Easier or harder?

[Theycallmecrash]

Ok biased opinions aside, also beginners with limited experience... Honestly is your buell easier or harder to ride (really put it through its paces) than other bikes youve road?

I feel its thee best handling, most torque, most fun, sounds the best, but ive gotta work this thing, it pops, it farts, temperature changes how it reacts, the way it dives into turns, the wheel float, the rear wheel stepping out, the low rpm range, 5 gears.... This things is difficult and takes a pot of user imput to control and im sweating by the time im at the top of the mountain.

 

[Hooker]

Super light, lighter than my old Suzuki GS750, heavier than my Blast or Yamaha DT250, but super easy to ride. The buells are SOOOOO much easier to work on than any pacific bike ive ever played with. It has enough power to be plenty of fun, not to much to cause too much trouble, and little enough that the MPGs still rock! I don't want another bike for a long time

 

[Semperfi]

I haven't been able to ride an xb but well, my 1125r is harder to ride than my sportster for me. I think it's mainly because it's so intimidating in terms of power. I can scrape pegs and pretty much push my sportster to its limits comfortably because I have a lot more miles under my belt on it, but the Buell doesn't really allow its limits to be pushed on public roads.

Compared to other sport bikes though, the 1125r is easier I think. The angle of the handle bars give you more leverage and it's a lot less cramped in general.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Gs750 hahaha i believe you on that one, easier than a blast, no way!

 

[iman501]

i've ridden more buell's than any other bikes, but i dont think it takes much effort to ride my bike down a twisty road (alright no extream effort in the way you make it sound) The bike changes direction effortlessly, and has all the power i need whenever i need it.

now other sport bikes i've ridden such as a freineds F4I and a cousins sv1000, those bikes didn't handel near as well as my firebolt did, the SV was a pig for me in the curves!!!

 

[jriffe108]

Handles great but requires more effort than jap inlines. More precise throttle control, brake modulation to acquire same results but once you figure it out, there is no stopping it. Unless you are a GP rider, you will not outride the bike, of course tires, pavement, etc considered.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Handles great but requires more effort than jap inlines. More precise throttle control, brake modulation to acquire same results but once you figure it out, there is no stopping it

Im not saying that it doesnt perform, but this is what im talking about. It does everything very well but it takes that little extra effort to do so, maybe not harder but its way different than the jap bikes. Ive been on suzuki katana 600/750, gsxr 600/750, r6, ducati monster 1098, honda cbr600, and an rc51 (of the sport bikes) i find the buell to be a crude raw mechanical beast. The others controls were simple they are smooth, plenty of rpm to make up for mistakes, smooth gear boxes for easy quick shifting, duel disc front brakes smooth even braking, throttle respones is so instant.

Ok sounds like im buell bashing im not, the crude raw mechanical feeling, i love it! Its a beast and when controlled properly its untouchable. You dont have the same user friendly feeling as most other motorcycles.

 

[nazark_18]

My previous bikes include 98 zx6r, 03 cbr600rr and 05 cbr f4i. Out of those bikes the zx6r and the f4i were the easiest followed by 600rr then the buell. The buell is a lot more sensitive to the throttle making it harder (for me) to control in the corners. With a proper suspension set up and good tires the buell handled a lot smoother or maybe i just got use to it. Even though the buell is harder for me, that is one of the reasons why i enjoy riding it more than any other bike that i been on.

 

[BKKBuell]

My city is as the name says a city bike. Great for short sprints and thought slow traffic. For track I prefer the cbr600rr, for touring and lond distance my vstrom

 

[Zeroflat24]

My xb12r is very similar to ride as my 06 sv650s. I didnt notice it "being hard to ride." I will tell you i rode my buddies 2009 R6 home from the bar one night because he was too banged up, and it was like riding a space ship. It shifted so smooth and reved so fast, i freaking hated it. There was no feed back at all.

 

[06xbss]

My first sport bike was a CBR600, coming from that, the only problems I had when getting the Buell was getting used to a different rpm band.(started on dirt bikes, so the seating was comfortable right away) Once I got used to the rpm band, it is a lot easier to go faster on tight canyons with the Buell then it ever was on the CBR. Handling is about the same on both bikes but I think the Buell is a lot easier to put into and come out of the tight corners. Also don't have to worry as much about where I'm at in the rpm band like I did on the CBR. To me, my Buell is a lot more fun to ride then the CBR ever was.(I'm a canyon junkie) Who knows, if I had a 12R instead of a 12Ss my opinion would probably be different. I know the handle bars and longer wheelbase go a long way toward making my bike so easy and fun to ride.

 

[HangMan]

-showing my "newb-ness" here but as the little 250's at the rider course were the only other bike i've ridden, i found the 12r to be a hundred times easier to handle for some reason. Finding the right balance between clutch and throttle on those stupid beginner bikes was a pain in the ass whereas the buell just pulls away from a stop with no searching, also despite being like half the weight, steering actually felt a lot more sluggish than my buell.

*edit - sorry missed the part about limited experience my first read through

 

[thrstrmech]

let's see Kawi LTD's 250 & 450, Yamaha Seca II, fizzer, Can-0-Tuna 750, owned...friends bike's I've ridden...CBR 600, 900, Monster 750...all different feeling, rider feel back sucked, didn't have that connection as to what the bike was doing, other than rear end sliding in corners...

Buell...my opinion...neither hard or easy, just gotta know what you're doing behind the handle bars, use SIPDE in all riding conditions, press on the bar in the direction you wanna turn, not muscle it where you wanna go, throttle at first needs a little getting use to or you'll raise her up quickly...this is my personal experience after 24 yrs of riding and some teaching MSF and CMSP though

 

[theMelvster6]

I went from a custom ironhead sporty where my ass was only 20" off the ground...so it took quite a bit of getting used to the ride height and ride position of my xb9sx. but I love how agile the xb is in traffic and in corners. I only have rode a GSXR-750 that my buddy owns, and it has loads of power, but I felt like the bike was huge and was uncomfortable with the hand positioning.

 

[squidbuellie]

Ok biased opinions aside, also beginners with limited experience... Honestly is your buell easier or harder to ride (really put it through its paces) than other bikes youve road?

My honest opinion is yes, it takes more work and is harder to ride a Buell to be competitive.
Most newer 2000-up 600cc are way more forgiving and faster and handle about the same (set up is key, to any sports bike)

To give you a idea, I am 4sec faster a lap on my buddys 2004 r6 at thunderhill
The only real time the Buell handles better and is easier to ride is if I'm in 25mph twisties riding at 50-55mph with switch backs, and the real reason why is I don't have to shift gears which makes the bike more stable.

 

[matter]

Different for sure and not as forgiving as others when pushed into the upper 20%. Countersteering skills are a must and early apex strategies to avoid trail braking as much as possible is also beneficial. I am used to tolerating the quirks of most my vehicles both 2 and 4 wheels as I choose to be different than the majority. Is a Buell XB the best handling or value bike out there? Or the fastest? Hardly, but it is what I CHOOSE because the end result is it makes me smile.

Matt

 

[thrstrmech]

Is a Buell XB the best handling or value bike out there? Or the fastest? Hardly, but it is what I CHOOSE because the end result is it makes me smile.

is all that matters