2009 Buell Ulysses
Although Buell got unceremoniously removed from everybody's memory almost all at the same time, they still made some incredible bikes, one of those was their take on adventure motorcycling.
With the segment so chock-full of options these days, it is somewhat strange to think that when it was first conceived back in 2004 it was considered a left-field decision by Buell who was primarily known for their sports/sport naked bikes. When you look at it though, you can kind of understand why it was considered a strange move, it really just looked like a tall sport naked bike. It looks completely unique, which in the world of marketing is a bad thing because it is hard to sell something that divides opinion.
10 First American Adventure Touring Bike
If you thought the Harley-Davidson Pan America was the first American Adv, think again. It was a bold move, they also used the same chassis as their sports bike to save on development costs, making it an even bolder move.
It ended up quite tall, the trademark under-belly exhaust also doubled up as a skid-plate (well, kind of) and its increased height messed with their mass-centralized design mantra as it ended up being a bit top-heavy.
9 Met An Untimely Demise
As quirky as it was, it slowly started getting more popular and sales were starting to improve by 2008.
Sadly that would be the last we would see of Erik Buell (pictured) and his project. The new Harley-Davidson CEO felt the need to make big, bold money-saving decisions, one of those was killing off the only fascinating project their company had invested in.
8 Lighter And More Powerful Than The Competition
At the time, it would seem ludicrous to suggest an old air-cooled Harley powered machine would tip the scales at under 430 pounds. Somehow though, with some inventive engineering, they pulled it off.
Not only that, but they squeezed a whole lot more power out of the old twin too, bumping up the horsepower to over 100. This made it lighter and more powerful than the Ducati Multistrada.
7 Not Built For Short Riders
As we said, it is a fairly tall bike with a seat height of 33", it will make life all kinds of awkward going slowly down a rocky path if you are anything under 6 foot tall.
Limiting as this may be, it never claimed to be much of an enduro machine, even Erik Buell himself called it a "touring supermotard."
6 Fuel In The Frame, Oil In The Swingarm
Although it was an American made machine, Buell contracted the best in the business to do certain parts of the engineering work.
The aluminum frame/fuel tank and swingarm/oil reservoir was the work of Verlicchi, an Italian firm that did a lot of work for Ducati. This saved a whole lot of weight, then added a bunch of weight in the right place when the bike got filled up.
5 High-Quality Suspension
Another example of wisely turning to a decent 3rd party, Buell ended up pioneering the use of inverted forks for street bikes and these Showa units were premium quality.
At the rear, the bike got a fully adjustable coil-over that could be adjusted without tools, something anyone who rides will appreciate, with most modern bikes still not including this feature.
4 Sportbike Handling
Off-road it was a bit of a handful, it only claimed to be a 10% off-road bike, but even that is a bit of a stretch.
On-road it comes into its own, comfortably cruising on the highway and diving into corners like a sports bike thanks to its shorter than usual wheel-base, making for a genuinely fun bike to ride hard.
3 Polarizing Design
When it comes to the initial XB12X, its looks are a bit dated, now and even though it was quirky and unique at the time it was released, even fans of that type of uniqueness will agree it hasn't aged that well.
Now, the XB12XT on the other hand still looks just as modern as anything you can buy today. With just a couple of small tweaks in 2008, the bike was transformed and all the small problems were actually addressed. It got proper road tires, luggage, and the seat height came down to a far more accessible 30."
2 Comfortable Sports Tourer
With torque for days and good wind protection, it was simply a fantastic bike to ride for long distances and just soak up the miles.
It also got decent fuel economy with the low revving twin not using very much energy at all to move the relatively light bike around the country.
1 What Might Have Been
Considering the progression from the initial XB12X that kind of wanted to go off-road a bit, to the out-and-out road tourer in the form of the XB12XT, we would have gotten some amazing bikes (like the Fuell concept) from Buell if they stuck around.
It is a shame they got the proverbial rug pulled out from under them, with their relentless desire to innovate, just a little practical application could have made it work.
Next: 10 Awesome American Motorcycles That Aren't Harley-Davidsons
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About The Author 
Luke Zietsman (405 Articles Published)
Luke Zietsman is an all out automotive enthusiast based in The Philippines. If it has two or four wheels he has either owned it, researched about it or dreamed about it.
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Source: https://www.hotcars.com/buell-ulysses-facts/
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