| | | | Road Test : 2007 Buell XB12X Ulysses-Buell adventure |  Written: 10/04/2007 : 15:16. Read 6755 times (17/day). | | The integrality of this filed article is for Premium Members. | Buell Ulysses is the most radical news from Buell since oil and fuel was poured into the frame and swing arm. With a few clever touches Buell has made a big adventure touring bike from one of the world’s smallest bikes! We rode the 2007 version both on and off the road in southern Spain.
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True to the Adventure segment the Ulysses also features a tall seat, but for the 07 model year the XB12X features a lower seat than in 2006. The standard seat has been lowered by 33mm making it easier for more riders to enjoy the adventure. The seat height is now 808mm.
I rode both the standard Ulysses and a fully touring equipped version with panniers and top box. Compared to the Lightning models the Ulysses really gives you the big bike experience. The Ulysses feature ergonomics that even the biggest amongst us can enjoy. Ulysses has been raked out and given more suspension travel compared to the other XB12’s. Apart from that a brand new rear end, hand guards, wider handlebars, more fuel capacity and tall front mudguard are the only changes. Even though the Ulysses has developed a longer wheelbase than the streetfighter models it is still a very capable bike on twisty sections. Only Triumph Tiger 1050 and Ducati Multistrada can come close when the handling is being judged.
Starting the Ulysses from cold it takes a few seconds before it sounds eager to go and the idle stabilises. I am fascinated by the blinkers vibrating in tune with the V45. I quickly notice that the GPS is best mounted on the right hand side of the wide and tall handlebar, but that the GPS itself had not been mounted for us. The tall windscreen on the adventure model gives decent protection against the elements and I set off at an easy pace until we are out of town.
The big bike is very well behaved even with panniers and top box, but Ulysses does carry around 15 kilos more bulk than the Lightning models. You only notice at standstill really, because as soon as we are on the move there’s not much to it. Following a Super TT is not a problem at all and you need to take them to a go-cart track to separate the two. If there is such a thing as sports adventure the Ulysses would fit that category.
The suspension absorbs bumps in the road easily and all I have to think of is my own riding. The suspension is set up to handle fast riding on the road at the same time as it allows you to perform on gravelled roads. Not much sag either when se ...
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