Buell was nothing but a Sportster Engine, Well Sorta... 

I have a Thunderbolt S3T, i love it! 2002 so the last year they had the hopped up Evo engine.

01 blast and 01 Cyclone owner right here Hopefully picking up a 01 X1 Lightning in a few days

I was a H-D Master Tech and did all the service schools for Buell in Milwaukee. I can say that H-D used the Buell as a test bed for many engineering and emissions requirements that were coming down the pipeline. Erik Buell was a great asset to them. It was sad to see him go.

I have a 2003 Buell XB9S. Great bike with about 92HP, also, it's a much much lighter bike. Dry weight of a sportster is around 553lbs, dry weight of an XB9S is around 385lbs. Instant power to weight ratio increase. The handling too is exceptional.

Both, I've built several Sportsters for performance (myself, I own my own shop) including my current 03R that exceeds 65 MPH in first gear, and anyone who thinks that's a lie come on by Uniontown Pa and I'll show you otherwise, and bring money, you won't be the first person who lost money to me thinking it's impossible for a stock stroke/bore 1200 to hit 65 MPH in first gear. I've also owned an XB9 Buell that on the winding mountain roads where I live will absolutely tear up my CBR929RR Honda Erion Racing Edition, unless that Honda gets some long straightaways to stretch it's legs out it doesn't stand a chance against the XB9, that Buell is the single most maneuverable motorcycle I've ever ridden in my life. First off concerning Buell's and the Harley engines they run the first real production street machine that Buell produced had the mighty XR1000 engine on it, these were leftover engines from after Harley canceled production of the XR1000 Sportster. After that Buell started using stock crate 1200 Evo engines for a time until he designed the Thunderstorm heads and pistons for the 1200 engines going on his bikes, these were basically an attempt to copy the Branch #4 head*, but of course Harley manufactured them in a way he didn't want them made, at the end of the day they didn't really work any better than the stock 1200 heads except the ports flowed a little better, where Harley screwed them up was to try casting the angled squish band into the heads, this won't work, they must be machined in to get the proper effect, the heads actually had a step at the outer edge of it's squish band, unfortunately this sloppy fit not only cancelled the effect of the squish band but it also turned it into a giant detonation trap that required the timing to be pulled back reducing potential power. The series of heads manufactured like that also had two different squish band angles, 10° and 15°, unfortunately Weisco only offered their pistons for both series of heads for the 10° heads further complicating matters and making potential power losses even worse. Next came the XB series engine, this is where the squish problem got straightened out by running a flat squish with the area on the head being machined in the style of a TC bathtub type chamber, which is a Branch #3 head*, the cases were redesigned to be for a dedicated use on Buells and the rotation of the cams were reversed (don't worry if you have an XB engine though, aftermarket cams will still work because the cam lobe profile is identical on both sides, however the cam driven by the pinion must have the gear pressed off and reinstalled so it's timing mark is oriented in the proper location but doing that is no big deal), the most advanced form of this engine being for the XB RR engines, they eliminated the traditional Sportster engine design oil pump and moved the gerator style pump gears directly onto the end of the pinion shaft eliminating the troublesome oil pump drive gear on the pinion shaft (if you have a Sportster built for performance or the regular XBR engine then get an aftermarket bronze drive gear that goes on the pinion shaft, problem solved). The XB9 engine is basically the same as an XB12 engine except that the stroke was shortened by ½" to make for a higher revving engine, Eric Buell had originally intended for the XB9 to be a turbo charged engine that would have produced around 120 HP, with the XB being as light and maneuverable as it is if the XB9 had been introduced in '03 with it's intended turbo and low cost (obviously it would have cost a little more with the turbo but still would have cost much less than any foreign motorcycle with less performance), but once again Harley had to step in and they screwed it up, Buell had cut a deal with the turbo manufacturer Aerodyne to produce their variable vane turbos for the XB9 and he had a working prototype bike and had everything ready to go, even the ECU's were already produced, then the IDIOT'S at Harley had to step in and and demand that they design the turbo system inhouse, they screwed it up so bad that when it came time to produce the bike the turbo had to be dropped and the XB9 wound up being manufactured with a normally aspirated engine, even though it was normally aspirated it's still a machine that will tear up any other motorcycle on a winding road, had Harley not stuck their noses in it the turbo XB9 would have been a motorcycle that'd be legendary, however if you have an XB9 putting a turbo on one is a fairly simple endeavor since the ECU's were already made to drive a turbo system they will still work when a turbo is bolted on, the XB12 is a different story since ECU work is required. After the XB series of bikes came the Rotax powered Buell's which was basically an XB with Buell's engine design manufactured by Rotax, an interesting part of the XB story is the the V-rod engine was originally supposed to be the powerplant for the XB, but when Porsche got done with it Buell didn't want it saying it was too big and heavy for his needs, so after paying Porsche all that money to develop it Harley was stuck with it and in an attempt to recover the money they designed that half assed chassis it wound up in. * Branch Flowmetrics is a company that was started by Jerry Branch an ex service manager at Memphis HD, he moved to Signal Hill California and started Branch Flowmetrics, they worked directly with the University of California Los Angeles and wrote engineering books concerning air flow through engines that are used in their engineering classes, students studying engineering are taken on tours through Branchs' facilities, Jerry Branch did research work for Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, NASA, Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and too many other companies to list, once he did research for Sears and Roebuck to redesign the ductwork in one of their vacuum cleaners, when they assembled their vaccum cleaner with his redesigned ductwork and turned it on it pulled down to the carpeting so hard it couldn't be moved, as a result they installed a less powerful motor in it and used that as a selling feature. It was Kawasaki that funded a research program by Branch in the 70's to develop a better combustion chamber for their racing team, it was this research that led to the development of angled squish bands and the different combustion chambers known as Branch #1, #2, #3 and #4 heads, when Harley developed the Evo engine from the ashes of the canceled Nova Project of the late 70's (which was contracted to Porsche) they fly Jerry Branch to Milwaukee every weekend to work on finalizing the head design for the Evo engine, he designed the ports and Harley selected the Branch #2 head combustion chamber for it which is the D shape that they use, he wanted them to go with the #4 head which that had the 30° squish band but Harley didn't want the expense of having to machine the angled squish band into the head, Harley selected the #3 Branch head "bathtub" style chamber for the TC engine. Jerry Branch finalized the ports and combustion chambers for every Harley engine, including the V-rod, since and including the Evo engine, even before the Evo he'd tried to tell Harley that the ports in their engines were too big and that velocity suffered as a result, they finally started to listen to him starting with the Evo, most likely this is because he did the heads for every XR750 factory racing engine and every single set of XR1000 engines made by Harley, they shipped every head for the XR1000's to his shop in California to be worked over by him. The only services ever offered to the public by Branch Flowmetrics are the performance modifications of Harley Davidson heads, despite having done heads and research for NASCAR and Indy racing teams along with many others the only service available to the public remains Harley Davidson head modifications, the research work he did for so many countless racing teams and others was just for the sake of collecting the data that resulted from them funding the research, he was THE master of flowing air/fuel mixtures through a port and combustion chamber and was an ace that us Harley riders have always had in our pocket, before he passed away several years back Jerry Branch had forgotten more about airflow than any one else will ever know, there's not a single engine manufacturer in the world that hasn't benefited from the exhaustive research that he did over the years, and it all started out with him being the service manager at Memphis HD pumping up engines for customers there including Elvis Presley, before he became famous and was just a poor high school kid with a constantly broken 2 stroke Harley Branch would fix Elvis' bike for him for free and Elvis never forgot that, after he became a famous star he demanded that every new Harley he bought for himself or the members of his Memphis Mafia were to be delivered to Graceland by Branch himself and that he give them riding lessons at his estate, legend has it that he paid him so well to do it that that's where Branch got the money to move to California and start his business, so the next time some poor high school kid needs help with his motorcycle help him out, because you never know.

