Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

NEWB/KES By Sc ott Ro us s eau ne look a t its 1998 mo d el lin eup a nd yo u m ight thi nk th at Buell would do w ell to borrow the old Pontiac " We build exci te ment " campaig n. For as Ame rica's only sport mo to rcycle company forges on toward the 21st cent ury , the excitemen t is building in O co m p a ny fo u n de r ' E rik Bu ell, in h is em p loyees, a nd m ost ce rta inly in th e motorcydes that are con tinuing to strea m out of the company's East Troy, Wisconsin, factory in increasing numbers. A major part of that exciteme nt has arrived in the -form of the new Thunderstorm engine. Based on the same 1200cc pow erplant that motivated the 91-horsepower Buell Ligh tning introduced in 1996, th e newest in ca rn ation features Buell's Thunderstorm High Flow Head s, with recont oured combustion chambers, bigger va lves , a nd new in ta ke a nd exha us t po rts that wo rk togeth er to up ' the power ou tp u t to 101 horsepower and 90 ft./ lbs . of torque a t th e cranksha ft. The Thunderstorm engine is available on many of Buell' s 1998 mod els. LIGHTNING The fir st reci pie nt of the Thunderstorm mill is the 51 White Lightning, the new kin g of Buell ' s high -p erformance Lightning-model family, an d a motorcycle that Buell says will take the "extreme" rid ing experience to the next level. A limited-ed ition mod el for 1998, the White Lightning puts together a performance package that Buell says will set the new st a nd ard for s treet-ridi ng performan ce. It utili zes Thunderstorm power wrapped in the same Uniplanar enginemou nt , chrome-moly pe rimeter fram e found on other models, but features a uniqu e look, decked out in Ice White Pearlbodywork that complements the monochromatic white wheels and white frame. A slightly wider and fla tte r 5.5-ga llon manta-ray fuel tank from the 53 Cyclone line, Pro Series solo scat, and spedal-edition graphics add to its character. Am on g the other cha nges to the 51 Lightning li ne are new paint a nd appearance packages tha t are likely to mak e th e a lready-ex troverted Buell musdebike grab even more atten tion. Its New Molten Orange bodywork wi th a Nucl ear Blue matching frame and wh eel accent should be just the thing for entertaining "shock rock" types. The 51 will al so be a va ila b le in new Spark Red bod ywork, as well as Ca rbon Black and Billet (silver ) Meta llic. Red , black and silver mod els are delivered wi th titani um-colored fr am es and w heels; PM spun-a luminum wheels a re an o ption. All mod e ls co rne s h od wit h Dunlop Sportmax 11 radi als. Th e Lightning' s low-restriction airin ta ke "box ," formall y known as the Helmholtz Volume Power Sys tem, has been revised to match the ergonomically improved design used on S3s and M2s. Th e 1998 Bu ell 51 Lightnings a lso re ce ive new b rak e s fr ont and rear, wh ich a re d esign ed to offer im prove d stopping ability . A stainless-steel muffler on the Lightning offers improved cosme tics over earlier models. Sug gest ed U.S. retail prices for the Buell 51 Lightn ings start at $9999, wi th the Molten Orange /Nuclea r Blue mod el available for an additional $150. The special-ed ition SI White Lightning lists for $10,599. Twintail-seating options are 1998 Buells available from the factory for an add ition al $!OO, while PM s pu n-al u m inum w hee ls ad d $620. The Pro Series Race Syste m retails for $799.95. THUNDERBOLT The Buell 53 Th u nder bolt and S3T Thun de rbo lt Spo rt Touring mod els will also receive the new !OI-h orse Thund erstonn engine. Among the other changes offered on the 53 a nd sport- tou ring -o riented S3T Thunde rbolts are powerful, new six-pis ton brakes up fron t and a Sing le-caliper in th e rear. A stainless-steel muffl er is designed to improve cosmetics over earlier mod els. Sadd lebags, fairing low ers and othe r accesso ries are now ava ilable to convert the 53 to a full or partial version of the S3T. Lo ng -d is ta nce r id e rs w il l be p leased to learn that the new sta nd ard bag on th e S3T is no w th e larger, expanded touring