1999 BUELL X1
Fuel injected and more refined, with better suspension, a stiffer frame, an alloy swingarm and-yes!-a real seat
THIS STORY STARTED LAST MARCH, WHEN two Cycle World editors dropped in on the Buell Motorcycle Company in East Troy, Wisconsin. Buell President Jerry Wilke and Chairman Erik Buell were taking us through the jam-packed administrative and engineering offices out to the shop, where we could get a first look at the prototype of the newest and most important of Buell's 1999 models. But first, Wilke stopped and nailed us. "You will like this bike," he enthused, "because you designed it. We took every complaint you made in the magazine...bread-box air intake, seat like a suppository, Pep Boys muffler, parboiled right thigh..." He went down the list, quoting from memory. "And then we fixed them all. We didn't leave anything undone."
It wasn't as if this magazine didn't like the 1998 Si White Lightning. In fact, it won a comparison test ("Hell Raisers!" CW, November, 1997), as well as a Ten Best award. But if we noted that its strengths were in part off set by some rough edges, so did some potential Buell cus tomers. Erik Buell explains, "Thousands of people did Buell demo rides last year and answered questionnaires, plus we get a lot of e-mail. So we had a lot of consumer information from people who were interested in a Lightning, but didn't buy one. They told us why, and that's how the Xi was designed.
"We had a lot of people who loved the naked, raw look of the Si; we had other people who thought it was just too crude. They wanted a higher level of sophistication. So, we went in two seemingly different directions from the Si, which was very slim and narrow and very naked. We made the Xl more extreme and less traditional in styling on one hand, while on the other we made it more usable-a better seat, a little more weather protection, features like helmet hooks. The fuel injection has no gain in peak power but improves driveability and sophistication. The Xl has a lot of the rough edges taken off the Si ."
CYCLE WORLD TEST
The resulting machine has just a few carryovers from last year's White Lightning. The basic, Harley-built, pushrod V-Twin sports the same "Thunderstorm" heads, cams and overall tuning that distinguished the White Lightning; the brakes are the Nissin components that worked so well last year; and the Australian-made, Marchesini-replica wheels remain. Almost everything else is new. The chassis geome try remains fundamentally the same, but a stiffer and easier to-build frame defines that geometry. An investment-cast steering head is located .08-inch farther forward, which gives a welcome 4-degree increase in steering lock, while making frame fabrication simpler. Similar cast junctions can be seen where the top tubes meet the rear uprights, and at the rear engine mounts. The diagonal tube along the right side of the engine now bends upward on its way forward, just as the similar tube on the left side always has.
That last frame change is part of the larger package aimed at curing the prior Lightning's right-side toaster-oven effect. Much of that heat was radiating from the rear header pipe, and the new frame allowed Buell's designers to tuck the rear exhaust closer to the engine and pass it under (rather than over) the right frame tube, thus staying well away from the rider's leg. In addition, the tank cover carries two small air scoops intended to channel cooling air down around the rear cylinder head. The overall effect is a vastly cooler hot weather riding experience: You could ride the Xi in swim trunks (were you to feel so foolish) without having your right thigh barbequed. And the new cross-over header, beau tifully welded by a new supplier, looks far more purposeful and intentional than the Si component.
But other styling changes strike even harder when you first see the Lightning. The right-side airbox is still big, with the same volume and internal components as on the Si, but now it swoops and twists to blend into the tank. Unlike the Si, the Xl reverts to a black fuel cell enclosed by a painted cover. This made blending the airbox into the tank form easier, explained Erik Buell, as well as elimi nating the manufacturing difficulty of achieving a top-class finish on a roto-molded gas tank. Balancing the airbox on the left side is a new fea ture: a large, black-plas tic scoop that ducts cooling air to the rear cylinder head. Accord ing to Buell Test En gineer John Bunne, the scoop keeps the rear cyl inder head running with in a few degrees of the front one-always diffi cult on an air-cooled, tandem V-Twin.
