Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128132
2002 Buell Firebott XB9R fit this tester perfectly. You also notice straight away that the riding position on the newest Buell is far more CBR600 than GSX-R600. You sit up slightly over the tank that isn't really a tank, a position that's comfortable at both speed and idle. When you fire the big V-twin to life, you feel the rumble and vibration that comes with the territory, though the Firebolt won't shake your fillings loose like previous models. Instead, it's just the throaty vibration of a Vtwin hanging from rubber mounts, a sensation that's in no way annoying. You also don't get much vibration through the footpegs. Pegs, by the way, that are no longer rubber Harley types but cast-alloy sportbike pegs. Learning a new racetrack often times simulates real-world riding conditions. You don't know exactly where you're going, so mid-corner changes in direction, irregular braking patterns and ill-timed acceleration bursts are the norm. The Firebolt handled this chore well. Once up to speed, or close to it, a vague feeling came from the front and suddenly the bike didn't feel as nimble and light steering as those radical geometry numbers would lead you to believe. The Firebolt also wanted to sit up a bit while trailbraking. Perhaps reading my pre-ride notes had hyped me into unreal expectations. It also jumped out of gear on me on one occasion, a glitch felt by a few of the others as well. I can report, however, that the problem didn't occur again for the remainder of the day - either that, or I was so hellbent on staying with Motorcyclist magazine's John "I'm a Yachtsman" Burns and Street £, Strip's Peter "I'm an Enthusiast" Jones that I didn't notice it. After consulting with racer and Buell test man Shawn Higbee, the fix was in on the iffy feeling front end. Putting some rebound into the fork and taking some compression out fixed what ailed me, at least in terms of feeling confident again in the front. That, in turn, led to increased speeds and another problem - I couldn't get the bike turned as quickly mid-corner as I believed a bike with this geometry should tum. Back to Higbee for more advice. And another quick fix. Lifting the rear via a compression change on the rear shock seemed to again cure my problems. Turn in was a bit easier and changing directions mid-corner was now feasible. But any worry of the bike getting unstable or twitchy at high speeds because of the changes in making the steering steeper was also nixed as the Firebolt was no worse for wear through the high-speed turn six. In fact, there were no complaints what- 14 NOVEMBER 28, 2001 • soever of the bike being unstable, though with so much weight bias on the front wheel, the bike figured to be stable - despite its lack of length. With the handling quirks behind me, I was better able to concentrate on other things - like the engine. Buell's aim of high torque figures makes the bike easy to ride, though you're never really certain if you're going fast enough. Confused? Me too. You feel as though you can grab a big handful on the corner exits on the Firebolt (even with street-compound D207s) without much in the way of intimidation. But does that mean the bike's torque is so user-friendly that it gives you nothing but that warm and cozy feeling - or is it simply not packing enough punch to scare you? I guess you'd need another middleweight sportbike to compare speeds between point A and point B to really know if you're going faster than you think. The bike does carburete (or is that inject?) well. There's no snatchy response when you get on the gas, just a smooth power delivery that causes you to pay very little attention to the fact that it's fuel injected at all. As far as the brakes go, I ended the day fairly non-committal on whether or not I liked them. I can't say they're stellar, but I also can't say that they're inferior, either. Either way, I'm not here to sound the tocsin for zero-load torsional front brakes, though I will say that I wasn't overly impressed with their somewhat spongy feel. I can't complain, however, about the stopping power they provided. And if they allow the front of the bike to be lighter because of n e _ s cue •• (Left) The Firebolt uses a 375mm inside-out rotor that bolts to the outside of the spokes, allowing the spokes and wheel to be lighter. (Above) The cockpit is nothing fancy - Just clean and basic. their design, then apparently the package works. One thing the Firebolt doesn't lack ~@@~ fi3GD®DD !?Df?®!2J@D71 Efi3@fi] is ground clearance. Despite the tight and twisty nature of the Vegas track and the high lean angles such corners produced, I only saw evidence that one of my peers, Cycle World's Don Canet (and I use the term "peer" loosely because he's really, really fast), touched the hero tabs on the footpegs. Because of what it is - and what it isn't - the Buell Firebolt is a difficult motorcycle to evaluate. While it may not be fair to compare it to the current crop of Japanese 600cc Supersport entries, it's also not right to simply judge it against past Buells. This particular Buell is a Buell like no other, but it is still a Buell. And it has that character. Does that make sense? Probably not. But it is, after all, the best-ever Buell. eN DISPLACEMENT: ENGINE TYPE: 984cc Air-cooled, V-twin, four-stroke BORE x STROKE: ...88.9 x 79.38mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 10:1 CARBQRETION: ....45mm downdraft DDFI fuel injection IGNmON: CDI TRANSMISSION: Five-speed FQEL CAPACITY: 3.7 gal. WHEELBASE: ......•....... .52 in. RAKE/TRAIL: 21°/3.3 in. SEAT HEIGHT: 31 in. FRONT TIRE: 120j70ZR17 REAR TIRE: 180/55ZR17 FRONT-WHEEL TRAVEL: 4.7 in. REAR-WHEEL TRAVEL: .4.7 in. FRONT BRAKE: Single inverted 375mm disc REAR BRAKE: ...Single 230mm disc CLAIMED DRY WEIGHT: 385 Ibs. LIST PRICE: $9995