By PETER THOEMING
12 June 2006

Erik Buell has, I suspect, been reading Alfred, Lord Tennyson – specifically the great poem Ulysses. And not just because that’s the name of his latest machine. Here’s what I think he’s been working off:

"The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:

The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep

Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,

’Tis not too late to seek a newer world."

The lights twinkling from the rocks are obviously the piles of money that other manufacturers are making from building dual purpose bikes, ridden in the rocks and sand. The long day that’s waning is the day of the pure sports bike, killed by speed cameras and restrictive legislation. The moon – note that it is ‘slow’ – is the cruiser motorcycle, with its sales ever increasing. And the ‘deep’, I suggest, is the Harley-Davidson board with its many members all seeing better sales growth from H-D’s cruisers than from Buell’s sports bikes, and consequently getting into Erik’s ear with their moaning.

So, is there time still for Buell to seek a newer world, in this case that of the big dual purpose tourer?

Looking at the Ulysses you’d have to say that Buell has, at the very least, had a truly good go. It’s a stylish-looking motorcycle, an impression helped by the impressive panniers with their metal insets. For once, a manufacturer has done more than just buy in boxes from an established pannier maker and stick on their own badges. I had a Barricade Orange bike, and I love the colour. It is also, as the name suggests, highly visible.

The bike itself is pretty much a standard Thunderstorm-engined (1200 cc) XB Buell. The new transmission is supposedly an improvement, but in fact is still quite crunchy. The belt, on the other hand, is excellent and does a good job at smoothing out any drive train lash. The wide handlebars provide accurate steering and the longer (but still short by other brands’ standards) wheelbase makes for reasonable steadiness at speed. This bike does not have the supreme stiffness of a Ducati Multistrada, but its handling doesn’t seem to suffer noticeably because of that. There is good ground clearance despite the underslung muffler, but there isn’t much protection for the engine.

The specially-designed Dunlop tyres cope pretty well with gravel, and the bike tracks accurately enough without any really noticeable vices. Call it more dirt road capable than a Multistrada, but far less than a GS BMW. Seventeen inch wheels are a little small for off-tar work. Real dirt is well outside the Ulysses’ brief; it’s a multi-road tourer much like the Triumph Tiger.

Seat and riding position are comfortable for both rider and pillion, although the seat feels even taller than the indicated 850 mm. It’s wide, too. The small windscreen keeps the wind off the rider’s chest without creating a lot of turbulence above it.

Call me a gadget freak, but I loved the Triple Tail. This is a kind of hinged board which can be a luggage rack over the rear seat, a luggage rack behind the seat or a pillion backrest. It’s a typical Buell idea. I like the twin 12 volt power outlets, too.

Another typical Buell idea is the petrol in the frame, but unfortunately in this case that means a rather limited amount of fuel for this kind of bike – only 16.7 litres. Fortunately the Ulysses is quite economical, so you still get a reasonable touring range.

The ZTL rim-mounted front brake is also a standard Buell fitment, and works just as well here as it does on the other bikes – which is to say very well. Suspension is quite tall. Unfortunately the soft front suspension dips quite deeply when you apply the brake. The rear preload is nice and easy to adjust with a dial below the side of the seat.

The XB12X is reasonably light – heavier than a KTM 990 or a Ducati Multistrada, but lighter than a BMW R1200GS – and has a reasonable amount of power. The factory claims an ‘outstanding’ power to weight ratio, which is probably a little bit of an exaggeration. The weight is down low, which is nice, and there’s a decent amount of torque - but really only above the dip in the torque curve at about 3500 rpm. The Ulysses is not especially fun to ride slowly, because at very low revs it doesn’t respond to the throttle smoothly. I think this is a matter of tuning, and could be eliminated pretty easily.

Taken bit by bit like this, the Ulysses package is certainly not perfect. What that doesn’t tell you, though, is that it’s an enormous amount of fun to ride – and how do you put a value on just being different, and being seen to be different? I wish Erik Buell luck in this new dual purpose world that he’s exploring; I’d be happy to join him there.

AT A GLANCE
Model: Buell Ulysses XB12X
Price: $17,995 (plus on-road charges)
Warranty: Two years, unlimited distance
Power: 74.6 kW at 6600 rpm
Torque: 110 Nm at 6000 rpm
Engine: Air cooled 45 degree vee twin, 4 stroke, OHV, DDFI II fuel injection
Bore x stroke: 88.9 x 96.8 mm
Displacement: 1203 cc
Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Transmission: 5 speed, multi disc wet clutch, final drive by aramid reinforced belt
Suspension: Front, 43 mm fully adjustable upside-down fork, travel 165 mm. Rear, monoshock, fully adjustable, travel 163 mm
Dimensions: Seat height 850 mm, dry weight 193 kg, fuel capacity 16.7 litres, wheelbase 1370 mm
Tyres: Front, 120/70 ZR17. Rear, 180/55 ZR17 (special Dunlop D616s)
Frame: Aluminium perimeter with Uniplanar vibration isolation (rubber blocks)
Brakes: Front, 375 mm floating ZTL rim-mounted disc with six piston caliper. Rear, single 240 mm disc with single piston floating caliper.
Top speed: 210 km/h
Acceleration:
0-100 km/h – 4.4 sec
60-100 km/h – 5.4 sec
Fuel consumption: Average on test 4.5 litres per 100 km, premium unleaded
Range: 371 km
Colour/s: Barricade Orange, Midnight Black.