Buell Dirt Bike reviews

I bought the 2003 Buell Bast as my first bike. So far, its been great and I ride it to work everyday. These are great bikes to start off with and I plan on keeping mine. You will get over the vibration and the clunk noise they make getting into first gear. For the money, its a great commuter bike. You will find that Buell goes a long way to welcome you into their family. My local H-D dealer made sure I was happy with the deal before I signed. Check one out. You just might be suprised. Show less

I don't really know how to work this cumputer or I would send pictures of my 2001 x1 lightning. I had my share of problems from mine at first after adding tons of add ons and working the bugs out I would not trade it for anything. Show less

I've owned about 15 bikes over the last twenty years, including BMW's, Hondas, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha's. I've raced street and dirt, so I believe I know a little about motorcycles, and I rate my buell as the funnest bike I've owned. Its not the fastest in straight line...but who cares...when was the last time you could go 170mph with out getting a ticket or for more than 1 second before you got scared that a truck was going to turn left in front of you?? So see, straight line performance is worthless in the real world of canyons. Now my X1 eats up the canyons here in Colorado, and with flat massive amounts of torque, I smoke all comers. I also love the styling....as one mag. put it....the "I hate everybody but my rider look" Yeah Baby!!! The unfortunate thing is that Buell is not continuing to develop the Evo powered line any more. They are concentrating on the XB line, which has a very aggressive seating position that I just can't handle. So they've lost a future customer with me, I'll just keep the X1 for as long as it last. j- Show less

I recently purchaed this bike and had the race kit installed. It has plenty of torque and power.I had owned ducatis to gsxrs , and this by far is the most fun bike to ride. It is so nimble and compact. Only reason I'm not giving it five stars i would like a little more power, but for a v twin the bike is awesome. Show less

Just got my first ride on this bike and it definitely impressed. The belt drive left the biggest impression on me as it is way smoother than a chain. I also rode a Lightning that did not have the race prep and it was noticeably slower. The Firebolt feels much faster than my current Ducati 900SS if that is any comparison. Overall the bike felt very tight and well put together. Plenty of power and tourque. Show less

don't make the mistake of thinking of this as a racing bike. This is a bike to be ridden on the street, or better yet, a twisty road. The power is where you can use it, the riding position is comfortable. You do not need to rev it to the red-line to get to its power. I had a rocker box leak that I was able to fix myself in about an hour with tools on hand ad about $12 in parts from a Harley dealer. The rear shock started leaking about a year ago. don't fault the folks in Troy though. the shock was from Showa (Japan), and Buell stood by it, even though the bike was no longer under warranty. Bottom line, this is a fun bike that is a joy to own and ride. It gets noticed, and you can ride it all day. Show less

Nothing says speed like a racing bike, and nothing says power like a Harley-Davidson! So what better a marriage than the Buell motorcycles? We can run with the racing bike crowd but turn heads toward our ride with that gutteral, masculine to the quick *potata*potata* sound of a Harkey-Davidson. The seat's big enough for a passenger (even one with some extra bottom) to sit comfortable and the rear foot pegs are low enough for even tall passengers to fit. No more sitting on the fender or hip flexor cramps!! Definately give this bike a try!! Show less

This bike is awesome. i have a few up grades, but it is lightining fast. Roll on wheelies are no problem. Did have the ole' harley oil leak at 2500 miles but it was under warranty and only took my dealer 1/2 a day to fix. This bike is super cool and a real head turner. Eats Jap bikes for lunch off the red lights. Hope you enjoy your buell as much as i enjoy mine, and keep it paint side up. Show less

I purchased my Firebolt this May and have since put about 5,000 miles on it, and I still have mixed feelings about it. For one thing it is way too expensive, and definately should not be classified as a sportfighter. It doesn't have the horsepower or torque to compete with any 600cc or larger sportbike on the road. This includes in town where the torque should help or in long straight aways. Even worse, I live in the coldest city in the continental US and it overheats. They put a lot of money and time into this bike and they should have at least liquid cooled this motor and bumped the hp at least 30 more ponies. The transmission is average, mine seems to be very sticky at slow speeds, and will not go into first gear from second unless you are moving at a farily good rate. The only other complaint I really have is the low beam headlight, the first time I went into a corner at night I lost all vision of the inside of the corner and nearly drove into the ditch; nor could I read any streets signs that night. I corrected this by moving the focal point to a considerably higher position, but now on coming traffic always brights me. I guess that's ok now that I can see and read where I'm going. As far as the handling, unless you are professional, you will not be able to out corner another sportbike. I don't care what the ads say, you really have to know whay you are doing. All in all this is a great beginner bike. Good torque to get going from a stop, but not enough to get you into much trouble. You really have to try to get the front tire to come up. I love my American products, and I hate to say this, but I think Eric made a great bike to cruise on in stlye not to race. When it comes to racing and durability, you had better buy a Janpanese bike. They are just flat out a better built and faster bike. don't believe me ask your local Buell Mechanic, if he says otherwise he's lying and find somewhere else to buy you Firebolt. Show less

I can honestly say (because I have both Jap Bikes and American) that the XB9R for the twisties is the best... for all out top-end however, the mods will require extensive and expensive re-work of the engine and body. If you want a Deal's Gap killer, this is the bike. It will out pace my GSXR-750 and 1000R all the time in the corners and can out pace and out run the compitition in the twisties hands-down!!! The Suzuki's however are tops in the top-end as are the Kawasaki's but where you loose these jap bikes with this little American wonder is in the deep twisties. The XB9R stock is pretty pathetic... it does require the Race ECM, Race Muffler, Power Commander and reduction of about 10 lbs in total to really be a major threat to the R1. http://groups.msn.com/xb9r The XB9R is a great bike of low weight and great power to weight ratio.... the power is easy to stroke from this bike with a stroker kit and is a real kick-ass machine with the Brian Nallin 1050cc kit installed and re-maps. Show less