Finally …I got here!!! 15 bikes later and I have finally come to the conclusion I want me ol'buell back!!! Might be a bit tricky as it was nicked but definitely want another Buell!! So starts the fun bit of reading up on the tuber's vs fueler's, (…think I fancy an xb12…. )

Yup, I had an S1 back in '98…worst thing was I had been working in Africa building hunting camps in the bush (the world was a lot less pc back then!!) all that time fighting off insects and dreaming of an S1, finally I got it when I returned home…I bought my first new bike my hard earned cash…only to have it 'alf inched within 2 months. Hey ho, there you go, but I have missed the buelly thing ever since, I have stayed sort of faithful though, I've got an ex harley series racer with a 1200 motor with thunderstorm heads and crank, pistons etc, that thing kicks!!

and ..dare I say it… a honda sp1 …too scary to be fun BUT IT IS A TWIN!!! afore you lot say owt!!!

So A big HELLO to everyone, good to be here finally.

Welcome. A cracking bike you have there

Welcome

It's always good to see the Fueller v Tuber debate

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Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away

In the garage -

2001 X1
KTM390 Duke
Ducati 950 Monster +
CCM Spitfire Scrambler

Thanks Ferris, been through a lot with that one, it is an animal, running as I said the thunderstorm head but also had the squish reduced, gas flowed, crane hi-4 ignition, high flow oil pump, stage 2 cams, did have a mikuni hs40 but ….I can't find it!!!??? (absolutely no idea how one can lose a carb off your bike!! ) and the supertrapps have 14 plates in them and sound awesome!!

The forks are off a gsxr 750 srad, front wheel was a cb1000 big one 18", rear was a zxr 750 17", swinging arm off an exup, had an outrigger rear sprocket cnc machined, rear sus units are good old WP,

Tank and seat unit was hand made by john Williams (aluminum and GRP respectively,) Paint work done by that lot Altamura (if anyone is painting and polishing on the same bit of aluminum, it's quite tricky…apparently!! )

…and now I'm poor and I still haven't sorted the carbs or the rear brake


…and I want a buell!!

I thought the race series bikes (prepared by Harris?) had a different swinging arm and Fi?

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

Welcome, Glad you are returning to the fold.

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Go big!! Or go Home!!

Hi Adam,

I'm really not sure, I bought it off the foundry HD in Canterbury, it was well used(!!!) and bits I believe had been stripped off it to go onto their new machine so it may well have had a Harris set up. I think the pilot was a mechanic who worked at the Foundry called Robin…bloody good one as well as their team won the uk series (I think,) in '90 and '91 and came 9th in the world series, somewhere in the attic I have a winners cup, some lap times and places and some team photo's, lordy only knows in which corner they're hidden I ought to dig them out though.

Do you have any experience of the Harley series then?? And what was the Harris involvement??

…Thanks Matron, I look forward to getting stuck into the tubers vs fuelers a(…and getting a good spanking for it later!!! )

My only experience of the 'new' XR bikes, apart from looking after one for an old mate who lives in the next village (it doesn't go anywhere near as well as my X1 ) was meeting the crew who were setting them up for racing at a test day at Oulton park some years ago. I was parked next to them. They were complaining about having to carry a lot of corner speed to get a good launch down the straights, and sadly the XR are lacking in this dept, especially on the l/h side. Fortunately for them, Oulton only has two left handers . Harris made a lot of the trick parts for the chassis.

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

ah, mine is an XLH, I know nothing of the xr series apart from that the originals dominated oval track racing in the 60's and 70's (Jerry Springsteen comes to mind.)

…doesn't surprise me though that your X1 ran better than the xr's though, I really feel that HD just missed the boat in getting 'things' just right, a bit like the brit bike industry back in the 60's,

great motor, no finesse …but that's why I binned almost all the running gear and engine internals!!

(perhaps the later models of HD are better but I ain't ridden them .)

It was Jay Springsteen who used to long track the real XR's with the likes of Lawill and Raybourn

The new faux XR badged bikes that Ha#ey used in the race series were also xl based ie tarted up Sportsters. Does your bike have a cassette gearbox or are they later cases with no trapdoor?

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

mine's the later type…oh for the days of cassettes.

..I feel sort of hard done by now…15 years on!!

and yeah, JAY Springsteen..alright alright

how come you know so much about the series…were you in involved??

No interest in the series at all, I just can't think of a bike less suitable for racing! Have you felt the weight of the frame without the motor in it - it's shocking

Now, the SP1 is a proper performance machine with pedigree

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

oh yes, you're right on both counts, the original xr series excepted. The SP1 though is another story, as a track tool it's great, so I'm told, but on the road …well that's another matter. The sheer grunt is a thing of beauty but can easily catch you out, you're always having to pay attention to your throttle position, I'm sure I've impressed loads (or peed off..) loads of people as I've wheelied past them, completely unintentional on my side as all I wanted to do was to quickly overtake , I've had a few of my in line 4 riding mates take it out, and without exception they have all come back reaching for a fag muttering "feckin hell!!"

What are your other rides then…don't tell me …it's an SP1.

How long have you got?

A shed full of Brit shite, MX, Trials, Track bikes, and on the road several Buells, Ducati 1198 and recently a Husqvarna Nuda. I love my X1 the most

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

…so you really need an SP1 then!!!