Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Riding Impression ~ g: : N ~ .." 32 The w heels o n th e Buell used to be exp ensive Ma rch esin is. This Th underbolt ge ts by very nicely with Austra liaso urced re pli ca s. T ire s a re excelle nt 0205 Du nlops - grippy enoug h for th e riding the bike's meant for, and, probabl y, go od for 6500-p lu s mi les . Just go ea sy on the engine-bra king. Stoppingw ise, o u r bind ers im p ro ve ev en upon th e 5 2' s s u pe r la tive six-pot it em s . Alt h ou gh appe aring the sa m e, th e Bu ell / iss in b ra kes a re a force of nature , es pecially th e single 340 m m front. Ha m-fis ted riders be wa rned : You ca n be flipped in a heartbeat . Tooling around o n the 53T, lo ts of sensations got imprinted - and nearly all pleasu rab le. Foremost: the unexpected get-up-and-go, an d how it's p rod u ced . The extra 15 or so injected horses generate most un-Ha rlevlike velocities. No , the Buell is'n't like mv the ZX-ll in a way it's bett er. lt has the low-down intestina l fortitude typ ical of massaged , liter-s ized tw ins and absent in mod ern fo u rs . You fee l eve ry mil e p er ho ur , th an ks to the firing orde r of the piston s, wh ich ar e as fat as snowcones. Yes , lot s o f cy linders and cou n terba lancer s and oh -so-precise carb metering ar e all dandy. But we both know this very sop histica tio n iso lates riders from the Elem enta l Motorcycling Experien ce (EM E) that's a big part of our spo rt. Don 't mistake ra w -ed ged for cru de, how ever. Thi s is tra ctable p o w er . Unmodified 53Ts can run qu arter-miles in the high Il s. At id le, th e 53T is a tad jump y , bespeaking th e nature of Harley 5portster eng ines. Mirrors, handlebars, knee g ua rds - all vibra te happily, anticipating things to come. So w hy tarry? At a whi ff of throttle, the bike leaps off its haunches and thrums forward mightil y. Then , once through the gears, the bike se ttles down vi a Buell' s p a tented vibration d ampening system. By 2500 rpm, most shu dd ers are history . We're climbing now, ascendi ng th e Appala ch ian foothill s in Virgini a farm co u nt ry . On th is trip, the bike is s till being run in, but even so, the fuel injection and its relat ed se ns o rs d o their stuff, m ete ring and adjus ting for the ' thinning air, changing temperatures and the rest. And what's not to like about a stead y 60 mph on backroads? Piloting th e machi ne up hill , down d al e, th ro u gh sweepers and arou nd hai rpins is a hu ge giggle - p ro v idi ng yo u d on 't lug the engine. Again, this latest iteratio n m ak es yo u wor k a bi t for you r meals. And yo u're hap py to oblige . Unlike many pure-spo rt mo torcycles, the Buell doesn't sacrifice stability for a hard edge. Oh, yes, it'll cut and thrust like a scal per. Speedy corner en tries and (ho ldable) line cha nges a re bu t a tin y pu sh of th e ba r away. Yet ther e's compli an ce in spades . Reall y , o n ly moon - (Right) Removable molded-foam liners are a nice conven ience. scape pavement threate ns to unplant the Buell. It yawns a t jolts up the sp ine that wo u ld leave a CRB900RR kna ckered. The 53T's hig hway ca pabilit ies are jus t as no tab le. Ch eck thi s out: Hom ebound a t relaxed speeds after wo rking a few cu rves, we found high -speed se mis drawing us into their fearfu l vacu ums not at a ll. Plu s, even o n the gna rliest pi e ce o f g roo ved h igh w a y , th e 53 T refused to "hu nt" drunkenl y d own the road . "Less unsp rung weight, grea ter ma ss centraliza tion," Buell explains. Whatever. As in o the r area s , th is trainlike co m p os u re is a fe w lea g u es beyond the 