Motor cycle advice

[BADVELLE]

Monsters are wicked cool bikes, but as everyone said above hey are big $$ to buy and to own. Nothing better than a slammed Ducati rippin past ya on the tollway...

You could always do what I did to cure my bike "itch" , and go buy yourself a early to mid 70's Honda CB750 and make a little cafe bike outta it. Def. not as fast as a mosnter, but they are a blast to ride, get all the attention in the world, cheap to own, Cheap to fixup, and are reliable as anything with the name "Honda" on it..

I am almost done building a slimmer/more cafe bike outta a 1974 cb450 (in progress) -->

I will have way less into both bikes than the yearly service of one Ducati..These little bikes cure my bike itch, so I can dump the main funds into the Bel-Air...

Very cool bikes, I never thought I would say that about that year and make bike!! Either way, definitely cooler the way you are doing them, awesome!

[69Nova]

Thanks for the idea. I am still looking around at diffrent options. I'll defintly keep this idea in mind.

[RobM]

cafe bikes are deffinalty really cool

[ProTouring442]

If you feel like building a Cafe bike, I have an old XS650 Cafe project I am thinking of selling!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

[69Nova]

I'm going to look into Buell's. I really dont want another project to take on so I'm going to try and find something close to what I want. Plus they seem to be cheap and I like the way they look.

[Gordz32]

Buells in my opinion, are just as cool as the ducs, kinda like comparing a ferrari to a Z06 Vette. HAhaha, Oil tank is the rear swingarm, frame is the gas tank, airbox is under the fake gas tank. Awsome bikes!! By buddy back in Jersey bought one, and he loves it!

[vanzuuk1]

Badvelle,those are cool bikes.

[69Nova]

Nice bike Vanzuuk, is it yours?

I'm going to look at Buell's tommorow.

[vanzuuk1]

Its mine, its in the middle of another makeover.

[neki67]

What about a different kind of 996? Reliable, affordable and loads of fun with a very lively engine (red lines @ 11000 rpm, approx 120 bhp, 410lbs). I also used to drive dirtbikes and this is the perfect addition to it for me.

[Martin71RS]

Nice streetfighter vanzuuk!



this was the one I built...and sold to buy the Camaro.

Indeed allways wear a helmet, gloves and protective cloath!

the CB caferacers are cool too! Just the brakes on those (or lack of ) is a neg.

Martin

[Fuelie Fan]

My advice: whatever you get, put a lock on it! My F4i got stolen out of my parking lot two nights ago!

[69Nova]

Dam that sucks. Yeah after I decided what I'm going to get I'm going to look into a good lock for it.

[WS6]

You'll need to do more than lock it. Bikes are the type of possession that the only way to keep it from being stolen, would be to put it where it can not be reached. A lock will only mean the people will have to pick the bike up to put it in the truck to steal it. Two really strong guys or three normal guys and the bike is lifted and put in a truck and taken.

Sorry about your bike though Fuelie. I couldn't imagine how pissed I would be

[go-fish]

A buddy of mine had his bike stolen at his apartment complex by some guys with an Isuzu box truck with a Tommy Gate (lift gate).
The neighbor called 911. When they caught them they had nine bikes with them. They were up all night doing snatch and grabs.
Just be smart about where you park it, even at the mall or the movies or anywhere.

[72SSAbody]

If you go with a Buell get an XB.

A lot of guys/gals love their old "tube frames", but in all practicality the X1's EFI has too many issues (TPS needs to be reset constantly a lot of folks have found out).

If I had a choice for a tube framed buell I would stick with a carb'ed model such as the M2 cyclone with thunderstorm heads and upgraded "B" cams.

For the XB series, keep your eye out on the '03 models as some have an issue with belts wearing quickly and snapping. It's happened to my brother's "R" model three times now, but my '03 "S" didn't have an issue. It can be a hit or miss. If you do get an '03 just upgrade to the '04+ belt, idler and pullies.

The R models also have headlight buckets that seem to have an issue with the reflective coating inside them. The headlights progressively get dimmer because of this so if you buy a used one, pop them off and check. Replace with new OE's.

Also, don't worry about parts being expensive. They are some of the cheapest bikes to get parts for. HD has done a really good job in holding the profit margin down on these parts for the buell enthusiast.

Maintenance is a snap on the XB Merlin II powertrains so don't let anyone try to scare you away from them. The aftermarket is building and supporting these corner carvers with more parts each day. I'm about to CNC some rear sets for my brother's firebolt so they are like any bike in that you can customize them to the max.

If you buy a Buell, be prepared to answer a ton of questions at the gas station as they tend to draw a crowd that is use to seeing/hearing rice rockets all day long. Its a beautiful sound to hear at Daytona when you're use to inliners going around the track.

Joe

[69Nova]

Wow thanks for all the info. I'm pretty sure I want a Buell. I went to look at new ones today just for kicks. They are exactly what I like. I'm defintly going to get a XB. I used to hear about all the problems with the old ones(My dad used to ride harleys, and I live next to the dealership). Now I just need to find the right deal for me. I'm probly going to look for a 03' since they would be the cheapest.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Its mine, its in the middle of another makeover.

I'm diggin' the new makeover, Dirk. Love the raw(brushed?) frame.

[go-fish]

I had a Firebolt and will get another someday when the 'cuda is done (well it'll probably never be "done").
I had Revolution Performance's 90" Big Bore cylinders on the once 1203 making it something like 1470 cc's. www.revperf.com
I had a carbon fiber air box from http://www.americansportbike.com/ and Micron exhaust.
The thing I had problems with was the mapping on the ECM. If you mod these things to a ridiculous point, they are going to give you some problems.
I had the race ECM and couldn't get a good remap, it would sporaticly dump fuel and then run fine. I bought a DirectLink remapping tool to do it myself at home (which I think I still have?) and was waiting on a usb adapter to come in the mail and that's when it happened. I wrecked it, which put an end to my riding days so far.
There are tons of things you can do to Buells. For a guy that likes messing with hotrods and doesn't mind getting into a bike to upgrade performance it is IMO better than buying the typical Gixxer or Ninja. They will lose you on the highway so if you're out too break land speed records don't buy a Buell. If you want to chew corners up and spit them out then buy a Buell.
Here is a link to the demise of my XB14R. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buel...tml?1154493673
The BadWeb is a pretty good Buell site and some very knowledgable people are on there.
Have fun.

[ProTeal55]

Nice streetfighter vanzuuk!
the CB caferacers are cool too! Just the brakes on those (or lack of ) is a neg.

I agree with ya 150% on the brakes being not so great. Thus I did a modern mster cylinder offa Busa, all braided lines, and added a 2nd caliper and rotor to the mix. Also cross drilled both rotors as well.

Now the thing stops HARD for a 30 year old bike. Still not as good as a newer rocket, but better than it was..