Bandit Alley
GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: Swamp Rat on October 24, 2005, 11:54:15 AM
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I went to the Baton Rouge Harley shop friday with hopes of trying on some"First Gear" riding jackets. They didn't have anything but Harley and Buel stuff. However, they did have a Buel Ulysses in Barricade orange sitting on the show room floor. "Nice!" I thought to myself...even my ole lady liked its style. "Swing a leg over it" the salesman said. I did. "sweet" I said. Tall sucker it is. I wear 34in. inseam and couldn't sit flat footed until my wife climbed on { she is about 120lbs}. It had all the luggage too.Ohh....about $13,000 U.S. That's a little steep for me. Then I got off and started looking closer to the details. There is a little oil cooler on the the left side of the bike..."hey...whats this" I thought. Looked like a little road grime from an ealier test ride. I looked a little closer at the offending smudges. No looks like oil. I ran my finger along one of the fittings for the cooler and sure enough....OIL LEAK.
Thanks,I'll keep the Bandit. Have a nice day. :motorsmile:
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That is too funny! :toofunny:
So, did you bring it to their attention? I hope so before some poor sucker buys it.
Geez, a Hardly is a Hardley is a Hardley! :roll: They have a good idea, Buell does, just ditch the Hardley engine and buy from elsewhere, from Italy or Austria maybe. Oh, I know, not while The Motor Co. owns 'em! :grin:
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"They all do that..."
"It's supposed to do that...."
"Gee, I'm gonna have to get on the prep guy..."
What a shame. They'll sell these things if they're HALFWAY competent bikes. They're somewhat intriguing. Not $13000 worth.
What could you buy for $13000? A Vstrom with every option in the book, aftermarket stuff, and gas money for a year left over.
A year old GS?
A Multistrada?
A Tiger, with $$ left over?
A NEW bandit 12, and a DL650, or a DR400 or Dr650 or KLR650?
I'd love to buy an American made, and labled bike. I'm afraid the Koreans will build a bike I want, at a decent level of reliability and quality, before anybody in the US will. :crybaby:
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Uh, Pete, why is there a witch carrying a picture of Mikhail Gorbachev in your avatar? :stickpoke:
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it's really too bad that we can't buy confidence when we buy American.
I wouldn't take it where I ride my DR650 off-road. However, if I was
rapper-rich, I'd have one. The Buell looks much less dorky than a Strom.
~lloyd
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i know
i can't look at the v-strom
or even speak its name without laughing a little
poor brittle buell
I like pete's avatar
the last few have been very good
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Herb, Gorbachev has a birthmark on his head in the shape of Italy.
That was me. (Been bored, playing with avatars...)
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Herb, Gorbachev has a birthmark on his head in the shape of Italy.
That was me. (Been bored, playing with avatars...)
I knew that. Joke wasted. :grin: Oh, and I knew that wasn't really a witch, but a moslem woman. :wink:
And as for the rest of you, I can't believe you don't like the V-Strom. :shock: Looks way better than say, a Hyabusa! :grin:
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Can't say I agree with that. I think the Busa is a mean looking machine.
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Can't say I agree with that. I think the Busa is a mean looking machine.
I can see where some folks would like it. But this looks better to me...
(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y297/DesolationAngels/2005V-Strom10003.jpg)
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I don't like some of the graphics and color combinations on the Busa, but the shape of the plastics has grown on me, and when you see a solid colored one without all the swooshy kanji crap, it looks pretty cool, and distinctive.
The looks of the Vstrom never did much for me, but the functionality does.
If I were just worried about looks....well...never mind.
:duh:
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Buell's are a sad joke. What a waste! I was reading an article on one model where they're saying how ingenious these Buell guys are for putting a fan on the rear cylinder to cool it off.
Um, yeah.
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And as for the rest of you, I can't believe you don't like the V-Strom. :shock: Looks way better than say, a Hyabusa! :grin:
WHAT? I'm not a huge fan of the Eye-abuse-a but I don't think I could own a v-strom. Although that pic isn't bad, in person, they look like a flying barn door. I wonder if v-strom mechanicals would somehow fit in the Ulysses??? I really like Buell styling.