52. And, yes, it ha s quite adequate passing power . Those who th ink the Buell's a tart ed up old " H a rd ly Abl eson " will b e sho cke d . It isn 't just th e power of th e pumped-up 5ports ter - the stee ring is, to repeat, laserlike. • ot to lecture, but with on ly a 55- inc h wheelba se a nd co m ponents th at shout se riou s intent, these Buells d on't suffer fool s - or the inexperienced. Our Thund erbolt has eno ug h finesse for sta rtle glances from the "No d Fear" se t a n d m otive p ow er for 90mph-plus cruising. To say nau ght of the excellent exh aust music, a gre a t thun 0 wo n de r Th e d erin g sy m p ho ny . Motor Company seeks to pat en t it. As the bike cools down n ow after reeli ng in so me miles, its rau cou s tones mute to a softer note. So w hile it s its, let's eyeball this bad boy . Th e levers are b lack and dog-legged , su spici ousl y' resembling Italian Maguras. The molded gas-tank cover, with its "Buell America n Moto rcycl e s " escu tch eon s , is a gracefu l thing, and blends we ll into the seat section. The 55-gallon fuel cell itself hides undern eath. O ther aes thetic changes, too, make the ne w Bu e ll easier on th e eye. Fid d ly switchg ea r and giant controls giv e way to mo re-elegant. easie r-to-use items. Tha t cover-the-planet rear fender has turned svelte. The fairing is still a tad bulbous bu t nice-loo ki ng a nd efficient. I was above the wind blast; yo u might not be. Unfortuna tel v, whi le th e st ainl ess headers still turn heads, the long muffler remai ns bazooka-sized . Sad ly, too , th e air filte r / b rea the r box ha s grown a larmi ng ly fro m t he o rigi nal; it no w resembl es a black go iter. Yet most details are nicely execu ted . In addition, the bike rem a in s about as lith e as b ef ore (485 p o u nd s d ry vs . . 1995's 470 pound s). Fas tid ious dandies will app reciate the 53Ts more poli shed look. In all, it's a classy piece. Pa intwork, by. the way, is first -rate, with a tough clear-coat and pra ctica lly .no ora nge peel. Our loaner was a sort of midnight blue with a white fram e and w hee ls - not a person al favorite. Buell, th ou gh , offers nine differ ent bod y and four frame-and -wheel color co m bos. Ma ybe so meth in g su btle lik e N ucl ear Blue and Rea ct or Yell ow? Mak e mine Black and Black, thanks. Only o ne com plaint here: the tack y, "m irror-su rface" decals . Other Buells' emblems are so lid color and IInder the clear-coa t. So, w ha t g ives th e 53T it s tourin g d esi gnation ? Well , th e lockable hard ba gs a nd knee guards , which are a ll qu ickly removable. Together the y push yo u r basic 512,000 53 up by 00. Our Thund erbolt had sha llow-lid bags, but d eeper, costlier o nes are av ailable. A real plus is the rem ovabl e moldedfoam line rs, excellent for delicate cam era gear, o r maybe to insulate a six-pack. Or lose the somewhat bulky liners for some pretty fair cargo capaci ty. (Stashworthy, too, are the little "fanny packs" Velcroed to each side of the fairing inner and be neath the sea t - and the toolkitsized compartment in the sa me place.) Bu t w hile the "inners" have handles, plan to pa ck some thing to carry the hard cas es in. Th ere are no gri ps. Like, hu h? Th is a $13,800 " to u re r," yes? A no the r g ri pe: th e. mi ssin g centers ta nd . When will sportbike makers learn to fit stands that do n't d rag? The sidestand , mea nwhile, is excellent - far better positioned, more sta ble and easie r to access than the 52's. A t any rate, wit h a 55-gallon fue l ce ll and a 225- to 250-m ile ra nge, th e mo torcvcle d eliv ers miles of s m iles . Which are further extenda ble. Following