Buell X1 Lightning

If anything, Buell's X1 Lightning is certainly different. That bulbous tank, upside-down front forks, its 'lopsided' appearance courtesy of its massive airbox, and - shock of shocks - isn't that a Harley donk above that underslung exhaust?

Pull up among a group of fellow riders, and the X1 will quickly become the centre of attention, as investigative eyes pour over every detail of this unusual creation, from its Kevlar belt drive to its massive front brake rotor and six-piston caliper.

Thumb the starter, and it quickly becomes the centre of attention for roughly the surrounding two or three suburban blocks - care of the racekit fitted to this particular X1, comprising of an airfilter, chip and innocent-looking but ear-bleedingly loud exhaust. I certainly wouldn't recommend gunning it past parked cars fitted with armed car alarms, that's for sure...

GOOD VIBRATIONS
But anti-social though that pipe may be, it all fits into the X1's left-of-field personality jigsaw - as does its antics when at idle. And I use the word 'antics' because I feel it goes some way to describing the manner in which the thing threatens to vibrate itself to bits while at a standstill.

The 'bar-mounted mirrors threaten to swat passing insects, as does the small flyscreen, while the whole machine does its best to imitate a two-wheeled, mobile marital aid. It pays to make sure certain screws are firmly tightened - I came close to spending an afternoon in rural Victoria searching for an errant gear linkage pin! But open the throttle and move off, and the vibes smooth out into more a pleasant, 'pulsing' sort of thing - once again, it's simply another aspect which adds to the X1's 'in your face' character.

Hopping aboard, the Lightning feels just right - not an overly tall seat, and a slight lean forward to its wide-ish 'bars gave me an automatic feeling of being in control, although the raw edge to that 1200cc Harley V-twin certainly has a 'tame-me-if-you-can' quality.

It's that raw edge which is the major defining characteristic to the X1, and one which has lured many from the folds of traditional sporting fair, where faced with acres of disposable plastic bodywork (and depressing re-sale bottom lines) they've opted for something altogether different and totally soul-stirring, yet still capable of demolishing a twisting road with aplomb.

NICE SUSPENDERS
I sampled those capabilities in the hills to Melbourne's east recently, safely away from touchy car alarms, although I'm sure there's many a nocturnal critter on the slopes of Mount Baw Baw who wasn't too thrilled to be wrenched from a daytime slumber by the booming V-twin.

It was ripping up the road to the summit I realised there was plenty of substance lurking behind all that spitting, gritty attitude. This particular dog had plenty of bite as well as bark, and those Dunlops were suffering because of it!

With a claimed dry weight of 200kg, the X1 isn't fighting in the featherweight class when it comes to sporting fare, but it's no heavyweight either. On the Baw Baw road, which is in places incredibly tight, in others less so, but fairly bumpy just about everywhere, the Lightning excelled - its relatively stiff but compliant Showa suspenders doing an excellent job of harnessing the 1200's grunt.

Suspension adjustment is high spec and easy to get to, but isn't without its own little foibles - apart from that rear monoshock being tucked out of sight beneath the X1's engine, those sporty USD forks offer rebound and compression adjustment, but no preload adjustment. Go figure...

MOVE OVER, MASSEY FERGUSON
I wasn't bothered in any case; I didn't feel a need to fiddle with the settings, and the bike was rigid enough to cope with the conditions and significant torque that the V-twin produces - with nary an alloy-beam frame in sight! It'll flick from side to side with ease (the leverage-affording 'bars a big help here), and once committed will track through the corners beautifully. The ride position allowed me to get my weight right over that front end, which up the winding road always felt planted and confidence-inspiring - ignoring the odd gravel-induced washout, that is!

The X1's 'useability' was a stand out feature for me in the performance stakes; it mightn't boast huge horsepower (not that 85ps isn't enough to put a smile on your face), but I can use all of what its got. And the way in which it delivers it is a big part of the fun factor.

Just take at look at those dyno charts - super smooth curves without a significant dip anywhere, just tractable, grunty power throughout its rev range.

It'll pull from a little over 2000rpm, but from then on it's a real arm-wrencher just about all the way to the 7000rpm redline, with peak torque of over 10kg-m coming in around 4500rpm. That's right where you want it for around town commuting ease, or stupendous hooligan feats - should the latter be your forte.

GEARBOX GRIPES
Away from the cityscape, that grunt's a big helping hand powering out of corners through the tighter stuff, and allows minimal interaction with the gearbox.

And while we're talking 'boxes, I should mention the X1's gearing is almost ridiculously tall. At 100kmh in top the five-speeder shows just 2500rpm on the tacho - even on the highway I think the only time I ever used fifth was to marvel at its uselessness. If I was to reach the speeds where fifth came into play, I would have been too busy hanging on for dear life or worrying about my self-combusting licence to congratulate myself on utilising it!

Similarly, around town I only ever used first or second, as it'll happily pull 60-70kmh in bottom - although the 1000rpm difference between the two can be a bit of a nuisance around 70kmh, which is right on the threshold of both.

While the electronic fuel-injection delivers good throttle response, hard and fast starts can be a little tricky - wind it on a little too much and it'll generally take a moment to clear its throat, before roaring off and leaving the tin tops to be buffeted by countless angry sound waves.

The gear change action is a little stodgy, and when the red-mist visor came down I found it needed a fair old shove to nudge it into second, less a false neutral see that tacho streak off to redline - while that accompanying rorty exhaust bellow alerts all in the region of my stuff up.

TITANIC ANCHOR
The clutch is also on the decidedly heavy side, and should be enough to reduce your average grown man to tears should a significant traffic snarl ensnare the X1 for longer than a few minutes. In a Jap bike it'd be a hindrance, for the X1 it's just another 'character-building' aspect to the overall 'character'.

In the anchor department there's a massive 340mm single disc up front, gripped by a whopping six-piston caliper, with a single-pot unit down the back. Together they do a good enough job, although given the chance I'd happily swap that wacky front set-up for a 'mundane' twin-disc four-piston one.

The Lightning fares well in the comfort stakes, and although the seat is well-shaped, my backside well and truly knew it had been for a decent ride after a few hundred clicks passed under the wheels...

That flyscreen did a remarkably good job of deflecting the blast off my upper body, but on the downside, I found my legs didn't really fit too well around the tank - only a minor annoyance while in scratching mode.

Not that I was scratching too much - for spirited road riding the ground clearance is good, despite the ample legroom.

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
It's not a real gas-guzzler either - the X1 averaged around 14km/lt while on test, and despite Buell's specs listing the tank as having a 16.3lt tank, it mysteriously took just over 17lt at the bowser, with nearly 250km on the trip meter.

At the end of the day, when I was tired of scaring the neighbours or clearing leaves from my BBQ area with the blast from its down-angled pipe, I still had a great commuter, sportsbike, hooligan machine or even tourer.

The X1 Lightning is a total attention getter - for both the rider and everyone around it. It's a sportsbike among dozens on offer, but it's so very different from anything else on the road.

Love it or hate it, the X1 has an unmistakable presence, and the ride experience it delivers is truly unique. At $18,699 - or $21,682 as tested - it's in the exotic Nakedbike niche, and quite a bit dearer than the big Jap fours ($14,390 for a ZRX1200R). Or around the same price as Ducati's S4 Monster.

If you put passion and excitement before refinement and practicality, check it out - it could be just what you're after...