Considering a Buell Lightning XB12s or XB12Scg

[Mindiraser]

I am new to the Buell realm and I thought where better to get some information on a Buell than on a Buell forum. My history....

I am 26 and have been riding motorcycles for about 18yrs. I have about 120,000 miles on the road and I have had a 98 Yamaha R1, 2005 Yamaha V-Star Custom, 06 Yamaha R1, and I currently have a 2008 Yamaha Raider, which I love. I am soon going to be stationed in Germany and plan on adding a second bike to my collection, a 2009-2010 Ducati 848. I dont plan on buying that bike until i get somewher with better curves...hence, Germany.

At the moment I live in Oklahoma City and the Raider is great for Oklahoma's straight roads. But, I miss having a bike that is a little more fun in the turns, which leads me to this forum...

I am thinking of buying something more aggressive than the Raider but not as much as a sportbike. The Lightning seems to fall right in that category. What do you guys think. Do you like the Buell. I hear great things about it, but have never ridden one and was considering driving to Tulsa and trying to get the dealer to let me do a test drive.

I am not sure if there is much of a difference in the XB12S and the XB12Scg. If there is, what is the difference. Any advice and help would be great.

Lastly, sorry for such a long post...but if there are any OKC Buell LIghtning riders that would like to meet up and let me take a look at their bike in person...that would be great. Oh and one more thing, when do they plan on changing the Lightnings body style again?


Thank for all your time,

Jason

 

[switzomatic]

I recently picked up an 04XB12R(my first Buell). I've had just about every sportbike out there and this thing will out-corner them all. I look forward to every corner more than ever! You definitely are right about not getting the Duc until you are somewhere with tons of curves. I had a 748R and that thing performed great on the twisties but was murder riding around town or cruising.

 

[shilohsk8]

I have an 05 XB12Scg and my initial concerns were would it be to low for me, I'm 6'1". After I rode one I was sold on the CG It is totally comfortable and is barely lower than the normal S model but has a little more of an aggressive look to it. I figure the lower the center of gravity the tighter the turns and this bikes handles like no other. My only qualm was the clunky shifting gearbox. But the power band is so broad you hardly have to shift as it is, and the torque is no joke!

 

[His_and_Her_Buells]

I am not sure if there is much of a difference in the XB12S and the XB12Scg. If there is, what is the difference. Any advice and help would be great.

The Scg has a 2" lower seat height. 1" is from a thinner seat and 1" is from lower suspension. Which also means less suspension travel. I say ride them both and see which one feels the best to you. Whichever one you choose you will absolutely love it.

 

[buellgeller]

even though you dont know me trust me!!! buells are amazing!! i have a 2006 ulysses diferent set up but i would choose it over my old r-6 and r-1... they are compleatly unique to say the least but it is not for every one i have a freind that i ride with who swares by his honda cbr 600 and i let him ride my bike and he hated it i thought maybe he would like the firebolt style better so my brother let him use his and he didnt like it either so i would tell you to try it out before you make the investment

 

[Mindiraser]

Well he is a question. Do Buell dealers allow test drives. Most motorcycle dealers do not allow test drives. I am lucky and am pretty familiar with the owners of most the bike dealers around here, so I have had good luck test driving bikes when I am considering buying, but I have no experience with Buell and there is not one around here. I once tried to drive one in Houston. They allowed test drives, but when it came down to it, they wouldnt let me cause my drivers license was from Oklahoma. Thought that was BS. I told them there is a 40k dollar car I am leaving you right now, I am pretty sure I will be back with your bike.

???

 

[AdrianXB9SX]

As long as you have a motorcycle license, boots, and jeans they will let you. I live near Dallas and that is my local Harley Dealerships policy on test rides.

 

[Mindiraser]

Sweet, I plan on going up theere on this upcomming Saturday. They are so rare where I live, most of my buddies are giving me shit for wanting to buy one, but the funny thing is I am the one with over 100k miles on bikes, who are they to tell me what to buy right? They are all like, you need to buy a new 600RR, and I am like, I just sold an 06 Raven R1, why would I buy another aggressive sportbike....

noobs

 

[FIDOSOL]

Hey I am noob, sort of, just now got 2050 miles on my 07XB9SX, but w/e lol, anyways let us know how it all goes and what you finally decide, mines only a 9 but I absolutely love it, Buells aren't for everyone but for me at least that is a large part of their appeal....and ripping through the twisties like a fat kid through a twinkie wrapper

 

[wm7808]

07 XB12s w/ factory race kit- Lovin' it so far, I was going to buy a new sportbike and ended up buying this one. The sales people of the H-D dealer said the owner rode it for the 814 miles that I bought it with. Still, I'm angry due to the fact that I found some heavy scratches on the right front fork "under the added on frame sliders. Sliders are new but the sratches look to be smoothed out to be not so noticeable [mad]I noticed after owning it for a week and checking it over in daylight-not night when I recieved it. [sad][sad]

 

[mrdozer2you]

scratches on the right front fork "under the added on frame sliders

That doesent mean that it was laid down necessarily. I would expect to see scratches on the header, bars, mirrors, pegs, frame, timing cover, rear peg bracket, etc.... Could be poor handling during shipping ( previous ) or something happened in the previous owners garage possibly. I just dont see how just the forks could be scratched only other than from mis-handling [confused] Maybe some pics and we can come up with something [up]