This weekend a group of us did a run up to Silver City, New Mexico via Hillsboro, New Mexico starting and returning to Las Cruces. I was one a three with Harleys and the only one with a Sportster. We also had a couple of 626 Ninjas, Shadows, and one Buell XB12R. The XB12R was being ridden by a close friend on mine. The first part of the journey was around 70 miles of 80 mph freeway to Hillsboro.

We stopped at Hillsboro for a little bit and my buddy and I talked about our bikes. He was wondering what it felt like to drive a Sporty and I was wondering about his Buell. I had heard that his Buell had the same basic engine as my Sporty with some changes to make it a little more responsive. So we decided to swap bikes for the 70 or so miles left on the forward side of the trip to Silver City.

You have to understand what this road is like. You climb about 1500 feet and drop another 1000 feet on the back side of the mountain. The road is in great condition and paved every inch of the way through the mountains. When you get into the mountains, there are very short straight aways (sometimes only twenty feet or so) leading to a series of corners. The warning signs start telling you to slow down to 50 mph and eventually drop down to 15 mph before you drop down on the other side of the mountain and it reverses itself (going back up to 50 mph) .... Basically it is heaven for a biker.

I started out on his XB12R, I was surprised at how easy it was to get used to the engine and bike. The shifting is so much like my Sporty that there was no learning curve at all. Pulling the bike into a curve, it was fast compared to a Sporty but not so fast that I couldn't adjust to the difference. It was not long before I was thinking the bike through the corners and powering out like a sling shot. Because of the torque, I did very little shifting and would give it gas in the middle of the turn and ride it through. I was having a ball on this bike.

I started out at the back of the pack but when I got into the groove started passing people in our group. When I was younger, I used to race dirt bikes but this is a little bit different. (I got into trouble one time because I was jumping over my grandfather's tractor, but that's another story.) I was surprised at how low the Buell was willing to dip into the corner and still able to stand up straight afterwards. I needed knee chocks but it's a good thing that I didn't have them. Soon I was in front and pulling away from the rest of our group.

I caught up to Ninja ZX-10R(? I think - bigger that the 636 and it had the exhaust coming out of the frame like the 636) and without thinking about it, passed him in a corner on the outside. I just carried more speed into the corner and blew passed him. Two or three corners later was a straight spot and he flew by me going at an insane amount of speed. I heard him downshift three gears to try and bleed off enough speed before he entered the next corner. I guess he took it personally.

Just then I had a moment from "Beavis and Butthead" ..... "That was cool....eh. eh. eh. ...Faster...Faster...Faster"

What the hell ..... Let see if I can catch him........

It wasn't that hard to close the gap. The XB12R just ate the corners while the Ninja struggled. He must have saw me in his rear view mirror and he exploded with speed when the short straights came around. I just had to follow him and straighten out the track a little bit and holding more speed into the corners. He made a mistake and held onto the gas for too long - hit the corner with too much speed and ended up going very wide - almost off of the road. I then passed him on that corner - this time on the inside.

I forgot about the Ninja and concentrated on the road (and traffic). It was fast and very smooth on the XB12R. Not having to worry about being in the correct gear meant that I could concentrate on making the perfect line. Eventually I got to the top of the mountain and star

 

Good story. I ahve been over that road in a car several times, but never on a bike. In fact I had forgotten about it. It is a great MC road. I'll have to get down and try it one of these times.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,


Bill

 

The magazine article I read said the Buel is a dog. Glad you had fun and no rash afterwards.
My 21 yr old son rides a 600F4i Honda. He came home on leave this past week and we got to ride. I took him to the local "crooked" road. Knowing my 883 could not keep up in the tight corners and short straights. The first stretch he had riden only a couple of times and he was waiting on me taking a smoke break when I caught up. Funny stuff. Rubbing it in a little I asked him. He just smiled. I then took him to a stretch that he had not riden. Safe place and crooked as hell. I knew this stretch better than him and I decided to push it a little. One of them father/son competitions. Yea he busted me again but he did admit that Dad's nads are bigger and he was shocked as hell that the Sporty would pull the corners, and would power out like he saw. Said had he not have seen it he would not have believed it. Sporty Rules

 

To be fair to the owner of the Ninja - There is no doubt in my mind that if I kept on the road a few more miles, he would have caught and smoked past me. In a straight road race, there would have been no contest ..... But in the extreem twisties - The Buell was king. Also - this bike had the race kit installed (Different pipes, computer control, suspension, air filter ...etc) so it had a bit more power than the standard XB12R

What really surprised me was that I could get on the bike and still feel the engine out - the sound - rpms - shifting - was so close to my Sportster that - as I said - there was no learning curve. I've wanted a Sport Bike, but didn't want to relearn everything each time I changed bikes. Now I don"t need to.

 

I don't really like it when someone throws off on any type of bike. I'm glad to get a good report on the Buell. So many people I have been around tear it down, and like I said I even read one magazine article that didn't have anything good to say about it. It's good when you have an experience like you had. Just proves my point, if you push what ever it is you are ridin', on whatever road you happen to be on, the thrill is there.
Sure, the bullit bikes out do a Harley in the curves and on dead away acceleration, but for cruisin' you just can't beat a Harley. With a Sporty you can push the limits and have a blast on whatever the road throws at ya. Don't regret for one second, my choice of bike. I even get a kick out of my sons bike, even if I do give him some gruff about it. He knows I'm just talkin' yang! Ride on!!!!