Buell XB12Ss lightning

Its been a while since posting last, been bogged down with boring rubbish and a jaded mind, but thankfully riding motorcycles has injected a bit of enlivenmnet and excitement into the hum drum of everyday existence of sleep, work, eat sleep, work, you get the picture, the winter doldrums etc.

New years resolution of more aerobic exercise becoming a tiresome chore? Can't be arsed to go down the gym and slog away on any number of strange contrivances designed to make you sweat and your heart beat?

I have a better answer. Wait till summer and buy a motorcycle, one of these will get the pump working, hone your reaction skills and make you smile like a rabid beast on LSD.

Buell XB12Ss Lightning 2007

Motorcycles don’t you just love ‘em? Traffic jams? Pah!

This week I have laughed in the face of the usual debilitating congestion, and frustration, at the Sat Nav space out pilots grounded and impotent. I thudded past the vehicular attention deficit disorder that is daily commuting.

This week I had a temporary present direct from the brilliant engineering mind of Mr. Erik Buell, founding father and innovative American sports bike designer who’s name graces the translucent faux fuel tank of the Buell 1200 Lightning Ss.

The journey home last night by way of example was an absolute treat, thudding through the fresh winter air as it cooled from a day’s sunshine, not a car in sight.

Only fifteen miles until home, I didn’t feel cheated as such but for once I wished it took me longer to get home, even the long way wasn’t long enough!

Not far now, caught up in the riding experience; and there it was approaching fast, been anticipating this little section in the mental segmentation of the journey home.

Revving out in top up the slight incline, long fast and true for a mile or more, 20 degree kink, (hardly noticed it), along the main straight, thudding metronome, check for that hidden turn off by the crooked and flaking white signpost for any approaching snout of a car or tractor about to turn left. Check!
Hug the inside line, brushing the emerging too early for spring budding fingers of the hedge, keep the throttle pinned, stroke the sublime rear brake with subtle pressure to steady the bike as the pale sandy surface of the Shell grip shows its face round the kink in the road,.
Steady….Bang it down a gear into fourth, growl of the low revving motor rises a baritone pitch or two, hint less throttle, psychosomatic dab of the rear brake to shave perhaps three to five mph off the rapid progress, drift wide to the white line and connecting directly to the geometry of the machine by way of almost telepathic mind control choose the line.
Tyres are warm, surface is grippy and grainy, subtle change in tyre noise downloads into my consciousness. Check! Keep it wide, not yet… and turn!
First very long apex, keep it hugging the inside line, count to two to resist the temptation of turning in too early for the next bend, which would upset the following line out of the section. Stand it up momentarily, add a touch of front brake along the few metres of straight before the next bend, back off a touch blip rather more than necessary just because it sounds great and down into third, engine note frenetically thudding up another baritone octave. Can feel a bit of vibration (but that’s alright), ready to cane the shiz out of it through and across the next apex, mindful of traffic.
It’s a lengthy and sinuous series of bends can’t let it drift over the white line, engage telepathy for the exit, push it over and wind the throttle back out with purpose, still Shell Grip, front feels ever so slightly light keep it pinned and flick back upright for drive up the hill, the rear squatting and the rear Pirelli Diablo forcing its footprint into the road, back into fourth short burst and short shift into fifth rolling off the throttle to allow for backed up traffic.
What a hoot! I almost went back and did it again.

If this sounds like a bit of you, then I urge you to find your nearest Buell dealer so that you can badger them for a ride.

If you like thrashing your Japanese sports bike white hot, and your calibre can take advantage of the large figures please read on anyway, it’s perhaps not the bike for you, but it would do no harm to take heed of the opposition.
If you are growing bored though with some say a more rider disconnected sector of the market or your license is besmirched with pestilential points, and perhaps your motorcycling palate is jaded and a desire for something new twists through your soul occasionally, this bike should be considered a viable alternative to the mainstream. Its fun to ride and you can quite easily misbehave on it, it’s just that it does it all in an entirely different way to a more familiar four cylinder power delivery.

The Buell philosophy is of handling over horsepower. Clever old Erik has thought outside the box for a number of years now and 2008 is the 25th anniversary of this radical thinking engineer’s product. The culmination of this philosophy is epitomised in the current range of machines parallel marketed within most Harley Davidson franchises.
In 1994 Erik set up a new Buell Motorcycle Company, With a 49 per cent share holding by H-D and in 1998, Harley purchased an additional 49 per cent, leaving Erik with 2 per cent, bulging pockets and a job for life.
H-D could now compete in a new sector and benefit from the ideas. technologies and engineering concepts by way of a proper handling Harley Davidson V-Twin powered sports bike that is both instantly recognizable and partially unique in the heady world of motorcycle design and, still trundle along very nicely thank you with their core product, big bore V-twin cruisers and low riders.

H-D’s vision and investment in Erik has paid off with the marque expanding by 36.96 percent last year in the UK alone and four fold globally over the last ten years At 12,500 units which make Buell’s contribution to the parent company’s export sales at more than half.

I reckon the Harley-Davidson ‘Sportster’ is a bit of a misnomer, for sure they might be a bit more nimble than the rest of the larger heavy duty range but in today’s world they barely resemble most modern motorcyclist’s idea or mental image of a Sportster. Step in the Buell range, now these are Sportsters!

I admire H-D for keeping their products at the forefront of public consciousness, their brand is instantly recognizable globally, respected and desired by motorcyclists and non motorcyclists alike. An affinity with the fostered for years rebel image is often pursued by rock stars and silver screen bad boys.
T-shirts bearing the famous shield and bar are everywhere in the world
The late John Bonham famously rode a Harley through a hotel whilst pissed up or something, Billy Idol famously crashed one, probably whilst sneering in that affected way of his into a downtown Ventura Boulevard late night kebab joint. Tom Cruise and Jay Leno have massive collections of machines Harleys numbering amongst them, but for me the plaudits should go to the Buell.

