Buell XB-9S X LIGHTNING City Cross 2005 — Specifications

Call it marketing or audacity, but when Buell decides to bolt a motocross handlebar, hand guards, and a headlight guard onto an already hard-edged XB-9S, the result leaves no one indifferent. The City Cross isn't a new motorcycle: it's a variation on a familiar theme, dressed up with a translucent blue plastic airbox cover and a redesigned seat, with black-painted rims to complete the package. The 984 cc 45-degree V-twin remains untouched, and the aluminum chassis — that perimeter frame that also serves as the fuel tank, the brand's absolute signature — doesn't change by a single nut. Buell simply borrowed the pulley and belt from the XB-12S, then slipped the machine into a single, boldly tech-flavored blue colorway. A limited edition in spirit, even if the word is never made official.

The problem is that the "City" in the name is more of a promise than a reality. In urban riding, the XB-9SX struggles more than it shines. The twin lacks low-end fill, the five-speed gearbox shows an imprecision that grates in stop-and-go traffic, and the constant drone of the cooling fan eventually gets on your nerves after a few red lights. The seat, perched at 850 mm, demands a certain stature — somewhere between supermoto and naked sportbike. And if you need to turn around on a narrow street, you'd better have spotted a parking lot in advance: turning radius is not this machine's strong suit. At 9,750 euros, a little more urban fluidity would have been fair to expect.

Take it out of the city, and the machine transforms. On twisting roads, the chassis reveals its full coherence: 175 kg dry, a weight distribution conceived by Erik Buell himself, an inverted fork with 120 mm of travel and a rear monoshock with 127 mm of stroke that absorbs rough surfaces without complaint. The 92 horsepower delivered at 7,200 rpm and 85.3 Nm of torque at 5,600 rpm come fully into their own once past the low-rpm trough. The bike carves through corners with surprising precision, changes direction effortlessly, and the belt drive smooths out power delivery better than any chain. The claimed top speed of 210 km/h gives a sense of the available temperament when you decide to open the throttle in earnest.

The XB-9SX City Cross targets a very specific rider profile: someone who has already made peace with the compromises inherent in any Buell, who values technical originality above functional comfort, and who prefers back roads to urban arteries despite the "city" label. It's not a bike for beginners — the seat height and engine character demand experience — nor really for long-distance tourers, given that a 14-liter tank isn't generous enough on the highway. This is a machine for enthusiasts of unconventional mechanical architecture, those who study the engineering solutions before looking at the price tag, and who accept a bit of a fight in exchange for a motorcycle you won't see on every street corner.