Peter,have always thought the K75 would make a dandy 900.Using off the shelf BM1200 parts...........Throw a GSXR 750 fr end on.

Between 1975-1985 it was 2-wheels or nuthin for me.Didn't own a 4 wheeler.This was back in the day of stuffin newspapers into leathers and in general,freezin thou's arse off.

Nowadays,I'm closin in on 100k on my BM('00KRS)and live with the Gerbing's on full roast.A typical w/end(3-5days)ride here in the mnts. sees us knockin down a cpl k's in miles.

Biggest problem for us is tyres.Sportbikes EAT rubber.My ZX6R can eat a set in less than 2500 miles.There have been some great strides in just the last cpl of years,but still,if you're riding these race replica's anywhere near as intended......The BM's are a little better.Fabbed up a nice tyre changin rig........also a nice 3 axis wheel straightening machine.And have been known to snag "tourist" tyres off local dealers piles,where edges are still virgin.It's(tyres),by far the biggest expense.

RIP,Buell

the answer to short-lived sportbike tires is Pirelli Diablo Strada's

what they wont do, you (I) have no business doing on public roads.
they will take track days too, unless your a club racer.

There's a problem with those K75s. They keep beating the pants off the bigger
displacment bikes. This is why BMW stopped selling them!

Same thing happened with the older R50Ss. They kept beating the pants off the
R69Ss. Can't fix that one. Have to quit making 'em!

I've driven my buddy's K-bike like that. Lots of grunt, very smooth. He drives
it all over, picks that one over most of the bikes in his stable, for long haul
runs.

Jim

In the name of a good game,Buell'y speaking,I'll play......


dsergison,I'll "see" your Strada with a SuperCorsa and "raise" you with a BT-003RS.

Give me your best tyre "story".BW

well, it came with dunlops. cant rememnber the model d207-208?, they lasted <3k
so did the next pair. i want to say D207-8?
I tried some Avon, cant rememnber the model, they lasted <3k
then I mounted the pirelli diablos. and im still going almost like new at ~5-6k ?

i would deffinately say they last 2x as long as the others.
and i can deffinately not out ride them (not saying much)
they happily scrape the pegs on the gound, they did nicely at my trackday pace. what more can I ask?

so, on ANY sporty type bike at all, I've only been through 4 or 5 sets of tires. but again, they are a huge improvement.
I will check and see if they are super corsa or strada. both names sound familliar.

they are on both our Buells X1 and XB9 now

There's sticky, and then there's sticky.

I run metzler tires on my bikes, and the issues of tread compound came clear to me
one december day three years ago. I had been shopping in Cold Spring NY for
some Xmas presents, and as I left the store it began to rain, with the rain turning
to sleet.

I set out for the taconic parkway because I wanted to get into work to catch up on
some stuff while nobody was around on the weekend.

The road (301 for anyone who knows the area) climbs a good deal as it heads east,
and passes through a wooded park right before it reaches the highway.

As I climbed in elevation the sleet on the road turned to snow, but it was not
deep and there were tire tracks from cars I could slot into. Eventually the
tire tracks 'went away' and the road became solid white. As I climbed farther
there were moments when it sounded like my clutch was slipping. So I
resolved to ride real smooth till I reached the parkway which would have been
sanded and salted.

As I reached the ramp for the parkway I stupidly touched the front brake, and
immediately fell over. It was a low speed low side getoff and nothing was hurt.

But I was amazed at what a good job the tires had been doing, because
I could barely stand on my feet, let alone hoist the bike back upright! It was like
one of those cartoon shows where the characters' shoes are flying back and
forth in a blur.

Metzlers are OK in my book.

Jim

I've never understood machinists wanting Harleys. You'd think they'd want a finely tuned precision machine? Who would want a clunky ass lathe that vibrates a lot and makes a lot of noise. I don't see the difference. Machinists of all people should reject crap machines. I doubt any machinists that would pick a lathe covered in chrome over one that worked well.

you are so right, never understood Harley's myself for that very reason.

When the Japanese were trying to recreate the Harley sound (which they couldn't) they pulled apart a bike and discovered that it was being caused by blowback past the pistons, which was caused by the much lower tolerances of Harley engines.

HD's refuse to accept any technology that's borderline new or innovative. They definately are a boutique manufacturer now.

Shame about buell, but the buisness venture was ill concieved from the beginning the target market for each type of motorcycle the technology etc are all different

Blah...Blah...Blah

Didn't know Harley was using tolerances?

The quality of their bikes doesn't really matter, they make most of their money selling costumes, errr, I mean ridding gear.

Blah...Blah...Blah

Then you'll appreciatte my old smoker below, 79 RD400F. Sold that in 2006.

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desergison,

'99-'02 tubers came with the 207 Q's oem.

208's better, I have had 209's( latest Q's) on the X1 for about year and a half and 3K miles and due for replacement this spring.

Super Corsa's are a trackday/ hi perf. tire,Corsa III's are the replacements for the high mileage Strada's that were disc. earlier this year.


Also some of the posters on this thread need to put the crack pipe away.

I put Metzler ME88s on my FXRT, the rear is wearing surprisingly fast with average riding 2up. Is that typical?

The ME88 marathons? Or the ME880s?

I find the ME88s are some of the few tires I get an
more than one honest season out of. But I don't ride
two-up at all. And, most of my bikes are pretty modest
in terms of hp.

In fact on the older ones, I put ME880 fronts on the
back. Works great, just mount 'em the wrong way round.

Jim

Oh right, 880 Marathons. I inflate it to full recommended pressure. Not sure of the mileage but the front still looks new, the rear is about done. Love the handling though.

I spoke with an industry insider today (I've been working with them on a motorcycle suspension book which I've illustrated), and they said that Buell had never made a profit.

They also said that HD makes most of their profit on licensing deals (100% profit) for sh!t like HD teddy bears, HD Ford trucks, HD beer, HD branded merchandise in other words.

It's my observation that Buell didn't make a profit because HD tried to run it like HD, when they needed to run it like Ducati.

Speaking of tyres,which ranks right up there with oil discussions as to being almost a complete waste of time...........If you ask most scratchers/track whores they'll repspond to the question about a "blued" tyre that its been overheated.And certainly wouldn't disagree,but always counter with.....then explain how "tourist" takeoffs on the local BM dealer pile also exhibit the blueing.To the point of being noticably worse than shagged HPerf. stuff?And these have been basically ridden by grandma's.I'm sayin theres more than one way to trash a tyre.Do any of ya'll have experience "boiling"a tyre?Taking HPerf rubber past the operating temp,past the dripping buggers,past painting 2nd gear darkies?.....They turn into "fuzzies".Why don't they turn blue?

Harley style in my pea brain is exactly like comparing a Colt model P with some HiTech "plastic" semi auto.I've done enough MC art to fully appreciate their engines lines.

"...when they needed to run it like Ducati."

Step 1: pry buell badge off bike.

Step 2: eleveate buell five feet up in the air with hoist.

Step 3: roll duc 916 under buell.

Step 4: glue buell badge onto front of 916 fairing.

Done! A high performance buell.

Jim

Mud, nice bike, around here we are very FXR friendly

One friend has a FRX lowrider convertible and another has an FXR SP. I am looking for one (at a steal) myself and sell off the sportster. A friend of a friend has 10 FXRs, yep ten and counting...

Most folks dont know that the FXR frame was an Buell design