2002 Buell XB9R Firebolt – SOLD

Description

Seven-day online auction starts 12 noon (Western Australian time) Sunday January 29, 2023

Bike location: Lesmurdie, Perth (Western Australia)

I’m not sure if there’s a Buell museum in the USA, but I think that’s the only place you might find a better example of the original Buell Firebolt. This beautiful Australian-delivered XB9R has had just three owners — all older chaps who’ve treated it like a wife, not a lover — and it’s only done 6,500km from new. It’s recently been given new tyres, new battery and an oil change, but truth is, it’s barely run in.  For the uninitiated, the XB9R is basically a bored-out souped-up Harley-Davidson 883 Sportster engine, crammed into a tiny GP frame and then blessed with a bunch of clever-tech innovations. Did it work? Hell yeah. Superbly. It’s half-Harley, half Aprilia RS250. And that’s exactly what it’s like to ride. There was a wonderful road test back in the day that was meant to compare the Buell with a Ducati 900SS. But they had a Yamaha R1 along for the ride and guess what? Something bizarre happened. When they got to the heavily-cornered section of the hills outside Los Angeles, the Buell left both the Duke and the R1 behind. True — read the story here. And, in 2005, Bike magazine named the XB9R’s succcessor, the XB12R, the best-cornering bike of all time. I have owned this bike for a couple of years. I’ve not had it licensed, but I’ve taken it for a sneaky squirt in the hills once a month and kept it very clean and under cover. It does have some imperfections — the wheels could do with a polish and there is some surface corrosion on the forks — but otherwise it presents almost like new. There is a Jardine muffler currently fitted but I have the original muffler in a box. The bike might appeal to someone who wants to prove it really can beat an R1 through the twisties, but it’s more likely to appeal to a collector who wants an outstanding example of one of the most memorable and enjoyable street bikes ever made.

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Learn more about the Buell Firebolt XB9R here: https://www.motorcycle.com/features/church-of-mo-buell-xb9r-firebolt-first-ride-review.html