Erik Buell is an idiot.

Mental wrote: Predictably, like their sport bike, it sucks. Too heavy, underpowered.

Can I ask you what, in your opinion of course, makes a good sportbike? Dualsport?

Well I ride a DR400, which admittedly, also sucks for the same reasons, but its a good entry level dual sport. If I get another, it will be a KLR 650 probably. I would love a GS, but I ride single track too much, and to be honest they are a bit heavy and have become a bit of a punchline of the adventure riding world, as many are never taken off road or ridden as they are designed. I love KTMs, but I am just too damm hard on my machinery for something that exotic. So in a very round about answer for dual sports, I would say appropriately lightweight to the level of off roading you do, and with a good power to weight ration for it.

As for sportbike, well the name is implied. A sportbike is about performance. I also ride a GSXR 1000, yes, I know, the squid bike of choice. But if I am looking for simple, eyeball crushing acceleration and knife edge handling, I am going japanese, and I am going literbike. My Gixxer makes more HP than many import "sporty" cars, over twice what most HD make, and its 5 years old. It is weapons grade insanity, and thats my opinion of a good sportbike.

My track bike is an R6 becuase a liter bike is just too damm much on a track, and I also have my R1100S for sport touring. Its slow, but makes great tourque, is very comfortable and still capable for the twisty stuff of holding its own.

Xceler8x wrote:

Mental wrote: Predictably, like their sport bike, it sucks. Too heavy, underpowered.

Can I ask you what, in your opinion of course, makes a good sportbike? Dualsport?

Their sport bikes kick ass in AMA (probably because they get twice the displacement of the 600cc bikes they compete against and are now allowed to have factory race bikes vs the production based jap bikes)

A good dual sport is a bike that can carry you (and possibly your stuff) in relative comfort on the highway at speed then take you anywhere you're brave enough to go off-road and home again without stopping to change much more than tire pressures and a front sprocket, if that, and without killing you in the process.

I agree with Mental's sport bike definition, though I'd put Ducati's on the list too.

I've yet to sit on a supermoto bike that I couldn't flat foot, and I'm not that tall (5'10", 31" inseam).

skierd wrote: ...I agree with Mental's sport bike definition, though I'd put Ducati's on the list too..

No doubt, I would submit they do offer eyeball crushing accelleration via tourqe v horspepower, and very knife edge handling. I failed to clarify that am going Japanese and liter bike. Most modern 600s are as, if not faster on a track than a literbike, its a style issue

Most of the guys I know with track bikes prefer the GSXR 750 to pretty much everything else... little bit faster on the straight but same compact size and manageable powerband for the corners.

To be completely honest, how many roads are there where you can't keep up with a 1k in a 600 super sport bike??? I rode my old 750's with lots of literbike guys and never had any problem unless they decided to go 180+ on the highway. And thats not exactly a speed you can really maintain for too long.

I really like that new suzuki gladyus or whateveri ts called, for a good all around bike.

Have you seen the promo website for the gladius yet...? I want a motorcycle, not a fashion accessory.

http://www.gladiusstyle.com/

I think that the interview with Buell on the site sums up the Blast quite well. He admits that it is a great little bike, easy to learn, easy to ride, dependable as all get out. But they want to be a sport-bike manufacturer and entry-level bikes don't fit that model. I think the message is pretty interesting, but why not give away the last few Blasts!?!?! I am always against crushing perfectly good machines!

They are not crushing all the bikes, just the one in the commercial. And by the looks of the gas cap, it wasn't a new bike off of the assy line. It was a commercial.

Thanks for answering the question on what makes a good X motorcycle. With X meaning any purpose.

I'd say Buell is doing a good job. That commercial built buzz about their product and name. Marketing is doing what it was paid to do.

I just bought my 3rd Buell after taking a Buell hiatus for about 6 years. I'm surprised at how cheap it is to run and fix...so far.

pinchvalve wrote: I think the message is pretty interesting, but why not give away the last few Blasts!?!?! I am always against crushing perfectly good machines!

LOL, they're still going to make the Blast, it just won't be sold as a Buell Blast.

skierd wrote: Have you seen the promo website for the gladius yet...? I want a motorcycle, not a fashion accessory. http://www.gladiusstyle.com/

I could not help but think "biggus dickus". It is like a comedy skit mocking the fashion and motorcycling worlds. Gladius? Pretty damned funny .

andrave wrote: To be completely honest, how many roads are there where you can't keep up with a 1k in a 600 super sport bike???

Come to Montana.

I dig the Gladius, but I agree. Why the hell are the trying so hard to make it a fashion accessory? They didn't need to do that with the SV 650, and look how that thing turned out.

In reply to Appleseed: "Come to Montana"

No kidding. I live in NE Ohio and it is a good 70 miles to the decent roads. Most of the area around hear is mostly a grid of flat farm land.

I love small bikes, but I wouldn't go back to a 600 cc or less bike again. There is a reason that all you see out here are cruisers and starboyz wanabees.

Funny you mentioned that. I just drove through Sturgis today. Real bikers vs. wienies was 15 to 1. They had TRAILERS!

On the other hand, coming out for the Oshkosh fly-in, I met a real biker. He was driving a Ural, loaded for bear. This dude managed to put 45,000 miles, in three years, on a bike that tops out at 65 mph.

Appleseed wrote: This dude managed to keep a Ural running for 45,000 miles...

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Appleseed wrote: This dude managed to put 45,000 miles, in three years, on a bike that tops out at 65 mph.

I guess I'm slacking. I have 39,000 miles and 2 years to go to match that on my 230L

pinchvalve wrote: I think that the interview with Buell on the site sums up the Blast quite well. He admits that it is a great little bike, easy to learn, easy to ride, dependable as all get out. But they want to be a sport-bike manufacturer and entry-level bikes don't fit that model. I think the message is pretty interesting, but why not give away the last few Blasts!?!?! I am always against crushing perfectly good machines!

Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, & Suzuki are always leaders with sport bikes, if not racing, than in sales. All four also manufacture everything from 50cc up. If Buell thinks that the blast is hurting their image, maybe they need to look around.

Personally, when I think Buell, I think: 1) loud 2) oil leaks 3) vibration 4) slow 5) headgasket failure

Maybe those reasons aren't exactly accurate with their current product line, but they were true. If anything, they need to distance themselves from H-D, and introduce more smaller bikes to get people into the marque.

I guess that I am the target market for the Buell, I wanted a non-japaneese sporty standard bike, preferably a twin. But I think that they kinda want to be quirky for quirkiness sake and they are not the most attractive bikes.

When I bought my last bike I really wanted a used watercooled Ducati monster, but I also like some of the Buells, especially the city x (xb9x).

I may have bought one except that I got turned off by a Harley shop that wouldn't let me test ride a used one on their floor and I found and bought a S4 Monster before I found another Buell to try out.