hotties...

[t-homo]

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

depends on the noob to be honest... and this means taking a NO BULLSHIT view of yourself... can you resist the urge to twist your wrist when the hottie next to you wants you to wheelie? can you force yourself to take it slow and concentrate on the fundementals? can you focus on riding with out being distracted by the bike next to you, the car next to you, the chick flashing you from the back seat of her parent's mini van?

but we've all been 16-25... we all know how you can want something so bad you convince yourself or skew the views to meet your objective.

Hey, I'm 19 and have never wheelied. Ass.

[OreoGaborio]

A buddy of mine started out on the XB12ss. I took it for a spin a few times & although definitely wheelie prone if you're tempted to do so, I wouldn't say it's a BAD bike for beginners... there are certainly WORSE bikes to start out on.

The 9 is definitely a much milder powerplant though. Never ridden one but after riding the 12, I wouldn't necessarily dissuede a new rider from getting the 9 should they express interest in picking one up...

If you want to do more research on the Buells, hit up www.badweatherbikers.com/

It's not really "spoken" of much, but Eric Buell himself is a frequent visitor on there under an inconspicuous surname.

[Mr Lefty]

Originally Posted by t-rock

Hey, I'm 19 and have never wheelied. Ass.

didn't say that under 25 makes everyone wheelie... re-read what I wrote... I was talking about convincing themselves... talking themselves into something that they don't need for one reason or another... it's something I'm sure a lot of us did/do if we're honest with ourselves... I know i did... A LOT...

that's not to say that sub 25 year olds can't make sound decisions... just that, for me at least, it was harder, MUCH harder when it involved something I wanted a lot but had to be realistic about

[jeeps84]

Originally Posted by marko138

Not necessarily newb friendly...but MUCH more so than an I-4 900. There's a ton of torque. The bike is a bit twitchy if you aren't used to it's short wheel base and odd rake/trail. There is also very little engine braking due to the heavy flywheel.

They are different machines thats for sure. But if you play by their rules you will be rewarded. The best thing to do is go to a dealer and demo one.

If you don't act like an ass they can be managable for a newb.

You are right in the CC's of a twin vs. a I-4. The 9's are closer to the performance of the I-4 600's. With that said a lil experience on a XB, Its not for the beginner. Its handling is way to sharp and twitchy. Its just not forgiving for the lil mistakes that a beginner will commonly make.