I've read a few bits online lately that have been critical of the Buell XB12X. Have to say I entirely disagree. Back in '06 I test rode one for a weekend - and placed an order for a black one the day I took it back to the dealership. It was one of the best fun, best handling motorcycles I've ever ridden - still to this day. I had no intention of buying a new bike when I rode it out of the showroom. It wasn't perfect, but for a tall guy living in NZ (at the time) - and riding like I do - it was pretty close. The Pic is from the first day I owned it. Happy daze indeed.
The Advert in the personals column would have read something like: ‘tall guy, recreational sports/touring rider, seeks to meet interesting, attractive looking motorcycle for mainly road and city action. However, some ability to handle dirt roads would be an advantage and must be comfortable carrying a passenger.’
Those gaps on the map showing roads we haven’t ridden - because of the odd 50k’s of dirt - were beginning to annoy the co-pilot and I.
We’ve covered pretty much all of the sealed parts of the National road system that are designated by a number in a red shield - on our road bikes, but we want to see ALL of NZ – but there wasn’t a dual sport bike on the market that really ‘pushed our buttons’.
Then one afternoon I was returning a test bike from Kiwi Rider to AMPS and…
‘My goodness! A tall person’s bike!’ Were my first words when I sat on the Buell XB12X.
I liked its angular X look and concept from the start. In these days of diminishing saddle heights and bikes getting smaller and shorter in the chase for light weight and improved handling, it was refreshing to sit on a tall, high performance motorcycle.
Yep, I said ‘high performance’ motorcycle. Although rated at only 100 ponies (modest by 2006 sports bike standards), the Harley-Davidson V-twin’s superb torque and the speed the chassis can comfortably carry into corners makes it a quick machine through the twisties and demanding sections.
In the long list of dream motorcycles I’ve been fortunate enough to throw a leg over in my time at KR - this is the best cornering bike I’ve ridden. It’s surprising that more manufacturers have not adopted Buell’s principle of ‘mass centralisation’. It really works.
To keep as many of the heavy components as close to the middle, and as low down as possible in the bike, several innovative ideas have been employed.
What most motorcycles present as the top of the fuel tank is nothing more than a plastic cover over the air filter. The fuel is stored in the substantial box section frame, with a traditional filler cap. Notable that the crash protection ‘frame pucks’ on the XB12X are now available for the entire XB range.
Additionally, the dry sump engine stores its oil in the rear swing arm assembly and the heavy muffler is slung underneath the engine - amidships.
Combined with the steep rake (23.5º), very short wheelbase (1370mm) and extremely rigid frame, it steers absolutely, amazingly, wonderfully, brilliantly.
The confidence it instils! Buell talks about the ‘bike being part of YOU’ and as hokey as it sounds, the concept really clicked with me as I had the XB hard out on my favourite stretch from Waihi to Whangamata. I’ve never been through there quicker or enjoyed it as much…like the bike was part of me.
Sometimes you can just let it ‘fall over’ in the corners, then casually pick it up after it’s gone around far enough, other times it’s exhilarating to physically manhandle/throw it through the apex and feel the temptation bounce the front wheel airwards a tad on exit.
It’s pushed along by the new Harley-Davidson ‘Thunderstorm’ engine. Wonderfully strong low down and it develops enough ‘grunt’ to more than compensate for being ‘tapped out’ at 7,000rpm. Its torque is a thing of beauty.
As soon as it hits cruising speed, the shake that the air/oil/fan cooled, four stroke, 1203cc 45º V-Twin produces at idle entirely disappears. It transforms into a sweet sounding, smooth, honey of an engine. Peak power is achieved relatively close to the 7,000rpm redline and torque (81 ft-lbs / 110 Nm) arrives at 6,000rpm.
It means there’s no need to ‘row’ the gearbox through the corners to ride rapidly. The even power spread and torque mean gear changes are minimal. Plug in 3rd and just carve up!