Absolutely, his bikes for sure could compete on the world stage if he just got the backing and the support to develop them. I am very happy he's back in business even if it's only in exclusive limited numbers, hopefully this is just a starting point.

Hes built some of the best handling unique bikes ever made. The EBR1190 was an extremely underrated bike watching what it did in AMA superbike while limited by the ama rules and a small team in Wisconsin on a hair thin budget.

Have you ever met him ? Like most Motorcycle People , one of the nicest guys you could ever meet , has a kickass Rock Band too !

I think that when Harley-Davidson separated from the Buell program they made one of the most detrimental mistakes they could have ever made. Having your name attached to a partnership that makes the only American made Supersport Cafe styled bike is a winner of a deal. Eric Buell gave younger more aggressive riders one of the best canyon carving platforms ever built and used an engine that gave them such torque that transitioning chicanes was as simple as letting off and grabbing a wristfull of throttle. I have ridden just about ever brand of sport bike produced from 1986 to present day and nothing that I have ridden in an off the showroom floor format has ever handled in the twisties the way an XB 9R or XB 12R has. Those bikes were like riding on a 2 wheeled V-Twin monorail. I cannot count the number of times I scraped the pegs on the ground when my knee was touching tarmac in a turn because that bike went deeper than any other bike on the market and could leave a turn with the bike 45 degrees two different ways the front wheel reaching for the heavens while riding the outside of the rear tire. When Eric Buell leaves this realm for the next there will be no American made GP styled machines produced and the twisties of America will once again require a European or Asian bike to enjoy high speed knee dragging rips. He will forever live in infamy as the lone American Supersport motorcycle visionary.

