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Bought a Buell Ulysses

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Location
Lewisville, Texas
Traded my Ultra Classic which I traded a FJR for. really missed sport touring bike so I picked up a '08 Buell Ulysses Thunder Storm. Only has 3800 miles and looks like new. Came with a few farkles to boot. I got it for $6400. Also bought a Tour Tank to mount on it used.

vp2255880_3_large.jpg
 
Looks good. I really liked my Ulysses, but wish it had been newer than the '06 which didn't have some of the nicer upgrades like the improved steering head.
 
I haven't ridden it much, just got it Thursday and then worked last two days. I have a trip planned to Iron Horse Lodge in NC in Sept so I'm looking forward to that. Seats a little tall for me so i don't know how to fix that short of lowering a seat that already lacks padding;)
 
There was a lower version of the bike (XT?). Maybe you can find out if it is just a matter of swapping inexpensive dog-bones in the suspension.
 
I have an XT, but was still too tall for my inseam challenged legs (29"). I had it lowered another 1.5" by having the springs and shock/fork valving changed. I like to be flat footed or near flat footed when stopped. However there isn't much shock travel left, so its pretty firm. I have both the FJR and the XT and I could not tell you which I prefer to ride, I like them both.
 
Great man. Always like to see the buells. Ive owned 5 or 6 of them. Never a Ulysses though. I remember when the word got out about buell being shut down the prices fell through the floor. Wish i woulda had the money to pick up another CityX model then.

As far as seat height, i wouldnt recommend doing anything with the seat since as you know they are pretty uncomfortable as they are. I had the suspension lowered on my firebolt i had. Had spacers put in the front suspension and rear shock. Made all the difference in the world. You could also buy a factory shorter rear shock to install and last i checked they ran about $150 used on ebay.

Also, i cant tell by the pic but if you have the factory exhaust, there are better options out there. When i changed the one on my firebolt with a jardine i weighed old and new and saved roughly 23lbs by switching. Plus it really woke up the engine. Yours should have the ehaust servo so you will need EcmSpy to turn off the servo if you switch out exhaust.

If you have any questions about anything feel free to pm me and ill help you out.
 
My '06 had the original tall seat and I could still flat foot it, but then again, I can flat foot a GS with seat in the upper position.

IMG_0008.jpg
 
You will love it, the seat just takes some getting used to if you are vertically challenged like I am.
 
I picked an '09 XB12XT right after the shutdown announcement. Longhorn Harley knocked $3k off the price. I had already been looking at them and was thinking about a purchase anyway. Was looking for something a little different than the Ultra I still have.

Yeah, it is kinda tall, but I can flat foot with boots on.

Have since added Palmer brackets for the windscreen and, more importantly, an Erik Buell Racing ECM specifically tuned for the Drummer SS muffler I also installed. That combo really woke it up on power and sound. Sounds like my ultra now. The motor is plenty peppy considering it is an ancient v-twin design, but the suspension is top-notch. I would put the suspension right there with any of the imports.

I consider it to be my utility bike. Doesn't do anything outstanding, but does everything ok. Very fun to ride!
 
To me the Ulysses has a decidedly dirt bike feel. Maybe because its feels narrow and tall. Most of the time if I have a day ride, I take it and the FJR stays in the garage.
 
Tchuck said:
To me the Ulysses has a decidedly dirt bike feel. Maybe because its feels narrow and tall. Most of the time if I have a day ride, I take it and the FJR stays in the garage.
Click to expand...

Yeah, out of all the buells ive owned i think i like the CityX models the best. They are really small and nimble, run the XB9 engine so they are zippy and quick and are just a blast to ride.
 
One of my favorite Buell's was a City X. Love that 900 motor, the rev to 7500 and all.
In my 3 years with the Ully (XB12X), my only nit pic were the intermittent fan issue
that lead to the "whisping" of motor oil out of the rear rocker box cover on to the bike.
I had an 07 and the 08's have a much improved motor. Four hours labor to replace $4
rocker cover gasket is really rough. Learned to drop the motor by hanging the frame
from my rafters and dropping the motor out with a floor jack. Rear Cylinder heat is the
only major annoying issue on Air Cooled Buell's. Ride them with out fan on and oil gets
every where. Gotta love that mid range power though. In the end, I fixed my fan so it
came on manually and ran every time the motor was running. Problem solved......
 
It has the wrong front fender on it. I'm looking for the XB12X front fender for it if anyone knows a source.
 
I occasionally ride with a guy on a Ulysses. Great bike from what I can tell. What always sticks out, when we pull up to a traffic light, is that it has the world's loudest cooling fan.
 
I have the rear part of the frt fender if that is what you are looking for. I left it off when
it sold and the new owner never asked for it. I have a couple of stock air filters, a stock
exhaust and a stock 07 ECM as mine had all Buell race parts on it when it sold. If you
have an interest you can PM me. I also have a Red air box cover with Gold lettering and
a Red front fender from another o6 XB12 Lightning . They will bolt right on a look like XT.
 
