Buell XB-12 S LIGHTNING 2006 — Specifications

Imagine a motorcycle that refuses to be categorized. Not really a roadster, not really a supermotard, the 2006 Buell XB-12 S Lightning occupies this no man's land stylistically with a disconcerting conviction. It was born from a surgical operation on the XB-12 R: the enveloping headstock was removed, replaced by two round headlights and a mini-windscreen, and the handlebar was raised to offer a more urban riding position, less leaned over the tank. The result is a compact machine, almost brutal in its lines, which provokes as many questions as glances in the street.

Under this atypical bodywork, Erik Buell slipped in his usual inventions. The perimeter aluminum frame serves as a fuel tank, 14.5 liters housed within the structure itself. The swingarm contains the engine oil. This kind of engineering solution that makes purists spin and makes curious minds smile. The 43 mm inverted Showa fork and the single shock absorber with 127 mm of travel complement a chassis whose coherence far exceeds what the technical specifications suggest.

The 45-degree V-twin of 1203 cc develops 100 horsepower at 6600 rpm and above all 107.9 Nm of torque, available in a wide and carnal range. This engine is American muscle with a 5-speed gearbox and a belt drive, not Japanese high technology at 14,000 rpm. It lacks punch in the upper rev range, and the 2 valves per cylinder betray an architecture that begins to show its age compared to the inline 4-cylinder engines of Suzuki or Honda of the time. But in the reality of a daily commute or a winding road, this shortcoming becomes anecdotal given how much the engine pulls from low revs.

It is in corners that the Lightning reveals its true character. The raised handlebar compared to the XB-12 R radically transforms the feel: you turn around the steering axis with a precision that surprises for a machine weighing 209 kg fully fueled. The motorcycle inscribes itself in the curves with a disconcerting ease, more relaxed than its faired cousin, without ever becoming unpredictable at the limits. For a rider who likes to vary the pleasures between the city and the mountains, it is almost unsettling in its ease.

At 11,995 euros in 2006, the Lightning was aimed at an informed, curious audience, probably tired of millimeter-calibrated Japanese motorcycles. It seduced those who wanted a motorcycle with character, rooted in an American heritage without the compromises of a cruiser. The fact that Buell was 95% owned by Harley-Davidson is felt in the genes of the machine: there is in this V-twin something indefinable, a pulsation, a way of breathing that resembles nothing else on the European market. Not always the most rational choice, but certainly one of the most unique of its generation.