The first thing I did having picked up the Buell Lightning City X from Warrs magnificent showroom in Chelsea, was to take it down the Kings Rd. As you are on the doorstep of the Capital's premier posing ground, it seemed the obvious thing to do. Despite the showery weather, the pavements and cafes were still packed full of the beautiful people. So I cruised down, revving the big V-twin at anything that moved in my eye-line (and beyond), until I spotted a Neros. I hopped off and took my first long look at the Harley derived monster. With its rim mounted front brake, belt drive, fuel injected 984 cc V-twin motor with exhaust mounted underneath the lump, the petrol is held in the frame, the oil is held in the swing arm, and as for the ignition system, its hidden away where a thief may never find it ! As I stepped away , the Buell continued to whirr as the fan sucked heat off the engine and out rearwards, from below the seat. Cool as fuck! I lit a fag and stood conspicuously close to my new baby, so passers by knew who was the daddy. Were they impressed ? Were they hell ! I might as well have been on my CB500 for all the attention I was getting from the ladies who lunch .

Next day I took the Buell out of town for a proper 2onT shake down. Unfortunately it was another showery day, and although I made it beyond the M25 without a soaking, my buddy didn't, and turned back at Purley Way, his new CBR600RR not meant for the wet. So I rolled into Ryker's on my own, and no buddies waiting for me. By the time I had taken my helmet and gloves off, five people were standing round the bike, eager to chat. One woman sat on it, to prove that 5 ft 8 ins is the minimum height to be able to get your feet firmly down on both sides. The seat height was a major issue for me, as I couldn't get my short arse legs to reach the ground. When I decided to go from my Kings Road posing spot, I got on the bike to find I had stopped on a heavy camber, making getting the bike off its side stand a real problem. Thereafter I was always careful to stop on level ground. Forget the Kings Rd, the Buell doesn't look different enough to the untrained eye. But take it to a biking event and you will be instantly popular, because the Buell makes friends!

So far I wasn't getting on with the Buell all that well. It is big and heavy, do not be fooled by some of the pictures you see of it. Its got a narrow wheel base - probably about half the length of some of the Harley fat boy pan heads (have I made that model up?) you see in that lovely showroom at Warrs . But it is heavy and you really feel it when you get hustling along - it does take some serious man handling in the twisties . The Buell holds a line with tremendous confidence, you really can chuck it in and know its not going to wallow and pitch about. The suspension is a bit special all round in fact. Two beefy Buell up side down forks have a fair amount of adjustment possibilities; I couldn't fault either the front or rear shock, which had a remote reservoir tucked away under the seat. The ride was plush and comfortable with London's worst pot holes and sleeping policemen causing it not the slightest inconvenience. But I did find the riding position a bit off. You are pitched slightly forward, at just the right angle for you to catch your nuts every so often. The bars are high and wide, but raked back slightly at the ends, which actually makes a huge difference. Like the bike as a whole, you get used to it, but it does effect the way you operate the clutch.

On a 1000cc V-twin, the clutch is always going to be crucial, and its always going to be heavy. At all the biking events I went to, people always commented how heavy it felt. First gear is tall, so you really don't need to think about changing up until you get up to 40mph, and it doesn't bounce off the rev limiter until you are going 45 mph, and its in the red zone of between 7 and 8,000 rpm. So you are slipping the clutch all day long around town. Strangely enough, my left hand never felt tired, even when I'd been riding for several hours at a time, and been slipping the clutch at every slow turn I'd encountered. I doubt if there are any couriers riding Buells, but they will most definitely have strong left hands if they do.

Out and about in the country lanes and A roads of Surrey, the City X was great fun. This bike has torque to burn - you will win every traffic light GP you contest on this baby. The problem is keeping the speed down. Drop the clutch, wind it on and you are going 40 mph before you know it. Change up, drop the clutch and you are at 50 mph in an instant, and around town, that is way too fast. But in the country it is oodles of fun, keep winding on and in third you will beyond 70 mph before you know it. Im told you can get the City X above 120 mph, which is plenty for an unfared bike, but I didn't take it beyond 80 mph, not just because I'm a good boy, but also because it is so much bike to slow down in a hurry. The single rim mounted front brake has lots of feel and power, but I didn't feel it was enough for the huge mass of the bike, and I seriously doubted it would stop the bike on a sixpence if needed. I wasn't at all surprised to see a Buell fanatic at Boxhill had changed his to standard sized double discs with R1 derived callipers, with specially manufactured elements to hold them in place.

As anyone who has ridden a V-Twin will tell you,.down shifts are the interesting part of riding this configuration. I hated the SV650 I owned a few years ago, not least because I locked the rear wheel and stalled the thing on my first attempted down shift. I was quite proud of the way I held on to it as it skidded horribly to a halt, the owner I was about to buy it off no doubt looking on horrified from behind. Having said that, the Buell never even hinted at that kind of thing. A slipper clutch was discussed when I was talking to Martin ( Warrs Chief technician) about the City X - he mentioned it, not me! It really doesn't need it, but one of my main moments came when I approached a hairpin downhill on a greasy road. Thinking about it, the Buell would have probably dealt with it in second, but it was only natural to drop it down to first before tipping in and driving out. Before I knew it, the thing lurched horribly and I was no longer heading out of the turn, but into the foliage. I was going slow enough to gather it up and make it round, but it had my heart pounding like the clappers and it took some deep breaths to settle myself down again.

