Buell ULYSSES reviews

Well I liked it so much I bought a second one! Maybe that's all I need to say. I rode most of what Yamaha, Suzuki, HD and Honda had to offer around 1200 cc. I wanted it all-fast, torque, thrilling in corners, lean but seats two for day-long treks with no complaints, light and doesn't look like a chrome two wheel Winnebago. I can drive in the bubble when I feel the need for speed but don't have to all the time feel like I'm tying my shoes all day. I have my fast tour bike but when I drop the rider and the luggage - I have my crotch rocket! The second bike I did most of the same add ons but that one I did the custom exhaust. The first one is stock exhaust. I will say that the best tires I driven on with these bikes were the Pirellis - it came with and playing with widths and race tires mostly left the bike feeling odd in twisties. Further testimonial to those stock tires is surviving a rear blowout from sharp metal at 94 mph! Yes I know that's speeding. The tires rode flat and did not disintegrate under me but it was a nightmare ride across lanes and median! A lesser tire would have been the end. I drive long distance and short hops but almost all on highway ramps, highways or crazy city streets with the worst South Florida maniacs! The torque is awesome and I've playfully left just about most guys, bikes, cars, etc. in the mirror at times. With the exhaust mod on a traffic-less day, I made an easy 147 with gobs more to go. Except, that is, for my obvious realization of no good excuses for the officer who pulls me over and my delayed common sense of what a crash at that speed will feel like. I made this a one time just to see trip told me to knock it off. I wired the Zumo for ear bud for both positions for rider tunes and love these bikes to death. My two Honda's are truly for sale My Harley brothers keep trying to get me to buy an HD too but when I get them to ride the Buell XB they love it and start scratching their heads. Truthfully, I've never had anybody try the bike and not say what the heck?!?! Wow! Dude-be careful - that's a rocket and man it corners fantastically! Show less

I wanted a Harley at first but saw these Buells, and fell in love. Lots more power, and a lot more functionality than a Harley, and all you lose is a little bit of the image. Great sport-tourer or adventure-tourer or sport v-twin, whatever you want to call it. I replaced the pirellis immediately with dunlop 616's so I could explore and camp up on the mountain forestry roads. Works great, definitely not a dual-sport, but gravel, or hard packed dirt; it's good to go. Each bag will fit a full face helmet and then some. Seat is excellent, thought it was too hard at first but rode 600 miles and felt fine. Windsheild takes the wind off of your torso, but still hits your helmet. Acceleration is sport bike like and top speed is pretty close. Just going off of power and rpms at 100mph in 4th and 5th; it would probably top out at 140-150 but doesn't have quite the aerodynamics of say an R1, so not a supersport bike. It's also not an adventure bike like the ktm 990's, but gives you plenty of confidence on gravel, although I did take the bags off the only time I took this down gravel roads.(lightened it up) Hoping gas mileage keeps improving. Gets about 45mpg right now, hopefully this will improve. Heated hand grips are still too hot to use, I will try them in the dead of winter. Great bike, and something different and a blast to ride. Show less

I've owned Suzuki, Honda, HD, and other Buells over the years, but have never been this satisfied with a motorcycle...there is nothing that makes me feel like I might one day sell it and that is saying something. I've ridden halfway across the country on this thing through about a third of the United States and the bike handled every situation well from canyon passes to rain storms to gravel roads. Also might add that the bike did everything while remaining comfortable during consecutive 600 mile days...not even tired or sore at the end. The only negative for this bike is that if you are much shorter than me then you might not fit the bike, but I'm not taking away a star for something that is directly responsible for the way the bike handles and the comfort level. Even went camping with a tent, fishing poles, cooler, air mattress, and all the other gear. Show less

