not heard of the raised lip thing , interesting , back in the day when I used to race (( GSXR1100 R) club level up to national level) (god I feel old now thats 25 years ago) we use metzeller me33 front tyres and you knew when you were getting close to the edge braking by the slight weave on the handlebars , this being caused by what was called tread shuffle , thinking about it now it must of been like ABS built in to the tyre happy memories

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Buell Ulysses XB12X 06/08

The suspension on the XB models (I know nothing about the other models) is pretty good by contemporary standards but as with any system it is affected at the base-level by getting the spring rates ideal for the load to be carried. As a production bike, Buell made a better than average job of providing adjustment and of explaining how to set it for different rider weights. (The Buell Workshop Manual is also a very fine effort IMHO.)

My Ss has had a suspension tuner work on it a few years ago to get the springs more appropriate for my 80kg riding-weight and some damping alterations were also made to go with the springs. There is now 40mm of sag at both ends which is an ideal third of total travel. As stock the springs were too firm for my solo-riding and gave a harsh ride on our too-often ngarly roads.

As most of us here will probably know altering the spring preload does not alter the spring strength, it just alters the ride height. To get the best from the suspension first get the spring rates right. The oil level in the forks is also part of the springing system whereas the viscosity relates mostly to damping rates, unless there is so much impact damping that the damping acts before the springs can yield.

Of course, you're quite correct Graham about preload not affecting anything other than sag, but it's probably one of the biggest misconceptions in the motorcycling World. It astonishes me how many Dealers are ignorant too. I remember the look on a Dealers face when buying a new bike because it was advertised as having 'Fully adjustable suspension'. I asked for some discount, because the box of shock and fork springs in different Rates was missing. I wouldn't normally have set him up to look a twat, but he came out with the classic, 'you can stiffen 'er up a bit with these adjusters', when giving me a once over of the bike. Again, as you previously stated, different air gaps and different oils can make huge differences too.
One thing I would add, is once you find a source of suspension oil, stay with that Brand. Not all viscosities are comparable! If you do some Googling, there's a highly technical reason for this, which is way beyond my understanding. I called bullshit on this at first, thinking SAE standards meant the same - I was wrong

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

Well said, Adam.

Being realistic, the best the typical Buell rider can do is to be honest about their RIDING WEIGHT, which is fully togged up ready to ride, not what the bathroom scales told them a few years and many beers ago, and then to follow the excellent setting advice for their weight in the Owners Handbook.

Bless him I remember Yoffi
taking great pleasure in weighing Buelligan's in the old Dock Gate 20 dealership
they had a set of scales ( that went all the way up to Harley rider )
then he would make comments about how far he was having to adjust the settings for fat bastards

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Feros Ferio