Test rode the new Buell Ulysses today

[vintagecycle]

So, two days ago I stopped at my local HD/Buell dealership to see the new Uly. I was approached by a salesman and we chatted breifly about the bike. He told me stop by sometime with my helmet so I could ride one. Cool.
Well, I went back today on the R, with my helmet of course. The dealership was not busy at all, just a few people browsing the HD clothes area. I stood around the Uly parked outside, sat on it, just couldn't seem to get noticed by a salesman. I then went inside AGAIN and paced about the showroom, and sat on the showroom bike, a "salesman" walked past me and went up to a guy looking at HD's and asked him if he had any questions, and the guy said no. So I approached the so-called "salesman" and asked if they were offering test rides on the Ulysses, (even though I had been told by the other guy two days before to bring in my helmet and take one for a ride) he says, "No, not really. Not unless somebody is really serious about buying one." I replied, "no, not really???" He says, "yep." I told him that that was a real nice attitude to sell motorcycles with, and that the other salesman told me two days ago to come on in with my helmet and take one for a ride. He went on to say that the other guy doesn't know what he's talking about and that "he's not in charge" He continues to tell me that they don't have a demo bike and if they put miles on the bike they would have to sell it as a used bike.
I told him that he needs to get all of the sales people on the same page and about how Buell's marketing encourages test rides.
After he realized that he pissed me off, he says, well, I guess I can let you ride it, what kind of ride did you have in mind? I just stared at him for a few seconds and asked if he had any suggestions. He gave me directions, but I wasn't even listening to him anymore. I was thinking about just hopping on the R and splitting. I said to him, you have my info, if want to just call me when Buell is doing their next Demo days, I'd be happy to come back. He said "no, no, no, I want you to ride it."
As I threw a leg over the bike I was still pissed off with the jerk and was barely even interested in riding the bike anymore.

So, I rode the thing but just didn't enjoy it, it was faster than the R, more flickable, but it shook like a bucket of bolts, had some sort of low end stumble (fuel injection maybe?) brakes sucked compared to my R's non-abs, even with the fancy diameter front disc, footpegs vibrated/buzzed annoyingly too. The front end gets light when accelarating hard through the gears, but in an unsettling, nervous, twitchy kind of way. Strange.

I cut my ride short and brought it back to the dealer and handed d-bag the key. At this point he starts appoligizing about the "mis-communication"...blah blah blah.....I thanked him for the test ride and walked to my R and split. As I rode away, my R felt smoother, more refined and composed, and jst feels like a better handling machine.

What a joke. If Buell is to survive, they need to get the hell out of HD dealerships and employ real salespeople, not HD order takers who don't know a GD thing about selling anything.
Having worked at a large MC (BMW) dealership that encouraged test rides and trained the staff on sales skills, I just couldn't believe how I was being treated. I think I'll keep my R awhile longer.
<End-of-rant>

[The Kurch Man]

Too bad about the sales person - but typical for so many dealerships. As for the bike - I saw one at a dealership in KY last month, but did not have time to test ride one (if they would have let me). Seemed like HD did some homework with the bike, and the price point (I seem to remember it being less than $12K). The rep at the KY dealership (not knowing I was on the 1150 since they had an open 'mad' house) told me that it was 'not' a BMW and that it still had a ways to go to get there...a real honest opinion.

I agree 100% in that they need to get Buell out of the HD dealerships - they are polar opposites in so many ways and so many dealers make no attempt to sell them, or educate anyone about them.

Thanks for the recap. I'd still like to ride one and might just do it - providing I am in the right dealer I suppose.

[vintagecycle]

Perhaps I was looking for things to be wrong with the bike too, since I was not a happy camper due to the experience. I may go to another dealer and try it again. The R1150R really is a great bike though. I just like the idea of venturing down some dirt roads on occasion but don't want to shell out the money for a 1200GS.
I'm still considering keeping the R and picking up a used Suzuki DRZ400 for off road adventures.

[socalrob]

Vintage, great post. I've tooled my RR down a couple of dirt roads. Its basically a GS with smaller dia. front wheel & less suspension travel. Was fun to slide it a bit, but the weight & the cost factor of really laying her down does dampen the fun. I would look to a GS for riding down maintained dirt roads, not really a single track bike (not at my age & skill level anyway, not saying it can't be done).

I think a dirt bike should Not weigh over about 250 lbs unless you are a truly skilled rider & not afraid of breaking some bones. As I wanted to dirt ride with my son, & I'd have to trailer his bike anyway, I picked up a Honda XR400 not street legal bike for myself. Its alot of fun, plenty strong for this 47 year old, pulls power wheelies, & I can slide it about. I crashed it pretty hard with no damage to the bike, & minimal to me. Its all the dirt bike I need at my age. I think your on track with the DRZ idea. My only advice on current model dirt bikes is that some of the new 4 strokes (like the newish Honda CR450 (or is it CRF450?)) are really high tech, with things like really short skirt slipper pistons & other things that look like maintenance trouble to me. They are made to feel like 2 strokes with high rev limits. The Honda shop mechanic actually scared me off the CR's. I don't need that much power, & liked the tried & true XR, its not even water cooled. No battery. Not much to go wrong.

[Pat]

Dan,
I looked one over pretty good at the Livermore Harley'ship today. I actually liked what I saw, but I wasn't tall enough to see what the top of the bike looked like....... The danm thing is as tall as my chin!!!

I remember taking the new Buell out for a spin a couple years ago while on a Poker Run in Auburn. The gal sang the praises of the brakes, told me why it wasn't necessary to have two discs up front, etc.... She warned me of it's "power", told me to be careful, and I set off for my little test ride.

