I was at Laguna Seca yesterday for the US World Superbike event. Great day all round, we had a blast. One of the highlights turned out to be a Buell test-ride.
My brother-in-law, who is relatively new to motorcycling, wanted to do it (he hadn't ridden anything other than his 20 yo old Honda 500 "beater") and talked me into going along with him. The mention of the word "Harley" would not have caused me to take even an initial look, having been personally accustomed to Japanese supebikes; My current temptation was leaning towards Ducati however. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have even gone into the Buell tent without provocation.
So, he dragged me into the Buell tent & I was quite pleasantly surprised. Very compact, stylish design. Even the Harley motor didn't scream "traditional Harley" at you. The rubber drive belt was definitely still a big question mark, though!
The line was relatively short - actually about 45 mins before we got on the bikes. My personal preference would have been for one of the 1200 firebolts, but wasn't available in the group we were running in (one group was predominantly lightnings, the other firebolts); however they are essentially the same bike, with slightly different ergonomics.
I actually ended up on a 900 lightning; very nice compact bike for someone like me, 5'6". It felt comfortable right from the outset.
The first thing that impressed was the low-end torque from the big V twin, once we got out onto the main road, out of the Fort Ord complex, the handling proved to be extremely stable & nimble; front brake was also extremely good - one finger operation was plenty! Clutch was very digital, but after a few mins of getting used to it, I really liked it. We had about a 45 min ride, although much of that was just dealing with the traffic & road itself in the Laguna Seca/Fort Ord complex.
Overall I have to give this bike a
Not something I would have typically considered previously, but definitely something that became a very worth contender.
I then found myself rooting for the Buell in the Formula Extreme race!
Only downside I could really find fault in is the vibration, especially at lower engine speeds - makes the mirrors almost superflous, they shake so badly!
Take a look - http://www.buell.com/en_us/home.asp
Those Ducati's though .........
- if they'd been offering test-rides on those, I night have still been in-line come next Wednesday!
My brother-in-law, who is relatively new to motorcycling, wanted to do it (he hadn't ridden anything other than his 20 yo old Honda 500 "beater") and talked me into going along with him. The mention of the word "Harley" would not have caused me to take even an initial look, having been personally accustomed to Japanese supebikes; My current temptation was leaning towards Ducati however. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have even gone into the Buell tent without provocation.
So, he dragged me into the Buell tent & I was quite pleasantly surprised. Very compact, stylish design. Even the Harley motor didn't scream "traditional Harley" at you. The rubber drive belt was definitely still a big question mark, though!
The line was relatively short - actually about 45 mins before we got on the bikes. My personal preference would have been for one of the 1200 firebolts, but wasn't available in the group we were running in (one group was predominantly lightnings, the other firebolts); however they are essentially the same bike, with slightly different ergonomics.
I actually ended up on a 900 lightning; very nice compact bike for someone like me, 5'6". It felt comfortable right from the outset.
The first thing that impressed was the low-end torque from the big V twin, once we got out onto the main road, out of the Fort Ord complex, the handling proved to be extremely stable & nimble; front brake was also extremely good - one finger operation was plenty! Clutch was very digital, but after a few mins of getting used to it, I really liked it. We had about a 45 min ride, although much of that was just dealing with the traffic & road itself in the Laguna Seca/Fort Ord complex.
Overall I have to give this bike a
Not something I would have typically considered previously, but definitely something that became a very worth contender.
I then found myself rooting for the Buell in the Formula Extreme race!
Only downside I could really find fault in is the vibration, especially at lower engine speeds - makes the mirrors almost superflous, they shake so badly!
Take a look - http://www.buell.com/en_us/home.asp
Those Ducati's though .........
- if they'd been offering test-rides on those, I night have still been in-line come next Wednesday!