I’m going to be pilloried from some quarters for my appreciation of the Lightning, the lack of horsepower, the quirky styling, the no mod cons gizmometry and the price tag.
They would be right as well!

It does only make a ‘meagre’ sub 100 horsepower and in comparison to its peers within this naked street fighter niche the performance figures may not add up to those of a Ducati Monster, a Speed Triple or perhaps a Super Duke, but I haven’t ridden either of those, this is the bike I’m riding I’m telling it like it is, as I found it and I feel able to pass worthy judgement on it.

Each time I land after protracted hooning I walk away feeling full up, smiling and looking back each time as the rear fan kicks in blowing miles of accumulated heat away from the block, the whole thing tics respectably as it resumes more ambient temperatures. The Lightning offers you everything it has and you can use it all, it’s satisfying. You don’t need gravity usurping horsepower and sky’s the limit rev ceilings to enjoy yourself on this machine.

Fairness where fairness is due, the law according to Erik Buell works admirably.
The secret is the low centre of gravity to achieve the sublime handling abilities. It doesn’t have a fuel tank, it has a fuel frame, likewise with the oil tank, it doesn’t have one as such, you just check your swing arm levels.

The exhaust muffler is admittedly a hideously bulky affair but it’s slung under the motor, you don’t really notice it as it could be confused for the lines of a belly pan, and you couldn’t get it any lower if you tried without upsetting the ground clearance. Corner speed and ease of steering is amazing on such a (on paper) low tech machine. Daddy of elbow scraping high jinx Jean Phillipe Ruggia probably has one in his garage for the Sunday run. (Just to keep his ... Urm… hand in).

I now believe Bike magazine when they voted it the best handling road going machine they had ever tested. I believe now that the accompanying picture was not airbrushed software enhanced propaganda. I believe owners I have spoken to who have claimed outlandish hours of happiness and pleasure of ownership from their Buell, I’ve looked into their eyes for signs of over embellishment, of some of the stories I have heard. There was none. I believe Erik Buell has got it right.

The wheels are slender sculptures of motion gripped by Pirelli Diablo tyres in standard sports format of 120 and 180 sections, allied up front with the quirky rim mounted disc the unsprung weight must play a part in the bikes quick turn ability.

I can also attest to the single six pot and rim disc braking efficiency when the other night a white junker of an excuse for a van that was no longer a credit to Ford juddered to a halt like the rudder nosed rotten vehicle that it was with no sign of light escaping from its smashed and splintered rear lens’, the forks soaked up my sudden deceleration stopping me most efficiently without the butt clenching alarm of possible imminent impact and not even the hint of a squeak from the front tyre. The engine braking obviously helps rapid deceleration and stamping down through the box helps naturally. I steered round the rancid excuse for a Transit past hurling potent and strident curses of assorted pox on the driver in his smoking and ruinous cab, (and his descendants) and thudded off up the road
The last time I applied that amount of front brake in such a short space of time the Z1000 I was riding twisted in my grip, laid a scary front wheel darkie in the middle of Brighton and threatened to chuck me off and jump on top of me. Face was saved but only just.

Now the criticism! I’m used to 125 horsepower delivered in a four cylinder format so it does feel flat when on the straights, fifth gear is really just overdrive, peak power I would guess (‘cos I haven’t looked it up yet) is between 4,500-5,000rpm.
And Erik what’s the plot with this stretched chassis malarkey? No doubt to better accommodate a pillion.
Well I sat on the back whilst my mate rode it just to check the ‘Stretched chassis’-ness of it, and you might as well forget it mate, there is jack to hang onto, you’d be off the back in no time with a jaunty hand at the throttle grip, the seat is slidy and the rear of it just… well it just… drops away, its rubbish Erik, forget the pillion it’s a solo machine.

Give me 25 more horses with the same style of power delivery please, bung in a full monty Vance & Hines whilst you’re at it, slightly stiffer front forks, (but not too much mind) and just keep everything else the same. I like the translucent tank showing all the trickery beneath, the frame guards are a good idea, belt drive seems efficient and keeps my wheels clean, don’t need a fairing and the clocks give you all the detail you need. The rear brake works luvverly and the rider’s part of the seat is a wonder of comfort in the buttockular region.

If I wasn’t a fiscally deprived wastrel and had a few bob of disposable to spend on a bike which I could commute on, (good tank range considering the large capacity and throttle abuse I meted out), scratch on and just go hunting It would certainly be on my pared down, decision soon to be made wish list.

You could rule the world for an afternoon on the Lightning, a little bit of tweak age on the front forks to add a bit more compression damping, some Super Corsa tyres, warm day and purpose in your soul, could lay waste to most sports machines. Haunt the B roads, go Gixxer hunting round the twisties, lay waste to sports bike junkie ego’s they’ll be just as surprised as you are until the straights, don’t suffer chicken strips on your tyres, tear them up.
Other than outright top end and all too quick acceleration which this bike veers away from (deliberately) this bike is a rider’s bike.

It’ll be interesting to read what the professionals think of the new liquid cooled 1125R, due in showrooms this year, 170KG, more power, stickier tyres, six gears, slipper clutch and a front fairing which looks wide enough to challenge a jump jet wingspan which means it won’t fit through your standard garden gate or shed doorway. I’m betting it’s a bloody marvel to ride though.

Check the cycle parts detail in the accompanying video (erm when I post it later)!

Doby Trutcenden 20.2.08