Traded my 08 KLR for a 06 Ulysses XB12X today

I met a guy who had an 06 Uly with the full set of cases. We traded straight up. It has 24000 miles. I am shocked at the performance this thing has. Now, I am coming from a KLR, so it could be me. But it feels so fast, and nimble. The only thing, and hopefully some of you guys can help me, but the brakes feel weak. am I just not stepping hard enough, or do these things have weak brakes. I feel like I could not do a quick emergency brake if I had to. I missed a turn because I didn't downshift to slow down???? Maybe my calf muscles are too weak.

Any cool mods I should look into?

I don't know how to post pics, but am trying to learn.

An ex KLR owner not happy with Buell brakes? That's something you don't hear everyday.

The obvious would be to check the pads. Are the rotors in good shape?
Bleed the brake lines adding new fluid.

Those things normally stop pretty well.

They appear to be fine, but maybe new pads are in order. I smashed as hard as I could and could barely feel the bike stopping.

The rear one is weak but the front one have a very hard bite. You should have something wrong. www.badweatherbikers.com will be your best friend.

thanks

And congratulations, you got a fantastic bike and enter a very select group of happy bikers.

Thanks again. It seems to be a really nice blend of sport, touring, adventure, with a little Harley rumble.

Wait to you get a taste of it's reliability...

Have you owned one, or do you have any personal experiences? All the research I could do showed me lots of very happy owners, and few with much to gripe about.

I have an 06 and cant say Im thrilled with the brakes. The rear is pretty weak,the front is just OK. Strong enough to do front wheel skids, you bet, but it would take some serious squeezin. Keep in mind it is a single disc though. Mods...geez, where do you wanna start

My Buell was having the same problem until I bled the front brakes. I also adjusted the rear brake pedal to fit my foot better and it now has great braking. The rear brake is deceiving. It feels like it has no brakes until it locks up, which comes on quite suddenly. Get a feel of the rear brake so that you don't end up locking it up by accident...

Thanks for all the great advice

I have an 06..... Rear brake is weak, front is fine.....i used to ride an old electra glide with a juice drum rear and a cabledrum front......when you squeezed the front, the bike went faster....... The Buell is many times better.....just make sure good pads, no air, etc....i usually lead with the rear brake and modulate with the front to get where I want to be....

Maybe you need to use the front brake? The rear is terrible on those things, you can stand on it and it won't lock. At least 70% of a motorcycles braking comes from the front.

I traded my '06 Uly for an XR650R two days before Buell was shut down, try to enjoy it, it's a great cold weather twisty road bike, but I was sick of cooking in the summer and I was buying waaay to many parts to keep it running.

Buells are designed to have "weak" rear brakes. Poor man's anti-lock brake. Front brake is good and according MCN can stop from 60mph in 115 feet, which is comparable to sport bikes with twin front brakes. That said the M2's, also single front brake, is better, MCN has that bike at 109 feet. The difference is a traditional rotor mount, versus the radial wheel mounted rotor, plus you can add a second braking system to the M2, but unless you race the bike, unnecessary.

If the bike has stock pads, the bike will have better initial bite. If the bike has Lydall gold pads, the bike has less initial bike, but better feel and modulation. Stock rotors tend to warp and then the brakes pulse. An EBR thinker front rotor fixes that problem.

If after all the adjustments, the bike still does not stop to your liking, contact EBR and get the eight-piston caliper with the larger rotor. That will cure all.

I also have an 06' and had the same problem. Pull the rear pads and glass bead them. They are glazed over. Cheap fix. I love this bike and yes it has a good power to weight ratio.

Congrats, you will enjoy it. A bit warm in FL summers but what bike isn't? The BMW K75 I used to own was just as hot. Rear brakes are ok, you can lock them up if you work at it. I use mine when coming to a stop then add a bit of front if I need it.

Congrats, it's a hell of a bike. I horse-traded (my Vstar) for my Uly, too. They had some factory issues, but once they're sorted out the bike should be reliable and low maintenance; no valve adjusts, no throttle body syncs, no chain to lube, no coolant to flush, one brake in the front.

The rear on my '06 feels pretty wooden but it will definitely slow the bike down on its own if you give it some pressure. If it doesn't and you have plenty of pad material, check the pads for glazing as previously mentioned.

Front brake will stop it in a hurry, I've managed to do a couple surprise stoppies with mine. I run the Braking CM-55 semi-metallic street/sport pad and I flushed the brake fluid when I put them on last spring. Bike stops great, good feel in the lever.

The lever is adjustable, too - might look at that. I set mine softer to give me more room to modulate.

I have just replaced the factory nisin pads with ebc double sintered hh and braking has significantly improved.

Thanks everyone. As I get used to the brakes, they aren't that bad. I had to change my voltage regulator. It was over charging the battery, causing bulbs to blow, and the battery to shut down. Its running perfect now, and I get like a little kid every time I start it. It is such a fun bike to ride.