In the thread about Kohler and Briggs V-twin performance I mentioned having a tube-frame Buell X1 Lightning, so here is a thread about this unique American machine.
If you know about Buell, skip this paragraph. Erik Buell today owns EBR, Erik Buell Racing. In the 90's he owned Buell American Motorcycles, and was an engineer employee at Harley Davidson. Strapping a Sportster engine into a crotch rocket, he formed a company that Harley ended up mostly owning. For a few years you could buy a Buell at your local Harley dealership. Buells were roadraced, but brought up the back of the pack. In winter 1998 the Motor Company put 35 million or so dollars in his hand to WIN some races. The result was the '99 X1 Lightning, and for a Harley-powered bike it was pretty amazing. Built in Wisconsin on a hand-TIG welded chrome molybdenum tubing frame, these bikes became knows as "tubers". Later models like the XB were built on aluminum box frames.
The '99 X1 Lightning won some races; the patriot in me craved one. In Florida if you ride a non-Harley bike, you are a minority at events like Daytona. Over there they refer to Japanese iron as a "fire starter". I got the Buell, and later added a 100th Anniversary FLSTF carbureted FatBoy to the stable which already had a mighty Honda V65 Sabre in it.
One ride on an X1 Lightning will put a smile on your face, a knowing, special smile that never fades. Much like owning a 60’s big block Corvette, there are things uniquely American involved that defy easily writing about, or explaining over lunch. After driving one you know why that fellow in the rumbling fiberglass roadster is smiling.
Riding the X1 on public roads is akin to street driving a race-prepped ‘67 Corvette roadster with the 427 L89 big block, M22 rock crusher 4-speed, tri-deuce carbs, roller cam, dual point distributor, pop up pistons, brutal compression ratio up around 12.5:1 and open sidepipes. You buy the best gas and watch the temp gauge in traffic, try not to attract extra law enforcement attention, and replace rear tires about as often as oil filters. Maintenance is frequent and important. Attention to controlling the fury available from your right foot better be constant and quick, especially in the rain. Your arms get a workout from turning the steering wheel through a manual box to move wide tires. The ride is harsh, and driving is demanding but satisfying. The effort, sound, wind, and g's release endorphins like a heavy workout. Its physical and exhausting. Ten minutes driving time will flush a day's worth of stress right out of you.
If a car like this seems tame to you, then an X1 Lightning would be about as exciting as 3-speed Schwinn bicycle with a coaster brake.
The X1 has quirks. Mine is loud, speaking through a Vance and Hines aluminum muffler. It shakes and vibrates, is brutally torquey and will quickly bite an amateur rider in the ass. It will numb your balls in 20 minutes with its rocklike seat, but it has character like no other bike I have ever ridden. The damn thing begs you to ride it hard, and it gets into your blood. Its an unforgettable machine, it makes you pay attention, and for short rides it will make you grin and feel proud that Americans thought it up.
If you remember how a 327 Corvette with a 30-30 Duntov camshaft sounded idling, the Buell will tickle your senses. While a Harley engine is old, inefficient technology, at least the Buell is the most wicked version Erik could scrap together from the parts bins, with huge cam profiles and insanely advanced ignition timing. The '99 X1 was the first fuel-injected Harley. And it is a Harley, the title says so... Manufacturer: HD
The Buell has so much torque off the line it will leave the best Asian crotch rockets behind - up to that magical 50 mph when its tall European Sportster first gear is used up at redline. Above 50, large bore crotch rockets surpass the Buell. If you ride touring bikes then my kind of riding does not make sense, so I am not promoting it to you. I'm trying to share that the Buell isn't a jet or rocket, its more like a propeller-drive WWII fighter plane. Between redlights the Buell, piloted by an experienced rider, will shame any crotch rocket rider with a ferocious blast of muscle. No burnout, no wheelie, just squat and boogie. See the tail light move further away. Since I detest speeding tickets, the Buell perfoms a perfectly legal zero-to-45 and back-to-zero run, arriving at the next traffic signal first.
For me its the grown-up version of my two-speed Sears minibike... just fast enough off the line to outsprint my buddies'karts and minis in the mid 70's.
Once while riding my girlfriend on the lily pad, a large group of solo riders on modified crotch rockets buzzed up and surrounded us at a 4-lane stoplight. Gazing over the colorful crowd, she leaned into my ear and asked if the Buell would outrun any of them. When I answered in the affirmative without even looking them over, she whispered “then kick their asses” and her grip around my waist tightened. After leaving them all at five lights in a row, several pulled alongside us at the 6th to inquire what kind of bike it was. The fact we were riding two up only shaved a few tenths off the zero to 50 time, completely confounding the Hayabusa, GSXR, CBR and Ducati riders.
The X1 begs you to throttle it off the line. For the aggressive rider, it has the hardware to deliver. In terms of reliability, function and comfort, give me a GoldWing, aero BMW, or dresser Hog any day. In terms of sound and grin factor, the Buell rocks my world. The massive Asian bikes crank out far more net horsepower than the Buell, but those engines take a split second to gain RPM to build torque and power. The Buell has maximum power from idle to redline, and its all in that initial part of that first first second that it leaps out ahead on its hefty torque surge. The Buell is puking on the rev limiter at 6,500 RPM (its a giant lawnmower engine) when the big bore Asian bike cams are just coming online. In redlight-to-redlight riding the Buell pays me back for all the things we read about Harleys that are negative.
