Buell Cyclone Motorcycles For Sale Motorcycles for sale

Harley-Davidson : Other 2002 harley davidson custom board track buell 91 hp 3000 miles

$18,995

Sterling-Heights, Michigan

Best Offer Available2002 Harley-Davidson Custom Board Track BuellTop Line InformationYear:2002VIN:4MZLS11J423325560Make:Harley-DavidsonStock:CE014Model/Trim:Custom Board Track BuellCondition:Pre-OwnedEngine:1200 cc Exterior:HOC Shimrin GreenTransmission:AutomanualMileage:3,200Additional Photos* * * Click Photos to Enlarge * * ** * * Click Photos to Enlarge * * *Phone: 8778539037Description 1923/2002 Harley Davidson BOARD TRACK BUELL. Built around a 91hp Cyclone, this modern day rendition of a classic racer is built with the best equipment available. Starting with a Arlen Ness frame and gas tank [one of approx. 250 built], parts from Performance Machine, Russell, Avon, GMA Engineering, Fueling, Crane, Zippers, Goodson, Paughco and more are combined with a VL springer from the Netherlands and hand-built handlebars, oil tank, battery box, seat, and various other items. Covered in gorgeous House of Color paint, this easy to ride one of a kind motorcycle will be a unique addition to any collection. Buying a new house, must sell. No REASONABLE offer refused. For sale and located in Sterling Heights, Michigan 48310 At our company we work very hard to accurately describe our vehicles through text descriptions and elaborate photos. When you purchase a pre-owned vehicle it is not a new vehicle. Any used vehicle can have normal wear and blemishes. Before placing a bid please read the descriptions thoroughly and view all pictures. Included Standard Equipment Hours of Operation Inspections INSPECTIONS: Nationwide Inspections, Inc. is a full service property inspection company providing a wide variety of technical INSPECTIONS, EVALUATIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, APPRAISALS AND EXPERT WITNESS SERVICES “NATIONWIDE”. Our menu of services includes, but is not limited to; automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, marine vessels, generators, RV’s, ATV’s and bicycles. NATIONWIDE will provide you with the level of expertise needed from our network of over 3800 inspectors, including ASE CERTIFIED AND MASTER CERTIFIED technicians, licensed appraisers, investigators and engineers throughout the nation. Call us at 1-800-849-3005 and let us exceed your expectations. Warranty WARRANTY HEADQUARTERS: We believe that customers make the best decisions when they are provided with good information in a timely fashion. We do not believe that you should be pressured into making a purchase. We won't try to get your business by creating a false sense of urgency or by bringin up a "special to get you to buy." what we will do is answer your questions and help you select the right warranty for you. For instance, if you mileage is getting close to a cut-off for a lower-priced warranty, we believe you should know. http://warrantyheadquarters.com/request_quote.php Financing Capital One Auto Finance, America's largest online vehicle lender, provides vehicle loans to customers directly via the Internet, as well as through dealerships nationwide. Applying online is safe and easy, and it takes just minutes to get a response. Once approved, qualified customers receive a no-obligation Blank Check, which works like a personal check and can be used to buy a new or used car or motorcycle, refinance or even buy out a lease. Specialty Auto Financing J. J. BEST BANC & CO., being the largest Automobile Lender of it's type in the country, is recognized by Antique, Classic, Exotic, Muscle, Hot Rod and Sports car enthusiasts and dealers as the leader in the Classic Car automobile finance industry. Offering long terms and low rates, financing is available for most model cars ranging from 1900 to today. With the most knowledgeable staff available, and loan approvals as fast as 5 minutes J. J. BEST BANC & CO. will help you drive the dream. Vehicle & Equipment Financing Specialists Highway & Construction Equipment Financing made easy with US Financial. We specialize in financing the hard working American companies who make this country work, those workers in the construction, agriculture, trucking, machine tool, and commercial trades. If you need to finance heavy equipment, dump trucks, machine tools, or trucks you have come to the right place. Call 888-595-4422 TermsPayment Types:Certified Funds and Institutional FinancingFees:TERMS OF SALE: By clicking the Buy It Now Button, or by submitting an offer you agree to the following terms. 