Buell XB12R Firebolt - Twisty Road Fun

Riding the Buell XB12R Firebolt in some very challenging conditions. A lot tighter then it looks!! Luckily the Harley powered Buell had got plenty of power to pull the Iron Horse through the corners.
Great shame that they stopped building them as they are amazing fun to ride!!

[@DustySquitoNM]

Man, the engine noise on those bikes is awesome. That might be my favorite engine note on a bike out there.

[@ashleyDRT]

dustysquito She's definitely got a presence that's for sure. Ride her through the city and you attract a lot of attention!!

[@jackelracer593]

Its a just longitudinal v twin harley motor

[@catharticcathexis4527]

@@jackelracer593 Harley makes the best sounding engines on the market. They had to copyright the sound so Japanese bikes couldn’t copy it.

[@grahamspink8847]

Looks the same as our West Australian roads I ride my Buell firebolt on twice a week .... Glad to here that Buell is back in business

[@dayriderschat]

Now I'm sad to hear that Eric is again out of business ...we love his bikes .. he designs them to be exciting yet safe...

[@jetsparrow3171]

Great vid mate. Love seeing the Aussie countryside fly past with that beaut Buell soundtrack. Thanks for sharing.

[@keystonerider1308]

Love your videos. I had a 2006 xb12ss and sold years ago for a Harley and have missed it everyday since. I just bought a 2009 xb12r and can not wait to pick it up tomorrow. Your videos are what drew me back to Buell! Ride safe man and make some more if you still have it.

[@ashleyDRT]

Don't worry, I still have it. It's been in retirement for 4 years. I fixed it up a couple of weeks back and have started riding it again. It's still in mint condition.

[@keystonerider1308]

MotoLife that’s awesome. I’m keeping this one forever. They are beginning to go up in value here in the states. Definitely going to be a collectors bike.

[@jamisgood21]

I agree it's sad they don't make these anymore! SUCH FANTASTIC BIKES!

[@depe01]

Wonderful engine sound. I also like the KTM sound. Can't chose which I prefer more, the Buell V-twin or the Big Single ;-)

[@TheGibbon138]

Nice bike, the Remus exhaust sounds great on the XB's. As posted previously though the centre line is something I tend to avoid after seeing too many close calls and cars with two wheels on my side of it.

[@juliodc1231]

Awesome rode and awesome bike...love that vtwin sound

[@loris199]

awesome video, very smooth ride! and cool bike ;-) cheers from Italy

[@Headroom1001]

You Sir, are a nervous shifter :-)

[@evan1kx125]

Lol ya hes shifting up and down way too much..dont be afraid of the redline

[@SteveC-Shaman]

Stop crossing the center line my friend, or that's going to get you in some trouble. Otherwise, good fun.

[@ShatteredEagle]

The Challenge is to ride quickly on your side of the road. If I eat shit if prefer it only to be me eating shit. Also, my god that sound.

[@ashleyDRT]

No one else was using the other side.

[@SteveC-Shaman]

MotoLife Yeah, that's what the other guy probably thought too, just before you slammed into each other. There's a reason why that's a double line. I've seen many close calls and more than a few accidents in my 35+ years of riding.

[@grahamspink8847]

+Steve C I agree the centre white lines are also slightly slippy even while dry ..... I never cross them and have had a license for over 60 years ...I don't go much under the speed limit either ...

[@yaahoo5844]

Looks and sounds Heavenly

[@stuartroy2937]

Everyone refers to them as Harley powered not these ones the xb models completely different from earlier sporster engined models . brilliant bikes to drive although a bit tight on the legs after a bit of distance.can keep up and even get by higher powered machines on the twistys.had both a lightning long and firebolt for ten years but they had to go kept getting cramps on back of legs but I miss them both for all the things about them.ride Free🏍️👍

[@bxl1121]

This is one of the bst bikes eve made :)

[@dayriderschat]

Also looks like our Western Australian roads in the Chittering valley area near Perth...... My firebolt is the blue and orange 2005 model .... I am 77 and find the bike easy on the bends ....

[@ashleyDRT]

Graham Spink hopefully I'm still riding my Buell when I'm 77! rode it for the first time in 2.5 years today coincidentally.

[@monomakes]

Don't worry, they look quite tight enough :) It's strange how cameras to that though.

[@Snijkamp]

Wrong side of the road ! :p Very nice bike! And riding too :)

[@mikefry6765]

Snijkamp stage whisper.....its Australia !

[@derekdamned1]

hum thinking i love this bike and am going to buy one!

[@ashleyDRT]

+derek eisenman If you want a muscle bike that pulls like a train and sounds like thunder then yes, yes you probably do want one.

