Thinking about buying a Lightning ss...

[jibootie]

Heya!

I am brand new to this forum and hoping to get a few answers to my noob questions

A bit about me: I started riding this year. I'm Canadian. My current bike is a 2003 Ninja 500 and I am looking to upgrade in the next year or two.

I went to the local Harley test ride day over the weekend. I was there for one bike: The Lightning. All of the 100+ guys lining up were clearly there for Harley's as I had no trouble getting a hold of my Buell. I was around 40th in line for registration and still got in on the first ride. I went a 2nd time around 1 hour later.

Unfortunately they only had the XB12Scg... I am around 6'2 and ~235 pounds. I felt like a circus bear riding a tricycle. The handle bar location on the bike was comfortable, but the peg location was far too cramped for me. Once I was cruising along everything was fine. The bike handled amazingly, acceleration was strong, and the rumble was intoxicating. When it was time to shift or brake I really felt the smallness of the bike kick in.

Given that the Harley dealerships in the area don't pay too much attention to Buells (many don't carry them) I am having a hard time finding a XB12Ss to try on for size. So here I am!

Questions:
- How big are you guys? How to the bigger boys find the long Lightning? I realise there is a 2 inch difference in seat hieght between the cg and ss but it is hard to picture the difference in feeling this would make. Comparison between the two would be great if you've ridden both
- How do you find longer rides on the bike? Most of my riding is weekend screaming in the country and commuting to/from work, but I do the occasional long haul and would like to do more of it next year. How have you found this?
- How are your maintainance costs? My Ninja 500 could be maintained by an infant.

I have fallen in love with this bike and I am REALLY hoping the XB12Ss will work for me. I refuse to buy a bike without trying it out first so I will continue my search for one here... But I thought I would check with the experts (you guys) to see what you have experienced.

Thanks for reading! I hope I'll be posting in the next year or two as a owner rather than someone who drools over your bikes

 

[climberfreak]

welcome to the board!

i just bought my 04 xb12s a few months ago and im in love with it. so much fun to ride very comfortable in my opinion keeping in mind i havent riddin many bikes but i like it.
I am 6'1" 150ish and i dont feel cramped at all.
i think the longest i have riddin was around 2 hours sure i got monkey butt from sitting forever but the riding position makes it enjoyable. wind kicks my but though lol

 

[teh Nub]

I have an 06' Ss - 6'-3" about 200lbs. I haven't sat on any other buell so I can't compair to them, but even on my Ss it felt small the first time I rode it. It feels normal now...

Maintenance isn't bad, I would use expensive oil regardless of the bike I ride. Gas mileage is great compared to other bikes.

I feel comfortable riding for a longer periods of time, I haven't ridden as long time wise as I had with my CBR, but I assume it would be more comfortable over the longer trips even with the extra wind.

 

[jibootie]

Thanks for the responses so far guys! More big guy responses would be appreciated.

Has anyone played around with different things to make the comfort level go up a tad for bigger folks? Handle bar risers etc?

 

[kajer]

I am 6'5" and ~285ish... I ride the '09 Lightning Long.

I really like the b1k3 and I fit pretty well. At first I thought I was going to have to lower the pegs an inch or two, but decided to try it for a month. The pegs are fine. I had the dealer set the shocks for my weight before I took it out of the parking lot, and all is well.

As far as the bear on a tricycle... I don't care what I look like, I have my torque monster that can wally-stomp any other b1k3 in the hills! ha!

 

[Trill]

I am about 6ft and 225 lbs. I will trade you my ss seat for your scg seat straight up

oh, And the bike you rode was prolly setup for someone about 180 lbs from the factory.. so it prolly felt all mushy?

These bikes have fully tuneable suspension and can be stiffened up for ya. But yeah I cant flatfoot on my ss and want your seat if they are swappable.

That is if you purchase

 

[dave_xb12r]

you'll have to swap the whole tail section I believe

 

[big b]

I'm 6'3" 240lbs and just bought a 09 xb12ss and absolutely love it. I also test rode the scg and was very cramped on the seat. There is a big difference between the two so most definitely test the ss. My first ride on the ss was 2 and a half hours home from the dealership and I was perfectly comfortable. All I have had to do as far as maintenance is fluid changes and a few inspections and that was a breeze. And the ss and scg seats are not interchangeable.

 

[Trill]

damn, I'm probably going to end up swaping to a regular s tailsection then

 

[Odin]

Riding an '08 xb12s, and it's great (see other new guys post) I'm 6'4" 185. and still feel like the bike fits me great. I definitely feel like i'm more sitting "in" the bike instead of "on top" like other japs bikes i've owned, if you get what i'm saying. so easy to push around/turn it's a ton of fun. Took me about a week of riding, playing with suspension/etc.. to get used to it, after that its all Love

 

[Trill]

so much love that I am going to take the bike to work today.. and there is frost on the ground brrr.

 

[jibootie]

Thanks for all of the responses! I've sent a few e-mails around to the "local" (I.E. within 2 hours drive) dealerships and so far the only SS I could find is arriving at the dealership in January.

I guess there's always the Toronto bike show in December to sit on one.

Thanks again!

 

[mrdozer2you]

damn, I'm probably going to end up swaping to a regular s tailsection then

Buy an aftermarket seat and you'll have almost the same end result without having to swap tail sections.

OR if you are like me, shave your seat down. Get yourself an automatic "turkey" slicing knife( dunno the proper name for it but its one of those automatic knives) Pull the staples from the underside, mark the foam and cut.

** not meant to hijack **

 

[big b]

JIBOOTIE If you can find a dealership with a stt then I would go ride one of those. The suspension and seat height is the same as the 09 ss. But the seat is diffrent, the ss seat is more comfartable in my opinion. Hope this helps.

Regards
Brandon