1. The buyer is to contact the seller within 24 hours to discuss payment and transportation details or contact us for the seller contact information at 877-853-9037. 2. Payment is made directly to the seller. We recommend to our sellers to accept cash in person or a bank wire. 3. The seller must receive payment in full within 7 days. 4. The buyer has had an inspection prior to the purchase or understands fully the condition of the vehicle and is sold as is. All vehicles are for sale by owner. Vehicle Deals does not own any vehicles nor do we collect any monies from the buyer or seller after the sale is complete. 5. Buyers are responsible for any costs incurred in obtaining possession of the vehicle as well as sales tax and registration fees. 6. Vehicle Deals is a third party marketing company and are not responsible for any accidental errors or misrepresentation in the vehicle listing. Any errors will be corrected immediately upon notification. We reserve the right to end an auction at our discretion. 7. It is a possibility that a vehicle on auction is subject to prior sale. Upon notification from the vehicle owner we will end the auction immediately. Please contact us at 877-853-9037 or [email protected] if you have any questions and/or need assistance with completion of a sale. Customer Service is our #1 priority and we would appreciate notification of any issues that may arise.Terms:Auction Policies Customers with zero or negative feedback on eBay Motors please contact us prior to bidding. Otherwise, we reserve the right to cancel your bid. Understand this is only to protect the integrity of the auction. Winning bidder must contact us within 24 hours of the auction close and the purchase transaction completed within 7 calendar days. We reserve the right to re-list or sell the vehicle in the event of a non-paying bidder. TransportA-1 Auto Transport provides the highest standard of safety and security in the automobile transport and car shipping industry. We offer the most technologically advanced service available for your car's journey door-to-door, coast-to-coast.For 50 years DAS has been the industry leader - providing quality vehicle relocation services.DAS owns and operates its own fleetDAS has dedicated customer service repsDAS provides online satellite trackingDAS provides choice of open or enclosed carriersDAS offers true Door-to-Door service optionsCall Today! 800.242.6413National Transport LLC is an industry leader in vehicle relocation, providing outstanding service and reliability for the Dealer, Individual, or Corporate. We are a fully insured, federally licensed and permitted vehicle transportation service, giving you, the customer, peace of mind in shipping your auto from one location to another. Open trailer or enclosed transport options are available. About Us These are the principles we live by and our pledge to our customers: The technology we use to do business may constantly change but sound business and marketing practices do not. Innovation: We are committed to the concepts of continuous quality service and process improvement. To continually review all phases of our system in an effort to provide a level of service second to none.Culture: We believe our people are the source of our strength and the key to our future. The dedication of our employees and their desire to continually make improvements are indispensible and determine the quality of our services.Teamwork: We must work together, both internally and externally….as a team with trust and respect. We encourage our customers to help us find unconventional and practical processes in an effort to achieve success in today’s marketplace.Commitment to Value: The true value of our service may only be determined by the confidence placed in it. Our owners and employees have confidence in our services because we stand behind our services and our customers.Integrity: This is the foundation our company is built on. Vehicles by Seller7700 L StreetSte A Omaha NEOmaha, Nebraska 68127Phone: 8778539037 ©2003-2014AutoRevo- All Rights Reserved Auction counter powered byAutoRevo Dealer Websites and eBay Templates Powered by AutoRevo