He up there with the Britten guy.

They had a terrible CEO that knew nothing about motorcycles what so ever when he killed Buell off. He called them kid's toys that no one wants, he couldn't of been farther off the mark. That market was really gaining strength when he killed Buell.

They were hurting financially while Buell was turning a profit at the time they sold them out. But I think the Rotax powered Buell 1125R sportbike championship win was too much humiliation for HD to not screw Buell over. Egos were decimated on that win.

😂 but their new sportster release video is stunning, brave, non binary and rainbow flavored 😂

03 Buell owner since new and is still pissed it happened to the greatest thing that Harley had going. The bikes were phenomenal. Harley bought Ducati with no money coming in then very quickly had to liquidate everything.

Now harley wishes it could sell buell-like bikes. They are clueless and their customers are dying off.

That's awesome! You don't get that kind of service everywhere! Buell was so ahead of it's time and unfortunately Harley-Davidson is so slow to move forward with any kind of changes.

Erik Buell and his crew got royally screwed by Wandell when HD hired that asshat to be CEO. Wandell didn't know jack about Motorcycles. Wandell didn't like nor understood what Buells were about from Day 1. I don't think Wandell had even ridden a motorcycle, let alone a Harley,] before being brought in to be CEO! Like others have said, HD's previous CEO, Bleustein, used Buell "division" as a test bed or "skunkworks" for HD.

Just sold my S1 not too long ago. That’s the one I’ll be looking for next.

I have an 03 XB9s in my garage. The bikes are a real rarity here in Germany and the fan community is sworn in. I will take the bike to my grave!

The xb12ss is the best model made. The long is the most comfortable for some one from 5-10+ i wish i never sold mine. I had a red xb12ss with 9k miles and sold it for 3500 in 2019 😓

What color is yours?

Mine will be sepulture whith me. Xb12

I own a 2010 XR1200. I love it. It is a great South Florida bike. Owning a Supersport is silly due to our flat roads at sea level and they are north to south and east to west. It is not a easy bike to ride. I have been riding for over 40++ years. Sportbikes and sopermotos. In my opinion it is not a good streetbike. It is a 5 speed and with a 70mph speed limit on freeways everybody does well over 80. The XR is revving at 5000 RPM. Other Harleys are at around 2500 according to my friends and it depends on the model. That is why most XRs went to the track.

@@KevXRDuke I own an XR1200X and one of the mod’s that I did was the ‘Scotty Mod’ or change to a higher gearing. Now I’m not searching for an extra gear down the highway. It’s a fun bike. :)

@@raybanbunny ...I know exactly what you mean. Every bike that I have owned since the early 1980s had 6 gears. Even the Kawi 250 supermoto I had before the XR had 6 gears. Unlike the DRZ. Here in Florida I mostly ride around town and take short trips around Lake Okeechobee to open it up. I go out where there are no cars, people, cops or houses. I like the way it is geared. If I did go far distances I would definitely change the gearing. I have a friend who races one and obviously he converted to chain and changed the gearing to get more top end. I think he runs around 145. I did bump up my redline with my Power Commander to 7300 RPM. So it faster. 125 is easy. 130 in a full tuck on a straight road. It depends if I get on it. A 58 I still like to ride fast but I haven't gotten a ticket in well over 20 years. Lots and lots of warnings but I am trying to keep it that way. I will never sell my bike and it will go to my 12 year old son. He races supermoto and BMX.

It's really pretty basic stuff to get 100 horse out of the motors, they are a lot of fun to ride!

I loved the power they made down low and having that motor in a frame that handled was the icing on the cake.

Ever rode an 1125R/CR? For most part same bike except fairing and motor. Well that motor cost Buell the whole deal in my opinion. Constantly improving everything about the sporty motor and then throwing not HD motor at it that made HD motor into a statue?Pft! sadly Eric has resolved to get out of that world and was doing amazing things in the Electric MC/bike feild. Maybe he does so great the Livewire gets canceled.

@Scott Bridges I never have sadly. Always wanted a CR or one of the newer 1190s. I did end buying an 06 XB12Ss since I posted this comment. However I don't enjoy the Lightning like I did the Firebolt. Naked bikes just aren't for me I guess.

Same 😁

Thank you, a lot of people still think it was literally a XL motor in a sporty frame.

Well said!