It’s not that changes are a chore – gears engage with a definite, reassuring click, with no signs of a false neutral or that old Harley trait of difficulty selecting true neutral when stationary. It just means you can concentrate more on how well it goes around corners.
The belt final drive is well shielded, has virtually no freeplay and requires no adjustment or servicing for the life of the motorcycle. Its smoothness and directness provide great feel and feedback.
It’s real fun to launch from standstill. A bounce and a twist sends the front wheel as easily skyward as does grabbing a handful of the triple piston radial front brake to produce an impressive stoppie.
In the effort to keep unsprung weigh as low as possible an inverted rotor, radial brake set up is used, significantly lighter than a dual disc system but with similar stopping power.
Because the torsional forces are distributed directly to the wheel rim and tyre - rather than transmitted via the hub and spokes – there is less flex under braking and subsequently you can stay on the picks far, far deeper into a corner.
City, country or dirt - it’s just HUGE fun to ride.
Then we added ‘exploring’ to the mix. That’s been much of the attraction of this ‘all roads’ machine. Pick a road, turn off and not care where the seal ends.
It’s not what the ride-up-mountainsides-fraternity call an ‘Adventure Bike’, but that’s not what we’re about.
193kgs, the muffler where a bash plate usually is and the large warning on the inside front cover of the owners manual advising that the machine is ‘FOR PAVED AND NON-PAVED ROADS ONLY’ – means you probably don’t want to hit the southern traverse with it, but the fantastic ‘adventures’ we’ve had on the dirt roads around the upper North Island have proved its ‘track’ manners most satisfactory.
It won’t make ‘the pace’ with a bunch of dedicated dirt bikes on the shingle – but it’s not too far off it. It does OK, and when you get back onto those super sports bike roads that usually occur on either side of the dirt sections, …hmmmmmmm baby!
The dual-purpose Dunlop 616 tyres handle unmade roads and hard packed beach sand well enough, considering how well they performed on the tarmac. The 180 section rear works well, the 120 section front can drift a bit over the top of freshly graded shingle, rather than bite in, but it’s easy to adjust speed to suit.
Did I mention I was having fun? It was time for a serious heart to heart.
‘We have got to get one of these.’ Said the Co-pilot before we got to the lights at the top of our street, the very first time she rode on it.
250 mtrs. I almost did a Linda-Blair-Exorcist-style head rotation as I swung around that fast to look at her.
‘OK.’ I said.
Heart to heart over.
‘Big, roomy and comfortable and I love the way it goes – I’m having fun again.’ She rates it the ‘most comfortable bike she’s been on’.
I can’t keep off it.
So look out Ripple Lake, Cape Reinga and the top of the Coromandel - for starters. Here we come.
Recommended retail price is $19,995 plus orc and there is a range of luggage options.
It’s not often you find a bike just about perfect for your needs, but a chance meeting with an XB12X means I’m forgetting about those adverts in the personals for a while.