Trim Board Track Buell

Custom Built Motorcycles : Chopper Custom chopper,2000 Buell CycloneM2,rigid ground up rebuid.

$9,750

Fort Dodge, Iowa

Custom Chopper 2000 Buell Cyclone M2 with a Mikuni carb,motor was recently recently rebuilt along with the whole bike.List of hand made and or cast parts' include the frame,gas tank,rear fender,oil tank,triple trees,two sets' of handle bars',head light,tail light,tag bracket,seat,battery box,and header/pipe.This chopper runs as good as it looks.It is a blast to ride and has the looks to match the performance.This chopper is very fast!Handle bars' switch out easy,seat can be sprung or rigid the springs are removable.This bike was built by Hot Rat Rods of St.Louis Park,Mn.It was the owners personal ride.I have owned it since Feb of 2014.Need to sale to finish other projects'. If I could I would keep this bike because it so fun to ride ,But I can't.Buyer is responsible for pick up or delivery.Cash in person or transfer with my bank,no bike until $$ is in my hand Call Trevor with any questions' at 515-227-1144.

Buell : Thunderbolt Rare limited production 1997 Erik Buell S3T Thunderbolt Sport Touring Edition

$3,500

Oakdale, Pennsylvania

OWN A PIECE OF MOTORCYCLE HISTORY !This is a limited production "Tuber", one of the last hand assembled by a few of Erik Buell's expert team in East Troy Wisconsin, back in the early days, only 384 were made this first year of the S3T in 1997. American Muscle, made in USA. Very light but strong hand laid fiberglass fender, fairing, gas tank, and rear tail section. Once Harley took over Buell in 1998, the expensive to make fiberglass components all went to mass production cheap ABS plastic. Ducati style hand crafted chrome-moly perimeter frame, Performance Machine front and Brembo rear calipers, and inverted WP forks. Corbin seat ($500), D&D Racing carbon fiber exhaust cannister ($500), lightweight quick release lockable luggage ($1500 option), new sport touring tires; front IRC ProTech SP-11F, rear Metzeler RoadTech Z6 ($400), newer AGM battery ($100) , newer front brakes, new rear brakes. That's already $3000 in stuff without even mentioning the rest of the bike. USA bidders only. MODEL YEARS PRODUCED 97-98, 00-02 APPROX. NUMBER BUILT 1,779 1997 = 384 1998 = 630 1999 = NIL 2000 = 349 2001 = 164 2002 = 252 Displacement: 1203cc 91HP@5800RPM Torque: 87 ft.lbs @ 5,200 rpm Bought it in September 2012 with 14665 miles, as a third bike that I always wanted, and have only put on a thousand miles in three years. Originally I was going to completely refreshen the bike to showroom condition...someday...well guess its time for a new owner. Another "Bueller" enthusiast would be perfect. Starts and runs excellent, it is tuned and piped for 100HP like the later Thunderstorm motor but without the troublesome head and cylinder gasket issues of the 1998 and later models. Has always been run on Mobil One synthetic 15w50. Primary chain and belt drive tension adjusted, valves are maintenance free hydraulic pushrods, self adjusting. Carburetor has been re-jetted for performance. Rear end lowered two inches for better comfort, can easily be redone to original. Handles incredible, upright sitting position and pretty comfortable in the saddle overall. I added rubber gel grips to smooth out some hand vibration. Bike is very light, only around 450lbs, top speed around 130 in under a minute for those adrenaline junkies. The luggage black tubing frame is one piece and removes in minutes for a very sport bike look, tail fender was also clipped by previous owner for a very clean modern look. Its imperfect, if it was showroom the value would be $5,000. It was almost $14,000 new in 1997. This rare Thunderbolt ST3 needs some small cosmetic details finished; gas tank ovals were going to be airbrushed with the new Pegasus Buell symbols, some small paint bubbles on gas tank, left foot peg rubber end is broken off, some scratches on saddle bags. Fairing leg lowers missing, removed for better cooling. Upper plastic belt drive cover missing, removed for easy drive belt inspection. Custom made license plate bracket, nice, but not original. Bonus: BUY IT NOW winner will also receive two authentic Buell saddlebag liners which are worth $200 (not pictured), they are no longer available from Buell and nearly impossible to find. Keep in mind Ebay charges $125 to the seller (me), so if you can come see it in person, cash in pocket will get a better deal. I am near the Pittsburgh Airport, fly in, I will pick you up, ride home. Its reliable enough to ride cross country on any given day. Everything works as it should. It's listed for sale local so I reserve the right to end the auction at any time. An outdoor fabric cover is