Harl ey's lead , Buell offers accessories a nd op tio ns by the ton : higher handlebars , o p t io n a l wheel s , tankbags , rid ing gea r, T-shirts, all manner of Buell-m a rk ed s tuff. When yo u exha us t th eir cata log , a fterma rke t suppliers have sma ller air-filter boxes, seats, gel grips, ex ha us ts, turbochargers a nd countless o ther good ies. Ergos were perfect for my 6-foot-3inch , 19D-pound fram e, as the seat, bars a nd pegs were a fine co m p ro m ise for the ave rage-to-tall rid er . You're leaned a bi t forward , but rider placemen t is essen tially neutral. Th e seat's w ells ha ped and remarkably comfy - a vast improvement over the 52's skinny, sloping per ch. It was infa mous for slam ming o ne 's d an gly b its in to th e tank und er ha rd braking. Foo tpeg height is the spo rt-to u re rs ' usu al compromise. In all, this "u niversa l" riding posit ion yie lded pai n-free jaunts of 250 to 300 miles. Pillions? They we re fine for 200 or so miles. Suspension changes solo or two-up were pleasantly few, and then just for more or less cornpression d ampin g on th e worst , o r fastest, road s. (A cave a t: Riders with 35inch ins ea ms or lo nger will bang thei r legs o n th e kn eegu ard s a nd /o r a ir clean er box.) Day o r ni gh t, it was easy to see all instru men ts (though at about 400 miles the dock light blinked good nigh t). The console itself is spartan or homely - take yo ur pick. The sea t has a lock, w hich is a nice touch - but the spring-la tch underneath it isn't. So where does the Bue ll "fit?" Actu a lly, in the sa me niche as before, on ly no w it has com pa ny . Tha nk the demiexp los io n in a ca tegory dating to the mid-1980s: the "s ta nd a rd" - foll ow ed lat el y by th e "retro ," and the Briti shinspired " na ke d" or " hoo liga n " b ike. Prime exam ples: Du ca ti's Mon st ro and 5 t2 / 4, BMW ' s RII 00s , Tr iumph ' s revamped Sp eed Tripl e and Su zuki ' s Bandit. The Buell performs mu ch the sa me tasks with sim ilar skill and gus to. That is , "s o tt ish " s p o rt bi ki n g with a touring flav or. Big mo to r, rela ti ve ly lightweight. But wh erev er yo u s lo t it mentally, th e 53T 'prove s again it ' s how motorcycles make their power - not necessarily what the d yn o s ho ws - th at deter mines o u r en jo ym ent. I d ef y a nyo ne di smountin g a fter rid in g this b ike in earn est not to w hoo p ' n' holl er . Fast , s ty lis h, handsome a nd hard -workin g, for a thou sand miles th e Buell proved a willing. accom plice for everyth ing fro m city commuting to pe g-scraping. Unlike so m e m odern ma chin erv with soo nd ated "gra p h ics," th is i~ n ' t a throw-away. It' s a so lid piece mean t to carry yo u well int o the millennium. Some argue th at the Buell cos ts too much . I say it's only a g rand more than it s older brother, is far stronger and smoothe r, and promises fun on a large (even hooliganesq ue) scale. And, come to think of it, maybe tha t's the secret of the Bue ll 53T: ace handling minus the race r's nerviness and to rturous cockpit. Serious faults we re restricted to a sin g le, al beit im p o rta n t, one. Durin g a fam iliariza tion ride, it was obv ious that th e re a r b ra ke d idn ' t wo rk . O il h ad snaked un not iced backw a rd fro m the fil ter hou sing an d eventua lly onto th e ro tor, glazing the pads. No t good . Ulti mately, the leak was traced to the filter's m atin g s urface . It was frac tionall y bowed a nd allowed seepage. H arleyDavidson of Washing ton was efficien t in find ing a nd re pa iring th is worrisome, hard-to-d iagnose flaw . eN

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