Motorcycle Enthusiasts

I say go with the firebolt but that’s because I like the Buell’s. The stock performance of the bikes is most likely fairly close. I think you can trick on the Buell for more HP easer then the others. As far as cornering I believe very few non-pro sport bike riders come close to the potential of the bike they ride. This is not criticism of anyone just these bikes are so far advanced that very few non pro’s have the skill to get the bike down and around and push it to it’s potential. In the end it comes down to which one you like just because you like it.
 
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http://www.saveabiker.com/
 
Sounds like you had a cracking summer

On the bikes, the GSXR will whup both of the others hands down in any measureable criteria. Much faster than the Buell and though it might not corner quite as sharply it'll still outhandle it overall. Oldshadow's point about modern sportsbikes being better than their riders is a good one though, certainly in my case I just use their phenomenal abilities to make up for the shortcomings in my own

Theb ZZR600 is a bit of an old beast njow, but would be the more comfy.

The Buell will have a lot of that immeasureable "character"; you might like it, you might not. Only way to tell would be to test ride it. And tell us of course!!

Mitch

Edit to add: And if you want the sorts of things the Buell offers, just more so with less weight and a better engine, may I suggest, with no bias at all the KTM SuperDuke?
 
Just wanted to drop in and say hello! I was wondering if there were any fellow riders on this forum.

Ditto to Nordic's "What a ride season I've had." For a change it hasn't rained so much this summer, but unfortunately it is cooling off sooner than last year.

In the market for a sport bike? I am partial to the GSXR, but I've never ridden your other alternatives. Are you looking new or used?
 
I've keep surfing and finding other bikes I like I'm starting to lean hard toward this Buell Lightning http://www.buell.com/en_us/bikes/lightning/xb12ss/features.aspbut I kind of like to idea of the adventure sports like the Ulysses http://www.buell.com/en_us/bikes/ulysses/xb12x/features.asp

The forward lean of the full sport bikes has always bothered me but these bikes with an upright seating and the sport factor appeal to me.

I'm thinking of getting out this weekend and doing some test riding and getting a feel for what is and isn't appealing to me with the bikes.
 
I've ridden the Lightning and Firebolt, though not the Ulysses.

If you must have American for patriotic reasons then go ahead, but these are potentially great bikes hugely compromised by their engines. The build quality is also pretty suspect.

The Buell plastics were thin and flexible, the whole thing bounced up and down at tickover like a dog with fleas, the engines were asthmatic and ran out of steam very quickly. Enormous torque? No, not in this application.

If you ride a SuperDuke or Triumph SpeedTriple (particularly the new one) you'll understand what I mean. The Speed Triple has its own issues IMHO, but both outclass the Buells effortlessly.

And that's not becasue I disliked the Buells; I thought they had bags of character and a lot going for them, but crivens did they need a different engine and some money spent on production. They have the feel of a project bike that could be great, if you spent a good few £1000 on it.

Rie a Speed Triple and find out what the Buell engine would be if it was swapped for something near perfection.

Ride a SD and find out what the whole of the rest of the bike should be and what a V-Twin in this application should be.

Neither lean you forward, the SD even gives you a little wind protection.

Mitch
 
Thanks for the heads-up on the Buells. What I like about those bikes are the look and the way you'd seat-up. I'm not a big fan of the far-forward seating on sports. The Lightning is a spor with a more upright seat.
 
I know what you mean about the Buell looks, I like the looks of them too, there's a kind of Mad Max thing going on there. And with a loud can on them they do sound good - as a side issue they sound louder going round corners (left handers I think) because the spout of the can point somewhat downards, leaning the bike brings it to a more horizontal (and louder) position. How much fun is that! Plus they have some interesting ngineering solutions - oil in swingarm, rim mounted brakes etc.

Get a ride on all of them if you can, I'd love to hear your opinions on the KTM and the Speed Triple.

Mitch
 
KTM is sold in the US, but manufactured somewhere in Europe I think. They are very expensive (compared to Jap bikes) so you don't see many. I recently read an article that said the little KTM super moto was really more fun than the 4-cylinder Japense sports. They don't look as cool though, in my opinion. If you are interested in super moto, Suzuki does make one--brand new you're talking about $7-8K. It would have to be easy to ride as small as it is (weight wise). If I were in the mood to trade I would seriously consider a super moto.
 
I believe KTM is sold in the US as Hillbilly says. They're Austrian made.

NB the SuperDuke is most definitely not a supermoto.

