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Adventure-Read
By BLAKE CONNER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BUEU
it comes to pure riding enjoyment, it's hard to
beat a good all-around
bike like the slew of
Adventure models that
have been popping up the last couple of
years. Bikes such as the Ducati Multistrada,
Suzuki V-Strom, Triumph Tiger, BMW R 1200
GS and KTM 950 Adventure, to name a few,
have redefined the fun factor. From a commercial standpoint, the market segment has
exploded, especially in Europe, but the segment is also starting to take off here as well.
These bikes spend most of their time on
the asphalt but are more than capable of
venturing onto unpaved gravel roads as
well. Their combination of wide, tall
motocross handlebars and excellent handling make them comer-carving demons.
So it made perfect sense for Erik Buell and
his team of freethinking designers and engineers to open a new page in their history
and jump into Adventure fold with the
brand-new Ulysses XB 12X.
The deSign goals for the Ulysses were
to build a comfortable, versatile, practical,
rugged bike. After all, according to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, 35 percent
of all roads in the United States are
unpaved. That's an estimated 1,376,000
miles of roads that the average street rider
probably would never consider exploring.
Think of the new Ulysses as a twowheeled exploration vehicle.
34
AUGUST 17, 2005 •
The core of the Ulysses is an updated
version of the tried-and-true 1203cc fuelinjected 4S-
