Here's a "what if" to cogitate and ruminate upon.

I was thinking about this one last night, when wondering which scoot to take to East Kirkby, which one is more likely to arrive in the wet, and Zunkus' photo reminded me. What if Suzuki / Guzzi / KTM / Aprilia made Buells?

What if Buells were exactly as they are now in terms of design, power, handling etc, but they were easy to ride and zero maintenance. What if they started up first time, every time, they didn't rot, they didn't grenade at random, there were no issues of belts or headlights failing, no dodgy side-stands or bearings, no leaking bits, fluids always starting each day where they were left the day before.

Would you still buy one?

Or is it the failures, the work arounds, the fact that they don't tickover when cold, that each one feels different from any other Buell, let alone any other bike, is that why we buy them?

Do bikes have to be flawed to have character?

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Good in straight lines
2001 X1 "The Tart's Handbag"
2001 FZS1000 "The Fridge"

Silly question Norm. Perfect aint quite right (stereophonics).

You should also ask whether we would still buy/be attracted to Buells if they were better and therefore more mainstream.

buells? They are what they are, you either love them or you hate them, simple as that

if you cant take a joke dont buy one

Mainstream doesn't bother me. What the herd does is the herd's issue, not mine and I make my choices for myself.

Perfect ain't quite right... that's the crux of the issue, isn't it. I admire the Fazer, I love the Buell but, by heck, can I hate it too!


Aye... but why?




The other one, before anyone else says it, is "If I had to explain, you'd never understand"

This thought came to mind when I was out last night. An old-ish Harley, D plate I think it was, came past me following three cars. As it came onto a straight, he opened the throttle and, well, made a heck of a lot of noise but it had little impact on his speed.

The straight is about 1/2 mile long and he'd only passed two of the cars before he had to pull in for the bend. I thought to myself that anything from Italy, Austria or Japan over 250cc would have been past those cars less than half way down that bit of road, but who would have had more fun on the ride?

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Good in straight lines
2001 X1 "The Tart's Handbag"
2001 FZS1000 "The Fridge"

TBH, I think my 10000 mile Firebolt has been more reliable than any Jap bike I have owned.

Sure I have had some warranty issues with discs, paint etc. but I have had to buy new discs for a VFR750 at 10000 miles as they were worn out and the bike failed the MOT. Looking at some Jap stuff of a similar age to my 12R, I see paintwork on the forks in a much worse state (doesn't give any reason to put up with it though). All the Jap bikes I have owned have leaked oil, my Buell doesn't.

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08 Specialized Langster

The silly little things are not the problem for me as Pash say's Jap or other can/do have the same issues.
It's the big issues they have that killed it for me. Other makes would change things a dam bit quicker than Erik machines!

The big attraction to me is their looks and most defo the handleing.

N.

So, if it were a Honda, would you buy one?

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Good in straight lines
2001 X1 "The Tart's Handbag"
2001 FZS1000 "The Fridge"

no

i have always gone for something abit different

but you have to ask why have problems not been fixed (better bearings etc)

No but I would if it was an Aprilia

Probably Norm, mainsteam Yams don't do it for me but the MT01 yes maybe etc etc.
I'm a V-twin man, thats another big pull for me (pardon the pun!).

N.

If it was my bike with a Honda badge, yes. If it was Honda's attempt to make a Buell-type-bike, no. Jap stuff changes year in, year out. If I had a 2009 Honda, I am pretty confident that the 2003 model would not share many parts, and that those parts from the 2008 model would not fit the 2003 model. Example... I want more braking on my 03 XB, I buy the 09 1125R caliper and mastercylinder... I want a more up to date colour, I buy the 09 bodywork for my 03...

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08 Specialized Langster

As Nate says it's not so much the small things that piss you off it's the oh your engine is fucked after 15,000 miles or one of you gearbox bearings is fucked which means a complete strip and rebuild which means it's not worth repairing.

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Norrie.

they seem to be made of cheese these xb's

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I intend to live forever.....................................so far, so good!

I had a KLR 650 before the S1 and that was totally reliable but I had no respect for it. It bored the fek out of me and nearly put me off bikes for good. I did 2K in two years, on it. It was test riding harleys that rekindled my interest - but only coz they were so silly. I thought buell's were ugly until I saw a S1