Buell was way ahead of his time and he was a visionary that saw what the MoCo could be in 20 years. Now the MoCo is trying to pull it together and start doing what should of been done 20 years ago. As soon as I saw the first Pan America design my mind went right back to the Buell Ulysses.

Agree 100%, Harley will go private for the reasons you stated. They drug their feet on the new Sportster water cooled engine, it looks like a winner but it is to little to late to remain a major player. They also overpriced it above the competition, and the market it is selling to Brand Name is not the King as in the big twin cruisers. It is destined to, yep survive but being a basically a cottage brand name selling a handful of product annually.

Buell and the V-rod are two opportunities that HD just blew completley. However the turn around plan you offer isnt novel and has been the standard take for a decade. We'll see if it ever actually happens.

@@willstikken5619 perhaps hostile take over and scrap it or sell it.sad but HD has earned this. Declare bankruptcy.to get the investers out. Maybe reorganize. Perhaps a fire sale. Or hostile take over. As long as I can get parts I couldn't care less. Tons of aftermarket. ID love to see fresh oversight over the brand. Maybe the government would bail them out. Need another Iaccoca to save em.

Buells were not the most comfortable bikes, they had a hellacious riding position. The Ulysses adventure bike was probably their most comfortable bike, it was way ahead of its time though. The ADV market has exploded today, that bike was in on the ground floor back in its day when Harley axed it.

They were just way ahead of their time, right now I'd imagine Harley would love to have some of what Buell was doing for them.

Buell did a lot for the Sportster motor, I kinda feel like Harley piggy backed off his advancements and put them into production on the Sportster without giving Buell the credit he deserved.

@@GixxerFoo have been involved in motorcycles for the past 50 years and by far the upgrades Eric did to the crappy, at best, Sportster engine was epic. Basically he rebuilt the engine so it would not self destruct in a short period of time when ran hard.

Don Tilley did most of the upgrades on the motor for Eric and very few people know that

@@bigsea1306didn't know who the author of the changes was, but he did a good job in upgrading the frailty of the Sportster engine significantly. Listen to HD guys and they downplay the massive improvements to the Sportster engine, All Praise Harley, types that said it was simply a slight production change to make it simply different than a Sportster engine. But for some strange reason these were the same guys that cross decked Buell parts to personal Sportsters if the parts were available. Most Buells are being ran like hell and are still running, now how many Sportsters run hard from the same era have performed show and tell of their internals on the highway?

The Ulysses was ahead of it's time, Harley had a ADV bike just before that market took off and they canned it. The XB bikes were really onto something, you had a hot rod power to the ground Harley motor in a chassis that really handled. You could run with anything in the twisties, those motors were already at peak power turn to turn. A 4 cylinder sport bike you were shutting down just as the power came on.

Hi, is the 12X easier to handle than a BMW 1200/1250GS? I rode those in Europe many times on moto tours up in the Alps, and was marginal for me to handle at low speeds due mostly to weight/seat height and general layout. Frankly I think the GS is way overrated. I would love to get me an XB12x. I'm 5'7", 31" inseam. All my bikes were always Ducati's, starting back 35 years ago, but at this stage, I'm done with sport bikes. Looking for something unique (like Ducati was 30 years ago) and admire what Erik Buell have done to the sport.

@@jdesmo1 I think the Uly is probably easier to handle as long as it's one of the later one's or if an earlier model, has the upgraded steering head with the reduced radius fork locks. The Uly is quite a bit lighter and somewhat smaller than a GS and though tall, they're a little shorter than a GS. You may be better off with an XT for it's shorter seat height than the X bikes and I think the XT's all came equipped with the improved steering heads. Also, I think it may have been the '08 Uly's that experienced some crankshaft issues but not sure... Badweatherbikers.com would be a great resource for research and keep an eye on the classifieds section. These bikes have gotten to be very inexpensive ! Good luck with whatever you decide to do !

@@aabikrman agree with you totally. I think the crank issue was on the '07. Also in '08 they made improvements to the oiling system from knowledge gained through racing. I'd love to ride with you in that area of Colorado..what a great experience. I also have a 2010 12X. The thing about the 2008+ was most little bugs were worked, and the 2010 has the 3 bearing rear wheels. Still see the old Buell staff quite often as I live a couple of miles from East Troy.