bag. These wide bags afe generous eno ug h to store a ful l-face helme t in each side. Co lor o ptio ns for 1998 will include Spark Red , which replaces Ca nyon Red on the 53s. Both 53s and 53Ts can now be had in the same Spark Red as well as Billet (silver) Metallic, Am azon Gree n and Black Magic . Mat chin g fra me and wh eel treatments in a titanium-colored finish are used on both 53 and S3T mod els. Spu n-aluminum PM wheels are an option on bo th. The 53 a nd S3T mod el s will a lso receive att rac tive new dash pa nels, incorporating a VDO clock and a more scul pted edgi ng to the fairings . A number of accessories a re available, includ ing a new Aegis Tank Mask an d Qu est Ta nk Bag. New Pr o Series Billet Aluminu m parts such as footpegs and rearset controls are als o offered to provid e a more ag g ress ive ri d in g posture fo r Thun derbolt owners . Bue ll 53 a n d S3T T h und e rbolt models are d iffer en tia ted by a hard w are p a cka ge d esigned to o p tim ize th e ad v en ture -rid in g an d tourin g capabili ties o f th is A merica n sport b ike. 53 Thunderbolts retai n a so mew ha t forwa rd -lea nin g rid ing posi ti on an d more m in ima listi c bod ywork , limited to fairing, tan k a nd tail. Standard r ub ber is th e D unl op Spo rt Touring rad ial tire. The manufa cturer U .S. suggested retail price for the Buell S3 Thunderbolt is $11,999. The S3T Thu nd erbolt Sport Touring lists a t $12.799. (Top)White and mighty: The 1998 Buell Whne Lightning climbs to the top of the company 's performance-motorcycle lineup. The newest 81 Is ava ilable 8S a li mited-edit ion model. (Lett) The heart of the storm: Newfor '98 Is the 1200cc Bue ll Thunderstorm engine, wh ich features rev ised cylinder heads to produce 101 horsepower at the crankshaft. (Below) Buell's 53 and 53T (shown) will also receive Thunderstorm power for '98. The S3T also gets larger saddlebags. (BoUom) Asid e fro m new paint schemes and better brakes, Buell's entry-level M2 Cyclone remains largely unchanged. At59399, the Cyclone Is the bargain of the 10L CYCLONE Las t but fa r fro m least in the Bue ll fam ily is the com pa ny's ve rsion of an ..America n s por tb ike s ta n d a rd ," th e Buell M2 Cyclone. With a br oad torque band that leaves oth er motor layou ts feeling high -strung, the M2 Cyclone se ts itself apart as a n ada pta ble, everyday street bike - yet the Cyclone is the most affordable motorcycle in the Buell line. .The Cyclone shares the bold, agg ressive styling of its more pow erful Lightnin g siblings , yet still allows comfortable two-up seati ng; lowered , forward-placed pegs; and relatively high bars to provide an er gonomically relaxed spo rt-r idi ng position for all-day riding. The M2 Cyclo ne is no slouch either, it s 83 horsepo we r , 1203 cc V-Twin motor generating crisp accelera tion even though the M2 re tains sho rter-d ura tion ca ms for a b roade r to rque curve. M2 Cyclones still corne standard with Du nlop Spo rtmax Touring ra dial tires . Amo ng t he cha nges to t he M2 Cyclone for 1998 are new bra kes fron t and rear, which offer grea ter sto pping pot en tial. A compress ion- a nd preload adjustab le Showa rear suspe nsion now complements a fully braced , re bo undand preload-ad justabl e Showa front fork for improved rid e. : As for colors, Red·Sna p has replaced Canyo n Red . The M2 is also available in Ca rbon Black and Blue Strea k. Titaniu m-color ed cast-aluminum wheels a re mounted beneath a glossy black fra me. An ex p a n ded lis t o f accesso ries design ed to fit the M2 Cyclone further adds to the motorcycle's versa tility. Sugges ted U.S. retail price for the Buell M2 Cyclone is $9399. ". Si nce its in ception as a motorcycle manufa cturer, th e Buell p hi losop hy remains u ncha nged . The mi ssiori .h as alwa ys been tu create mo torcycles fur r id ers wh o b eli e v e th at the ridin g ex per ie nce is mo re impor tan t th an the destina tion itself. But a s the company ce le bra tes it s 13th a nniv ersa ry. this m u ch is ce r tai n: Bu ell is going places. '"

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