If the Si Lightning was defined by its stubby tail, narrow seat and dubious inner-fender-mounted license plate, the Xl is also shaped by its tailsec tion. But now the rear structure and styling components are one-yes, one-of the largest single aluminum castings used on any motorcycle. The bolt-on casting replaces a tubular rear subframe, brackets that carried the taillight and the painted plastic tailpiece. On the pre-production Xi deliv ered to CW, the tailpiece was a sand casting with visible porosity and rough edges. Production bikes, however, will carry a permanent-mold version of the same part, with promised smoother surface and a robotically brushed finish covered with clearcoat. If we owned an Xl, we'd be tempted to polish the bare metal; the clearcoat manages to transform a gorgeous hunk of aluminum into something that looks suspi ciously like plastic.
The new tail carries the single biggest improvement over the Si: a longer, wider seat. The foam density of the proto type unit on our testbike was too soft (promised to be recti fied for production), thus allowing it to pack down, yet it was still more comfortable than any Si seat. Indeed, the Xi seat, to paraphrase computer visionary Alan Kay's comment about the Apple Macintosh, is the first Lightning seat good enough to criticize.
The completing flourish of the Xl is the little chin spoiler riding under the engine. Is it functional? Well, it hides the new Showa shock and the enormous Buell muffler, and inte grates the lines of the bike. That's reason enough for its existence. The muffler, by the way, has newly rounded end caps replacing the truck-like flat ends of the older design, and has had its mounting system redesigned for belt-andsuspenders reliability, with three mounts superseding the previous two. - -
But the biggest functional change to the Xl manifests itself the first time you turn the dash-mounted ignition key and thumb the starter button. The engine cranks three to five times, lights, then settles into a just-over-1000-rpm tickover-and all without ever touching the throttle. Let it warm for a few seconds and ride off, and the new fuel-injec tion system improves driveabilty from the beginning-though in the first minute or two after start-up our testbike would occasionally die as it slowed down for stops.
The Xl's injection system is Buell-unique, and will come on both the Lightning and the Thunderbolt S3 for 1999. Like most other motorcycle systems, it shares many compo nents with automotive EFI setups; the injectors are car parts, and you can find the oxygen sensor that mounts to the rear header at your local NAPA store. The vehicle-specific hard ware consists of a Waibro-manufactured 45mm throttle body (replacing a 38mm Keihin CV carb) and an injection and ignition-control computer by VDO.
The Buell injection is both simple and complex at the same time. It still uses a single-throat throttle bolting to a Y-shaped manifold, because packaging a dual-throat design into the tight space between the cylinders created too many tight bends. But two injectors aim fuel directly toward each cylinder's intake valve. The tiny ECU (engine control unit) makes do with minimal sensors, its fuel-delivery map vary ing in classic alpha-N (throttle position vs. rpm) style, much like that of the Weber-Marelli systems used on Ducatis and Moto Guzzis. But what sets the Buell EFI apart from most motorcycle systems is the oxygen sensor that allows it to operate in closed-loop mode (like BMWs), where it injects the amount of fuel it believes to be correct, and then can look at the reading of the exhaust-mounted oxygen sensor to verify the result. If it discovers a discrepancy, it can apply a correction factor to the entire injection map. Such a design can correct for changes in engine operation over thousands of miles of use, or, to a large extent, the demands of an aftermarket exhaust system.
But when you're riding the Xl, all you notice is now cleanly it pulls from as low as 2000 rpm, and how quickly and smoothly it responds. Like the Si White Lightning, it has twin humps in its torque curve, the first just above 2500 rpm, the second up at 6000. You find yourself operating in two completely different modes: short-shifting when trolling along and enjoying the low-speed torque along with some noticeable, if not unpleasant, vibration; or revving into a delightfully smooth, high-rpm song when you're in a huriy. Power reaches above 80 horses at 5700 rpm, and stays at that level or above until you encounter the rev-limiter at 6800. Keep it up there, and you can fly through the quartermile in 11.7-seconds at 115 mph-not bad for a pushrod Twin. Mellow or mad, you're offered the choice. But at all times the engine feels more responsive, more refined and
much crisper than its carbureted predecessors ever did. Also refined is the suspension and handling. Shawn Higbee, the winner of the Buell Lightning series last year and a couple of this year's AMA Pro Thunder races on a Buell, now works in the company's testing and development department, and his influence shows. Stiffening braces on the new frame first appeared on Higbee's racebike. The new Showa suspension front and rear was calibrated with Higbee's assistance, and offers a firm, sporting ride without
the harshness of last year's WP-equipped machines. The new, one-piece, cast-aluminum swingarm is 87 percent stiffer in torsion than the steel arm it replaces, which wasn't wimpy to start with. The overall result is a bike that simply flies on backroads. Roll it into a corner easily, and it keeps responding linearly whatever the lean angle. Want to change your line or brake mid-corner? No problem: The Xl responds without sending your heart toward redline. The predictable engine produces perfect response, its heavier than-normal flywheels translating into traction you can sense. Ride this machine and you begin to understand how Higbee can run with alloy-framed, dohc, four-valve-per cylinder Triumph Triples.
