The Ulysses claims off-road capacity as well.This is where the sales pitch exaggerates. It can handle serious trail-riding, but this is not a Moto-X bike. It lacks the weather protection to be a pure motorway tourer. The Ulysses performs competently in both roles, but the vast suspension travel that makes it versatile is also a headache. Settings that work on road are wrong off road, and changing use requires instant adjustment That means careful attention to the workshop manual. Over distance and carrying weight, it is a luxurious beast of burden.So, not a turkey after all Buell fans know their hero's designs take getting used to.
His technological trinity of mass centralisation, chassis rigidity and low, unsprung weight produces intriguing quirks, most obviously the rotor-disc brakes, the location of the silencer underneath the engine and the use of the frame as the fuel tank It also makes Buells fun to flick into bends But every previous Buell has been a road bike. Buell told me it is "the most comfortable two-up tourer in the world". So I borrowed a pillion passenger.I covered nearly 400km with Paul Stroud, the new managing director of Harley-Davidson UK. Seven hours later, after a day of fast riding on every type of road, we felt fresh The Ulysses' long, broad seat is sumptuous. The innovative, built-in back-rest guarantees pillion safety and doubles as a luggage rack. This is the sort of journey the big twin-engine was designed to devour, and the 16.7-litre fuel capacity makes it realistic to wander off the beaten track. Minutely adjusted to my precise weight, a transformation occurred Suddenly the Ulysses became balanced.
I began to ride faster on road and enjoyed a six-kilometre stretch of mountain trail. My confidence remained fragile, but I was beginning to think the Ulysses might reward more intense investigation. I was riding a master of none.The first help came from Buell's suspension tuner. This former motorcycle racer is among the most innovative designers alive Handling on his CityX and Lightning models is excellent.