Does it feel like Buell XB12Scg?
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EBR Black Lightning
- Thread starter Hughlysses
- Start date
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Does it feel like Buell XB12Scg?
njloco
Well-known member
It's a real beauty, like 248 says it's low, I didn't bother sitting on it because I have injuries that would've prevented me from getting a real feel for it. EB is real proud of the engine and it's ability to run very clean, Looks like a real nice handling bike ! Correct me if I'm wrong but, it looks like it might be hard to protect in the case of a slide on either side.
njloco
Well-known member
Oopsy !
qurtrn10
Well-known member
It does. I had a '03 xb9sl and you definitely sit lower "in" the bike on the Black Lightning. I don't think it's different enough for me to have both my Laguna Blue SX and a Black Lightning, but I have considered it...
upthemaiden
Well-known member
The XB9 I used to have started life as an XB9SL. Although I'm sure the height would be great on my normal commute to work, I swapped it out for the normal suspension because I just couldn't get used to a bike that low. The low suspension was so rough. There's a slightly bumpy part of highway going out of downtown that I never really noticed in a car or on most motorcycles, but it was just horrible on the low suspension. The ride was SO much nicer when I moved to the regular suspension that I'd be hesitant to try it again, as nice as it would be to flatfoot the bike in traffic. The three different seat heights was really nice though. I bought all 3 seats and it was a 5 second swap between a low seat for traffic, a medium normal riding seat, and the tall wheelie/fun seat.
I do really like the idea of offering the bike with lower gearing. I've always dropped the gearing a few teeth on bikes I've owned and it really makes life a bit nicer and more manageable.
I do really like the idea of offering the bike with lower gearing. I've always dropped the gearing a few teeth on bikes I've owned and it really makes life a bit nicer and more manageable.
Hughlysses
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
- Messages
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I test rode an XB12Scg when Buell still had the demo truck, and I kind of had the same impression. The ride was noticeably harsher than an XB12S.
That said, I demo'ed an 1190SX a couple of years ago and its a surprisingly tall bike. The seat height was higher than my XB12X (which I've since converted to XB12XT suspension). I'm sure I'd like the seat height of the Black Lightning better, but I am a little concerned about losing 2 inches of suspension travel, especially since I'm used to the relatively long-travel suspension of a Uly.
upthemaiden
Well-known member
I used to have a yz426 supermoto, and I'll never get joy out of a regular suspension again.... long travel suspension is amazing. I had always ridden sportbikes before that and my rides involved seeking out the smoothest roads possible. Once I got the YZ I use to have the most fun on gravel covered and pothole filled roads. You can guess which is easier to find...
Now that I primarily use my bike for commuting, I find myself thinking that something with a lower seat would be nice just purely for comfort while I'm sitting in traffic and at redlights, so it's unlikely that I'll ever find a perfect combination of seat height and suspension travel.
BambamXB12r
Well-known member
^^^ this is why everyone needs more than one bike.
Hughlysses
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- Mar 16, 2010
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No kidding. I figure I'll keep my Uly indefinitely. And whatever EBR I wind up with can be modified as required just like people have done for years with tubers and XB's if I find the seat height and/or suspension isn't to my liking.
njloco
Well-known member
Unless I'm missing something, that front oil cooler on the BL looks to me, to be too low for the pot holes one would encounter in NY and NJ, not to mention the debris it would pick up, can anyone explain this engineering decision ?
Front wheel generates wind to blow it on the cooler. Also locating the cooler closer to the ground lets use wind gradient, so you can ride downwind at wind speed and the cooler will always be in the slow wind gradient zone close to the ground so it will be aways moving trough the air and cooling, even downwind direction.
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user_deleted
Well-known member
i don't know where in Gods' name you come up with this stuff but a rotating motorcycle wheel assembly does NOT generate any "wind" of appreciable measurement. if the tire had blades or paddles on its tread then......you get the picture. and how do i know this to be true? put a cycle.....any cycle.....any tire size or tread pattern in existence.....on a dyno, lash it down, and spool it up to speed. even with the rear wheel rotating at speeds in excess of over 100mph real road speed you can walk behind the bike...put your hand close to the rear of the tire...and it is virtually "dead-air" space directly behind it....no wind generated. what sometimes reads nicely in a tech journal or online jibberish site doesn't typically transfer to real-world facts.
njloco
Well-known member
As above statement is also verified by watching people doing burnouts and the tire smoke seems to just hang there !
I should have clarified my statement/question, I'm more worried about the pot holes crushing the oil cooler and possibly getting destroyed by debris coming off the tire, possibly caused by the wind, just kidding !
I should have clarified my statement/question, I'm more worried about the pot holes crushing the oil cooler and possibly getting destroyed by debris coming off the tire, possibly caused by the wind, just kidding !
BuellyBagger
Well-known member
I've been wondering about the vulnerability of that cooler as well, but I've noticed HD used the same basic location on touring (electra glide, road king, etc.) Bikes that, for some, put on a ton of miles and have never heard a debris damaged the oil cooler complaint. So maybe they're tougher than we think?
Hughlysses
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2010
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Yea, I noticed that's what it says, but I think somebody just got lazy and cut and pasted specs. They dropped the whole bike 2 inches.
upthemaiden
Well-known member
That would have to be a serious pothole for your front tire to sink so far that the oil cooler would drag on the ground on it's way into it. You're best just to swerve around those. The only time I really picture it being some kind of issue is if you try to ride off of a sidewalk or go over a median where the front wheel drops down a few inches. That would be tough on any street bike though.
Tell me about it. Always nice to have at least two bikes. I really want to rip my S1 apart and give it a full makeover, but that's gotta wait until I've got something else to ride. I'd be happy with my S1 for fun and an Indian Scout for commuting, but between just finishing remodeling the kitchen, having two car payments, and a new baby(IVF: $$$), it'll be a single bike garage for a few years from now.
Tell me about it. Always nice to have at least two bikes. I really want to rip my S1 apart and give it a full makeover, but that's gotta wait until I've got something else to ride. I'd be happy with my S1 for fun and an Indian Scout for commuting, but between just finishing remodeling the kitchen, having two car payments, and a new baby(IVF: $$$), it'll be a single bike garage for a few years from now.
It looks like sit height on Black Lightning is still higher than on Buell XB12Scg. 774 mm vs 726 mm. 48 mm difference. Pretty big difference.
https://www.erikbuellracing.com/1190blacklightning
https://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/buell_lightning_xb12scg_2009.php
https://www.erikbuellracing.com/1190blacklightning
https://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/buell_lightning_xb12scg_2009.php
qurtrn10
Well-known member
I had a xb9sl (earlier version of the xb12scg) and I've sat on the Black Lightning - they feel the same. I could flat foot both of them, whereas a regular height xb had me on the balls of my feet, and a regular 1190RX/SX I'm close to flat footing but can't completely. The difference in the seat height was offset by the EBR being much narrower.
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