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Biker test: R-One
All
the world dreams of one day finding THE motorcycle. The one who changes life
in the absence of the world, which retraces the roads, which brings new life.
The perfect motorcycle exists deep within each of us. We all know how
she is but without ever being able to put words into it.
We all dreamed of riding her without being in
able to imagine exactly what it would look like. We are
all a little crazy with impossible or shameful wishes. And yet…
I’m like everyone else, there are those that I don’t like,
the ones that I would like to like, etc….
And in all this flood of machines that do not concern me, there were
one that called out to me. But just a little. Just a little because
I found her … ugly. But then ugly, like it’s not
license: the XB9S.
How to tell you … This huge frame (necessarily, it
serves as a fuel tank)! ! I could not. The rest
was interesting: the single-seater limit saddle (or so
for passenger (e) maso), the double optics style Speed Triple, the allure
general stocky, collected. But the color ! ! !
My god that yellow was ugly to me !
And pi, and pi….
And then I passed a dealership not long ago ‘
Harley. I had time in front of me, my helmet in my hand…
and the desire not to die stupid.
I entered.
A few
minutes later the Buell XB9S was in front of the shop, engine
turning.
Does that kind of moment mean anything to you? I would have
hard to forget. Because I changed
planet.
Ok, this kind of vocabulary is usual on the part of those who want to
make believe that their old thing is a real motorcycle. Rest assured, I
still thinks it today, just like i thought when putting on
my helmet to put on what I was with two fingers
to qualify as an old sluggish trestle (think so !: a moulbif
original Harley! !).
It was when I sat at the controls that I started
to be disillusioned.
My
first thoughts? "They stole the wheel
before ! ! ! "
Ah yes. I got off my VFR, and on my VFR, between the saddle and the
handlebars, there must be 40 cm, and after the handlebars, there
still easily has 20 to 30 cm of fairing. There on
the Buell, change of program: we sit upright (that changes me),
elbows casually bent. The reservoir "
(or at least what replaces it) must be within 30 cms of length
(and I am wide). But after the handlebars … NOTHING! ! Correct
the 8 cms of the counter block! (Beside that, a CB 500 makes
extended fork custom figure!)
The meter is clear, very legible. He’s just a bit regrettable
that there is only one (very small) screen for
usage info: time, mileage, both
trips … The commodos are functional …. And ugly. On time
ergonomic organic design, they are square, rational. House
don’t ask them to win a prize at a festival either
of art. No control of parking lights, it is automatically
lit in crossing with the ignition. Contact located on
the left side of the speedometer, with neimann on the left, and lights
parking lot (in bin there is the parking light!).
Contact
We had to go through the first one. Nothing special (sorry).
It will come as and when. And we shift. And there again,
surprise! ! This stuff is begging you to explode in the
hands! It’s lively (to say the least!), It’s nervous, it’s
direct! On the meter, the slowdown is at 1000 rpm (red zone
at 7500rpm). But from 1500trs / mn it pulls. And
not nicely !
It
took me 20 minutes to get used to this cable clutch,
stiff as death and violent as a donut.
But quickly we get caught up in the game. Why risk jail time?
life on the highway to have sensations? Here they are at
carried by hands. They are everyday! A trickle of gas, and that
takes off, it grows, it growls. The original pot
is certainly not the best trombone in production, but it
enough to get squeezed (I tested for you), but
it’s risk-free! Moreover, even if you don’t like
not the noise (which is a little congested coffee maker, I
grant you), it is powerful enough to remind you of your
presence in traffic jams.
In the city
When driving, it’s happiness. The position is quiet, I will
I said (well-placed footrests, excellent seat). So we can
roll calmly without waiting, drooling on your lips, the first
stretch a little loose. Though…
Because if we do not wait for it drooling on the lips, the end
right, it’s because we’re watching him with bulging eyes
to be able to shoot once again with this damn pushed
that tears off your arms, throws your head back
!
The handling is royal (long live the superlatives). Technical innovations
are only valid if they are found in their usefulness. And there,
I say yes. This frame is ugly as it can be (but it’s a bargain
taste, I admit it), but it is superb in efficiency.
Exemplary handling, to make a hypersport pale
! A light wheelbase, a low placed weight, nothing like it
to shudder with pleasure at the slightest sign announcing
bends.
On the road
If on the highway the 150km / h are torment (well yes, it is
a pure juice roadster), the attack on small roads becomes a real
enjoyment. It harsh potato, it tears off the bitumen.
It’s not a motorcycle: it’s a toy! A bike with
a stick of dynamite in the ass !! When you think that the fans
de Buell find it a little "light" in sensations
facing the "old" M1, M2 and other Cyclones … that
leave a dream.
What does it vibrate? ! Yes, it is a twin. And not a small one.
But I understand what the guys at Harleys mean when they
speak of a living engine. There is something in there. This is
a mechanism, and you can feel it working. Magic ! If for
you, driving (or piloting, depending on) rhymes with listening to the mechanics,
you will be delighted. This moulbif there cause. And it’s a happiness
than to hear it and feel it express itself.
But once sated, driving can become calm again, but without being
a trial. Admittedly, the saddle is made of soft wood (linden, maybe
poplar), but the seating is excellent. Orders are firm,
but not to the point of an 883 Sporster (which I will talk to you about
the occasion).
Only the box reminds us that we are not on a machine
thought of this side if of the Atlantic. It’s not
not that it is hard. Let’s say it’s convenient to have
a dead point between each report.
The rear brake … (is there one? Oh yes!)
is a speed bump …., I believe. But the front disc brake
perimeter (on the edge of the rim and not around the axis
wheel) is more than powerful. It’s biting, enduring, efficient.
A blow to put the cap on the ground if you take it
keep ! Because with each stroke of a trapper a little supported, we
takes himself for Joss while diving on an inverted fork which asks
some adjustments to be a little firmer.
For the rear handset, it is under the saddle. There
look for nothing else. There is only room for the battery
!
I
told you it was a belt? No ? It was
yet imaginable with the pedigree of this toy. Likewise, other
“harleyic” heritage, the engine is a model
aesthetic sobriety: nothing exceeds.
No cable, not the smallest Hose. It’s clean.
Also clean the revisions: automatic catching up of the game to
spring loaded valves (so much less to do), no chain
distribution (these are rockers). A big revision (12000kms)
around 1500F. Only the control every 5000kms is binding.
But you heard that right, this is a control.
I don’t know what the lighting is worth (I drove
by day), but the headlights are to die for. A villainous face
as desired. The ornate plate holder is superb (this
it would be a crime to fire him)
In the department of bad stuff, there is no place for an anti-theft device
(no storage of any kind, for that matter), the tire
rear shoes large (180), and with the adopted driving style,
it’s going to be expensive. No way to turn off the low beam
other than by switching off the engine, and the (only) stand
side does not benefit from the Harley anti-tip system.
Conclusion
Then
? Sold or not? Oh ! that yes sold! ! and how !
Bleuffe, wrapped, amazed !
I did not know this type of machine, and it was a revelation.
I hated this frame, since dreaming of it at night. My
design of the motorcycle has just changed seriously.
However, there is one last point that gets stuck, and it is significant:
the price. This one just dropped: 71,000F / 11,000 € … A straw….
| Strong points | Weak points |
|---|---|
|
|
Thanks to the Harley / Buell Borie d’Ivry dealership for their
extraordinary welcome (the best I have ever received
in a dealership), and for the 3 hours of driving they gave me
allowed. And all with a smile !
A test carried out by R-One
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