@@jdesmo1 hello mate, i can tell you something about it. I often drive the 1200gs professionally and have an xb12x privately. the gs is much easier to drive than the buell. the chassis tuning is like on rails and very safe with bmw. this is a clear difference in contrast to the buell. you first have to get used to the buell, but after that it's no longer an issue and it can be beaten through the curves just like the safe GS1200. in my opinion, the xb12 engine is significantly livelier, more powerful and has more torque than the bmw engine from comparable years. So if you want a bike with character and a unique engine, the buell is for you. When buying, just pay attention to the year of construction, as some years of construction had problems with the oil pump sprocket. regards

They are some awesome bikes, they should of kept on developing them and they wouldn't be struggling to get new riders today!

There's a pretty strong aftermarket now on those bikes, but some of bike specific parts are hard to come by these days.

I just rebuilt my engine (I mean a shop did, not me) and had some other goodies installed after I almost died last year. The bike rides 100% now and I am loving it this summer. 2009 XB12Ss. Bought a 'shitty' example and took 2 years of sourcing parts here and there and a bunch of money. I'm on the east coast (PEI). Best mod on the bike is the FatBob LED horizontal headlight unit. Night driving is now a breeze.

St. Paul HD has just about everything u need.

The XB's brakes are insane! I had a GSX-R 1000 back in 2005 when I was introduced to a XB, the guy who owned it could fly in the twisties with us. I swapped bikes with him one day and I swear that thing handled better than my Gixxer.

I still remember the Sportster Performance Series in pro flat track when they ran 883's. Now they've got the Hooligan racing but you've got to run the stock frame.

That's some serious RAW power right there, these newer bikes are a lot smoother. The new ones don't feel like they want to tear you off the back like the older bikes did.

Got to call a Bravo Serra on this one 390 pounds, is that without the engine? Worked on a early Sporty, the Iron Heads didn't flow worth a shit and this issue was compounded by the compression crown of the piston to get compression. The Iron Heads retained heat badly so pre-ignition was a constant issue. The 4 speed gearbox wasn't all that reliable and NEEDED another gear or a much wider ratio. Had a old 67 Triumph 650 for years and till I sold her EVERY Sportster encountered came out second best. And yes it weighed in at a true 390 lbs.

I remember receiving the edition of "Cycle" (or "Cycle World"...I still enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures) with that beautiful Sportster on the cover (I believe it was entitled "The Aluminum Steam Roller"...if memory serves me correctly) and how the owner raced it on the track against KZ's (and winning). If I recalled correctly, it posted a mid 10 second quarter mile at around 130 mph. That black bike with the XLCR tank (with gold Harley-Davidson classic badge), massively finned Sputh Cylinder heads and cylinders, dual Del-Ortos, flat track tail section with cafe bars and front fender in one of the most beautifully bad-ass motorcycles to ever grace a magazine cover. Congratulations on your prize XL.

@@thomasheer825 Well, I weighed my SPUTHE Sporty on a Scale, came in at about 390....that was a scale used to weigh materials at a welding store, a scale with weights, not a 'spring' type scale...it was certified to be 1% accurate. It has a very light Honda 400 front fork/wheel/disc brake...aluminum oil tank that I made, a 3# battery, a 2# Steve Fredricks alternator...stock 72 Sporty gas tank...minimal rear 'fender', just enough to hold a license plate...kick-start only. S&S flywheels, rods and 3-5/8" pistons. Stock Sporty frame (so it's registered and insurance as a 'stock' 72) and swingarm. I have a couple pics if you would like to see.

@@stillbill6408 thanks! I contacted Alan Sputhe as soon as I read that article. I was living in Los Angeles and met with him just days later, and he built me an engine...it was 3rd or 4th one...his Shop assistant Joel Yamazaki was building a bike with the same type engine, serial# of heads preceding mine...Joel was planning on a 'turbo' on that one.

Buell is an amazing engineer, he always thought out of the box. Lol the guy is even a musician with his own band. If I had money to burn I would pay 25K for a new Buell XB today, as long as they threw in a new set of tires cause I'd still be a cheapskate with 25K to burn lol.

Erik Buell created a remarkable bike considering what he had to work with. Unfortunately it was just not my type of bike. I wouldn't mind having a Buell Ulysses, but you can't get parts for them anymore. Still, ALL Buells with the Sportster based engine were light years ahead of the EBR 1190RX, which he designed and built under the EBR name. While I am not a sport bike guy (I got my first cruiser at age 18, and am still riding them, with a couple of Goldwings thrown in) At least they had some soul and character. The 1190RX was just like it's Japanese counterparts, devoid of anything but spec sheet performance. IF I wanted to do sport riding, I'd get a single cylinder supermoto.

$25,000 asking price for a Buell? GTFO.

@@frankcastle5294 It's been sitting there for years. Carolina Coast Harley Wilmington NC.

@@carlbruhn1772 I believe you and I've been past that dealership. On the old north/south US 17. They're insane. I own a brand-new-in-crate XB12 lightning never even dealer prepped and it's not worth half that much.

