With a ride experience more akin to something like a Moto Guzzi or and older BMW Boxer twin, it takes a while to adjust to the quirky nature of the beast after being fed on a solid diet of modern Japanese and European motorcycles. (Photo: Kevin Wing) » More Photos

Firing to life with an animated jump, and settling into the most active idle of any bike I have ridden in a long time, the Thunderstorm air-oil cooled 45 degree V-twin is a wondrous beast. With a single overhead cam operating two-valves per cylinder, there aren’t a lot of elaborate hard parts above the massive 88.9mm piston. Running a 10.0:1 compression ratio, the two pistons run in 96.82mm strokes to give the XB an engine capacity of 1203cc. Allowing the bike to throw down over 103 horsepower at 6,800rpm and a healthy 84ft. lbs of torque at 6,000 rpm, the XB12XT is plenty powerful enough to fully exploit its stellar handling properties, and probably embarrass more that its share of squids on sport bikes when the road gets twisty.

Initially thinking I just needed to let the engine pull a higher gear at lower rpm, I found that the Buell is actually happier when the revs are approaching peak horsepower. With a red line of 7,100 rpm, up this year from 6,900, running the engine near these figures is so smooth you can’t believe it’s a big twin. With HD employee and Buell racer Paul James on hand, we discussed this fact after our ride and he told me this is why the Buell’s are so easy to race. This is the zone we got into on our way to lunch where the XB just hit its sweet spot, and it is one fun place to be.

Unless you have been living in a cave lately or watching too much Oprah, I am sure most of you have seen the signature Buell aluminum frame that doubles as the fuel tank and holds 4.4 gallons of gas. As the same unit found on all Buell models, it is responsible for the bikes high-speed stability and sporting nature. Holding a 43mm inverted Showa fork up front, it holds a single shock from the same company in the rear. These are both multi-adjustable in all the usual ways, and if they are anything like the Buell sport bikes I tested a number of years ago, they are highly adjustable. Where most modern bikes are adjustable over a very narrow range to stop the user making a big mistake, the Buell series has more latitude. With most of us coming in different weights, sizes, and very different touring needs, this is a big positive, as it is lot easier to dial the Ulysses to your particular riding style or needs.

Wheels on the XT are some of the trickest looking in the motorcycle world. Featuring a 6-spoke cast aluminum up front, with Buell’s unique ZTL type brake featuring a single, six-piston caliper, it is also the only production motorcycle series to have a single 375mm stainless rotor that is bolted to the outside of the rim. Putting the system to the test a few times, it works very well, and the softly sprung touring front fork is more the limiting factor in stopping distances than the brake. The rear brake is a more conventional single-piston caliper grabbing a 240mm disc, and can take a good solid stomp before you hear shrieking Pirelli Diablo. The rear wheel is a six-spoke job like the front and looks equally trick, as well as being equally light. Drive to this rear wheel is by a Goodyear Hibrex Aramid-reinforced belt and requires no lubrication or adjustment. And, on the subject of trick, the swing arm doubles for the oil reservoir for those who aren’t already Buell savvy.