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You asked for it: My Buell experience.

30K views 127 replies 42 participants last post by  pdad13 
Very pleased to see a real world description like this. Mirrors my own experiences for the first few days of my ownership. I had had many Japanese bikes, mostly Yamahas, and was looking for something other than being a member of the R1 army again. So, made in the USA patriotism, and temporary insanity caused me to make this choice.



I'm glad I did, I may never go back. It turns out that this bike's torque and handling more than make up for any of the technical disadvantages I found when compared to my previously owned masterpieces. And the "WTF is that?" factor is unbeatable. All it needed was some finish work, which, at the price they are selling for shouldn't be needed, but who buys anything and leaves it stock anyway?



First thing done, adjust the suspension. You should have heard the puzzled inquiries about this process from the Harley owners on the dealer floor, "You can adjust the suspension? Why?".



Second things done were cosmetic changes. All the cheesy stickers and warnings were tossed. The heel guards and pegs were changed for more color coordinated pieces (black). Passenger pegs removed.



Third, synthetic oils for the engine and transmission. Although I had almost no trouble with my transmission, the synthetic oil did improve tranny feel. And that hot air cooled V-twin is a torch for lesser oils.



Fourth, changed all the lighting to high intensity LEDs, headlights to Raybrig.



Fifth, the big equalizer. The installation of the race kit, "Not For Street Use". The race muffler does away with the "variable valve technology" (read polution control), and drops five pounds in the process, the intake kit opens up the airbox flow and uses a K&N filter, and the race ECM comes with a high performance fuel map, and is reprogrammable to optimize dyno tuning ...by any H-D dealer with a dyno. Even without dyno tuning, power, torque, and sound all increased and improved dramatically. More dramatically than modifications like these did for my previous bikes. That made the difference needed for the road.



Granted, these things did add another 1400$ in cost, not including my highly skilled labor, and one could argue that the higher price of the Buell should include them. And granted, the Engine Control Modual is only accessable by proprietary dealer software and pc interfaces. But modifications like these are often considered part of the ownership process of many bikes, and the H-D dealerships are often very cooperative in helping you get the additional costs covered by whatever financing you might have. I was aware of the need for the extra work going in, so for me, it was a very rewarding process. And is still rewarding every time I ride. Tires next.
 
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