Thanks for watching! Yeah they found out that steel one liked to blow up, it's a must have swap on the XL if you're building one of those motors up.

That blows my mind how a regular Sportster would cost more, I imagine if he Buell was sold under the bar and shield name it would command more money.

I look for the Buell Lightning (both the old and new) everyone in a while. Here in Kansas they must be well loved or very scarce. Rarely see one on the road. (last sighting was over a year ago).

Sadly that's basically what happened, Harley bought about 49% originally of Buell's company and owned almost 100% by the end. I can only imagine how Buell felt having a company and idea he created that was selling a lot of bikes crushed.

@@GixxerFoo He should think about hiring a real Shark to run the business side and really just stick to the creative side. There's definatly a market for what he does. Breaking into corners is my strength so i'd love to try his later models!

@@Jimmy_Jim_Jim_1234 Or go to work for Indian to really stick it to HD.

@@exexpat11 That would be funny.

@@exexpat11 He did go to work for Polaris and was let go after about a year or two. He was not there very long.

No problem, the Rubber mounts have excellent heads! A Hammer 1275, 10.5:1 compression pistons, Hammer 560 cam, good exhaust and a dyno tune will make it happen.

The Buell is way lighter and a much more rigid chassis than the XR, I'd take the Buell over the XR for handling and performance.

I would almost guarantee it boiled down to cost savings.

The Uly was really ahead of it's time! Funny Harley realized they needed an ADV and they essentially had one before.

The XR1000 actually is what started Buell, when the 1000 Buell didn't sell Buell got the left over engines. That's how he got started basically, not he XR1200 that was all Harley. Although the XR1200 actually had quite a bit of Buell tech, down draft injection and hotter cams. Harley had more freedom with the style of the bike and the two into two factory system. Shame that XR1200 didn't take off in the States, it was one of the best Sportsters ever built.

@@GixxerFoo I really can not agree with you more ! In my modest opinion the XR1200 is the bike which carries the name SPORTSTER as justly as it gets. After all it really is a sportbike, a naked sport bike as we would call it here in Europe, since the bike comes without any fairing...

Sorry the Sportster engine was FAR INFERIOR, dealt with both and yes parts would interchange for the most part, but and a big BUT. Take a Sportster down and take a Buell down and you can easily see that the Buell engine was much stronger built. Harley would have done well to simply dump their engine and go 100% Buell engine from the get go. Simply Eric fixed the major FLAWS in Piss Poor Design from the HD engineering department.

@@thomasheer825 No one here was going to question the quality of Buell motorcycles… this subject is undisputed. Eric Buell's skills to make something out of nothing and his quest for perfection will not be a question for anyone. The approach of Gixxerfoo was actually to address the familial role between the different engines and their developments that they have endured. I am therefore convinced that the final Buell versions of the Harley Davidson Sportster engines have been improved on more than 1 point. It is in line with expectations that the Harley Davidson XR1200 engine is built on the basis of the Buell engines available at the time, much more than that an XR1200 engine descends from the standard Sportster XL1200. It worked out very well in terms of timing: Harley Davidson had disbanded Buell not long before the development of the XR1200, so all of Buell's technology was available to Harley Davidson and so not long after Buell was discontinued, the Harley Davidson XR1200 appeared on the scene... all very coincidental, or not! Since Buell Motorcycles had been doing business (separate from Harley Davidson) for several years with the Austrian company Rotax for their really fast modern water cooled engines that were built into Buell's motorcycles later on, Harley Davidson was introduced to the Rotax engine factory at the time. This relationship has proven to be valuable because the latest generation Sportster S engines and the Sportster Pan Am engines both come from Austria (Europe) from Rotax engine block company. And so the circle is complete again

Enjoy the bike and forget about the torque and HP #. Use how it feels riding it to figure out how you feel about the power and speed. You'll enjoy it way more than you will hearing somebody with a turbo charged Hayabusa break down those numbers.

They are getting hard to find these days. Aftermarket support is really strong on those bikes too. Lol to get one l may just have to load up the truck and road trip it.

I must admit I am a bit jealous, that makes that long commute just that much better. Better than my 40 minute drive this morning in the truck.

@@GixxerFoo I only get 2 or 3 months where the mornings are warmish enough so I gotta make do while I can. The other months can be quite miserable

Yes it was! Lol with that short wheel base I would be afraid to put a passenger on there. Your passenger better know how to ride to cause the front end going up.

For sure, with that ceramic coating it dissipated the heat! I am huge fan of ceramic coating. Xb12x was the pinnacle of Buell with the 1200 motor.