But as important for most potential owners is the greater overall refinement of this new Lightning. Everywhere you look, you note improvements over previous Buells, from the new instruments to the new footpegs and forged foot con trols to, yes, the helmet hooks under the easily detached seat. The Xl feels like a complete industrial product; no parts remain that hint at kitbike, or of the compromises nec essarily made when Buells were built in a Mukwanago garage at the rate of one per week.
So, Mr. Wilke has little to worry about. We like his new machine, and like it a lot. But since he reads the magazine so closely, we might suggest a few improvements for next year: another 10 horsepower with yet more torque, along with 50 pounds less weight. After all, you can't have too much of a good thing.
EDITORS' NOTES
So, I'M ABOARD A `98 WHITE LIGHTNING when a fellow rider, obviously spoiling for a fight, asks the price. Informed, he shoots back, "Seems like a lot for a piece of farm machinery." Ouch. Well, okay, in the past Buells have had sort of an agricultural quality to them. But the Xl at least seems to be heading out of Kansas (or Wisconsin, as the case may be). It addresses many of the aes thetic and functional gripes with previous Buells, and it has a much more polished feel. Nobody will accidentally label this thing civilized-at low speed, it still shakes, buzzes and hops-but now it works better. The tank is a little wide, but the instrument panel is legible and useful, the inboard head ers make it nearly impossible to firebrand your thigh, the seat is so highly improved it illuminates how truly bad was the previous vinyl frame-rail cover and fuel injection has only heightened throttle response. All of which means this bike is even more fun than before. And a lot less agriculturaL -Paul Seredynski, Associate Editor
TESTING A PRE-PRODUCTION BIKE IS A BIT like sneaking a bite of Grampa's home made chili before it's finished. After see ing that first mouth-watering conceptual drawing, I begin to imagine just how tasty the bike will be. Looking over the technical specifications only spurs my hunger to sample the spicy blend of ingredients. It's not until I've dipped into the pot that I realize I might have waited. While showing great promise, the fuel-injected Buell Xl
would sometimes sputter and fart (chili tends to do that to you). Then, the rear header loosened up, leading to more foul noises and spent gas.
When all worked well, however, the Xl was a hot per former with enough beans to pull big stinkin' wheelies when bangin' into second gear. Handling proved superb, making the Xl a natural gas to ride in the twisties. Granted, the recipe has yet to be perfected, but the good news is Erik Buell's cooks are still in the kitchen. -Don Canet, Road Test Editor
OKAY, NOW WE'RE GETTIN' SOMEWHERE! Nicely balanced suspension. A Nike swoosh of a chin fairing to camouflage that irksome truck muffler. And-what's this?-a gen-u-ine seat, one that actually cradles both cheeks at the same time? Progress comes to East Troy.
My personal jury is still out on the Xl `s styling. Love the sexy new tail piece, hate the fender that's bolted to it. Can't say I'm crazy about the blacked-out motor; com bined with an intake pod on one side and an air scoop on the other, it's hard to see what's actually in the engine bay. Not too sure about that tank cover, either; it seems a mis mosh of shapes and lines that to my eyes doesn't work with the wasp-waisted rear section. Ironically enough, the old Si's "manta-ray" fuel tank was the one piece of bodywork I really liked.
Overall, though, this is a better Buell, more refined and more usable, easily the best Lightning yet.
-David Edwards, Editor-in-Chief
BUELL Xl LIGHTNING
$10,599