If you know about Buell, skip this paragraph. Erik Buell today owns EBR, Erik Buell Racing. In the 90's he owned Buell American Motorcycles, and was an engineer employee at Harley Davidson. Strapping a Sportster engine into a crotch rocket, he formed a company that Harley ended up mostly owning. For a few years you could buy a Buell at your local Harley dealership. Buells were roadraced, but brought up the back of the pack. In winter 1998 the Motor Company put 35 million or so dollars in his hand to WIN some races. The result was the '99 X1 Lightning, and for a Harley-powered bike it was pretty amazing. Built in Wisconsin on a hand-TIG welded chrome molybdenum tubing frame, these bikes became knows as "tubers". Later models like the XB were built on aluminum box frames.
The '99 X1 Lightning won some races; the patriot in me craved one. In Florida if you ride a non-Harley bike, you are a minority at events like Daytona. Over there they refer to Japanese iron as a "fire starter". I got the Buell, and later added a 100th Anniversary FLSTF carbureted FatBoy to the stable which already had a mighty Honda V65 Sabre in it.
One ride on an X1 Lightning will put a smile on your face, a knowing, special smile that never fades. Much like owning a 60’s big block Corvette, there are things uniquely American involved that defy easily writing about, or explaining over lunch. After driving one you know why that fellow in the rumbling fiberglass roadster is smiling.
Riding the X1 on public roads is akin to street driving a race-prepped ‘67 Corvette roadster with the 427 L89 big block, M22 rock crusher 4-speed, tri-deuce carbs, roller cam, dual point distributor, pop up pistons, brutal compression ratio up around 12.5:1 and open sidepipes. You buy the best gas and watch the temp gauge in traffic, try not to attract extra law enforcement attention, and replace rear tires about as often as oil filters. Maintenance is frequent and important. Attention to controlling the fury available from your right foot better be constant and quick, especially in the rain. Your arms get a workout from turning the steering wheel through a manual box to move wide tires. The ride is harsh, and driving is demanding but satisfying. The effort, sound, wind, and g's release endorphins like a heavy workout. Its physical and exhausting. Ten minutes driving time will flush a day's worth of stress right out of you.
If a car like this seems tame to you, then an X1 Lightning would be about as exciting as 3-speed Schwinn bicycle with a coaster brake.
The X1 has quirks. Mine is loud, speaking through a Vance and Hines aluminum muffler. It shakes and vibrates, is brutally torquey and will quickly bite an amateur rider in the ass. It will numb your balls in 20 minutes with its rocklike seat, but it has character like no other bike I have ever ridden. The damn thing begs you to ride it hard, and it gets into your blood. Its an unforgettable machine, it makes you pay attention, and for short rides it will make you grin and feel proud that Americans thought it up.
If you remember how a 327 Corvette with a 30-30 Duntov camshaft sounded idling, the Buell will tickle your senses. While a Harley engine is old, inefficient technology, at least the Buell is the most wicked version Erik could scrap together from the parts bins, with huge cam profiles and insanely advanced ignition timing. The '99 X1 was the first fuel-injected Harley. And it is a Harley, the title says so... Manufacturer: HD
The Buell has so much torque off the line it will leave the best Asian crotch rockets behind - up to that magical 50 mph when its tall European Sportster first gear is used up at redline. Above 50, large bore crotch rockets surpass the Buell. If you ride touring bikes then my kind of riding does not make sense, so I am not promoting it to you. I'm trying to share that the Buell isn't a jet or rocket, its more like a propeller-drive WWII fighter plane. Between redlights the Buell, piloted by an experienced rider, will shame any crotch rocket rider with a ferocious blast of muscle. No burnout, no wheelie, just squat and boogie. See the tail light move further away. Since I detest speeding tickets, the Buell perfoms a perfectly legal zero-to-45 and back-to-zero run, arriving at the next traffic signal first.
For me its the grown-up version of my two-speed Sears minibike... just fast enough off the line to outsprint my buddies'karts and minis in the mid 70's.
Once while riding my girlfriend on the lily pad, a large group of solo riders on modified crotch rockets buzzed up and surrounded us at a 4-lane stoplight. Gazing over the colorful crowd, she leaned into my ear and asked if the Buell would outrun any of them. When I answered in the affirmative without even looking them over, she whispered “then kick their asses” and her grip around my waist tightened. After leaving them all at five lights in a row, several pulled alongside us at the 6th to inquire what kind of bike it was. The fact we were riding two up only shaved a few tenths off the zero to 50 time, completely confounding the Hayabusa, GSXR, CBR and Ducati riders.
The X1 begs you to throttle it off the line. For the aggressive rider, it has the hardware to deliver. In terms of reliability, function and comfort, give me a GoldWing, aero BMW, or dresser Hog any day. In terms of sound and grin factor, the Buell rocks my world. The massive Asian bikes crank out far more net horsepower than the Buell, but those engines take a split second to gain RPM to build torque and power. The Buell has maximum power from idle to redline, and its all in that initial part of that first first second that it leaps out ahead on its hefty torque surge. The Buell is puking on the rev limiter at 6,500 RPM (its a giant lawnmower engine) when the big bore Asian bike cams are just coming online. In redlight-to-redlight riding the Buell pays me back for all the things we read about Harleys that are negative.
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hmy: I think they ran a group of bikes just about 24/7 you would see them all over roads down here middle of the day, middle of the night, group of them in yellow reflective vest and bright orange helmets. 