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ENGINE
Type Air/oil/fan cooled, four stroke, 45º V-Twin
Displacement 1203 cc
Bore and Stroke 88.9 x 96.8 mm
Compression ratio 10.0:1
Valve train OHV, Two valve per cylinder
Valve adjustment Self adjusting
Fuel delivery 49 mm downdraft DDFI II fuel injection
Exhaust Free-breathing 2 into 1 collector with Buell InterActive Exhaust system
Intake 0 resistance Air Box, Ram Air Intake
Power (2) 100 hp / 101.4 PS / 74.6 kW @ 6600 rpm
Torque (2) 81 ft-lbs / 110 Nm @ 6000 rpm
Lubrication Dry sump, 2.5 quarts / 2.4 litres capacity
Oil filtration Screw-on disposable element
CHASSIS
Frame Aluminium frame with Uniplanar powertrain vibration isolation system
Wheelbase 1370 mm
Rake 23.5º
Trail 122 mm
Front Suspension Showa® inverted fork with adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload
Rear Suspension Showa® shock absorber with adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload
Front wheel travel 165 mm
Rear wheel travel 163 mm
Front brake ZTL type brake, 375 mm stainless steel floating rotor, 6 piston caliper
Rear brake 240 mm stainless steel rotor, single piston floating caliper
Front wheel Reinforced XB-type 6 spoke cast, 3.5 x 17 in Magnesium Tone
Rear wheel Reinforced XB-type 6 spoke cast, 5.5 x 17 in Magnesium Tone
Front tyre Dunlop D616F 120/70 ZR-17
Rear tyre Dunlop D616 180/55 ZR-17
Fuel capacity 16.7 litres
Fuel Consumption N/A
Gross vehicle weight rating 431 kg
Dry weight 193 kg
Load capacity 205 kg
Seat height (3) 841 mm
Ground clearance 171 mm
Overall length 2180 mm
Overall width 900 mm
Overall height 1250 mm
TRANSMISSION
Type Five-speed, constant mesh, Helical gears
Ratio
1st 2.65
2nd 1.89
3rd 1.41
4th 1.17
5th 1
Primary drive Triplex chain 1.50:1 ratio
Clutch Wet, multiplate, compensated, reduced lever effort
Final drive (4) Constant path, 14 mm pitch aramid reinforced Goodyear® Hibrex® belt with Flexten® Plus technology, 2.41:1 ratio
INSTRUMENTS
Instruments Electronic speedometer, tachometer, odometer, 2 tripmeter, reserve tripmeter, clock, low fuel light, engine check light, oil pressure warning light, indicator for high beam, turn signals and neutral, two auxiliary power outlets
When the Ed rang with the news that I was to be dispatched to the ‘2007 Buell Ulysses and SuperTT Ride Adventure.’ in Far North Queensland – ‘Crocodile country’ - her misery began.
News of the three day ride from Cairns to Cooktown and beyond Cape Mellville was relayed intermixed with bad Crocodile Dundee impersonations.
‘The Funnelweb spider can kill a man in eight seconds, just by lookin' at him, Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee said.’
‘Oh no, you can't take my photograph.
Oh, I'm sorry, you believe it will take your spirit away?
No, you got the lens-cap on.’
‘That’s not a bottle opener…THIS…..’ Etc etc etc.
It became her daily fare. 2 weeks of it.
Then I added that the ride was through some of the most spectacular world heritage listed areas on the continent…on a motorcycle that is our current favourite…and it’s to her enormous credit that she even picked me up at the airport on the way home.
Most of my friends just said ‘b*stard!’ and changed topics.
From the Big Dave chair however, the whole thing was rather jaw-gapingly, bugger-me! Amazing.
You couldn’t buy the time I had. ‘Nah - that’s not a ride – THIS is a ride….’
I figure the story starts when H-D Buell decided to get the bike some coverage.
Whether it’s in response to some of the bad press the bike received originally - due to that under performing front tyre, or just to tickle sales, but whatever the motivation, they put together a stunning media event.
The ‘seniors’ from the region’s motorcycle press were there. Both paper and electronic. Editors, subs and celebs. ‘Two Wheels’, “AMCN’ ‘Cycletorque’, ‘Trader’ etc etc etc and yours truly emblazoned with the Kiwi Rider Logo.
It really was a gig for the Ed – but his schedules conflicted. And as one of the boys on-line put it: ‘I’m so lucky I could fall into a tank of crap and it would turn to jam before I hit the surface.’ I got the job.
The starers read:
Seven esteemed Editors, Deputies and ‘Celebs’ on ’07 Buell Ulysses, Paul and Chris, from H-D/Buell Aus leading the expedition with style and riding sweep on a Lightning Super TT with his off-sider Chris, the experienced and thoroughly professional guide, Jason, from stayupright.com.au on another Ulysses, 2 x 4wd support vehicles carrying Co-ordinator Kim from H-D, Master lens man Lou Martin (I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy), PR guy Richard, and Warwick - whose incredible ‘Stay upright’ resources were employed throughout.