Did I like this little key-fob of a tiny 1200cc bike? Did I like the big single disc brake up front that seemed to torque/twist the fork? Was I wary of the awesome power all of those two cylinders and the massive 1200 cc's?

Like you, I got back onto my '02 Roadster after the test ride, and smiled knowing that the Beemer Roadster is vastly superior to virtually any other "Roadster" out there.

But bikes is bikes, and I happen to like all sorts-a-bikes, even those not quite as good as "the best"...... whatever THAT happens to be at the time.

[R4R&R]

I'd ove to have a Buell in the near future - not to replace my R but supplement it as a day-trip machine. Thanks for the heads up - I guess I can safely take a test ride without worrying about being hooked.

Right now my next bike will be a Buell. The overall package may not be as nice as the R, but I'll bet the shorterm fun-factor is high.

[The Kurch Man]

I forgot about the height. You are 100% accurate - the thing needs a running board to get on it (my inseam is 30 inches and it seemed real high to me).

The dealer told me that they had a 'shorter' seat that would knock it down a bit, but if I recall, it was only an inch or two and in doing so, you ended up with a less comfortable seat (according to the dealer). I don't know that an inch or two would make that much of a difference (OK - minds out of the gutter for all those that feel differently - I am talking seat height here).

I still want to take it for a spin either way - hopefully they have a step stool to help me get on it.

[Pat]

I'm a former Sportster 1200 owner..... still lusting after these new Buells.

THIS thing is seriously cool; I'd LOVE to see one with the bags mounted up!

A guy wouldn't buy this because he expects it to be a smoooooth grand tourer, but it's GOTTA have some potential! I'm really anxious to find out what kind of rider will find good things to say about it.

I would have one in a heart-beat......
if I was 6' 9" with long legs.

Anybody got a picture of what the top of the bike and instrument cluster looks like? My 5' 2"ness and 24" inseam had NO CHANCE of checking it out the way I would like to have......

[BMRBIKR]

Pat......come by the house...I have a compact, 24''....fold up ladder.....

.....you can have it..... (it always pinches my fingers........)


.....I swear...it'll bungee on the trumpet!

[tipstall]

I thought about one of these for my first bike, before I found the R and understood anything about BMW motorcycles.

I went to the local HD store that is fairly large. I never found a Buell there. No salesperson every came up to me, I figured it was because I drove up in a truck and not on an HD. My wat of thinking is the guy in a truck needs a bike more than I guy on a bike. I gave up and started looking elsewhere.

Since I'm selling the XL250 I'm looking for a used XR400 or 650. I drove a freinds full blown 4 stroke 450 fire breather, as I grabbed second I started to think what my hospital room would look like. Don't get me wrond I like fast, I'm just old enough to know when to say when. My son on his XR100 stays in second most of the time anyway.

[sweatmark]

Vintage, interesting comments about the H-D/Buell dealer experience. Mirrors my own... there's no respect for Buell fans while at the H-D shop, even if you're already a Buell owner.

Last year I bought a Buell XB that's become my run-errands grocery-getter, track-day "fun" bike. The little Buell -it's tiny compared to our Roadsters- gets lots of attention (both good & bad), is fun to ride when configured correctly, definitely requires suspension adjustment, and should be cheap to own in the long run, in spite of its high (for what'cha get) purchase price.

Even being "part of the family" doesn't get ya any respect at the H-D stores... unfortunately, the Buells are an oddity in the Harley cruiser world, and even the better dealers have trouble maintinaing the proper Buell attitude. My Buell dealer, largest in Oregon, seldom gets my upgrade parts requests right, and I've had to dig a bit to find a few actual enthusuasts within the sales & service staff; the American Sports Bike is still a red-headed stepchild in the Harley Chromeworld.

The Sportster motors in these things work OK for real world riding: good torque, almost no maintenace, and the XB's smoother than my R at speed (never mind the San Andreas Shimmy while idling - you gotta embrace that "charming" performance quirk when becoming a Buell owner). Also, there's a certain Hot Rod appeal to the tractor motor's thrum when on the throttle... makes me smile, but perhaps I've been programmed by years of H-D Marketing savvy.

Haven't ridden the Uly yet, but looking forward to a test ride. Regardless of the riding impressions, I plan to keep both the Roadster and the Buell to satisfy different and disparate moto-requirements.

[yjleesvrr]

I've never ridden the Buell, nor have I ever experienced the EVO motor which is what the Buells and Sportsters have. I can tell you that the Twin Cam motor in my full-sized HD smooths out considerably when going down the highway - so much so that it is actually smoother than the boxer at 80 mph, believe it or not.

Anyway, on one side of the spectrum are the sewing-machine smooth inline 4's that rev to kingdom-come, and the other is the single crank pin 45 deg. Harley motor that taps out at a rather automotive 6k rpm. The boxer happens to sit somewhat closer to the Harley side of the spectrum than the inline-4, IMO. To me, there is nothing wrong with that.

[mistercindy]

Too bad you had a bad experience. The Harley dealership near me certainly doesn't highlight the Buells. A little over a year ago they had them upstairs in a jury-rigged showroom that you wouldn't even know was there unless you asked. Now they're off in a corner that takes up maybe on-tenth of the floor space. And half the dealership is devoted to clothing, and I didn't see one stitch with a Buell label, rather than a HD label. Its obvious that Buells aren't high on the HD marketing agenda. And that's a shame, because if HD want to increase their market to the non-cruiser type riders, like me, it'll likely be with a Buell, not a Harley.

But in terms of attitude, everytime I've walked into the HD dealership I've been met with pleasant, low-pressure smiles. I've always felt very welcome.

Another aside. I've found most dealerships are skittish about letting people ride bikes. Particularly new bikes. Used bikes usually aren't as big an issue.