Buell XB-12 S LIGHTNING 2008 — Specifications

Roadster or supermotard? The question is worth asking seriously, because the XB-12 S Lightning doesn't fit into any box properly. That's precisely what makes it fascinating. Buell took the XB-12 R, removed the head fairing, fitted two round, menacing headlights, added a tiny screen of nothing at all, and raised the riding position. On paper, the operation appears cosmetic. Once in the saddle, it changes everything.

The perimeter aluminum frame that contains the fuel, the swingarm that serves as an oil tank, the 17-inch front wheel gripped by a single central disc of large diameter: the architecture remains that of the R, as iconoclastic as it is effective. The 1203 cc V-twin engine at 45 degrees develops 94 horsepower at 7000 rpm and, above all, 102 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. These figures tell only part of the story. This engine, cut from the Harley-Davidson tradition—Buell is 95% owned by the Milwaukee giant—pulls with a sharp character, a generosity in the pickups that sticks the wrists and recalls that America has its own way of conceiving mechanical pleasure.

But it's in the corners that the Lightning reveals its true nature. With 179 kg dry weight and an extremely compact geometry, the bike pivots with disconcerting ease. The raised handlebars allow you to weigh down the front with precision, more than on the faired version, and you quickly realize that the center of gravity has been worked on to the point of obsession. The 43 mm Showa inverted fork does its job without complaint, the single shock absorber keeps its course, and the belt drive absorbs the jolts with a smoothness that chains don't always offer. You find yourself turning around the imaginary pivot point of the steering as if the bike anticipated the rider's intentions rather than suffered them.

Facing a Ducati Monster 1100 or a KTM Duke of the time, the Buell plays in a different aesthetic and philosophical league. It doesn't seek to seduce with Italian elegance or Austrian efficiency. It imposes its own vocabulary, raw and consistent. The 14.5-liter tank, limited with such a thirsty engine, forces you to monitor the gauge on the road, and the 11,995 euros requested in 2008 placed it at the top of the no-compromise roadster segment. The engine, moreover, would support a superior cavalry without flinching: the chassis clearly has more resources than the mechanics offer it.

The XB-12 S is for the rider who wants to feel something different, not necessarily faster, but unique. Neither a beginner intimidated by this temperamental character, nor a track rider frustrated by the lack of a tucked position. Rather the urban and weekend touring driver who wants a motorcycle with a double identity, capable of weaving through the city with the agility of a 500 cc supermotard and swallowing a national road with the punch of a real big twin. When Buell closed its doors in 2009, this kind of atypical object simply disappeared from the market. And no one really took over.