We set off from Cairns around 9am on Tuesday morn.
Heading North.
Bags and equipment securely stowed in the land cruiser, spares aplenty, a factory grade mechanic and support crew in tow, Max 29c, Min 21c, partly cloudy, the Great Barrier Reef away on our right and the Daintree rain forest to our future.
On a fleet of fabulous, brand new Buells. Can you imagine it was a happy bunch? Even the noise of that many cooling fans together was a hoot!
Cairns is the gateway to the reef and is a tourist town where most of the attractions are out of town.
Big time hotels that are mostly self-contained worlds unto themselves provide overnighters for the tourists transiting to the Reef or the Outback.
A night on the top floor at the Rydges was a nice way to prepare for the ride.
The roads around Cairns however, have a decidedly motorcycle flavour.
If fact, most of what I encountered on day one would remind many Kiwis of home. Lush, green jungle, often on Volcanic ramparts with verdant mountain ranges towering to the clouds.
I commented to Paul that it’s ‘a lot like NZ only 15 degrees hotter’. Think ‘Waipua Forest with gum trees, spiders and snakes’. Same, but a lot different too.
The road up the coast to Port Douglas is world heritage listed, there was a bit of traffic, but we got some clear sections too and the Buells hammered on the great sportsbike conditions between the beach and the hills. Suspensions and ergos had all been tuned to our individual heights and weights so Jason set a cracking pace and we carved it up.
A regroup at Mossman and the first off road sections greeted us across the Daintree River Ferry.
Paul and the crew dropped tyre pressures down to the mid 20’s and backed off the damping several notches while we ate lunch at the beach resort in the Jungle.
Yuh. Riding in Paradise and it’s peel me a grape time.
And so it was on, to the unsealed wilds.
Beware of the ‘cutty vines overhanging the road – they can pull you off the bike’ began Jason’s briefing.
Most are high enough not to be an issue, though some require navigation. Wild pigs, huge Cassowary, Wallaby and Snakes are other hazards he warned to allow for as we headed deep into the jungle’s mountain trails – still at a pretty fair clip.
The smell of the Eucalypts!
The road through the forest road presented two water crossing that we had to walk the bikes across. The Gibber rocks below were just too unstable.
I was glad it appears the back wheel spinning up a roost as we pushed the bike across is a Crocodile repellent. I was slipping and sliding over the loose creek bed ‘gibbers’, thigh deep in my leathers and Johnny Rebs and was in no mood for wrestling reptiles.
The gear only took a few minutes to dry in the conditions anyway – which was good – because water crossing were a constant feature of the ride. Bridges up this way are a luxury but the Buells handled it all easily.
And so it was for most of the way up to Cooktown, rainforest trails, valley floor, concrete dual tracks, fast bitumen, and dirt in various sections.
We had time for a Lemon squash at the ‘Lions Den’ Pub at Helensvale to wash away the dust before heading on to Cooktown.
We rode to the lookout for a view over the town and it’s valley, then into town to re-inflate tyres and stiffen suspension for the 80km of bitumen coming up in the morning before checking in to what was a very nice Resort in a very small town.
A subsequent beer underneath swaying palms around the pool saw the Journos I quizzed impressed with their first day on the bike.
We had covered Sports bike roads, dusty alpine trails, creeks and dense jungle and the bikes had not missed a beat.
‘Tomorrow it opens out and gets a lot quicker.’ Continued Jason’s briefing over a sumptuous feed of Barramundi and a relatively early night under the air conditioner.
Crossing Black Mountain next morning saw us heading towards the Great Dividing Range and into the Mulga.
The 80km to Lakeland rolled away quickly as we passed epic volcanic formations with boulders the size of small houses piled into improbable mountains like stacks of pebbles.
And then just beyond the junction at Lakeland the red dust starts and suddenly you are feeling very capital ‘O’ - Outback.
We started travelling half a kilometre or more apart as we headed out onto the plains.
Flat and fast.
