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A new 2004 Buell Lightening Owner speaks

I bought a new red 2004 Buell Lightening XB12S in Sept. of 2003, see pic at http://www.geocities.com/gbrummett/grants_2004_buell.gif

I now have over 7,000 miles on it and it's been one of the better bikes I have ever owned. It doesn't use any oil, gets 42 to 50 mpg depending on how you ride it and has never leaked a drop of oil. The only issue I had was a recall to reroute the horn wiring to prevent chafing of the wire on the horn mounting bolt. I didn't think it needed rerouting as it showed no wear but they rerouted it for free and gave it the customary washing anyway.

I also purchased the complete race kit, which really transforms this bike from a quiet Ok top end to a bike that sounds much nicer and has a much more usable power band to redline from 4,000 rpm, see dyno at http://www.geocities.com/gbrummett/Buell_XB12_Dyno.jpg. The slight loss down at lower RPM isn’t even noticeable.

After break-in I had this new bike out on a country road and held a sustained 130-mph for several miles without any problems at all.

My older Buell (a 2001 M2 Cyclone) would puke oil out the air cleaner at any sustained speed over a 100, and it was very prone to rocker box gasket leaks in the winter.

To say I am much happier with the new Buell would be an understatement. Even the new key is wearing better and I couldn't be happier.

If anyone has any questions please e-mail [email protected]

 

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Re: my take on this issue ...

I wouldn't either.

 

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Re: A new 2004 Buell Lightening Owner speaks

I had two Kawasaki's a 2001 Ninja 250 and a 1984 GPZ 900 R Ninja. Both were Ok bikes, but I didn't like having to mess with the chains, that's one of the reasons for buying the Buell instead. If you go by the book on maintenance it's pretty close to the same. I know of two owners here at work with XB9Rs that are doing there own maintenance. Something most people could not do with the Japanese bikes.

 

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Two other things I thought about

1. If you will notice not one person who actually owns a new XB series Buell has said they had a problem, big difference between it and the older ones almost to the point of not even being from the same company.

2. The clutch is a little heavy on the Buell XB. But, I found that if I keep the cable freshly lubed it helps, still it's still heavier then either of the Japanese bikes I have owned. Bottom line, make sure she has pulled in on the clutch a few times to make sure it's not too heavy for her.

 

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You can get a new 2003 XB9S low for $6,999

FYI, the $10,000 is MSRP, you can pick up a brand new 2003 XB9S for $6,999 at http://www.chandlerharley.com/

 

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That is cool and funny

That is cool and funny about the Blast outrunning the other bikes just because of rider ability.

I totally agree though, these new squids just don't get it about rider ability and are probably the ones squawking about how their bike is faster then another bike based on a magazine test and not their own prowess.

After seeing my friend who used to race bikes take a stock Suzuki 1400 Intruder and outrun a new squid on his new GSX-R 750 out at Canyon lake road I was a total believer in just how disparate rider ability can be. It seems to make a much greater difference on bikes then it ever does in cars.

Thanks for the interesting post.

 

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This has nothing to do with motorcycles

Please look elsewhere to post trash like this, it does not belong here!!!

We want to talk motorcycles!!!