KTM do make a number of Supermoto's, but whereas most are impractical but a hoot for the 35 miles your bum can stand on a razor thin, rock hard seat perched on a highly tuned single cylinder engine, KTM also do a 950cc V-twin motard which is supposedly madder than a box of frogs. I still don't think it would be as much fun as the SuperDuke though.

Here's the website for KTM USA, there's a dealer locator on there for you type in your zipcode. It'll also show you links to the SuperDuke website which I think includes the legendary film that gave their legal department coronaries (a guy stunt riding through heavy traffic in a major european city, all paid for by the factory ) and sites for other models like the 950 Supermoto I mentioned above.

Hope that helps!

Mitch
 
This is the very one the magazine tested and the testers couldn't say anything bad about..except the price tag. I was sold on one until I saw that this little bitty bike retails for almost $13,000! Think you could handle putting your feet down in the curves like a dirt bike?

Sorry, the SuperDuke isn't super moto. Guess I just didn't associate KTM with sport bikes. Is it the import fees that runs up the cost from KTM? Think I remember from related article that KTM is partnering with Polaris and is going to start manufacturing in the US? (Couple years down the road yet.) Wait now I see you're in Europe so you may not even have to worry about it. You may have said earlier in the 27 pages of this thread, but are you predominately commuting or looking to ride the twisties?
 
It's Nordic who's looking, he's in the US, I'm in the UK and already the proud owner of a SuperDuke

I guess it is import duties which bring the cost up in the US, plus KTM aren't a big volume manufacturer. Still, new ones in last years colours are to be had for £6400 in the UK and that compares with £8-9k for an R1, GSXR1000etc.

By coincidence I just went out to do some shopping and found a new bike mag with a review of: Ducat1 S4RS v SuperDuke v Aprilia Tuono v Benelli TNT v Speed Triple v Kawasaki Z1000. Any of these would give Nordic the more upright position he's looking for, in varying degrees anyway, and still have some sporty performance. Here are a few choice quotes from the article:

"The SuperDuke is the whole package; it's damn near perfect, and able to surprise plenty of pukka sportsbikes"

"The riding position is so well engineered that once you've noticed how natural it feels you never think about it again"

"The real masterpiece is the chassis. The balance between suppleness and mass control is only rivalled in the upper echelons of the race-replica class. Combined with a tractable motor and you've got one of the fastest real world bikes on the market"

Sorry, couldn't resist

Mitch

Mind you, it means there's nothing but my lack of talent to excuse my slow speeds now!
 
I would have to agree with Mitch on the Buell. I love the styling of the Firebolt and even considered buying one. In the end I decided that the engine just didn’t deliver enough power to keep me happy. The 12R was a step forward from the 9R, but they are still underpowered.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about modern sports bike positions; they aren’t as extreme as the older ones. My back is stuffed, I’ve had two major spinal injuries since 98, one requiring spinal surgery and the other an extended stay in hospital and the wearing of a body cast for a couple of months. I am a lot more comfortable with the sports bike position than the cruisers. You may find that your wrists may hurt, but after a little while they will get used to it.

My advise is get to the dealers and have rides on anything you can get your hands on, don’t dismiss anything. You may even like something more towards the half way mark like a sports tourer of some kind. The Honda VFR800 is a great looking bike with a top engine and a lot extras to make it very civilised. It also has the rep of being the world most reliable bike. The ride position looks like it would be sporty, but it is very up right, too up right for me.

From a personal perspective I would be looking at larger bikes than the 600’s. It’s not that they are too small or lack power (they have heaps of power); it’s just that for everyday road use their power delivery is not that good. The larger sports bikes offer a more tractable engine, this lets you be a little more relaxed with your riding and not worry too much about what gear your in.
 
No doubt import duties do play a role in the expense; however KTM use a lot of high quality components as well. You are just not going to get WP suspension and Brembo brakes on your average Japanese or American sports bike.
 
What happened to this thread? It was my favourite!
Any good rides in Melb that anyone knows of soon?
My right wrist has been getting itchy. The Daytona hasn't got enough to do lately, just going back and forth to work (At least it gets to go down Yarra boulevard-the closest thing to a good stretch of road in inner city melb)
Got some good pics of me and my bike if anyone wants to see them!

Zen
 
Rebirth of my thread in the new year, kewl!!!


I did some riding during my holiday break. Mostly in town riding with plenty of coffee shoppe breaks
 
The weather here has been warm so I've been ridding when I can. This week looks good and I off work so I hope to get on the bike quite a bit. I put new hand grips on so I'm trying them out.
 
How's the bike going Zen? There have been some stories of reliablitlity issues over here, burning a lot of oil etc.

Love to see the pics, I'll see if I can dig out some of mine too.

Mitch
 
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