Speeds nudged up and up on the dirt as the convoy sprawled its mobile ‘red out’ across the seemingly endless plains.
Visibility behind was sometimes nil in the clouds of red and white dust.
The straights are broken by gently flowing streams and creeks and water holes and the need to be alert and ready to wash off speed for upcoming culverts, floodways and the roaming Brahma bulls adds an edge to it all.
So does the bull dust. No, not what you hear from Big Dave at the pub, the fine dust that collects in the pot holes and dips and corrugations of the red clay roads.
Zooming along on hard pack one minute and all of a sudden it has puddles of soft, almost invisible, dust - with a hard edge on the other side.
Keeps you on your toes, that’s for sure, but by keeping sharp the worst of it is avoided and the bikes wash off speed well enough when you see the bad sections coming, but what great fun and the bikes…handled it all very nicely.
Powerslides through the 120kph sweepers.
Climbing down to the watercourses, splashing through the creeks and then nailing it back up to the plains.
Huge plumes of dust and water, charging through the floodways, sand patches and loose surfaces at speed, kilometre after kilometre into the emptiness, the termite mounds, swamps, punctuated by the fuel or drink stops at the far-flung roadhouses at Laura and Hann River, passing 4wds and the occasional Road Train.
Outstanding, good, clean, dirty, fun until the turnoff at Musgrave roadhouse and more clay and sand till we arrived at our ‘Oasis’ and the fabulous Lotusbird Lodge.
Over a beer before dinner the other journos started asking me questions about the bike. Some even had the same chin-scratching-what –do-we-have-here-look that I did when I first tested AMPS demo 18 months ago.
We had plenty of time to discuss it.
The Lotus Bird lodge is quite amazing. It’s about as ‘far away from it all’ as I’ve been. Yet it features nice cabins perched by a beautiful Billabong and is home to an amazing array of animals – crocs included. ‘But he’s over in the next lagoon’, Garry, the Host, informed us.
Another sumptuous meal followed in the open central hut, Gary read some delightful bush poetry and a tasty bottle of red or three saw pretty happy press corps off to their cots grinning famously.
The return leg.
I got up before the dawn and perched as close as was practical to the edge of the Billabong – it’s only a Crocodile Dundee IMPERSONATION – and I marvelled at the colours, the birds and the place, and as the sun rose I banged off time exposures on the tripod I’d lugged 3,000km.
A surprising number of the lads came out to join me.
Another hearty bush breakfast followed and all too soon we were back on the gunbarrel straight red dust all the way back to Lakeland.
It was great fun.
Slipping and sliding occasionally and working on what Warwick and Paul had coached me the nights before about rear wheel steering and keeping the front end light.
The Buells simply soaked up the distance and in all too short a time we had rolled back to the sealed roads and time to re-inflate the tyres and stiffen the suspension for more high speed stuff through the Mulga, more photo calls, and the amazing roads on the decent back to the coast via the Rex range and to Mossman on the coast.
I was tacked on at the back of the quicks and there was a serious avalanche comin’ down the mountain.
Beautiful sportsbike roads and there aren’t many better bikes at flicking from side to side down a mountain than the Buell.
Now I may have said this before…but they handled it superbly.
A final blast along the Cook highway and the top floor of the Rydges this time seemed inappropriate for one so red dust road grimy as me, so I jumped in the shower with my leathers on before getting cleaned up for the farewell dinner.
What an event.
We were presented with an opportunity to ride the Adventure sports machines through every type of conditions they are designed to accommodate. Every type of road and track and the bikes absolutely nailed it.
10 of them did 1,000km in sometimes torturous conditions and the only issue was a wiring connection on the TT’s that Paul fixed on the fly. The Ulysses didn’t miss a beat, no belt dramas…no dramas, they proved versatile, capable and great fun.
The Buell team produced an incredible event, the bikes performed superbly, all the journos I had discussions with were very favourably impressed and will knock out good copy.
Objective achieved, knowledge gained and most importantly, the Co-pilot is still talking to me.
