Buell XB-9S X LIGHTNING City Cross 2009 — Specifications

Imagine an American roadster of 984 cc that one morning decides to trade its cowboy boots for a crossman's hand guards. That's roughly the idea behind this XB-9S in its City Cross trim, a version dressed in translucent blue that plays the urban adventurer card without denying its origins as an atypical sportbike. Headlight grille, raised motocross-style handlebars, redesigned seat, black-painted rims: Buell doesn't do things by halves when it comes to customizing an already sharply defined base. The belt and pulley borrowed from the XB-12S round out the list, and the whole thing smells more of a prototype out of a California garage than a conventional production line.

Beneath this techno-blue breastplate, the 45-degree V-twin of 984 cc produces 92 horsepower at 7,200 rpm and 85.3 Nm at 5,600 rpm. Respectable figures, but nothing startling on paper. This two-valves-per-cylinder engine, with its 10:1 compression ratio and 88.9 mm bore, is above all a character piece. It finds its stride as the revs climb, where its hollow low-end can irritate in daily riding. The five-speed belt drive, for its part, lacks fluidity in tight maneuvers, which quickly becomes a handicap in the city despite the promises of the "City Cross" label. Add to that an intrusive fan noise and a less-than-generous turning radius, and the urban warrior myth takes a hit.

At 204 kg fully fueled with a 14-liter tank housed in the aluminum perimeter frame, the Buell remains a compact machine. This fuel-carrying frame is one of Erik Buell's technical signatures, as is the front brake with its central disc mounted under the wheel. The seat height, estimated around 850 mm, immediately rules out shorter riders. One thinks more of pilots accustomed to supermotards than of novices in search of a first bike at €8,825.

Away from traffic jams, the XB-9S City Cross finds its footing. On a twisty road, the inverted fork and the single shock absorber with 127 mm of travel do serious work. The bike positions itself with crisp precision, the chassis responds without ambiguity, and the claimed top speed of 210 km/h gives a sense of the machine's sporting potential. The 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear tires grip the road with conviction. It is on this terrain, far from red lights and impossible parking maneuvers, that the machine fully justifies its price and character.

The XB-9S City Cross is aimed at an experienced rider, tall enough physically, who appreciates machines with strong personalities and accepts living with their quirks. It doesn't convince as a neo-retro urban bike, it doesn't pretend to rival a Duke or a Street Triple on track, but it occupies a niche all its own. That of motorcycles that tell a story, that carry the vision of a visionary engineer who disappeared from the industrial scene too soon. Some riders need nothing more.