Highway Riding

Of the many roles adventure bike can play, one of the most common is that of a touring bike. Look at the bikesthat run in the Iron Butt Rally, as well as complete the various Saddle Sore rides, and you’ll commonly see the likes of the BMW GS, Suzuki V-Strom, and even a Uly that completed this year’s Iron Butt Rally…something to the tune of 10K+ miles in 11 days. Now the fact a Uly entered, and completed this rally says it certainly has the chops to get it done on the big slab, but how does this translate into ticking off the mile markers as we mere mortals pass by them on our journeys??

To answer that question, I mounted up, and headed south for a 1,200 mile, 3 day round trip ride to my former home state of Florida.

In stock form the Ulysses seems a good platform for a touring bike since the rubber mounts do an effective job of quelling the 45 degree twin’s vibrations. Additionally, the tall gearing allows the engine to lope around lazily on the highway. Fifth gear seems like an overdrive, and I only find it useful for 70+ mph. The fifth cog sets a relaxed 3,500 RPM’s at 70 mph, and a smooth 4,000 RPM’s at 80mph with plenty left if you’re trying to put Atlanta in your rear view just before rush hour...not that I’d know anything about that. The bars seem right where they should be, even if I did rotate them back a bit to fit my shortish arms better, and the distance to the pegs from the seat is generous. Altogether, it is not the sit up and beg position of a dual sport as the rider tilts just slightly into the wind but rather a very neutral and relaxed posture that suits me more then the current sport touring offerings; especially for long runs.

There are a few things, offered by Buell, that make the Ulysses more livable for the long haul. The stock windscreen is short, and leaves most of your torso exposed to the passing atmosphere, and honestly, will quickly beat you silly at highway speeds. Fortunately, Buell offers a tall screen that is 4 inches taller than the stock screen. For me, at 5’8”, it kept most of my body out of the blast, and put my helmet in good, clean air; but I do add a set of ear plugs to soothe the noise on longer runs.

It seems that, when choosing a windscreen, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and opinions definitely vary per rider. If you have been spoiled by, or have ever experienced a touring bike with full wind protection, my inclination is that the Buell tall screen would not make you happy. It follows the minimalist lines of the bike well and does a good job of protecting your torso. It seems a great option for a commuter and weekend blaster as it does not buffet, creates a calmer cockpit for the rider’s body, makes highway miles passable, and eliminates much of the wind noise that the stock screen leaves behind. However, there are other, larger options available from the aftermarket that I would consider if I were building the Uly to tour with, or for consistent cold weather or highway work.

As it stands, though, it is a very versatile screen that offers improved protection in all situations when compared to the stock Uly screen, and creates clean airflow to the rider; which is a good thing during a Southern Summer. At a few pennies below $100, it is a bargain, and a solid addition to any Ulysses. 

The seat is flat, and thankfully, firmly padded. I know, a firmly padded seat seems like the opposite of what you’d want, but after riding 8 hours in the saddle, all that a too softly padded seat accomplishes are hot spots and discomfort. The nice, soft seat that impresses you in the show room, my disappoint you after as little as 30 minutes of riding time. As opposed to dished seat designs, the flat profile of the Uly seat makes it easy to move around while under way, which is important for stretching limbs and shifting your weight around when running out consecutive tanks (or frames as the case may be) of premium unleaded.

Emptying the 140 ‘ish miles until the fuel light illuminates is not a problem, and emptying tanks back to back is a reasonable expectation; my trip down I rode out 3 consecutive 140+ mile tanks, and was no worse for the wear.