New Owner. How do you take corners On these???

[yurka89]

I just bought a Buell xb9r, Previously owned 636 Kawa.
I was just wondering how in the world you guys take those corners on these bikes.
Thinking of selling it now.

 

[hottoddy69]

Are you serious? With the Diablo Corsa's, Cornering is a breeze !!

 

[midlifecrisis]

I have the Dunlops on my 06 Buell XB12R and I don't have any problems scraping my knees. The Diablos are supposed to be even better. The only problem with cornering is in my mind, no doubts about the bike.

 

[NOMORE4s4ME]

You have to know how to ride it. That might help. It's not a bike that flings itself in the corners like most rice burners. You have to work it all the way through. To me, thats part of the fun.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

He's used to the bike doing all the work. Not used to all this feedback from the bike. Doesn't like the seamless connection between you and the road.

 

[slydwazer]

The Buell XB outperforms pretty much anything in the corner. It does help to know how to ride though.

 

[xb12Rider]

guys I think he means: set up your approach to the corner get the balls of your feet on the pegs. shift weight prior to coming to corner I'll get a little more comprehensive in 1 minute. As you look through your corner your entry speed is critical with a Buell because you really have to set up your suspension to your weight to get the most out of your bike. Plus matching down shift to ground speed or (blipping) helps to put the bike right where you want it as far as when your ready to get into the throttle. The shifting of your weight come before the corner with the balls of your feet on the pegs shift your weight to the left if a left hander, right if right hander while doing this shift lock the outside leg to tank the middle line of your body should be almost off the seat aka 1 cheek on seat. ever so slightly lean bike use your head as a guide you should only be looking through your turn and setting up for your next weight shift while going through the turn apply maintenance throttle to keep the bike stable in the corner I hope this was helpful

 

[DruAdams]

since i ride mostly in the city, I slow down for corners and accelerate out of them, gotta love the torque of the big v twin makes even missed shifts look simple

 

[buellxb]

Most ricers have a longer wheelbase and the Buell can feel funny at first, but once you learn, nothing beats it in cornering. One of the local guys at the HD dealer races his Buell at the track almost every weekend. He told me that he causes accidents because there's always some newbie riding an R1 or some other sport bike that thinks they can keep up with him around turns. He ends up making the turn and the other guy can't.

 

[yurka89]

This is my 4th day owning it, getting the hang of it now, but the turns felt a little different at first, still need some time getting used to.

 

[yurka89]

and its not for sale anymore

 

[midlifecrisis]

This is the final analysis from Bike magazine (English) which held a top 50 cornering bikes comparison. (I don't remember which issue, but I copied this text straight from the .pdf file)
The winner-

Buell XB12R Firebolt
£8799 »999cc in-line four »159bhp »181mph
And you thought it would be something from
the mainstream. Erik Buell’s creation may be
oddball, yes, but it’s also supremely satisfying, gifted and
rewarding through corners.
What we have is basically a lumpy, air-cooled, 1203cc
Harley-Davidson engine housed in a tiny chassis with the
geometry of a 250GP racer. It sounds like madness, but the
method uses several innovative techniques to minimise
weight and put what there is exactly where it needs to be for
handling. Fuel is carried in the frame and the exhaust is
under the engine to centralise the mass around the centre of
gravity, oil for the dry sump engine is housed in the swingarm
to dodge the need for an oil tank and allow a short
wheelbase, while the brake disc is mounted to the rim to
allow thinner spokes and lighter wheels. Pegs are high and
narrow and there are no unnecessary features, no clutter,
just the essentials for cornering perfection.
We love the Firebolt on Bike. It looks tall, short and thin,
like a bike built to murder apexes… and it doesn’t disappoint.
Road tester Mike Armitage: ‘It leans, leans and leans before
the pegs eventually skim the surface, going at least as far
over as an Aprilia RS125 or Ducati 999R and covering
ground at an alarming pace. But it does it with much more
stability and poise than the skittish Aprilia and takes far less
effort than the longer, heavier, slower-steering 999R.’
But it isn’t just in the hooligan category that the American
steed shines. Compared with a ZX-6R or the like, the bars
are relatively high and quite close, allowing easy pushing and
pulling for darting past obstructions and counter-steering
your way about the countryside. The thudding, slow-revving
V-twin may not be everyone’s ideal motor – Moto73
magazine’s Koen reckons being ridiculously short with a
weird power sensation of no revs makes it a fun ride, but he
doesn’t rate the big mass of the engine. Or, more precisely,
the heavy rotating internals. But though the vibrating,
shuddering lump lacks a howling top-end rush, it does
supply the expected, easily accessed torque that smears the
rear tyre against the road and kicks the bike out of corners.
It’ll pull strongly from 3000rpm, so it doesn’t matter if you
miss a downshift – get your gear wrong on a 600 or a small
two-stroke and your perfect corner is screwed. Not on this.
That isn’t to say the bike isn’t involving. Yes, it does all the
above, but it needs a rider to tell it what to do – there isn’t the
feeling of being a mere spectator to the cornering process as
there is with, say, a Honda CBR1000RR. The whole machine
feels alive and full of character, the rev range is quite short so
it needs a bit of monitoring and there’s a barrage of feedback
from the front forks. Do what it asks and it’ll change direction
so briskly you feel as if your head is going to spin round.
So it leans for England (well, America) without fear of
anything digging in or running off-line, responds rapidly to
every input and carries huge speed, well within its safe limits
with a predictable, effective yet gentle power delivery. It
remains as stable and composed in fast turns as it is nimble
and accurate in tight switchbacks, keeps you fully engaged
while riding and does it all better than expected. And better
than GSX-R riders expect when you pass them on their
favourite winding road.
That does it for us. ■
SCORES
» LEAN ANGLE 10
» FLICKABILITY 9
» CORNER SPEED 10
» DRIVE OUT 6
» EXPECTATIONS 9
» INVOLVEMENT 7
» RISK 2
OVERALL 154.0
Kinda says it all, but we Buellfolk already know this.