[@Gloomshadow100]

I have that same bike , 1203 black and amber.. and I have the XB9SX in Hero Blue also. If you have never ridden the XB Lightning then try one. I think it the Lightning actually feels better than my Firebolt. I am considering converting my 12R into a 12S

[@josephfoster3819]

My uncle has the xb12s lightning . Badass bike . I love to ride it . The low end torque scares me lol

[@briglnai]

Great vid, have the same bike, same color, same pipe... are you driving with db killers/baffles? any tuning on ECM? any other changes?

[@ashleyDRT]

+briglnai No db killers. It has the RaceECU. No other changes with the exception of some carbon fiber components that I manufactured for it.

[@briglnai]

+MotoLife thx, nice bike...have you ever compared to stock exhaust? many people say it runs best with it...i like the sound of the remus, but well, i consider going back to stock exhaust...the valve does all the difference...

[@ashleyDRT]

+briglnai I have the standard pipe but have never fitted it. I doubt it would run better with it. It's extremely sharp as it stands. From my stand point there's no way that introducing an exhaust restricting is going to offer any real world performance benefit. I'd suggest that the exhaust valve was installed for statutory noise tests, at a specified engine speed, and falsely passed off as a performance feature. No sure. The Dyno tells no lies and it would be interesting to see a comparison!

[@briglnai]

+MotoLife the valve is not installed for noise regulations, but for creating back pressure in low rpm. The actuator opens the valve on high rpm and closes on low rpm to gain back pressure which results in higher power output in low rpm ranges. People say, that you need to custom tune ecu curves to make the remus (and other accessory exhausts) have the same power as stock, and maybe a little more in high rpms. That said, my Bolt runs "fine" with the Remus, and sounds nice. But throttle response as well as low rpm torque should be better with the stock one, though you lose the great sound... there are also voices saying that the crackling when closing throttle are backfires which can cause overheating. this can be seen on some Buells, where the exhaust headers have strong discoloring (they look blueish) from the high temperatures. Also, don't use open air filters in combination with "open" exhausts...the engine will run even worse... I will test this season again with the Remus, and will then decide if I will go back to stock exhaust or not. I think it is difficult to tell, if you never drove a stock one...some say you feel the great difference immediately and will never go back to a custom pipe... cheers

[@giff-gaff]

Lovely sound! Did you record it separately, or through the GoPro? It makes me cringe when people get too close to, or cross the solid centre line on blind bends ...but you didn't! You even backed off the throttle for the tighter, blind bends. Nice ride and great bike!

[@ashleyDRT]

Sound was recorded on a zoom H2n.

[@giff-gaff]

+MotoLife Cheers for that and for not sticking an angry metal soundtrack over that fab Buell/Remus one!

[@ashleyDRT]

+Giff Gaff I'm quite a fan of the Rumus pipe. Haven't seen many others running it though. twin mufflers exiting out each side looks and sounds pretty tuff!

[@giff-gaff]

+MotoLife Yep! They're pretty popular in Europe too (being Austrian made I guess). Also after 2008 we have the later Remus with twin slashcut pipes on the Thunderstorm engine with "Euro" headers. My XB12X has those and has been hibernating over winter ...Spring/Summer can't come soon enough!

[@dayriderschat]

Aluminium horse if you don't mind !!

[@policeofficer94]

Definitely not the fastest or quickest but so light at 370lbs and sounds fantastic

[@kevfile8992]

Exciting video. I can't say it doesn't irk me that you're completely neglecting the clutch, but I was anything but bored.

[@ashleyDRT]

Sorry, are you suggesting that I'm using the clutch too much?? Too Little?? something else??

[@kevfile8992]

Neglect: To pay little or no attention to; fail to heed; disregard. Your hand is over the clutch lever the whole time and never actually use it. I don't actually care what you do with your machine. I just take special care of mine and use it as intended so it lasts a long time and stays working properly. Pounding through gears without clutch won't show much immediate difference but after a bit of that you're going to break the transmission.

[@ashleyDRT]

Kev File Your command of the English language is poor it seems. Neglect can be an adjective, as you've defined it, or a verb which has a slightly different definition. In the context of your original sentence "Neglecting" is in fact a verb. In fact "Neglecting" is always a verb, hence why I sort confirmation the aforementioned comment. Now that I'm clear on the concern raised may I suggest that you re-watch the entire video again more closely. I use the Clutch on basically every gear change and Rev Match all downshifts. The middle finger gives it away. Ride On!

[@ociel1988]

I DONT THINK YOU NEED A CLUTCH. AFTER FIRST GEAR. BIKE GEARS A SEQUENTIAL MEANING THEY ARE SPINNING ALL THE TIME

[@monomakes]

MotoLife Bike sounds lovely, I like the roads - similar to those around Barcelona. One thing though "Your command of the English language is poor it seems", but "hence why I *sort* confirmation" - you mean *sought* (the past and past participle of *seek*), right? ;) Selling my XB was a mistake I regret.

[@craigpennington1251]

Bike does sound great but rider seems to have a right hand twitching problem.

[@horstvomhorscht6898]

exhaust??

[@ashleyDRT]

Remus