My 9 is an ex demo, means bugger all. Not every demo bike is thrashed, signing an excess insurance form tames most loons!
Anyway there are two schools of thought on running engines in, one involves thrashing actually!
Some fool cruising up the Mway at a fixed rate is far worse than a loon blasting his/her way through the twisties IMO.

Nate.

That's right

Wow!

I think I am still getting over my test ride. What an absolutely amazing little bike. I thoroughly enjoyed it and loved every minute. I loved it so much infact I took it out twice just to be sure. I've still got the biggest grin ever on my face. I haven't enjoyed riding a bike as much as that in a long time. It handled beautifully (after the tyres warmed up), flicked left and right and accellerated out of roundabouts in a way which inspired confidence in the rider. I loved the upright position and the wide bars. Loved the power in both the front and rear brakes - I swear you can hear the front brake biting in when you apply it. Loved the lightness of the clutch and the slick gear changes - no clunking or missed gears for me. Throttle response wasn't as precise as my gixer but it didn't matter cos the engine pulled so hard and at the end of the day the v-twin was never going to be the same. Different doesn't at all mean worse in this case. I got a real sense of actually "riding", and being part of the road. Weird way to describe it but I had a genuine feeling of controlling the bike compared to the slick refinedness of my old bike. Hard to describe :p
Just starting it up and watching it judder and burble on the forecourt was unexpected and gave me an adrenalin boost before I even swung a leg over. Then the ride itself was awesome. Zipped through traffic with ease and was slower but a lot more fun through the twisties. I'm not going to go on and on but I chuffing loved it!!!!

The guys at Harley were having an open day and a barbecue and there were plenty of people coming down. The dealers were awesome, in particular james who seemed to know every customer that came in by name and by bike. So we negotiated and i got a deposit down. Picking up a spanking new XB9 next Saturday and I can't wait.

We talked about running in aswell and quite a few of the blokes there said that it was def important to treat a bike well for the first couple of hundred miles however they also seemed to think that these engines are a lot more forgiving than the japanese inline 4s. Either way. I am as you can probably tell, ecstatic.

Good decision, just remember,though, that all dealers aren't the same when it comes to servicing.

Yeah, that kinda comes through, eh!

This post should be stickied.

Next time someone comes along and asks our opinions whether they should get a Buell, without even having a test ride, I'm just going to link them to this thread.

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Good in straight lines
2001 X1 "The Tart's Handbag"
2001 FZS1000 "The Fridge"

That sounds familiar, I was still grinning when the HD truck with a can of petrol came to rescue me from the motorway on my second test ride

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Wear the fox hat

[quote="bench9"]Wow!
however they also seemed to think that these engines are a lot more forgiving than the japanese inline 4.

A dealer told you that, what were they on? I love my Buell but that's pure fantasy, bet he was pissing himself.

anyway, my xb12xt was a demo, it's done about 4k now and it's been ok, I know you've ordered your 9 so go out and enjoy.

Andy

Weather forecast is doubtful for saturday. It could be raining when I go to pick up. I might just leave it at the dealers until it's sunny again. I just don't want my first ride to be in the rain. Fingers crossed for the sun

You wouldn't have had to worry about that if you'd bought the demo

IMO, ride it in the wet.

If you think the difference between a Buell and a Japanese I4 in the dry is significant, you wait till you get on wet tarmac. I think that Buells are fantastic rides in the wet, a revelation for anyone used to an I4.

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Good in straight lines
2001 X1 "The Tart's Handbag"
2001 FZS1000 "The Fridge"

I once bought an ex-driving school car. That was a bad mistake - it fell apart on me after I'd put a further trouble-free 144,000 miles on it.

Generally I guess I would buy a demo bike I knew well and liked and knew the history of.

It was after spending a week running in a 1996(?) XL1200S demonstrator that I realised it would be a good idea to have a "lightweight" Harley as well as a BigTwin. Not long after that I got my M2.

In those days, most Buells and Harleys did need a lot of running in - and there was a lot of variability in the out-of-crate smoothness and tighness between different bikes of the same model. In particular, I remember a demo day at Carnells Liverpool where a few of the demo bikes failed to survive the weekend due to lack of proper running in. [Still they did better than on the first demo day at Carnell's Birmingham, when one of their staff was killed the evening before during a familiarisation ride into the Cotwolds on the bikes.]

so you picked up your new bike yet?! How is it?!?!

Looks like my first adventure on the Buell is going to be put back a bit, bbc weather says it's going to be heavy rain over birmingham all weekend! Can't believe it, there must be someone out there who really doesn't want me to get this bike!

Supposed to pick it up onthe 6th, insurance is sorted, bike has arrived (got a nice text from the dealer when it landed), ready for me to take on saturday but there is no way I want my first ride to be in the pouring rain
Might have to leave it til next friday the 12th.

never mind the rain mate - just get on and get out. you can still have loads of fun just ride safe. Enjoy it!!

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Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul