Well I'm after a Buell for my next bike but I really can't make up my mind between a X1 Xb or the last of them an 1125r. Im looking at doing abit of commuting "bout 200k" what do you recommend?
Hmmm, well. Those bikes represent three different generations of Buell. The first one (the X1) being the last evolution of the tube frame Buells. After that you got the XBs (with both fuel and oil in an aluminum frame and the ZTL front brake setup). And finally there was the 1125r, that's when Buell switched over from the Sportster engine to a Rotax Helicon Engine. While that did bring a pretty massive increase in power. You could argue those bikes also lost what made a Buell so special. Haven't ridden one of the Rotax versions yet, so I couldn't say for sure how different the experience is, but a lot of my enjoyment comes from the Harley-Davidson engine. I don't think I would want to trade that for more power.
One upside to Buell's going under a couple of years ago is that those 1125r and 1125cr bikes dropped in price (like 'off a cliff' quick). It should still be possible to pick up a very low mileage bike for next to nothing. I did hear the stators on those bikes tend to break (simple to fix though). So either find a bike where that has failed and use it as a reason to drive the price even further down. Or make sure you find one where that has already been fixed and save yourself the trouble.
As for the tube frame or XB type Buells... there's arguments for both, as always. Personally I love the look of the tube frame bikes even more than the XBs, but when it comes down to it, they're all different shades of awesome. If I was even less responsible than I already am, there would an XB12 Firebolt next to the other Buells in my parking spot right now.
Theoretically, the XBs should be a little more reliable than the tube frame versions. But they had some of their own problems. Not as significant as the tube frame versions. The XBs have better cylinders and gear boxes for instance, but finding a bike where that ZTL front brake isn't bent out of shape would be a hell of a feat. Whatever you end up getting though, it doesn't really matter as long as you find one that belonged to someone who knew what he was doing (or his mechanic had a clue). If you're not mechanically inclined yourself, I would not buy a Buell that comes without a well documented service history. Maybe you've been reading along in this thread, but my dad and I have dealt with some shit to get my bikes in good order again. Still, once they are in good order, it's not too difficult to keep them there and I think they really can be reliable.
Some things to look out for (with Sportster Buells):
- leakage on the lower cylinder gasket: if there's oil leaking from the lower cylinder gasket, that could indicate hard use when the engine was cold. Causing damage to the cylinders, which is often evidenced by gasket trouble in that area
- leakage from the base of the pushrod tube cover: while this isn't an indication of any serious trouble. It does mean opening up the rocker box covers so that you can remove the pushrod tube covers to replace the seals (half a days work)
- excessive wear on the oil pump drive gear: this is not something you can confirm visually unless you remove the oil pump and shine a flashlight in the area that houses the cam-train. The oil pump drive gear is located on the crankshaft and powers the oil pump. Due to the design of the engine that particular gear is under differing sorts of stress which caused the original steel gear to shatter after say 30.000 kilometers. They were then replaced by a flexible bronze version of the drive gear (an original Buell replacement part). That solved the problem. Ask the owner if he can prove the gear is in there. Factor in the cost otherwise and talk it off the asking price of the bike.
- Cracks in the front engine mount (located under the steering head).Not very common, but it can happen.
- Worn isolaters (tube frame buell), those big rubber things near and slightly above the rear footpegs). Probably the case if the bike feels unstable in corners or at higher speeds. Though unstable in corners could also be a number of other things that apply to all bikes (bent frame, low tire pressure, bad suspension setup, whatever).
If you're in the United States (lucky you), you could look for either an S2 Thunderbolt or an S1 Lightning. In my opinion they are the best looking bikes Buell has ever made. There are also very few of them (about 1500 S2s and 4000 S1s). Given how much of them were total-ed or gutted (to make awful chopper monstrosities) the number of unmolested bikes is dwindling. It may very well end up a sought after collector's item.
This is an S2 Thunderbolt. Beautiful, no?
Having said all that... if commuting is what you're going to be doing. Maybe the Ulysses? My guy in IJsselstein (here in the Netherlands), the local Buell specialist (sort of world famous actually:
https://www.facebook.com/TwinMotorcyclesNL) always goes on about how he thinks the Ulysses is the best riding Buell ever made. The geometry certainly seems tailored for touring.
. It truly is the best kept secret in motorcycling.