included if needed. I have many other photos if you request, apologies for the poor quality. Mileage will go up slightly as I still ride it every week. Also I am open to trading my Buell Thunderbolt plus cash to anyone who has an adventure type bike I can occasionally ride off road; like a Buell Ulysses, Triumph Tiger, BMW, KTM, Husqvarna, etc. Unlike most motorcycles, consider this one an investment rather than an expense. The value goes up slightly every year instead of down, and in 2017, at twenty years, will appreciate even faster as a classic. (nice unedited article below for those curious about Buells. Here in Pittsburgh, where Erik Buell grew up, worked as a motorcycle mechanic, and attended the University of Pittsburgh; Buells are LEGEND.) THE 1999 BUELL S3 THUNDERBOLTBy Chuck Hawks Thunderbolt! That is the only way to understand this motorcycle. I had looked at Buell motorcycles, especially the top of the line S3 Thunderbolt, almost every time I visited my local Harley-Davidson dealer, but I never understood these motorcycles until I finally took a test ride. That is what the Buell motorcycles are all about: the ride. There are fancier, plainer, costlier, cheaper, prettier, homelier, faster, slower, lighter, heavier, bigger, and smaller motorcycles available, but in all my years of riding I have never ridden anything like a Buell. That also seems to be the opinion of the Buell owners I have talked to, including those who have owned a variety of expensive (read Italian) sport bikes. Speaking of which, Harley's investment in Buell appears to be paying off. Last year (1998), Buell outsold all of the other "specialty sport bikes" (a term which, I believe, excludes the regular production of the Japanese Big Four) in the U.S. except Ducati, who managed to stay in first place by the slimmest of margins. This year, Buell expects to outsell Ducati and take over the number one spot. As I write this, in 1999, the Buell line of Vee-twin sport bikes consists of three models. There is the surprisingly economical M2 Cyclone, the X1 Lightning street fighter, and the sport or sport-touring oriented S3 Thunderbolt. All exhibit similar, but not identical, styling and performance, and all three are powered by a modified Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200 motor. All three are sporty motorcycles designed to get you off the line and down the road quickly, with the maximum amount of fun. Real world performance is the forte' of these bikes, and not much can catch them on the road. Like all Buells, but unlike most other sport and sport-touring bikes, the engine of the S3 is left open to view. There is no bodywork to hide that big powerplant. The visible V-twin motor is probably the easiest way to identify a Buell American Motorcycle. In a world of look-alike sport bikes, nothing else looks like a Buell. Because I am a fan of the sport-touring concept, the Thunderbolt S3T is the Buell for me. All Thunderbolts feature a frame mounted sport fairing designed to protect the rider and gas tank (without obscuring the motor), You get to pick from a variety of color combinations for the Thunderbolt. My favorite color scheme for 1999 is the "Molten Orange" (fairing,tank, and tail section) with "Nuclear Blue" (frame and wheels) color scheme. Hey, there's safety in conspicuity! I recommend the S3T touring package. This includes touring handlebars, fairing lowers, two fitted soft storage bags for the fairing, an underseat tote bag (perfect for a toolkit, and not much else), and the newly improved, color coordinated, detachable, hard saddlebags, which come with fitted removable liners. The saddle bags come with your choice of deep (read bulky) or narrow (read trim) covers. Although the deep covers will swallow a full face helmet, I prefer the sleeker and more attractive narrow covers, a triumph of form over function. The other covers can be ordered separately later, if it becomes necessary. I don't have much use for the color matched fairing lowers, included in the S3T touring package, because they trap even more of the already excessive heat generated by the big 74 cubic inch engine throbbing within inches of the rider's legs, and detract from the bike's appearance. Also, they are fairly flimsy (the body parts of these bikes are designed to be light in weight) and stick out to the sides, and are therefore liable to damage if the bike falls over in a parking lot mishap (or something similar). Fortunately, they are designed to be easily removed. Two options available only from the aftermarket (as I write this) are a taller "touring" windshield, and thicker, softer, gel handgrips (is anybody at Buell taking notes?). Buell does offer an excellent tank bag, which