Quickride: 2009 Buell Xb12ss

QuickRide: 2009 BUELL XB12Ss

ROUNDUP

THE ESSENTIAL DESIGN brief of the first Buell Lightning in 2003 was lead by the word “minimalist.”

Short of wheelbase, steep of rake, it made for quite an edgy motorcycle. In the six years since that bike was introduced, Buell has expanded on the Lightning theme and tried many different iterations of its sit-up air-coolers, from “adventure sportbikes” like the Ulysses to supermoto-inspired (but now-discontinued) SuperTT.

“Expanded” is actually a good word for the XB 12Ss Lightning Long. Introduced in 2006, it was at the time given better two-up accommodations through a longer seat, a longer wheelbase and moreconservative frame geometry (including longer trail) to relax the steering character a bit.

For ’09, the fully adjustable longer-travel suspension (5.6 inches, front and rear) used on the SuperTT was applied here. By now, you get the idea behind the “Long” name.

Throwing a leg over our Flero Blue Translucid testbike ($10,495 vs. the $9995 of the Midnight Black version) proves the 30.6-inch-high seat to be comfortable. The seat-to-peg relationship is on the tighter side for those with longer legs, but it is perfectly livable short of touring duty, and there is plenty of cornering clearance.

How does that new suspension work? For that, we “turn” to Associate Editor Mark Cernicky, whose maniacalyet-schooled ability to tax springing and damping to its fullest is well-documented. “The suspension is magic at making road imperfections disappear beneath the colorful cast wheels,” said Cernicky. “But the soft setup allows fast travel through the stroke if any braking or accelerating has to be done in haste.”

It’s true. A swift application of the inside-out ZTL2 front brake’s very capable eightpiston caliper tips the bike forward on its fork springs quite a way, while aggressive throttle rears the bike back. But, overall, suspension is compliant and well-controlled. Steering is light and neutral, and even with its “relaxed” geometry and Ionger wheelbase, the bike snaps smartly into comers.

Running quality of the 1203cc powerplant is very pleasant. The fuel-injected engine really has a dual personality. There is quite a lot of flywheel inertia coupled with good breathing down low, which makes any launch easy. In fact, there is enough juice on the bottom that the expectation is for power to taper off in the classic “tuned-for-torque” way, but, no, there is a pretty satisfying pull to the 7000-rpm redline. It’s not as happily snappy and revvy as the smaller, 984cc version of this engine (still used in the XB9X CityX), but the extra torque is a decent tradeoff. Fuel consumption ran about 36 mpg, which, with the 4.4gallon capacity, translates into a useful 158-mile range.

Really, this is a solid day-to-day mount that, because of that torquey engine, feels almost docile compared to some of its naked-bike competition. Has the Lighting Long lost a bit of its edge compared to the original XB 12S? Yes, in a good way.

"The Lightning is the quintessential interpretation of an American hooligan."

Mark Hoyer