Buell XB-9S X LIGHTNING City Cross 2006 — Specifications

Imagine a standard XB-9S that decided to dress up as an urban adventurer. Buell, in 2006, doesn't bother with half-measures: a few carefully chosen accessories, and the compact roadster finds itself fitted with a motocross handlebar, hand guards, a headlight guard, and a windscreen paired with a translucent blue plastic airbox cover. The result? An XB-9S that claims a "City Cross" identity with a certain brazenness, offered in a unique techno blue colorway. It also picks up the pulley and belt borrowed from the XB-12S, a new seat, and blacked-out wheels. Aesthetically, the message is clear: this machine owns its eccentricity.

Beneath this urban adventurer costume, the mechanicals remain familiar. The 45-degree V-twin displacing 984 cc produces 92 horsepower at 7,200 rpm and 85.3 Nm of torque at 5,600 rpm. All of it housed in an aluminum perimeter frame that doubles as a fuel tank — 14 liters stored within the frame itself, one of Erik Buell's technical signatures. On paper, the proportions are appealing: 175 kg dry and a claimed top speed of 210 km/h. In practice, the seat height hovers around 850 mm, which immediately reserves this machine for taller riders.

The "City" in the name is enough to raise a smile, and not necessarily for the right reasons. In urban riding, the XB-9SX proves genuinely out of its element. The twin lacks smoothness at low revs, the five-speed gearbox shows some notchiness in its shifts, the cooling fan runs and makes itself heard without apology, and the turning radius turns every U-turn into a logistical exercise. Compared to an Aprilia Tuono or even a Ducati Monster of the same era — two roadsters with which it shares its customer base — the Buell clearly falls short on urban versatility.

But take it out of the city, find a winding A-road, let the revs climb into the mid-range, and the American changes character entirely. The twin wakes up, the perimeter frame asserts its precision, and the 204 kg fully fueled becomes an asset through linked corners. The chassis, with its upside-down fork offering 120 mm of travel and a rear monoshock with 127 mm of stroke, delivers a convincing balance on fast roads. This is where the essence of Erik Buell's creations reveals itself: an unconventional technical philosophy, stubbornly coherent, that rewards the rider willing to meet it halfway.

At €9,750 in 2006, the XB-9S City Cross is not aimed at the timid or the hurried commuter. It targets the curious motorcyclist — the one who prefers a bike that has something to say over a machine engineered to please the masses. The translucent blue packaging and off-road pretensions are largely cosmetic, let's be honest. But the Buell has never needed to lie about its genuine qualities: it comes into its own where the roads empty out and start to twist. Everything else is just scenery.