I recommend. The result is a sport-touring bike from the sporty end of the spectrum. Other neat features of the Thunderbolt include a chrome-moly tubular perimeter frame, digital electronic fuel injection (which eliminates the hassle of a fuel tank petcock, as well as a choke), hydraulic self-adjusting valve lifters, electronic ignition, belt drive, stainless steel header pipes, fully adjustable suspension with inverted front forks and a rear mono shock which operates in extension, aluminum arc swingarm, hollow 3-spoke cast wheels, "Z" rated radial tubeless tires, superb brakes, completely sealed maintenance-free battery, halogen headlight with an adjustment knob in the fairing, excellent fairing mounted mirrors (you actually see the traffic behind you, instead of your arms), European passing lamp flasher (a little trigger on the left handlebar controls that flashes the high beam), and folding footpegs. About all that is missing is self-canceling turn signals (Dear Buell representative: please note). All 1999 Buells come with a much improved dual seat, and I am happy to report that the new, wide, Thunderbolt seat is adequately comfortable for solo commuting and Sunday rides. I have not taken any long trips, so I cannot comment on its suitability for serious touring. A drawback to the wider seat is that it is a longer reach to the ground than it used to be from the old, uncomfortable but narrower, version. The factory specification says the seat height is 29.5 inches, but they must have measured it with the suspension at both ends set to the lowest possible setting, and the tires flat. It feels higher than that. The Thunderbolt would not be my first choice, given my 30 inch inseam, for a lot of complicated parking lot maneuvers. Nor is it a particularly good bike for riding with a passenger. The bike is somewhat top heavy to start with, and this top heavy feeling is aggrivated by a seat that puts the passenger too high and too far back. If you ride two up a lot, a Buell may not be the bike for you. After mentioning the new seat, I should mention that I find the rider's seating position quite comfortable. An average size rider is postioned in a relaxed position with a slight froward lean. It is better, in my opinion, than the seating position on a BMW R 1100RS sport-tourer, or a Triumph Thunderbird Sport (bikes with which it might reasonably be compared). The location of the rider's footpegs, in particular, is very good. So is the height and reach of the touring handlebar. The layout of the handlebar controls and switches is conventional, and easy to learn. Mounted in the dash are a large tach and speedo, plus a surprisingly useful quartz clock. Also on the dash are a variety of idiot lights, including a handy low fuel warning light which illuminates when .4 gallon of petrol remains. The large 5.4 gallon fuel tank means 225-265 miles (on average) before the low fuel warning light comes on. This is outstanding range, greater than that offered by most luxury touring bikes. On a recent 205 mile Saturday ride from Eugene to Sisters and back, involving both the old and new Mckenzie Highways over Oregon's Cascade Mountains, I actually averaged 59.94 miles per gallon. That would mean approximately 300 miles from a full tank of gas before the low fuel light comes on! More complete technical specifications for all of the Buells, and many other top sport bikes, can be found in the "Sport Motorcycle Comparison Chart," on my Travel page. The only area that needs improvement, to make the Thunderbolt a decent touring bike, is rider protection. The factory supplied windshield is pure sport bike. Combined with the smallish fairing, it offers good protection for the torso, none for the hands, and directs the slipstream coming over the windshield about at the chinbar of the rider's helmet. This is tolerable on a Sunday sport ride, but fatiguing on a long freeway ride. I fitted a Rifle brand replacement windshield 17 inches tall (the only aftermarket replacement I could find) and while this represents a marginal improvement, it is far from ideal. The factory windshield is very short, about 13 inches, and angled at what appears to be less than 45 degrees above the horizontal. The Rifle replacement is angled almost bolt upright, and still too low. The wind collapses behind and around this windshield, and hits the rider in the face and shoulders. It is marginally better than the factory windshield, in that you are being hit in the face by broken air (I believe the aerodynamic term is "burble"), rather than the almost laminar airflow off the factory windshield. Faint praise, to be sure, since at speed the rider's head is still continually buffeted by the wind. If I lay over