It’s part of our job as moto-journalists to try what’s outthere in the American market and report back. The ultimate test is to take a bike, customize it and ride it to Sturgis. What could give you a truer test of a bike’s ability to look cool and endure a long run? I’ve been fortunate enough to customize and ride everything from nearly bone stock bikes to ground-up customs. Each trip is an adventure. Each run has varying characteristics, and with each journey there’s a new woman, but that’s my problem.
This year we needed to make a choice. I had a Kenny Boyce ProStreet frame that I planned to load a Twin Cam engine into and rideto the Badlands. I also had a 2000 Buell M-2 and I had recentlyinstalled dual Mikuni carb heads on my ’48 Panhead. Since I’m alsoworking on a Pro Street custom for Dr. Ladd Terry, the Bikernetmorale officer, I decided to hold onto my Pro Street project for nextyear. Another doctor, Dr. Hamster, had been working on his 34 VL andwas excited about riding it to Sturgis. We both knew that the antiqueride would be a long shot.
On top of the time/money consideration, I enjoy riding the M-2. It’s the hotrod of Harleys, light, agile, brakes like a madman and hauls ass. The guys at Harley like to refer to Buells as their street fighters. I have to agree. So I decided that I needed to put some miles on it and experience its ability for distance. Like last year when I told folks that I was going to ride a rigid toSturgis, I got the same reaction to the Buell. I rode it toLaughlin with a passenger and soft saddlebags. The bike handled likea dream. At 100 mph, it was more stable than most Big Twins, andacceleration was always at hand. There’s no hesitation from zip to 100 mph, and that’s my riding range.I was advised at one point to put a smaller pulley onthe rear for lower rpms while cruising. Later I found that themodification had its glitches. I found that the bike was glass smoothat 100 and still zippy and that was good enough for me. We began aseries of mild mods with a cam change to the Screamin’ Eagle raceversion and added the stainless race header. My partner to Laughlinhad a blast and was so comfortable she passed on several rest stops.We kept going and ran out of gas in the desert. So you can understandwhy there’s a new woman each year. She’s still out there somewhere.In the final analysis the decision was made to ride the Buellto the Black Hills Rally.
If you’ve read the techs, you know what wedid to this puppy, so I’ll go beyond the build to a few conceptionsabout Buell. First, there is no fairing to speak of, but I actuallyfound the bike extremely comfortable to ride. The little chin fairingkeeps the big blast off your chest and I didn’t need anymore. I mayregret those words as I hit the Colorado monsoons, but so far, sogood. Some guys complained about the sitting position, but I found itcomfortable once I knew how to sit. Like any bike, you need to findthe groove. The brothers talked about leaning on the bars and toomuch weight on the wrists. I found that if I leaned over the bars Iput excessive weight on my grip, but if I sat on my ass, it was nodifferent than other bikes, although under hard braking situationsyou are thrust forward.
Some felt the ride on a Buell would be rough, yet most wereunaware that the bike is basically a rubbermounted Sportster, andincredibly smooth, especially at 80-100 mph.
Others thought I mightlook ridiculous, and I told them I look ridiculous all the timeanyway. What difference would this year make? Others don’t like midcontrols. If you’re not used to them, you may find that you need toadjust, but once you get the hang of them, you’ll find less pressureon your back.
Alright enough perceptions and conceptions, let’s get readyto ride. The Buell has 400 miles on it since we made thecosmetic changes and cured some rocker box leaks.
This last week weinstalled Joker Machine billet and anodized turn signals on it and hidthem as much as possible.
We picked up a small oil cooler from ChromeSpecialties and installed it with longer oil lines at the front ofthe bike. The oil capacity is about 2.5 quarts, which always makes menervous, so we changed oil and plugged in the largest Dyna oil filterwe could find. The filter and cooler combination allowed us to squeakin 3 quarts and take some precarious kinks out of the lines. I alsostopped by Joker Machine and they liked the mods so much they told meto run one of their point covers or die.
Dewey’s Custom Pegs makes thecleanest air cleaner cover on the market and it fit like a dream.Finally we ordered a chrome hardware kit for the rear pulley. While disassembling the rear wheel, we polished the right wheel spacerand the belt adjuster guides–not bad touches.
So Sturgis 2001 is one week away. If I collect enoughaluminum cans off the beach I’ll have a pile of quarters for spendingmoney. The woman in my life is the best candidate to run Bikernetwhile I’m on the road, and I’m ready.
This is our quest each year,to build a vehicle and make it to the Badlands to talk about it. I’llhave a full report upon my return. Hang on.
