1998 Buell reviews

I bought this bike from an HD dealer in 2018. It had 765 original miles on it. The dealer put new tires, fork seals, and battery before I took it. Well it carberated so takes a while to warm up. But it is nice to ride. Good and peppy above 3500 rpm. Hard to find neutral even after adjusting the clutch. But...I love this bike. Now in 2019, it runs well. What more can I ask of a 21 year old bike. Show less

This is a '96 S1 I've owned since it was purchased in 2001 with 3000 miles. It has always been the ONE streetbike I've wanted, and is also the only bike I've owned. The XB's are more refined, more reliable, and are more stable but don't have the rough and rowdy character this old beast exudes in spades. The operating costs are fairly severe if rode hard and often...both in tickets and maintenance issues. The worst of which have been a couple complete charging systems, blown rear head gasket, and a broken cylinder head (broke at the mount and led to a needed top end rebuild). It is usually used for short commutes but has done a few long trips...the longest a 1500 mile 3 day trip from NY to FL. The seat has about 100 miles of tolerable comfort. These are most reliable left stock, but most fun worked over! After all these years she still puts a big smile on my face everyday. Show less

I own a 1997 S1 lightning and it rates a 5+ on my scale. Curvey rodes and launches from the start are with an ease of the throttle. No cranking of the rpms is needed and the torque is always ready to pull you off the seat. This bike is so much fun, its like a large dirt bike that has the refined movement of a street bike...and the best thing is the service charges are alot cheaper than other bikes of its class. Show less

As far as the fun factor of this bike is concerned its at least 5+ stars but due to the inherent design flaws, which were fixed not exactly for free (it was at a cost of a few weeks to a month down time, but not a dollar more!) I have to rate this bike at high 4 stars. Along with the fun factor, the bike's ease of maintenance is unprecedented in modern sport bikes. The valves require no adjusting (unlike its competitors, DUCATI?), and the parts are definitely cheaper because the engine and a lot of the other components were borrowed from the sportster which has been around since the Wright brothers (almost). This is my opinion only, and if you're in the market for a good used Buell, or even a new one for that matter, I say go for it and let the HOOLIGAN in you out to be free Show less