the tank, the Rifle windshield provides excellent protection--but who wants to ride a long distance laying over the tank? What is needed is a windshield taller than the Rifle version by about 5 inches, and angled back at about 60 degrees. This would put it somewhere between the excessively upright stance of the Rifle windshield, and the very swept-back angle of the factory windshield, and hopefully it would send the slipstream over the rider's head. Certainly a competent designer, with a little practice, could produce a satisfactory touring windshield for the Thunderbolt fairing. It has been done for plenty of other motorcycles. It is no secret that Buell motorcycles have had something of a "kit bike" reputation. After all, Eric Buell originally started building them in his garage. (Bill Harley and the Davidson brothers started the same way, back in 1903.) Everyone agreed that they were a blast to ride, but niggling problems like cracks in ultra light body parts, excessive heat radiating from the engine and exhaust pipes, broken engine mounts, uncomfortable seats, saddle bag latches that didn't work, and similar problems have drawn criticism, and rightly so. The 1999 models are the first since Harley-Davidson acquired 98% of Buell American Motorcycles. Eric Buell remains in charge, and still owns 2% of the stock. Harley had previously owned half of the company, with Buell owning the other half. The changes allowed by Harley's deep pockets are apparent. Everything has been improved, including the frame, engine mounts, fuel injection, front forks, swingarm, rear monoshock, seat, handlebar controls, the S-3 fairing, the S3 saddlebags, and more. Unfortunately, work remains to be done to eliminate the small, niggling problems to which the bikes are still prone. Judging by my experience with the S3, build quality still does not appear to be as good as a Harley-Davidson. In fact, it is probably below that of an average Japanese motorcycle, not really bad, but not perfect. There is no assembly line at the Buell factory. Each motorcycle is built individually, by a small team of workers, who work only on that particular bike until it is finished. This system yields great job satisfaction, high employee morale, a lot of promise for the future, and motorcycles that are maybe a little less uniform than they might otherwise be. Before founding Buell American Motorcycles, Eric Buell worked as an engineer for Harley-Davidson. Based on what I have read about Eric Buell, the most basic ingredients of his design philosophy seem to be centralization of mass, low unsprung weight, and frame rigidity. Let's take a quick look at these concepts, because they are central to why a Buell is so much fun to ride. I am no engineer, but as a sailor I am familiar with the benefits of mass centralization. A boat designed with the weight concentrated in the center, instead of out at the ends, will respond more quickly. It will tend to ride over, rather than plow through, the waves. Two people with access to a small skiff, dinghy, or rowboat can experiment with this concept. First, have one person sit in the very bow, and the other at the stern. Note how the boat feels sluggish and responds slowly to the waves. Now move both people (the mass) to the middle of the boat. Suddenly it feels more lively, and responds faster, now that the mass is centralized. The same basic principle also holds true for motorcycles. This is why Buell concentrates the weight of the heavy components of the motorcycle, the engine/transmission, muffler, gas tank, rear monoshock, and battery near the center of the motorcycle. Everything is basically placed above or below the engine/transmission unit, the heaviest single component of the motorcycle. The result is that Buell motorcycles feel exceptionally lively, and a lively motorcycle is more fun to ride. Unsprung weight is the weight of the components not supported by the suspension, principally the wheels, tires, lower fork legs, and brakes. Lower unsprung weight allows the tires to maintain better contact with the uneven surface of the road, thus making for a safer, better controlled, and more enjoyable ride. Buell uses hollow 3-spoke alloy wheels of the lightest and most rigid type for all of their models. For the Thunderbolt, Buell uses expensive Showa inverted front forks. Inverted forks put the smaller diameter fork section on the bottom, which lowers unsprung weight. They are also extremely strong, and more rigid than conventional telescopic forks. Going further to eliminate as much unsprung weight as possible, the Thunderbolt has a single stainless steel floating front brake disc, rather than the dual discs found on almost all other specialty sport