GixxerFoo yeah mine has the thunderstorm engine just before the last 2009 I believe mine has silver coating yet the 2009 I think has black cylinders ..

It's one of the biggest corporate blunders ever, they wouldn't be in the position they are now if they would of started expanding their line in 2009.

@@GixxerFoo It was the idiot new "CEO" they hired him from Johnson Controls , all he wanted was a "golden parachute" Suck a huge amount of money out of the Company & retire/get let go , he just wanted $$$$ had no real interest in the future of the Company , only his own .

Thank you, I appreciate the support!

Harley wouldn't of been hit so hard if they would of let Buell draw in new riders years ago. Buell was what got me interested in Harley, l thought they were dumb till l rode one. Once you learn that power on the Buell is all down low usable power that come on quick you forget about the top speed figures.

@@GixxerFoo for sure. Now that willie g is out of the picture, harley can finally catch up. It's because of willie g and his obsession with tRaDiTiOn, that harley never had liquid cooled motors along with other modern technology we should have already incorporated into Harleys bikes. I'm a harley mechanic and I don't own a harley, for good reason, and I love harley. But I'm going to wait to see what they replace the m8 with now that they have the revolution max. It would be awesome to see a big twin version of the revolution max motor on a road king.

Since Buell Motorcycles had been doing business (separate from Harley Davidson) for several years with the Austrian company Rotax for their really fast modern water cooled engines that were built into Buell's motorcycles later on, Harley Davidson was introduced to the Rotax engine factory at the time. This relationship has proven to be valuable because the latest generation Sportster S engines and the Sportster Pan Am engines both come from Austria (Europe) from Rotax engine block company. And so the circle is complete again

I would honestly rather see Harley reach out for assistance and build a solid product rather than a disastrous in house design. Just like when Internationa built diesels for Ford. Rock solid and unkillable, then Ford brought it in house and well that was bad lol.

@@dutchyjhome I thought HD claimed Revolution Max to be THEIR engine, although I have been suspicious of that claim all along. What is the evidence of a Rotax connection?

That's true they could be fit to the cases, but they for sure weren't going to just swap over.

@@GixxerFoo nope If your doing a all out engine build on a Xl or early buell I would recomend the stronger crank

I wish I would of bought one back when they were everywhere, now they are getting hard to find. Either tore up or in such great shape you don't want to put the miles on it lol.

@@GixxerFoo I actually bought mine in December 2004. It was awesome!! I put a k&n filter, race ecm, technelusion box, and a Drummer pipe on it!! Everytime I went to the track or on our secluded road!! Lol Everyone loved hearing it at high rpm and top speed!! It handled so great on the track!! I myself couldn't or wouldn't push it to it's limits!! Lol The best upgrade were the Pilot Power tires!! The stock Dunlops were awful!! Trail braking in a corner one time!! The bike just stood up!! I went off track in 3rd gear!! I had to seat bump a ditch at Putnam Park road course!! Lol

I ran pilot powers too, awesome tires! That Buell so little rake is was dangerous lol. Reminded of the old CBR 900 with the 16 inch front tire it turned so fast.

Comments are some the best places to find some answers, just down right interesting sometimes.

That's an awesome spread on bikes! I wish I had a stable like that in my garage!

Plus it handled!

That's gonna be a fun bike to ride, for sure unique!

@@GixxerFoo I just bought a 1200s 👊😜

Thank you! Those bikes were just way ahead of their time!

It was in the beginning and there towards the end it was just a concept of it.

Buells are a very unique experience, there's honestly nothing else to really compare it to. I got to ride a few and I kick myself for not buying one.

I have a '98 thunderbolt st3. Very quick. Do you know what heads they put in them?

@@ericforsberg6542 I think that would be the thunderstorm heads.

@@GixxerFoo Even though thunderbolt was more of a touring model the xb was match more civilised 😂🤣🤪

They were similar but for sure not the same bike.

Those bikes are a lot of fun! Getting hard to find these days.

Yeah it would of! I would've loved to seen what he would of done with that motor. That new Buell Super Cruiser is a good example of what could of been with a Harley motor.

buy sv 1000 you will have the same max performance at lil higher rpm 😉👌🏻

Now they are trying to walk that very same mistake back today.

Still infusing his engineering ideas into the Milwaukee 8 platform. They should have turned over all engineering, research and development to him. That would cut that budget by 80% due to his efficient and hire right people instead of labeled people for the job then tell these people what you need form them and et them do it. Harley is ran by ego and megalomania.

That's what I'm talking about, I love Hammer products!

@@GixxerFoo the product, the customer service, the tech info. A hard 26k miles NO problems NONE!!!!!!!!!