Buellboy said:
One of my favorite Buell's was a City X. Love that 900 motor, the rev to 7500 and all.
In my 3 years with the Ully (XB12X), my only nit pic were the intermittent fan issue
that lead to the "whisping" of motor oil out of the rear rocker box cover on to the bike.
I had an 07 and the 08's have a much improved motor. Four hours labor to replace $4
rocker cover gasket is really rough. Learned to drop the motor by hanging the frame
from my rafters and dropping the motor out with a floor jack. Rear Cylinder heat is the
only major annoying issue on Air Cooled Buell's. Ride them with out fan on and oil gets
every where. Gotta love that mid range power though. In the end, I fixed my fan so it
came on manually and ran every time the motor was running. Problem solved......
Click to expand...

Never had a problem with the fan on any of mine but did find that by running synthetic oil the cooling fan rarely came on as opposed to the dino oil. The engine ran much cooler.
 
Ironically, my oil leaks started when I switched from H-D Petro oil to Amsoil full Syn.
When my bikes fan was not running I knew the sending unit or fan fuse must be out.
Glad yours runs cooler. The 08's have a new oiling system with a larger oil cooler and
it may have solved the problem. Other than the over heating oil leaks I just loved it!!
Funny how Buell gets all the problems worked out and then "pulls the plug" on the brand.
I love my 1125CR. Just hate to have to deal with H-D for parts and service. I buy my
oil filters from a Polaris dealer and pay more not to have to go to H-D. They just hate
the Buell brand........
 
Buellboy said:
Ironically, my oil leaks started when I switched from H-D Petro oil to Amsoil full Syn.
When my bikes fan was not running I knew the sending unit or fan fuse must be out.
Glad yours runs cooler. The 08's have a new oiling system with a larger oil cooler and
it may have solved the problem. Other than the over heating oil leaks I just loved it!!
Funny how Buell gets all the problems worked out and then "pulls the plug" on the brand.
I love my 1125CR. Just hate to have to deal with H-D for parts and service. I buy my
oil filters from a Polaris dealer and pay more not to have to go to H-D. They just hate
the Buell brand........
Click to expand...

Funny cause the amsoil is what i ran/run in my bikes and never had a problem with oil leaks on buells or otherwise. Most of my buells were pre '08's btw. After this thread started i got onto craigslist and ebay and started looking at CityX models trying to convince myself that i didnt need yet another bike... Sure is tempting though. I miss the style, thump of the engine, and torque of buells.
 
My City X was a "defect free" bike. I had a 06 in "kick Ash" (Black Translucent graphics).
Other than being physically too small for my 6'1 250lb frame, it was almost the perfect
city bike. Was one of Eric's and my favorite Buell's (along with the Ully of coarse). Only
bike I ever owned that wanted to do a "stoppie" ever time you hit the front brake hard..
Now imagine the City X with 50 more HP and you have the 1125CR. I even have City X
bars on my 1125Cr for fun. Yippee!!! Can't believe H-D pulled the plug on Buell, really...
 
Buellboy said:
I have the rear part of the frt fender if that is what you are looking for. I left it off when
it sold and the new owner never asked for it. I have a couple of stock air filters, a stock
exhaust and a stock 07 ECM as mine had all Buell race parts on it when it sold. If you
have an interest you can PM me. I also have a Red air box cover with Gold lettering and
a Red front fender from another o6 XB12 Lightning . They will bolt right on a look like XT.
Click to expand...

I'll take that off your hands, how much???? (for rear part of front fender)
 
Pm me an address and send enough $ to cover UPS Freight and I will send it to you.
I have no use for it.....
 
I love my Uly, but I have to sell it because I need the money and probably will just get something smaller down the road like a 650.
 
[/QUOTE] I buy my
oil filters from a Polaris dealer and pay more not to have to go to H-D. They just hate
the Buell brand........[/QUOTE]

They really hate'm @ American Eagle Harley in Corrinth the week I bought mine. I had an '06 Ultra , my first ever Harley, that I sold them for the Buell i bought from them. The sales person looked at my bike while I took the Buell for a ride. He asked me how much I wanted for my bike and i told him $13K. I paid $6400 for the Buell with 3800 miles and they gave me 13k for my '06 Ultra with 44k miles.
A few days later I called the manager because I knew from Harley Financial they hadn't paid my bike off yet (7k). Manager asked me if I liked the Buell and I told him I loved it. He admitted that their "sales person" listed my bike as an '07 which turned out to be a 2K mistake on their part. Too bad, too sad! I thought it was a great deal. They have my old bike there listed for $14449.00.
 
Congrats on the Uly! I've got an 06 that I bought new and have really enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun to ride. I wouldn't mess with the suspension by lowering it if you can help it, the great suspension is the best part. I've got a 30" inseam and can't flat foot it, I've just gotten used to sliding over a little and putting one foot down. Hasn't caused me a problem in five years.

Mines pretty much bone stock and I just rode it to Alaska and back in three weeks. It did fantastic! I've really enjoyed this bike.

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