bikes. Brake discs and their associated calipers are very heavy. To ensure adequate swept area, that single disc is the largest found on any production bike, 340mm in diameter. To make it lightweight while retaining the necessary thickness in cross section, it is extremely narrow in profile, and to ensure an excess of stopping power, the Thunderbolt comes with a 6-piston front brake caliper. "Stoppies" are easy on a Buell. Other premium motorcycle manufacturers can and do take some of these same steps to lower unsprung weight, but none combine all of these strategies as Buell does. Almost everyone agrees that a rigid frame is crucial to precise handling and control. Buell selected the expensive but effective method of using chrome-moly alloy steel tubing to build a perimeter frame with triangulated sections. Buell calls it a "geodesic perimeter frame." In the best modern fashion, the engine serves as a stressed member of the frame. The result is an exceptionally light and stiff frame, which improves handling and control. A bike that handles precisely and delivers exceptional control is more fun to ride. The centralized mass, low unsprung weight , stiff frame, and premium suspension, when combined with a rather short 55 inch wheelbase and only 24.5 degrees of front-end rake, should result in a light and quick handling motorcycle, and indeed it does. You might think the same combination would also make for a twitchy feeling motorcycle, but it doesn't. I expected, and found, a fast handling bike, but what I found most surprising was the Thunderbolt's excellent static stability. Static stability means that left to its own devices, it will run straight. This is a bike that will run straight as a die with the rider's hands off the handlebar. I guess the 3.8 inches of trail has something to do with that. Whatever the reason, the bike responds quickly, handles superbly, and runs true. Of course, more than trick engineering is necessary to build a complete motorcycle. The motor is the key to performance, and all Buells use a highly modified Harley-Davidson Sportster V-twin engine. The hot-rodded 1203cc "Thunderstorm" power plant used in the Thunderbolt produces an ample 101 horsepower at the crankshaft, and a gut wrenching 90 ft. lbs. of torque. This translates to about 71-78 ft. lbs. of torque and 85-90 hp. at the rear wheel, depending on whose dyno you read. Remember that horsepower is a measurement of work performed over time, and torque is the turning force at the crankshaft (or rear wheel). This is why torque is more important in everyday riding. Torque is what is responsible for that slingshot feeling when you roll the throttle on, not to mention those "power" wheelies. The vibration produced by the compact 45 degree V-twin motor is isolated from the frame, and the rider, by Buell's proprietary "Uniplanar" mounting system. This system works. It is amazing to ride a bike, powered by what is basically a Sportster 1200 engine, that is so smooth. At idle it feels about like a Sportster, but as the RPM increases, vibration diminishes. By the time the tach has moved past 3000 RPM, vibration is almost completely absent. The Sportster, as I wrote in my article "The Harley-Davidson Sportster," is quite pleasant to ride below about 60 MPH (in 5th gear). But vibration intrudes as speeds increase, and becomes uncomfortable (to me) by about 70 MPH. But on its cousin, the Buell Thunderbolt, the faster you go the smoother it gets. At 70 MPH and above, it is uncannily smooth. It is hard to believe it is powered by a Sportster 1200 motor, let alone one producing about a third more power. It seems to me that the Thunderbolt is a pretty good sport-touring bike, by which I mean a great sport bike for Sunday rides, with its power and razor sharp handling, that still has the capability of making overnight and longer trips. It has the range, speed, smoothness, stability, comfortable seating position, and available luggage to serve as a solo touring bike, plus the benefit of a very extensive dealer network should something go wrong while on the road (a good point to consider before purchasing some exotic brand sport-touring bike). Rider protection is the primary deficiency at present, but all it needs is a properly designed touring windshield to bring it up to snuff in that area. I hope that someone, either at Buell or in the aftermarket, will eventually respond to fill this need. If you want a sporty looking motorcycle for cheap transportation, there are more economical alternatives. But if you're leaning toward a sport or sport-touring bike, and ride for the pleasure of the experience, you owe it to yourself to at least test ride a Buell Thunderbolt.

Trim S3T Sport Touring Edition