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I'm with DA... I don't think the V-Strom is that bad looking... and the only thing I like about the GSX1300R is it's performance. But maybe the Happy Bus is starting to finally grow on me... I used to hate their looks and now I merely don't like them.
As to Buells, it would be nice if HD let Buell use a different engine. As long as they're using paint shakers, I'm not interested. No matter how innovative the rest of the bike is.
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I wonder if v-strom mechanicals would somehow fit in the Ulysses???
Check out a late Cagiva Grand Canyon. They dumped the Ducati Desmo and plugged in a TL/SV/DL 1000 engine.
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I'm not fond of the Strom looks myself... but it's not a lot different from Honda's Adventure bike, the Transalp.
(http://www.honda.co.uk/mcStatic/en/picture/product/VARADERO_XL1000V/prd_bike_pearl_blue.gif)
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How about the Honda Varadero?
(http://www.triumphchepassione.com/honda/varadero/honda-varadero-blu.jpg)
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I owned a V-Strom a while back. Great function, best seat in the biz. Sold it cause it just didn't have any garage appeal to me. I learned a lesson with that bike. I need to like the looks of my motorcycle. If suzuki could make the tank / fairing section look less bulky, that should help. I would prefer a standard tank, just toss away all the other plastic up there, stick a single headlight up front and mount an aftermarket screen. It looks very top heavy. Mine handled fine, didn't have the cornering clearance of my bandit which was annoying. It's no good off road, and on the road the cornering performance is hampered by the dual sport tires. But I know of a lot of folks that love the bike.
Warren
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If suzuki could make the tank / fairing section look less bulky, that should help. I would prefer a standard tank, just toss away all the other plastic up there, stick a single headlight up front and mount an aftermarket screen. It looks very top heavy. Mine handled fine, didn't have the cornering clearance of my bandit which was annoying. It's no good off road, and on the road the cornering performance is hampered by the dual sport tires.
The tank and fairing on the 650 is a lot less bulbus than on the 1000. Hard to see in pics, but obvious when you see it in person.
I'm somewhat surprised that you say it had less cornering clearance since it's a lot hight than the bandit. What touched down? The pegs??
I guess the Strom and all the other Adventure bikes need to be set up for either street or dirt as far as the tires go. The dualsport tires are maybe good for touring or commuting, but not much else.
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Yeah, the pegs touching down so quick supprised me too. Of course, I added a centerstand which limited the left side clearance even more. An extra long peg feeler comes with the stand. The DL1000's foot pegs are set fairly low. The bike has a lot of leg room and it's real comfortable. You would think because it's a fairly tall bike it would have the cornering clearance but it doesn't. You can still have fun on it, it makes pretty good time, just not quite as quick thru tight stuff as a bandit. Most of the bikes I have bought have pretty much lived up to what I had read about them. The Strom was an exception. It also wobbled horribly at highway speeds if you hit a lot of turbulant air behind trucks etc..... That tall lanky suspension I guess?
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I have to admit, when I first saw the V-Strom, I wondered what was Suzuki thinking? But, the bike has really begun to grow on me, especially seeing it in person. Functionality really appeals to me. I got to take an extended ride on one just a couple of days ago. I also found that the pegs touch down early. I would probably raise the rear end of the bike with shorter dog bones to improve cornering clearance and quicken the steering, then install a lower seat to keep my feet on the ground. However, I disagree about the tires being a hinderance in cornering. I really couldn't put them to the test, but I've seen one in action in Arkansas a couple of years ago. I've also pushed my KLR pretty hard in the twisties on inexpensive 60 to 70% on-road dual-sport tires with no problems. While it's definately heavier and more cumbersome off road than my KLR, with the right tires, it should be fine for its intended purpose. Some people have even successfully traversed the Continental Divide on them. I'm seriously thinking about adding one to my personal fleet, but I'll continue to use my KLR when I plan to ride some really tough trails.
Click here for some personalized pics: http://vstrom.info/vsri-gallery/gallery/AP?page=3
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Granted, it's no sport bike and it's no dirt bike, but if you had to have one reasonably priced mount that did it all... with the right tires:
(http://home.att.net/~jkam/v_strom_hacienda_hotel_in_mulege.jpg)