Power? I think for anyone in their right mind or old enough to know better it should be ample. It will wheely and will pull at least 120mph(I ran out of courage) with the bags. Handling? This is a true sportbike. Not a Goldwing or Harley cruiser type. There are six separate suspension settings, enough combinations to keep one busy for awhile. It handles. Buells own the curves they say. Comfort? For me,living in a cooler climate the right leg heater is quite nice. The seating position is upright and comfortable. I wasn't really expecting a LazyBoy recliner. Reliability? Read 'Big, Bad and Dirty Buell XB12X Ulysses Adventure Board'. There might be some minor issues, but all bikes generally have them. I just traded my FLSTN on the ULY about a week or so ago. One employee at the Harley dealer asked me, 'Are you really trading your Deluxe on a Buell? another said So, you're the one trading your Harley for a Buell. I felt kind of defensive about this and in the back of my mind thought I may have made a huge mistake. I had owned Harleys since 81. I did not screw up. The ULY is the best I've owned. After this I will not go back to Softails, Roadkings and Electraglides. This thing is a HOOT! Sorry Harley, I won't be buying any of your chrome doodads for this one or loud pipes or performance kits. It needs none of it. I think I'm more in the market for protective clothing with this one. Maybe a GPS and a few more minor upgrades, but not many. Anyone in the market for a beanie helmet? How about some well used tats? I'll keep the beard. Show less

This is Buell's Swiss Army knife. Great handling, best suspension I've ever ridden, and the ability to handle two-up without any issue. This is truly a sport-touring dynamo. You forget you've got enough storage capacity to travel for weeks, because you feel like you're ready to tackle the track. I love this bike. It's my first Buell. Show less

Just finished a 700 mile odyssey on my 2006 Uly. A great bike when you can only have one. You'll never run out of power. (unless you cruise at 110+) The bike is big, but very flicakable, even fully loaded for a three week trip. Averages 49 mpg. Purrs like a kitten between 2800 and 5500 RPM. The tall suspension, means you can focus on the scenery without having to 'pick' your way on a line over rough roads.(even unpaved) Engine heat is tolerable in traffic, and is unnoticed at speeds above 25. This bike is not for short people, it is tall and somewhat top-heavy. Buells get a lot of wierd stares, but folks understand when you explain that it is a part of Harley-Davidson. Show less

Tall but manageable. (Been fixed in the 2007 model) Good, more than adequate performance from the engine, gearbox not as good as the competition though. Very comfortable for pillions. Great everyday bike and commuter. Show less

