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sportbike_pilot · 05-03-2004, 07:57 AM

I think that Buells are very cool. I liked the XB9 so much after I rode it that I almost bought one. They are great bikes, IMO.

johnnyb · 05-03-2004, 08:24 AM

I, I don't understand... where are all the Buell ****ters this morning? them what poo-poo the Buell? oddly quiet. I think Barnes is like 63 years old, too. I bet Duhamel makes more in a week than Barney has made in his career. I bet the Buells live in an Econoline van. Mwhahahahahahaaa...

johnnyb · 05-03-2004, 08:48 AM

kpaul i thought you were my friend man... point is if buell is that out-of-the-hunt with current 600sÂ–as so many people on this forum contendÂ–it's pretty cool that Barney beat up about 20 of them in a heads-up battle on a track that's much closer to real-world riding than someplace like Daytona, which is totally horsepower-dependent. Cicotto too. Pls don't confuse me with details, i am big picture guy...

nweaver · 05-03-2004, 08:52 AM

A: Sears point now has some really tight bits, such as a 90/90 chicane at turn 9. VERY cool place, lots of action happens there. This is a big advantage for the Buell, as the bikes have to radically slow down on what would have otherwise been a "leave em behind" near-straightaway.

ALso, the buells effectively have a speed sensitive damper with the front brake setup (if it isn't changed), thus by the slowdown for the chicane, the damper is "off". A very clever design.

B: Just imagine what those Buell chassis could do with a 600 supersport class engine! Remember, they have almost double the engine displacement (and a big weight penalty for that engine/transmisson). Just think about what they could do with a real engine/transmission...

C: Do the buells have different(easier) exhaust regulations? They are the only bikes you can hear from the other side of the track. The supersport ducatis are quieter, by a lot!

anrajala · 05-03-2004, 09:07 AM

What, are we celebrating here that some particular brand got 8th and 11th in a race? I can feel the emotion growing.

- cruiz-euro

EbonFlame · 05-03-2004, 10:05 AM

Those little suckers can twist and turn, and nobody seems to be denying that, yet we all seem to have one question: "where's the motor?"

All brand-bashing aside, the old 45deg twin in there performs admirably for its age, and certainly isn't the sporty-motor of old. That said, it's way, way down on everything.

Has anyone ever heard of someone cramming a Rotax or something in a Buell?

'Old designs' like pushrods can work pretty darned well; in the Cage world, look at the venerable small Chevy engine, now in its third major generation. They briefly went to DOHC in their highest bracket (LT4 motor in certain '90's Corvettes); but returned to Pushrods. Nobody questions the dominance that a pushrod v-8 achieved in the C5-R's (the Le Mans Corvette).

But other than the basics of bore, stroke, and valvetrain type, a new small chevy is NOTHING like a '65. These guys are friction-saving, tight-clearanced, all-aluminum block, sodium-filled valved, etc, etc.

I'm not saying Buell should ditch the harley-type motor any more than Ducati should switch to inline fours; 'character' is sometimes worth horsepower in the real world. But a little ... daring R&D goes a long way.

---

The other side of the coin: the machinery and research used to build those engines is already depreciated. R&D is expensive. Harley seems to be doing something right as far as making money goes. Ducati, on the other hand...

Of course, at $1.20something to the Euro, it's hard to buy them anyway and.... oh, I'll stop.

05-03-2004, 07:57 AM	#1
sportbike_pilot Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 729	Re: BUELLS NOT BAD EH? I think that Buells are very cool. I liked the XB9 so much after I rode it that I almost bought one. They are great bikes, IMO.

05-03-2004, 08:24 AM	#2
johnnyb Founding Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 1,597	Re: BUELLS NOT BAD EH? I, I don't understand... where are all the Buell ****ters this morning? them what poo-poo the Buell? oddly quiet. I think Barnes is like 63 years old, too. I bet Duhamel makes more in a week than Barney has made in his career. I bet the Buells live in an Econoline van. Mwhahahahahahaaa...

05-03-2004, 08:48 AM	#5
johnnyb Founding Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 1,597	Re: And another thing, let's play what if? 8th place becomes 18th kpaul i thought you were my friend man... point is if buell is that out-of-the-hunt with current 600sÂ–as so many people on this forum contendÂ–it's pretty cool that Barney beat up about 20 of them in a heads-up battle on a track that's much closer to real-world riding than someplace like Daytona, which is totally horsepower-dependent. Cicotto too. Pls don't confuse me with details, i am big picture guy...

05-03-2004, 08:52 AM	#6
nweaver Founding Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 458	Re: BUELLS NOT BAD EH? A: Sears point now has some really tight bits, such as a 90/90 chicane at turn 9. VERY cool place, lots of action happens there. This is a big advantage for the Buell, as the bikes have to radically slow down on what would have otherwise been a "leave em behind" near-straightaway. ALso, the buells effectively have a speed sensitive damper with the front brake setup (if it isn't changed), thus by the slowdown for the chicane, the damper is "off". A very clever design. B: Just imagine what those Buell chassis could do with a 600 supersport class engine! Remember, they have almost double the engine displacement (and a big weight penalty for that engine/transmisson). Just think about what they could do with a real engine/transmission... C: Do the buells have different(easier) exhaust regulations? They are the only bikes you can hear from the other side of the track. The supersport ducatis are quieter, by a lot!

05-03-2004, 09:07 AM	#7
anrajala Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,490	Re: BUELLS NOT BAD EH? What, are we celebrating here that some particular brand got 8th and 11th in a race? I can feel the emotion growing. - cruiz-euro

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05-03-2004, 10:05 AM	#10
EbonFlame Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 62	Engine, Engine, number (XB) 9 Those little suckers can twist and turn, and nobody seems to be denying that, yet we all seem to have one question: "where's the motor?" All brand-bashing aside, the old 45deg twin in there performs admirably for its age, and certainly isn't the sporty-motor of old. That said, it's way, way down on everything. Has anyone ever heard of someone cramming a Rotax or something in a Buell? 'Old designs' like pushrods can work pretty darned well; in the Cage world, look at the venerable small Chevy engine, now in its third major generation. They briefly went to DOHC in their highest bracket (LT4 motor in certain '90's Corvettes); but returned to Pushrods. Nobody questions the dominance that a pushrod v-8 achieved in the C5-R's (the Le Mans Corvette). But other than the basics of bore, stroke, and valvetrain type, a new small chevy is NOTHING like a '65. These guys are friction-saving, tight-clearanced, all-aluminum block, sodium-filled valved, etc, etc. I'm not saying Buell should ditch the harley-type motor any more than Ducati should switch to inline fours; 'character' is sometimes worth horsepower in the real world. But a little ... daring R&D goes a long way. --- The other side of the coin: the machinery and research used to build those engines is already depreciated. R&D is expensive. Harley seems to be doing something right as far as making money goes. Ducati, on the other hand... Of course, at $1.20something to the Euro, it's hard to buy them anyway and.... oh, I'll stop.