Much naked fun for the money
Buell began producing "sports bikes" in 1984. The company started by Eric Buell is a wholly owned division of Harley-Davidson which supply all the engines.
So, you might expect Buell machines to have all the attributes of the archetypal Milwaukee road locomotive. Not so, as a glance at the Buell XB9 SX Lightning CityX shows.
What is it? It's clearly a naked bike but, is it a racer, a street fighter, sports bike or tourer? To find the answer you have to ride it.
Few would expect a machine with this ancestry to be competitive with a "real" sports bike, but it quite surprised us. Steering is nimble, quick and precise. It was a delight in the bends.
The 984cc, 4-valve, V-twin engine churns out 63kW at 6,600rpm and a hefty 85.6Nm of torque. In a 175g machine, this makes for powerful acceleration - 0-100km/h in 4.45 seconds with a top speed of 212 km/h. In most normal conditions it could hold its own with many a sports machine.
The sheer grunt from the engine and responsive throttle control, coupled with good engine braking gives confidence. On the move, it feels as if it weighs nothing.
Despite all this, it's far more comfortable than traditional sports machines. The low revving, high torque power delivery, coupled with a sensible seating position and very well-placed handlebars, gives it the feel of a machine which can also be an effortless tourer.
Among its innovative unusual features is a tank cover of blue translucent perspex, reminiscent of an iMac. The fuel is carried in the frame. The oil tank is in the swinging arm.
Rear transmission is by a belt which, like machine shops of yesteryear, is tensioned by a jockey wheel.
The exhaust note is not over-obtrusive. At tick-over speed the throb, throb, throb massages both machine and rider.
The clutch is cable operated. The lever is non-adjustable and, at neither end, was there provision for cable adjustment.
The 375mm front rotor-style disk with a six-piston calliper is operated by an adjustable hand lever. Although perfectly adequate we expected more bite from this set up. The rear 240mm disk brake was highly effective, although some more careful adjustment of the lever angle would have made riding in city traffic easier.
The speedo and tacho have a light blue background and rather bulky numerals which combine to give a comic strip appearance. The instruments are not as clear as we would wish.
The arrow-head shape of the pillion seat and the absence of grab rails or handles make it clear that this is not a machine designed with a passenger in mind.
Our test ride started in the dry and, for a while, we were able thoroughly to enjoy the delightful mix of powerful, slow-revving V-twin and excellent road-holding.
Then it started to rain. Roadholding was still very good. When we stopped after 20 miles of heavy rain on a mix of roads, we discovered how totally useless is the rear mudguard. Any semblance of protection is, ostensibly, provided by the rear frame and a vestigial piece of plastic with a perforated inset. This tapers from the pointy rear of the pillion seat to nothing. The rear tyre is a 17" 180/55 section. This combination, a breathtaking example of form over function, guarantees that the rider ends up covered with liquid mud from top to bottom. We'd have been cleaner after a shower at the rear end of a slurry tanker.
The front mudguard is equally useless, leaving engine and rider's legs thoroughly plastered.
Pity, because in dry conditions, this is a thoroughly enjoyable machine which gives hours of pleasure ridden hard or simply pottering. I don't know about Milwaukee but it does rain in Ireland - and we provide contractors and farmers with the inalienable right to deposit as much muck on our roads as they please.
Apart from this glaring defect, which can be overcome with the right gear, this interesting and unusual machine is great fun. At €10,800, it's a lot of versatile bike for your money.
TECH SPEC:
ENGINE: Air/oil/fan cooled, fuel-injected, 4-stroke, 4-valve, 45° 984cc V-twin; 62kW at 6,600rpm; 85.6Nm at 5,600rpm; 5-speed constant mesh gearbox; belt drive
CHASSIS: Aluminium frame with Uniplanar Powertrain Vibration Isolation System; suspension - front fully adjustable Showa forks, rear fully adjustable Showa shock absorber; brakes - front ZTL type 375mm stainless steel floating rotor 6-piston calliper, rear 240mm stainless steel rotor single piston calliper
DIMENSIONS: Wheelbase 1,320mm, dry weight 175kg, fuel capacity 14 litres
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 212km/h; 0-100km/h 4.46secs
PRICE: €10,800 includes 2-year, unlimited mileage warranty and 1-year Buell Assistance