So I bought the Uly as my first bike...perhaps not the smartest thing I've ever done. On delivery day I think I had a grand total of 8 hours on a motorcyle my entire life. I quickly discovered that the 1203 requires that you use a little finess--long story but the Uly and I slid across a parking lot on our first time at bat. Fortunately, we both were fine. Gotta give a round of applause to the engineers who armored this thing--it's very tough and we both walked away with only a little scratch. Since then I've managed to keep it on the wheels. I bought the bike from a dealership who had it as a demo--benefit: I have all the accessories that were available at production. I started riding the bike as a commuter and quickly found myself taking the long way home. I moved to CA this past fall and took the bike on a ride in New Mexico--great time. Here in Cali it's a commuter and my weekend escape vehicle. The seat height is very tall, I have the optional lowered seat and I can barely flat foot this thing loaded. The Thunderstorm V-twin makes plenty of power to keep up with traffic. I have had my mileage range from 38-56 mpg, usually it's around 45. Generally it does better when I'm solo, when it's warmer and when it has 93 octane gas (only 91 is available here). Mileage doesn't really matter much since it's all better than my truck. I find the guage cluster to be low and out of the line of sight but usually that's not an issue...sometimes when you are all by yourself in the twisties you may look down to discover that you are going much faster than you thought you were. First gear on this bike is a little high and can make riding off-highway at very low speeds a bit of a challenge; in normal city driving it's not an issue. The fuel-range is great, the bike rides well and handles effortlessly. At high speeds the sipes in the front tire may make it want to hunt back and forth ever so slightly (about an inch) but it's not dangerous and if you are ever on an unbarricaded mountain road and hit a patch of gravel in the turn, you will be grateful for this machines ability to instantly recover itself without loss of control. The rear brake is kind of underpowered but the front brake is huge and more than takes up the slack--DO NOT GRAB THE FRONT BRAKE HANDLE. The suspension on the Uly is great and is adjustable from like 135-450lbs or something. I don't play with it much but the bike comes with a table of presets to go off of if you wanted to set it up for two-up riding. I leave mine in the 220-260 range for me and my gear--minus the gear it is the slightest bit on the stiff side but still handles like a champ. Riding in gravel for the first time will probably scare you since the normal tight/connected feeling that the steering has will suddenly be gone, but the Uly still handles pretty well as long as you aren't crazy. In emergency braking, the front tire seems to stay connected very well, the suspension dive is pretty substantial though (I didn't know it could compress that much) and it may scare you more than whatever you were trying to avoid, but the bike remains controllable and will allow you to seamlessly transition into avoidance. The engine does vibrate a bit until you hit 3000 rpm or so, but of course you do get the benifit of a satisfying V-twin roar. The electric cooling fan is sometimes loud and stays on longer than I would like it to but it seems to work well. The accessories I have are all pretty useful. I think the GPS is great but I try not to look at it too much, it is an excellent little piece of gear from Garmin and even dims itself at night to protect your vision from glare. The lowered seat was an imperative for me, it's comfortable and I don't find myself wishing to stop even on the longest rides. My machine came with the twin saddle bags which make the Ulysses a practical commuter and and excellent touring bike. I have had no problems with the side bags, they are waterproof and very tough, the right one took the brunt of the fall that first ride and survived with just a scratch. The tall windshield is something I have to look into still, the Uly offers great protection to your knees and your hands but I could do with a little less wind buffeting. The Ulysses seems to handle fine in the wet, I have ridden through many pop-up thunder storms and one hail storm and had no issues. I haven't done any two-up riding yet, but I have hauled 50 lbs in the saddle bags without any noticeable change in performance. I have had the bike in for one routine maintenance at around 1000 miles and the dealer replaced the O2 sensor as well...mileage improved. I have also had one non routine maintenance--I had the RH turn signal wiring harness replaced after it became intermittant--appearently it got pinched either in that first ride or by one of the tie-downs I used to secure the bike in my trailer during the move out here. Additionally, I broke the license plate light bracket one morning while trying to quickly remove the cover...it was like $6 to replace so I will chalk that one up to my own impatience. The fit & finish on the machine is great, it always starts (as long as you remember not to leave the key switch in the accessory position overnight), it's tough, and it's plenty powerful. I don't know that I would add much to it except the windshield and perhaps a set of driving lights but that's just me. Show less

I'm too old to fold myself into a sport bike so got this instead. It's very versatile and is stable on loose surfaces. I ride it to work often and it makes a great commuter. Got over 48 mpg on the first tank. It handles very well for such a tall motorcycle and with all that torque available, it is easy to ride through the twisties. It is very tall though and not for short legged people. Some heat on right side from exhaust and I plan to ceramic coat it to hopefully resolve that issue. The engine is a lot smoother than I expected for a big v-twin but it still feels like a big v-twin (not a problem for me). Took my wife on a 100 mile ride and she was comfortable. The folding backrest is a great idea. Show less

I have owned and ridden alot of bikes over the years, too many to count, years that is. I have owned 8 harleys,5 triumphs,2 hondas, 9 suzukis, 2kawasakis, 1 bridgestone, 11 bmws, plus a few others. This buell is one of the most fun bikes I have owned, it always feels planted on the pavement, my wife loves the seat and I do too. The bike is tall but not too much for normal riding. If you are height impaired the lowered seat is a big improvement. I just got back from a trip to the Blueridge Mts. and had a great time. The only time you need to really pay attention is off road, having been used to 19 or 21 inch front wheels' the 17 incher takes some getting used to, but using a little common sense helps. The bags and box are of superior quality. I added a Lee Bailey intermediate windshield and that was a good improvement. The bike is faster than any harley that I have ridden esp. considering how well the bike handles. Service is pretty simple. The only complaint that I can tell you about is that there is some heat on the right side of the bike, and fan is noisy. But I'll trade that any day for a bike as capable and versitil as Uly. There is even quite a bit of storage under the seat. Every time I ride or even look at the bike I'm amazed at the high degree of great engineering that has gone into the design of this machine. Show less