Heading back towards London I really started to give it some berries, and I was really rewarded with that unforgettable roar from the exhaust and fabulously responsive engine. The Buell is a big boys toy, and advanced riders will love the mile munching torque of the V-twin. Get stuck behind a car or van, twist your wrist and you are behind the next one. As per usual I hit a longish queue of cars crawling behind a coach on the A22. In a few seconds Id despatched the cars and was looking to pass the slow coach. As the turn opened out I could see just enough and I was gone, with a lovely clear road for the next few miles. Absolute joy - chucking the Buell about at around 70 mph - this is what this bike excels at - fast A roads !

Practicalities

The XB9SX City X is an event bike - every time you get on the thing, its an event. The exhaust note is utterly addictive, and I found myself revving it to 6k rpm every time I went under a bridge or tunnel. Its also great to have when you are filtering in traffic, everyone knows you are coming. But the downside is the diabolical fuel consumption this gives you. I was finding the yellow warning light coming on every other day with the Buell. Martin blamed my riding style, but the big fuel injected engine is always going to be juicy. The fuel injection is remarkably refined, but what you may not realise is the Buell engine is specially designed for the bike, and is not a Harley engine with the bike designed around it. There were a couple of occasions when the bike took a moment to get going, as if it had missed a beat, but that was twice in a week. I certainly don't think the bike is well suited to city life, its big and heavy, and although U-turns are easy, its not manoeuvrable enough to get you in and out of traffic with ease. Carrying anything other than a backpack is possible, but I would expect Buell's luggage to be similar in price to its parts - very costly.

But the Buell isn't aimed at Jap loving pragmatist bikers like me. Its for those bikers who are looking for something different, and the Buell City X has to be the most unique mass produced bike in the world. So how much does all this cost ? How does £5999 otr sound to you ? Second hand - not much less, because like Harleys, these things hold their value, so you get one, have more fun than you thought possible for six months, and then sell it on for much the same as what you paid for it ? So if you've got £5k to spend on a bike this summer, why don't you give Warrs a ring and see if they wont give you a test ride - you might find it addictive - I did .



Buell Lightning CityX XB9SX 2005MY Technical Specification:


Engine Type Air/oil/fan cooled, Four Stroke, 45 degree V-Twin

Displacement 984 cc

Bore and Stroke 3.5 x 3.125 in / 88.9 x 79.38 mm

Compression ratio 10:1

Valve train OHV, Two valves per cylinder

Valve adjustment Self adjusting

Fuel delivery 45 mm down draft DDFI II fuel injection

Exhaust Free-Breathing 2 into 1 collector

Intake 0 resistance Air Box, Ram Air Intake

Power* 83 hp / 84PS / 62 kW @ 6600 rpm (EU standard EC95/1)

Torque* 63.14 ft-lb / 85.6Nm @ 5600 (EU standard EC95/1)

Lubrication Dry Sump, 2.5 Quarts / 2.4 litres Capacity

Oil filtration Screw-on disposable element

Chassis

Frame Aluminium Frame with Uniplanar Powertrain Vibration

Isolation system

Wheelbase 1320 mm / 52 in

Rake 21 degree

Trail 83 mm / 3.3 in

Front Suspension Showa® shock absorber with adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload

Rear Suspension Showa® shock absorber with adjustable compression damping, rebound damping and spring preload

Front wheel travel 120 mm, 4.7 in

Rear wheel travel 127 mm, 5 in

Front brake ZTL type brake, 375 mm stainless steel floating rotor, 6 piston caliper

Rear brake 240 mm stainless steel rotor, single piston floating caliper

Front wheel 6 spoke cast aluminium, 3.5 x 17 in / 88.9 x 431.8 mm

Villain Black

Rear wheel 6 spoke cast aluminium, 5.5 x 17 in / 139.7 x 431.8 mm

Villain Black

Front tyre Pirelli® Scorpion Sync 120/70 ZR-17

Rear tyre Pirelli® Scorpion Sync 180/55 ZR-17

Fuel capacity 14 litres / 3.7 Gal

Fuel Consumption N/A

Gross vehicle

weight rating 850 lb / 385 kg

Dry weight 385 lb / 175 kg

Load capacity 400 lb / 181 kg

Seat height 30.6 in / 777 mm

Ground clearance 4.35 in / 110 mm

Overall length 76.8 in / 1950 mm

Overall width 32.3 in / 820 mm

Overall height 42.3 in / 1075 mm

Transmission

Type Five-speed, constant mesh

Ratio 1) 2.69, (2) 1.85, (3) 1.43, (4) 1.18, (5) 1.00

Primary drive Chain 1.68:1 ratio

Clutch Wet, Multiplate

Final drive Constant path, 14 mm pitch aramid reinforced Hibrex® belt with Flexten® Plus technology**, 2.41:1 ratio

Instruments Electronic speedometer, tachometer, odometer, 2 tripmeter, reserve tripmeter, clock, low fuel light, engine check light, oil pressure warning light, indicator for high beam, turn signals and neutral.

Electrical

Charging system 494 watts peak, 38-amp permanent magnet 3-phase alternator w/ solid state-regulator

Battery 12 Volts, 12 Amp-hour

Headlight 55/55 Watt, projector beam

Taillight 5/21 Watts

Turn signals Manual cancelling

Colours Translucent Hero Blue flyscreen and airbox cover

Midnight Black front fender and chin spoiler

Villain Black wheels

Warranty 2 Year, unlimited mileage warranty (Europe)

1 Year Buell Assistance roadside assistance (Europe)

* Europe only - Australian specifications to be confirmed

**Hibrex and Flexten are registered trademarks of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.



Pete Morrison - with thanks to Gareth and Martin