Honorary Harley Rider?

[tooBUELL4school]

Obviously Buells and Harley's are different animals. But should I or should I not jump into Harley chats feeling like a honorary Harley rider.. The tank says Buell, but the thumping heart of our machines are Harley engines. Thoughts?

 

[go cytocis]

the thumping heart of our machines are Harley engines

. The 1125 guys would probably take exception to that. Even the XB's motor is highly modified, with few identical parts, compared to stock HD lump.

should I or should I not jump into Harley chats feeling like a honorary Harley rider

I've never found that your typical Harley guy has any special love or respect for Buells. Many of them seem to regard a Buell as even more of a 'girls bike' than a Sporty.

 

[08herobolt]

Around here (Michigan) I've had great experiences with the Harley crowd. Sure there are a few idiots who tried to ruin the experience, but most of the guys want to talk about the bike. I haven't made contact on a forum. I can only assume most of the folks on the forum will hide behind their computers and talk garbage about Buells.

 

[chief_of_smoke]

im on a vrod forum and there are a few the talk shit about buell, but at the same time there are guys one there that back me up because they are buell owners/ past owners.

 

[user_deleted]

F**k it! let's go bowling.

Jeff Lebowski
Irvine, CA

 

[XB12Rog]

The sporty is the outcast of the harley world, the buell the outcast of the sportbike world. Thats why I now have one of each.

 

[thrstrmech]

I ride to a local hangout in north Phoenix where the majority of the crowd are HD nuts, but no one has giving me shit about my Buell. Have had a few comments, positive at that, lots of questions about the front rotor which leads in to fuel in frame and oil in swingarm as the conversation goes on...that's when the dumbfounded look on their faces hit then I get, "say what?"

 

[go cytocis]

F**k it! let's go bowling.

I'll abide!

 

[MustangGuy]

I ride with a few Harley guys now and then. There's only one who gives me a hard time about my Buell (though we actually are friends) .... I just remind him that his shiny, expensive Harley has broken down several times in the last two years and it always costs a lot to fix - LOL! It really depends on the people. In my mind, I see riders as riders regardless of how much they've spent on their bike or what name is plastered on the tank. We're all out there taking the risk because of our love for riding. If you have to put down riders of other bike to make yourself feel superior, that's really messed up. I don't want to know anyone like that in real life or on forums.

 

[Rayman]

I haven't experienced any negativity but I still tend to stay clear or the harley guys. I ride with a bunch of sport bike guys and have a lot of fun with them.

 

[go cytocis]

I'm still not clear on the connection between 'honorary' & 'Harley'?

 

[XB12Rog]

Haha.......I can feel the animosity coming through in this thread Im not a harley guy but I love sportsters, up until recently I had 3 of them. Please dont lump us sportster guys into the harley bunch

Expensive to fix? Not in my experience, but I do all my own work. And except for my 40 year old 75 Ironhead Ive never had one break down. Last year I punched out my 2008 883 to a 1250. I already had a tuner so the grand total in parts was $540 and I did it all on one Saturday so, VERY easy to work on.

My love for sportsters is what attracted me to Buells. Just like my sportys it puts a smile on my face the other brands just dont do. Ive had my XB12R since Tuesday and have put 400 miles on it. Not bad for a 50 year old guy and his first sport bike

 

[user_deleted]

My love for sportsters is what attracted me to Buells. Just like my sportys it puts a smile on my face the other brands just dont do.

add me to that list as well. loved sporsters when i was a kid in the 60's. quite a few local genuine tough-guys had sportsters and all were xlch models.

 

[GregoXB]

Harley guys refered to my bike as a crotch rocket. They like the way it sounds with the Jardine. They've told me they like pre-xb Buell more, and talked about the X, M, and S fondly. Mechanics have also talked to me about applying Buell parts to their Harley engines to make more power. 103hp and 84 ft-lbs from the factory are numbers many of them wouldn't mind having. I met an owner of a Ducati shop and a senior salesman at a power sports shop who both owned an X and an M. American + power + sport is a concept a true motorcycle enthusiast born and raised in the USA will appreciate and respect. Ive witnessed Harley guys at the shop taking turns sitting on the 1125, unsure if they would survive a ride on it, but undeniabley intrigued by the machine.

 

[captain chaos]

add me to that list as well. loved sporsters when i was a kid in the 60's. quite a few local genuine tough-guys had sportsters and all were xlch models.

+1 except I wasn't even a thought in the 60's
I heard someone say it before and it just rang so true with me: "I always wanted a Sportster, but never a Harley."
I have a real soft spot for the Sporty but the rest of Harley's offerings just leave me cold, ice cold. They could drop every other model and I'd never shed a tear but if the Sportster line was cut I'd feel like the motorcycle world would have lost something truly great; the exact same feeling I had when they cut Buell. [sad]!

 

[go cytocis]

They could drop every other model and I'd never shed a tear but if the Sportster line was cut I'd feel like the motorcycle world would have lost something truly great

That's how I felt when they discontinued the XR. The likely hood now of me ever riding anything with a bar-&-shield on the tank dropped to about 0% that day.

 

[captain chaos]

That's how I felt when they discontinued the XR. The likely hood now of me ever riding anything with a bar-&-shield on the tank dropped to about 0% that day.

Yeah, the XR was a very cool bike but in all honesty, what did it have that a Lightning didn't (other than an extra 150lbs of bulk)?
The Styling on the XR was very cool but it coming out about the same time Buell was shutdown just put a REALLY nasty taste in my mouth for it. Maybe I'm just bitter...

 

[go cytocis]

the XR was a very cool bike but in all honesty, what did it have that a Lightning didn't

Nothing, I agree. But I did know a racer who rode in the XR cup series & he said it's one of the funnest bikes he'd ever been on, ironically, because of the shitty handling & the thrill of trying to keep it on the track!

 

[captain chaos]

Nothing, I agree. But I did know a racer who rode in the XR cup series & he said it's one of the funnest bikes he'd ever been on, ironically, because of the shitty handling & the thrill of trying to keep it on the track!

I watched them race at the MotoGP in Indy a few years back. They were VERY entertaining as they looked ot be a HANDFUL to ride that fast. The way they would squirm all over transitioning into turn one had me puckering from my seat! They were quite a bit more fun to watch that the actual GP guys.
I couldn't help but wonder what a bone stock XB12S (with comperable rubber) would do against those guys. If I were a betting man I know where my money would be.

 

[GregoXB]

Doesnt the XR1200 weigh close to 570lbs? Seems more like a novelty bike than a track machine.