 

[slydwazer]

Midlife - The article can be found on the Buell website. Buell.com > News & Events > Buell in the news > third article down. Check out my rear tire and tell me Buells won't corner. This is a Dunlop D208 from track day. Several rice rockets have gone down trying to hang in the corners. Buells rule the corners!

 

[midlifecrisis]

I've heard all kinds of talk about an XB taking some getting used to as far as the radical steering geometry goes when you're coming from more mainstream sportbikes.
What I don't understand is that I came from Sportsters and I don't recall that my Firebolt's steering was so 'weird' except that it actually does exactly what I want it to do. Do I need to ride a Jap bike to fully appreciate how radical my rake and trail affect my steering or should I just be happy that my first foray into sport riding was on a Buell?

 

[MrOrange]

I would suggest a MSF riders safety course with your new XB12R. After the course take a month and hit the curviest roads around and I'm sure that you won't have any problems with your bike after all that. The MSF folks are all experienced riders, the one I had to take had 4 instructors 2 that were hard core cruiser types and a couple of sport bike guys that gave me good feedback on how I ride and attack corners.

 

[NL90]

I have had my Buell for a week now and I can't believe how it takes a mountain! I rode my friends Yamaha R1 and it went as it should, but when I took my Buell for a run I had to lean the bike! Not lean with it! The Buell is truly made for the turns and it is mean machine! Erik did his home work..

A++ [up]

 

[slwglide]

I guess I was lucky that when I bought my XB12R it came with a free track day. Its also funny that I was riding baggers before last July, and by the end of the day I was riding it exactly the way xb12rider described in a earlier post. When I saw the photo's I thought I was over reacting, but I now know its just part of the fun.

 

[JWolk217]

I'm comming from an 06 Honda CBR600rr. I've had my XB12s for about a month, and it scares the crap out of me. I feel like it's the first time I've ever owned a bike. Comming from dragging my knee with the HONDA, to barely getting off the seat of my BUELL and fearing a tank slapper. Where I was starting to get uncomfortable on the Honda at around 130 mph, I'm nervous at around 85-90 mph on the Buell.

I'm not badmouthing the Buell, I'm just stating that I don't get it yet. I got the XB12s because it is an asthetic work of art. I can't keep my eyes off of it. But so far, my CBR was a "real" sportbike.

 

[mrdozer2you]

It takes quite a bit of getting used to. Make sure your suspension is set right first off. The recommended set ups in the manual are a good starting point but may take some tweaking. Once its dialed in and your confidence is up the bike will "suck" you through corners.[up]

 

[dans03firebolt]

The CBR is a sport bike the XB12s is not a sport bike at all. It is a street fighter and they are totally different. Everyone that comes on this site from a jap bike says how much they can't stand the Buell they just bought. You people need to give it a little time to get used to. It is a different animal that a Supersport bike like GSXR, R1, ZX, etc.

Once you get it you will know why Buell's are the best cornering bike on the market.