Aaron and Dan are awesome, l have never seen a company so truly interested in the success of your build. They aren't there to just take your money and not answer the phone.

That's awesome, they are some fun bikes!

I've got one that explains what happens with sumping and the oil pump here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ISB0V0OfuDw.html

That is true, they did increase the pin diameter.

That Roadster came out about 6 months after I bought another Sportster. I would of probably gotten the Roadster had it been out when I got my new one.

Thunderstorm heads were the ultimate Sportster upgrade! Now you can the heads off a 2007 or newer model which are even better. You can even put the FI heads on a carb bike, Hammer makes a wider manifold to adapt a carb to them.

There were quite a few difference, Harley took some of the specs and started offering kits for the Sportsters.

Yes and no, it does share some things that are compatible with a sportster but the crank and cases are not one of them. The cams will fit a Sportster they are just installed in reverse order for the XB, heads, cylinders and pistons will work but the front mount on the heads the bolt size is different. But for all intents and purposes the XB was about as far from Harley as they got.

Those heads are hard to find these days!

I was keeping it on the difference between the XL and the Buell engine. The XR had a lot of Buell tech, down draft injection and a high capacity air box. I believe they ran the .551 cam in it as well, the two into 1 to 2 exhaust helped a lot as well.

They are some good looking bikes, still the rigid too! They had some Buell tech in those which made them hotter than the standard XL at the time.

They sure did! We see it on pretty much every metric sport bike today! Pretty much all the Screamin Eagle Sportster parts came from Buell.

Way heavier too

@@calincampbell5637 not by much when you diet it.

That was such a neat bike, but they used the standard sportster cases and it was heavier. It's a shame it didn't catch on in the US, it was very popular in Europe though.

@@GixxerFoo XR's are wonderful bikes and out of the 500 or so bikes that i've owned in my 55 years of riding...arguably the most pleasant and enjoyable bike for those evening short hops and day trippin'. Odd thing was that here in the US...people for decades were asking for a street version of the XR750 GN flat tracker. So when H-D finally builds what they think the people want, it sells like wildfire in Europe it's first year of production in 2008, where they all were shipped to. US result for 2009-2012 models? Dealers couldn't give them away. Go figure

Right? They even had the XR1200 series in road racing. That was pretty cool to watch. Like with anything Harley they quit making it and it becomes popular.

Glad you enjoyed it!

742wezzi

2004 to present are the same bottom ends, just in 2007 they all went fuel injected but the lower end remained the same.

Danny Eslick, I used to race flat track against him when we were kids. He was fast as all hell back then. The 1125 was the liquid cooled Rotax motor, Buell had 150 horse Sportster based engine before that in the XBRR.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

That makes perfect sense, the $2500 Stage 4 Sportster kit brings the XL as close to Buell as possible for an XL. It's pretty much everything the Buell had stock, well except for down draft injection.

That one actually had the lightning heads on it with the dual plug setup.

Thanks, will do!

Thank you! They are making Buells again, he got some investors backing him and they are building them in limited numbers. Hopefully it takes off and he can start mass producing again.

@@GixxerFoo Eric is not involved with Buell any more. He moved on a long time ago to electric cycles. He has publicly announced this in the hope of preventing the false information that is prevalent in this comment section. He even says it himself specifically. The new Buell is the old Buell purchased from the liquidators. Plenty of information out there about it.

Not Buell, Buells. The latest iteration of the company has zero Eric Buell involvement. He was not invited to the party after the last investment group sod him out. EBR is not Eric Buell's and has not been since 2014ish. Same company bought the assets from HD relaunched without him. Don't want to omit that their improvements to the 2014 ebr were of his his yet to be executed changes from that 2014 end of Buell. So many coat tailed this guy, I hope he makes E motorcycle so great they try again to get him in their design and engineering and he just says NO! Maybe his newest adventures put and end to the Livewire.

Buell's had some very aggressive riding positions, they were more over the bars than anything out there. Lol they had so little front end rake and that radial front brake they were dangerous for someone inexperienced. When I rode an XB it reminded me of the old CBR 900 with the 16 inch front wheel that turned on a dime. A lot of people got hurt on those 900RR's, Honda made that a one year deal.

@@GixxerFoo I completely agree.

They made a long version of the lightning for taller guys.

Xb12SS model is the longer taller lightning version. Although I'm 6'2" and im very comfortable on the standard xb 12s with thr 1" lowered pegs

It depends on the year of XL but they will fit, sometimes you have to do some clearance work but it can be done.

First couple years they had some issues, but after that they had it worked out it seemed like.

Thank you, I appreciate it!