Making the shift from a BMW Airhead to a 2008 Buell Ulysses XB12X

So, what would possess a button-down Boxer man to buy a bad-boy Buell?

You're not the first person to ask.

But it has to do with Big Twin power, ease of maintenance, a fiddle-free rear drive and all-American all-around capability and versatility.

And it seems to be a strong trend among BMW aficionados, who seem to be buying Buells in disproportionate numbers.

Making the leap from German to American engineering.

Back in nineteen and eighty six, my choices finally boiled down to two bikes:
A Harley-Davidson FXRT and a BMW R80RT.

Keep in mind that I had already burned up two Japanese street multis — a naked Suzuki GT550 and a Suzuki GS650G with a Shoei sport-touring fairing, lowers, and Krauser Starlet bags.

Good bikes for what they were, but I was looking for factory luggage, a factory sport-touring fairing and a long-term travel relationship.

Problem? Yes. At $9,500 FXRT was twice the price of the the $4,800 BMW. And this was '86, when H-D was just emerging from beneath the AMF quality cloud.

The FXRT had a fairing you sat beneath, not in, and you wound up looking through the windshield. Or not looking through the fiberglass portion that swathed the buckhorn handlebars, as the case may be.

The saddlebags looked good, but held little. And the cruiser, feet-forward seating position didn't feel like total rider control to me.

So, the BMW got the nod. Why? Price, capability and track record. I remember the Cycle magazine review saying that the R80RT was like finding a great jazz station in the midst of a sea of Top 40 radio stations.

And Cycle, as usual, was right.

The price was about double compared to Japanese stuff. But not terrible: seems to me the Deutsche mark was weak against the U.S. dollar that year. The capability was there — the classic RT fairing was already a proven commodity, and BMW's locking, detachable saddlebags set the industry standard.

The airhead Beemers were well known, and had been incrementally improved over the years. And the 800cc displacement was the smoothest, if not the most powerful, of the Boxer lot, considering the 1,000cc and 650cc models.

Farkles — accessories — were cheap, diverse and well-made. The shaft drive was known for being absolutely rock-solid. But splines required occasional maintenance.

Fast forward to today, 21 years later. I have not regretted my purchase one bit. While she has had her issues, the RT is still going strong, and is easy to work on, understand, and repair. There are 102,666 miles showing on the clock.

Since '86, BMWs have steadily escalated in price and complexity, to the point that they seem to be riding on their rep, rather than their abilities. Don't get me wrong: They are incredibly capable, fast bikes.

But their gee-whiz technology is starting to overwhelm their reliability, in my book.

Farkles? Well, they all seem to be high-dollar, too, and not easily swapped from bike to bike, or even year-to-year among BMWs.

When my friend's GS rear drive took a dump on a our Colorado adventure this summer — and we had difficulty getting dealer help out of state — that kinda sealed the deal. The four or five rear-drive failures in last year's Iron Butt didn't inspire any confidence either.

In addition, that friend's GS has had a series of mechanical issues, all well known to the GS community. But BMW has leapt to the next new thing — instead of improving on an already good thing.

Sidle over to the Ulysses. It's unique, no question. Downright ugly, to some folks (including Bubby at Cummings Harley-Davidson, where I bought the bike.) But, it has:

• An air-cooled engine that is user- and maintainer-friendly.
• Big twin power and torque.
• All-around capability.
• Locking, hard, detachable luggage.
• Heated factory grips.
• Power points. (Although the one under the seat makes no sense a'tall.)
• A seemingly loyal, BMW Airhead-like band of enthusiasts, not big-dollar dilettantes.
• A proven, understandable, repairable rear drive that is lighter and more responsive than shaft or chain.

At about $7,000 less than a new BMW GS or RT.

Pete at Cummings, who handled some of the Secretary of State paperwork, noted that a lot of Buell customers are coming off BMWs. It's an anecdotal data point I've been hearing a lot about lately. It makes me wonder: BMW, are you tracking that data, too?

Issues? A few. Many Harley-Davidson dealers (including Cummings) don't quite "get" the Buells. Oh, they have them in stock, and they are happy to sell them, but too many have their accessories behind the parts counter, or relegate their Buells to dusty corners.

The windshield is a fashion statement, but can be upgraded. (And will never be near RT or full-on GS territory.) The bags have had latch issues (That have apparently been fixed.) She needs wider, Tuono-style mirrors for a better check on the six.

The hard bags are on the way. The tank bag is on the way. A larger windshield, for winter work, will likely be on the way. The rear seat accommodations for a Particular Pillion Princess are nowhere near as lush as the RT, nor as wind-protected.

So, my old Airhead will likely stay in my hangar for certain missions involving a certain blonde. (Or I will sell it, and use the money I saved on the Uly to move up a few model years to an oilhead R1150RT.)

But I can solo most of this country on my Uly.

With a $7,000 bulge in my pocket.

And one whopping grin on my face.